SAPULPA, Okla. — Sam Hafertepe Jr. proved his on-track veteran status by biding his time for the precise moment and racing to victory with the POWRi 410 Outlaw Sprint League Saturday at Creek County Speedway.
High-point qualifier Cody Gardner and Ayrton Gennetten lined up in the front row as Gardner gained the lead on the opening lap with Ayrton Gennetten, Hafertepe, Lane Goodman and Kyle Clark following.
Cruising out front comfortably for the majority of the early laps, Gardner appeared to be the fastest on a tricky track surface as lapped traffic would enter into the fray around the midpoint of the feature with Hafertepe moving into the runner-up spot.
Using a late-race restart with five laps remaining to perfection, Hafertepe blasted past Gardner for the preferred position as Gardner would instantly change lines to keep Xavier Doney at bay in third.
Holding steady for the final four revolutions, Hafertepe earned his first POWRi victory of the season, while Gardner came home second.
“I was biding my time early while waiting for the bottom to come in but we were so fast up top,” Hafertepe said. “Xavier showed me the line with the caution coming out at a perfect time for me. He might have won if the yellow didn’t come out but that’s happened to me before and sometimes it just falls your way. I wish we could have gotten it done last night but to come back here tonight and get it done feels better with the big payday.”
Doney came home third, with point leader Ayrton Gennetten fourth. Blake Hahn completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[3]; 2. 6-Cody Gardner[1]; 3. 74-Xavier Doney[9]; 4. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[2]; 5. 52-Blake Hahn[5]; 6. 9$-Kyle Clark[4]; 7. 17-Wout Hoffmans[15]; 8. 7FX-Joshua Shipley[7]; 9. 7F-Joshua Tyre[13]; 10. 29-Emilio Hoover[10]; 11. 23-Sam Henderson[16]; 12. 21-Gunner Ramey[17]; 13. 23X-Junior Jenkins[14]; 14. 6W-Lane Goodman[6]; 15. 20G-Noah Gass[11]; 16. 22M-Rees Moran[8]; 17. 20-Noah Harris[12].