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Hafertepe Leads The Way Into Three Night Lucas Oil ASCS Cocopah Nationals

(Image Credit: Dayton Sutterby)

SOMERTON, Ariz. (November 6, 2017) The end of the 2017 season is in sight for Sam Hafertepe, Jr. who leads the way with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network as the series rolls into the Cocopah Speedway on November 9, 10, and 11 for the series 2017 season finale.

The final stop of the series one year ago, Hafertepe rode off into the sunset with $60,000 and his first career National Tour Championship. For his 2017 visit, the Sunnyvale, Texas native will again look to pocket the five-figure payday and second consecutive title.

“We set out to win last year the championship and achieved that, and this year, we wanted to make sure we proved that our win wasn’t by chance, and I think we did that,” commented Hafertepe. “We have a comfortable lead, but we’re still going down there to win. To achieve what we’ve achieved this season is fantastic, but even after wins, we still strive and work hard to get better.”

Driving for Keith Dobbs Motorsports out of Dallas, Texas, the back-to-back championships is a real feather in his cap considering the team runs on a very narrow budget; making Sam’s performance the driving force on keeping the team on the road.

“If we weren’t winning like we were, we’d definitely be working a lot hard to keep this program rolling. It helps us stay prepared and with that, it allows us to have liberties that maybe other teams don’t have, but what’s made it even harder this year is having a full-time crew guy on the road.”

Having had to cycle through a couple of crew members during the season, namely because of their commitments to school, Sam has had to take on more of the role of mechanic at times, but even then, it hasn’t slowed him down with 15 National Tour wins on the season, which ties Hafertepe with follow Texan, Gary Wright, for the most wins in a single season on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

“It really means a lot to even be mentioned in the same breath as Gary Wright, but even with that chance to break that record, we’re not focusing on anything but ending this season with a win, and if we can, a sweep. We’re going to do what we’ve done all year and focus on the race.”

Events at the Cocopah Speedway on November 9, 10, and 11 will get underway each night at 7:30 P.M. Leading up to the three-race swing, a Fan Fest will take place on November 8 at the Wild River Family Entertainment Center, located directly across from the Cocopah Speedway, from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. with teams practicing at 7:30 P.M. (MT).

Cocopah Speedway is located at 3450 W County 15th St. in Somerton, Ariz. Tickets are sold the day of the race at the track with each day opening at 5:30 P.M. More information can be found at http://www.cocopahspeedway.com.

For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven regional tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation in 2017, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com. Make sure to like the American Sprint Car Series on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LucasOilASCS, follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/LucasOilASCS, and check out our Instagram @LucasOilASCS.

Wednesday, November 8 - Fan Fest and Practice

Fan Fest: 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. at the Wild River Family Entertainment Center: 15136 S Avenue B, Somerton, AZ 85350 (Directly across the street from the track).

Start Time: 7:30pm
Grandstands: Free
Pits: $20

Thursday, November 9 - Racing

General Admission: $20
Kids 11-15: $5
Kids 10 and under: Free

Pit Pass: $30

Classes: ASCS

Friday, November 10 - Racing

General Admission: $20
Kids 11-15: $5
Kids 10 and under: Free

Pit Pass: $30

Classes: ASCS, Jr. Sprints, Dwarf Cars

Saturday, November 11 - Racing

General Admission: $25
Kids 11-15: $10
Kids 10 and under: Free

Pit Pass: $35

Classes: ASCS and Hobby Stocks

Quick Check

Who: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour with ASCS Southwest Region
What: 2017 National Tour Finale
Where: Cocopah Speedway (Somerton, Ariz.)
When: November 9-11, 2017
Also Featured: Fan Fest Party – Wild River Family Entertainment Center: 15136 S Avenue B, Somerton, AZ 85350

Track Contact: Cocopah Speedway:

Address: 3450 W County 15th St, Somerton, AZ 85350
Phone: (928) 344-1563
Website: http://www.cocopahspeedway.com
Email: info@cocopahspeedway.com
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/cocopahspeedwayaz

The Format:

All drivers will compete on both qualifying nights as combined points from Heat Races, Qualifiers, B-Mains, and A-Mains will set the lineup for Top 8 on Saturday night. Any tie in points will be broken by Friday’s passing point totals. ASCS Format will be utilized with draw in for Heat Race starting position and passing points to determine drivers who advance to Qualifiers and B-Mains.

