MESQUITE, Texas — Picking up his eighth win of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, Sam Hafertepe Jr. earned his eighth national tour victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway Friday night.
Winning the 47th Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals opener the second year in a row, Hafertepe led start-to-finish behind the wheel of the Hills Racing No. 15h. The win also moves Hafertepe to third on the all-time win list with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, passing Wayne Johnson with his 55th career triumph.
“Every time we come to the Bowl, we want to win. This place means a lot to me just because I have so many family and friends around here, and with COVID this year, we really haven’t been able to race here, so it was good to come back and win,” Hafertepe explained.
“I was actually a little nervous with the car coming into the night. We wrecked at Short Track (Nationals), so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect tonight. We’re still dialing it in, but we got it rolling really good in the feature, and honestly, was one of the better cars I’ve had to roll the cushion here.”
Fending off early charges from Jack Dover and cautions throughout the night’s 25-lap affair, Hafertepe pulled the field by 3.643 seconds when all was said and done.
Making it to second after a caution working lap 16, Scott Bogucki made a hair-raising pass on Jack Dover and Justin Sanders through the third and fourth turn to get the position, and also made himself the night’s Hard Charger.
Dover held on for third with Blake Hahn and Justin Sanders filling the top five.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 2. 28-Scott Bogucki[10]; 3. 53-Jack Dover[2]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn[7]; 5. 16A-Justin Sanders[4]; 6. 11X-John Carney II[9]; 7. 14-Jordon Mallett[3]; 8. 17W-Harli White[5]; 9. 95-Matt Covington[16]; 10. 74B-Jake Bubak[13]; 11. 2X-Tucker Doughty[19]; 12. 11-Roger Crockett[17]; 13. 44-Chris Martin[8]; 14. 24D-Danny Sams III[20]; 15. 9-Chase Randall[12]; 16. 24-Garet Williamson[14]; 17. 17B-Ryan Bickett[24]; 18. 4-Austin Mundie[6]; 19. 48-Cody Stacy[25]; 20. 45-Martin Edwards[21]; 21. 77X-Alex Hill[11]; 22. 1J-Danny Jennings[15]; 23. 21P-Robbie Price[18]; 24. 45X-Johnny Herrera[22]; 25. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[23]