Seth Bergman won his first ASCS National Tour sprint car championship in unusual fashion.
Bergman claimed the title despite changing teams two races into the season.
When Wayne Johnson was injured in a crash prior to the American Sprint Car Series National Tour opener at Super Bee Speedway, he stepped out of the driver’s seat and tapped Bergman as the new driver for TwoC Racing.
The pair finished first and second in two nights together, but then parted ways with Bergman returning to his No. 23 car.
“It was a lot, going to TwoC and having that deal fall apart,” Bergman said. “Coming back to my own deal was stressful, we had already gotten off to a great start with Wayne and TwoC. I had prepared really nice race cars, I knew my race cars were ready to do the job, it was just about going and doing it.”
Bergman remained in the hunt for a title with his chances getting an added boost thanks to technical support from Kevin Swindell.
“We’ve obviously known of each other for a while, but never worked together,” Bergman said of his relationship with Swindell. “We kind of hooked up around Knoxville, I was going to do a Victory Fuel scheme for them at Knoxville. Because of that deal, Kevin and I started talking and one thing led to another and he started helping me out from Knoxville through the end of the year.
“Having him come on board was a huge help. It was a weight off my shoulders, knowing that I was going to have someone as smart as him with his knowledge in my corner being able to help us try to win the championship.”
Bergman began late-season hot streak with a victory at Montana’s Big Sky Speedway, which was his first win in two months.
That victory was part of an incredible run of consistency that made it nearly impossible for anyone else to gain ground – in a stretch of 12 full-points races between August and October, Bergman only finished off the podium twice.
Bergman clinched his first National Tour championship with a race to spare.
Multi-time series champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. finished a distant second despite winning a series-best 12 features.
Matt Covington, Hank Davis and Jason Martin completed the top five.
Two hundred 65 drivers ran ASCS National Tour events.
The Points
- Seth Bergman 4,134
- Sam Hafertepe Jr. 3,988
- Matt Covington 3,830
- Hank Davis 3,706
- Jason Martin 3,517
- Andrew Deal 3,432
- Landon Britt 3,374
- Zach Blulrton 3,299
- Kyler Johnson 3,226
- Terry Easum 3,108
Winners
Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12
Seth Bergman 7
Hank Davis 3
Jason Martin 1
Terry Easum 1
Blake Hahn 1
Jordon Mallett 1
Jake Bubak 1
Roger Crockett 1
Joe B. Miller 1
Aaron Reutzel 1
Kaleb Johnson 1
Derek Hagar 1