54 cars or less: Top 30 in Passing Points from Heat Races will move into 3 Qualifiers. Remainder will fall to the tail of the night’s “B” Features. Top 18 will be inverted with the highest point earner from Heat Races starting sixth in the first Qualifier. Qualifiers will be 8 laps each. Passing Points will be utilized with the driver’s total points combined with their Heat Race total. The top 16 in combined Passing Points will advance to the A-Feature. Drivers will not redraw for their starting position. Lineup is straight up by the combined Passing Point total. The remainder will fall into B-Features. Number of B-Features is dependent upon the number of cars. 40-50 cars means remaining drivers will drop into two “B” Features. 51-60 will drop into three “B” Features. Lineup will be done by passing point totals with 17th going to the pole of the first “B” Feature, 18th to the pole of the second “B” Feature, etc.

55 cars or more: Top 40 in Passing Points from Heat Races will move into 4 Qualifiers. Remainder will fall to the tail of the night’s “B” Features. Top 24 will be inverted with the highest point earner from Heat Races starting sixth in the first Qualifier. Qualifiers will be 8 laps each. Passing Points will be utilized with the driver’s total points combined with their Heat Race total. The top 16 in combined Passing Points will advance to the A-Feature. Drivers will not redraw for their starting position. Lineup is straight up by the combined Passing Point total. The remainder will fall into B-Features. Number of B-Features is dependent upon the number of cars. 40-50 cars means remaining drivers will drop into two “B” Features. 51-60 will drop into three “B” Features. Lineup will be done by passing point totals with 17th going to the pole of the first “B” Feature, 18th to the pole of the second “B” Feature, etc.

If one B is needed, the top 6 drivers will advance to the A-Feature. If two B's, then the top three, if three B's, then the top two.

Following the completion of Friday’s program, event points will be totaled with the Top 8 locked in, straight up, into Saturday’s A-Feature. All other drivers will be lined up into 4 Last Chance Qualifiers on Saturday. Lineup will be staggered by points (9th to the pole of LCQ 1, 10 to the pole of LCQ 2, etc). Top 2 finishes in each LCQ will advance to the A-Feature. Winners of LCQ 1 starts 9th, winner of LCQ 2 will start 10th, and so on.

Remainder of the field will fall into twin B-Main, straight up by their finish. Top three from each B-Main will advance to the A-Feature.

Thursday and Friday Race Points will follow the following scale:

Heat Race:

1. 25
2. 22
3. 19
4. 16
5. 15
6. 14
7. 13
8. 12
9. 11
10. 10

Qualifiers:

1. 25
2. 22
3. 19
4. 16
5. 15
6. 14
7. 13
8. 12
9. 11
10. 10

B-Feature: Based on number of B-Features. Starting with the first non-transfer:

1. 87
2. 86
3. 85
4. 84
5. 83
6. 82
7. 81
8. 80
9. 79
10. 78

A-Feature: Based on ASCS points structure for standard A-Mains:

1. 150
2. 142
3. 135
4. 130
5. 125
6. 122
7. 119
8. 116
9. 113
10. 110
11. 108
12. 106
13. 104
14. 102
15. 100
16. 98
17. 96
18. 94
19. 92
20. 90
21. 89
22. 88

**ASCS National Driver Point, Regional Attendance, and Promoter’s Provisionals will be allowed, but will not award event points for the A-Feature. Points will be calculated from the position earned prior to the Provisional.

Nightly ASCS A-Feature Payout:

Thursday and Friday:

A-Feature: 1. $3.000; 2. $1,500; 3. $1,100; 4. $1,000; 5. $800 6. $700; 7. $600; 8. $500; 9. $475; 10. $450; 11. $425; 12. $400 13. $400; 14. $400; 15. $400; 16. $400; 17. $400; 18. $400; 19. $400; 20. $400; 21. $400; 22. $400;

Any non-transferring driver will be paid $150.

Saturday:

A-Feature: 1. $5,000; 2. $2,500; 3. $1,500; 4. $1,250; 5. $1,150; 6. $1,100; 7. $1,000; 8. $900; 9. $800; 10. $700; 11. $600; 12. $550; 13. $525; 14. $500; 15. $475; 16. $450; 17. $425; 18. $400; 19. $400; 20. $400; 21. $400; 22. $400;

Any non-transferring driver will be paid $150.

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