2/21/2012
ASCS
Lucas Oil ASCS season begins in Arizona
Bryan Hulbert - Tulsa, Okla (February 21, 2012) - As the month of March approaches so does the start of the 2012 season for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters. With 64 dates on the national schedule, the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters will kick off its twenty-first year of competition in the state of Arizona with first time visits in their first four round of competition.
Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona will host the first two nights of racing for the 2012 season with the Copper Classic on Friday March 2nd and Saturday March 3rd. As soon as the first rounds of points are tallied the tour will head further into the “Grand Canyon State” for a double header at Cocopah Speedway just outside Yuma on Friday March 9th and Saturday March 10th.
New Tracks - To date the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters has visited the state of Arizona 11 times with events at the former USA Raceway in Tucson, Arizona. The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters has logged 640 feature events at 117 tracks in 27 states since 1993. Canyon Speedway Park will be 118 with Cocopah Speedway 119 on the list of tracks who have hosted the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters.
Opening Night Winners - Gary Wright leads the field of drivers who has claimed first night victories doing so in 2000, 2004, and 2007. Garry Lee Maier has a pair of opening night wins in 1995 and 1998 while Zach Chappell holds the distinction as being the only driver to have claimed back to back season openers in 2002 and 2003.
Other drivers who have claimed opening night wins include Mike Ward (1993), Tim Crawly (1994), Jason Sides (1996), Lee Scrape (1997), Terry Gray (1999), Larry Neighbors (2001), Danny Jennings (2005), Travis Rilat (2006), Kenny Adams (2008), Shane Stewart (2009), Sammy Swindell (2010), and Tim Kaeding (2011).
Of the divers who have claimed the opening night victories since 1993, Tim Crawley (1994), Gary Wright (2004 and 2007), and Shane Stewart (2009) are the only drivers to have ended the season atop the leaderboard.
Past Champions - Four past Lucas Oil ASCS champions are expected for the opening tour in Arizona. Expected champions include four-time series champion Gary Wright (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007) who will be running as a driver/car owner for the 2012 season. Three-time champion Tim Crawley (2002, 1999 and 1994) will also be on hand in the Mike Ward Motorsports 88.
Jason Johnson will also be on hand for the season opener. The start of the 2011 season saw Johnson absent from the first four races in 2011 while finishing up competition in Australia. Johnson is a two time driver champion (2008 and 2010) as well as being three time owner champion (2008, 2010, and 2011). Johnson will be piloting the Stenhouse Jr./JJR 41 in 2012.
Also joining the line-up of champions will be 2001 series champion Zach Chappell who will back in the family owned 50z. Chappell is the youngest driver to ever win the Lucas Oil ASCS National Championship.
Rookies - The 2012 season will a pair of drivers vying for the Brodix Rookie of the Year honors. Three time Poweri Midget Series and 2011 Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region Champion Brad Loyet will be behind the wheel in the Vacuworx International 05. Loyet will have plenty of competition as Logan Forler will also be on the road in the well-known Harley Van Dyke Motorsports/Lucas Oil 5h.
The Series:
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters
When:
March 2-3, 2012 - Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, Arizona
March 9-10, 2012 - Cocopah Speedway - Yuma, Arizona
Directions:
From Canyonspeedwaypark.com - Canyon Speedway Park is located in North Peoria off Lake Pleasant Parkway, then 1.3 miles West on Carefree Highway. For more information please, contact the track at 602-258-RACE(7223) or additional information regarding Canyon Speedway Park can be found at www.canyonspeedwaypark.com
From Cocopahspeedway.com - The Cocopah Speedway is located at the intersection of Highway 95 and County 15th Street in Somerton, Ariz. Directly across from the Cocopah Resort and Conference Center, Cocopah Wild River Family Entertainment Center. Additional information can be found by calling 928-344-1563 or by logging onto www.cocopahspeedway.com.
Final 2011 Points:
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby OK) 3,219, 2. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 3,218, 3. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 3,055, 4. Jeff Swindell (Bartlett TN) 3,026, 5. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 2,929, 6. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 2,909, 7. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 2,879, 8. Tony Bruce Jr. (Owasso, OK) 2,683, 9. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 2,624, 10. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 2,600, 11. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK ) 2,435, 12. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 2,108, 13. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,866, 14. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 1,639, 15. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 1,558, 16. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 1,475, 17. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 1,456, 18. Logan Forler (Lake Havasu City, Az) 1,423, 19. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 1,418, 20. Mason Moore (Princeton, CA) 1,410.
2011 Event Winners:
Wayne Johnson (5), Jason Johnson (5), Johnny Herrera (4), Shane Stewart (3), Sammy Swindell (3), Jeff Swindell (2), Tim Crawley (2), Danny Lasoski (2), Brady Bacon (1), Gary Wright (1), Jack Dover (1), Matt Covington (1), Tim Kaeding (1), Brad Sweet (1), Donny Schatz (1)
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters - A Look Ahead:
March 23-24 Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 39th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals
April 13 Golden Triangle Raceway Park (Beaumont, TX)
April 14 Battleground Speedway (Highlands, TX)
April 27 Salina Highbanks (Salina, OK)
April 28 Riverside International Speedway (West Memphis, AR) – Rock ‘N Roll 50
Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:
All Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series national events are broadcast live on www.racinboys.com for anyone who is unable to attend the races live.
Official results, points, and race notes are posted at www.ascsracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS on TV:
A full schedule of tape-delayed races for the 2012 season is pending.
The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is scheduled to compete 64 times in 16 states throughout the United States with divers competing for their share of a $250,000 points fund.
The 2012 season marks the 21st year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
Article Credit: Bryan Hulbert
Submitted By: Bryan Hulbert
