(Photo Credit: Al Steinberg)
TULSA, Okla. (February 23, 2015) The first weekend recap of the American Sprint Car Series 2015 season takes a look back at the 17th annual King of the 360's and 14th annual Ronald Laney Memorial.
Winners:
Thursday, February 19, 2015
• Aaron Reutzel - Kicking off the 2015 title hunt with victory, the Clute, Texas driver brought fans to their feet with several battles against Pennsylvania's Mark Smith.
Friday, February 20, 2015
• Jason Sides - The 2002 King of the 360's led start to finish on the second night of competition.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
• Mark Smith - Taking home $10,000, Smith again had to battle with Aaron Reutzel for victory. Taking advantage of a long green flag run, Smith grabbed the victory comfortably.
*A Look at the Weekend:
• Hard Chargers: Thursday's opener produced a track that drivers and fans were buzzing about. With four leaders over the course of 25 laps, seven of the top-ten came from beyond the 12st starting position. Johnny Herrera was the night's Hard Charger, advancing through the field 16 times. Friday's track may have been narrow, but that didn't stop Greg Hodnett from charging forward 16 positions as well. Overall, Hodnett advanced position 28 times over the three nights.
• Lap Leaders: Over three nights of racing, six drivers led laps at East Bay Raceway Park. In 90 laps of competition, Mark Smith led 39 followed by Jason Sides (25), Aaron Reutzel (17), Terry McCarl (5), A.J. Maddox (3), and Brad Loyet (1).
• Engine Woes: Tony Bruce, Jr. saw his weekend begin with a blown up engine. Able to swap out power plants, Bruce took a provisional into Thursday's feature but was unable to finish with mechanical problems again sidelining the No. 18. Thursday also saw the No. 92w of Jordan Weaver with problems, when her engine went up in smoke while leading in Heat Race action.
• Lucky Ride: Johnny Herrera's ride to third on Saturday night nearly came to an abrupt halt when the No. 45x plowed through the cushion in turn three. Keeping on the gas, Herrera managed to ride the wall through the turn, coming out unscathed on the front straight-a-way.
• Hard Ride: A couple drivers took tumbles over the weekend. Travis Rilat was the first of the weekend after contact with another driver's Right Rear send the No. 29 sailing. Lane Whittington also found a Right Rear, going over hard on Saturday night.
• Fighting Hard: A.J. Maddox and Greg Wilson had by far the hardest race of the weekend. In Saturday's fifth Qualifier, the local shoe and the All Star veteran looked like they were going to end up lid first over the fence as Maddox pressured hard for the lead. Letting the No 3a go, Wilson regrouped and overtook Maddox for the win.
Up Next:
The first time the Lucas Oil ASCS has been on the Bubba Army Winter Nationals lineup, this weekend's races will be preceded by practice on Thursday, February 26. Races on Friday and Saturday will see gates opening at 4:00 P.M with Hot Laps getting underway at 7:00 P.M. (ET). Admission is $25 for Friday, and $35 for Saturday. Tickets are on sale at https://bubbaracewaypark.ticketsocket.com.
Live PPV can be found at http://www.racinboys.com.
The 2015 season will mark the 24th 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 in both National and Regional competition.
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto www.mavtv.com for information regarding availability and listings in your area.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, iON Camera, Smokey Mountain Moonshine, C&R Radiator, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Communications for the American Sprint Car Series is provided by Racing Electronics. All events are broadcast online at http://www.racinboys.com.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, KSE Racing Products, Fuel Safe, DMI Rear Ends, BMRS, SpeedMart, Competition Suspension, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, The Joie of Seating, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
- Bryan Hulbert on Feb 23, 2015
- Article Date: 2/23/2015