LUBBOCK, Texas — Sam Hafertepe Jr., raced to victory Tuesday night in the first major 360 sprint car event since the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus at West Texas Raceway.
Racing before an empty grandstand in accordance with current regulations, the Sunnyvale, Texas, native battled ahead of Scott Bogucki in the early going and kept Seth Bergman at bay in the final rounds of 25-lapper to take the $6,000 winner’s share in the West Texas Crude Nationals promoted by Josh Baughman.
It was a share that was bumped from the originally advertised $4,000 with the Wednesday West Texas Crude Nationals finale now offering up $7,500.
With South Australia’s Scott Bogucki landing the pole for the main event with Waco teen Chase Randall alongside, fourth-starter Hafertepe split Randall and Giovanni Scelzi to climb to second on the second circuit.
Hafertepe went to work on Bogucki immediately and his second slide for the point stuck on the fourth round.
Weathering three cautions over the next four laps, the final 17 rounds ran off in non-stop fashion. With Hafertepe leading the way, Bergman was on the move from ninth and up to fourth by the time the final caution flag flew.
Bergman disposed of Giovanni Scelzi for third by the 10th round and then battled past Bogucki for second another two laps later.
Bergman closed on the leader briefly and had Hafertepe within his sites but could never close in enough to mount a challenge for the win even as lapped traffic came into in the final handful of laps before ultimately taking the checkered flag aboard the Hill’s Racing Townline Variety/Heidbreider Foundation Service No. 15h.
Hafertepe sailed across the stripe ahead of Bergman with Bogucki holding off Pennsylvania’s Brock Zearfoss to claim the show position. Giovanni Scelzi rounded out the top five with sibling Dominic making a last-lap pass to claim sixth.
Fito Gallardo won the USRA modified feature.
The West Texas Crude Nationals at West Texas Raceway wraps up with another stellar field of cars on Wednesday night.
The finish:
Feature (25 laps):Â Â 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (4), 2. 23-Seth Bergman (9), 3. 28-Scott Bogucki (1), 4. 3z-Brock Zearfoss (7), 5. 41g-Giovanni Scelzi (3), 6. 41s-Dominic Scelzi (14), 7. 2m-Kerry Madsen (8), 8. 17wg-Shane Golobic (13), 9. 26-Cory Eliason (16), 10. 16a-Justin Sanders (17), 11. 14-Parker-Price Miller (21), 12. 74b-Jake Bubak (22), 13. J2-John Carney II (11), 14. 52-Blake Hahn (19), 15. 88-Kyle Offill (10), 16. 17w-Harli White (12), 17. 21p-Robbie Price (20), 18. 9-Chase Randall (2), 19. 11x-Shane Stewart, 20. 14x-Joey Saldana (5) 21. 95-Matt Covington (15), 22. 11p-Preston Peebles II (18), 23. 27-Carson McCarl (24), 24. 4-Terry McCarl (23).