Jack Dover Wins the Lucas Oil ASCS Road to Knoxville at I-80 Speedway
GREENWOOD, Neb. (July 31, 2015) Becoming the 12th different winner in 2015 with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, Nebraska’s Jack Dover thrilled his hometown crowd, holding off Brian Brown to lead flag-to-flag in the “Road to Knoxville” finale at the I-80 Speedway.
“I knew I had to do something, especially in lapped traffic because the track was too good so I knew those guys were going to be right there with me,” commented Dover. “I was able make the move pretty quick, and luckily the track was good enough I was able to move anywhere I wanted. The car was good, the Moss Racing Engine was great, and really just a good confidence booster going into the Knoxville Nationals next week.”
Asked what it meant to return to Victory Lane with the Lucas Oil ASCS, Dover replied, “It means a lot. I’d won every year I’d with the National Tour expect last year so it’s been a while since I’ve gotten one of these.”
Trading slide jobs with Don Droud, Jr. on the start, the pair exchanged the lead several times with Dover beating the Casey’s General Store No. 2 to the line each time. Working low on the No. 53 on Lap 5, the pair tagged bumpers entering the third turn, sending Droud spinning into the inside wall.
Returning to green, Dover was chased by Jeff Swindell with Brian Brown in tow. Finding traffic on Lap 17, the caution flew again on Lap 19 for the No. 41P of Seth Brahmer who came to a stop with a blown engine.
With a pair of slower cars between Dover and Swindell, the chance for Dover to build his lead saw the No. 53 at a nearly five second advantage in a matter of laps. Finally clearing the slower cars on Lap 25, Swindell began closing the gap with Brown still giving chase.
Caution on Lap 27 for Seth Bergman who came to a stop atop the fourth turn with steam billowing from under the bonnet of the No. 23, slower cars were out of the picture as the chase was on.
Restarting third, Brown stuck his FVP No. 21 to the center line, pulling past Swindell with two to go. With a full head a steam, the white flag flew with Brown on the heels of the No. 53. Into the final two turns, Dover drove low with Brown high; holding off Brian Brown at the line by 0.149 seconds.
“It was kind of one lane, and I tried to make the top work as long as I could before I had to move down,” said Brown. “You know, Jeff kind of left me a lane there at the end through the middle, but just came up a little bit short. I just didn’t get through turns one and two the way I needed to in order to make a run on Jack.”
Jeff Swindell crossed third in the MVT No. 94 for his 40th career Lucas Oil ASCS podium finish.
“Brown had a good run on the restart. I just fattened the engine up too much tonight, and the air got a little bit better tonight so it just stumbled taking off,” said Swindell. “I knew we didn’t have a chance until the yellow came out, but it just stumbled, and Brian got a good run on the top. I heard him out there in two, and left just barely enough room to get through there and I think I slowed him down a little bit. I think he may have had a shot at it, but just didn’t get through that hole quick enough.”
After taking a tumble the night before, Wayne Johnson raced to fourth with Thursday’s winner, Ian Madsen, completing the top-five.
Johnny Herrera came from 11th to sixth with Aaron Reutzel taking a B-Main finish and turning into a seventh place run. Billy Alley was eight from 12th with Matt Covington and Josh Baughman completing the top-ten.
With 27 drivers returning for the second night of the “Road to Knoxville” a trio of Heat Races went to Bill Balog, Seth Brahmer, and Wayne Johnson earning wins. Aaron Reutzel won the B-Feature. Kyle Bellm took a provisional into the night’s feature event.
The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network heads of the 25th running of the Arnold Motor Supply Knoxville Nationals, happening August 6-8, 2015 at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. For more updates, including the rundowns of nightly qualifiers, log ontohttp://www.knoxvilleraceway.
For continued updates on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
The Road To Knoxville – Night 2
I-80 Speedway – Greenwood, Neb.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Car Count: 27
Event Total: 30
Heat Races: 8 Laps, Heat winners plus the next 9 highest in passing points transfer to to the A-Feature.
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24BH-Bill Balog[2]; 2. 3A-Billy Alley[1]; 3. 95-Matt Covington[6]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 5. 23-Seth Bergman[7]; 6. 35L-Cody Ledger[4]; 7. 52-Blake Hahn[8]; 8. (DNF) 12-Tyler Drueke[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 41P-Seth Brahmer[2]; 2. 53-Jack Dover[4]; 3. 77-John Klabunde[1]; 4. 31C-Justyn Cox[6]; 5. 81-Stuart (Stu) Snyder[5]; 6. 92-Jordan Weaver[3]; 7. 18R-Ryan Roberts[8]; 8. 14K-Kyle Bellm[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 77X-Wayne Johnson[3]; 2. 45X-Johnny Herrera[2]; 3. 17-Josh Baughman[6]; 4. 99-Tony Rost[4]; 5. 33-Kris Miller[1]; 6. 4J-Lee Grosz[5]; 7. (DNF) 84-Brandon Hanks[7]
B-Feature: 12 Laps, taking top 6 to the A-Feature.
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[1]; 2. 4J-Lee Grosz[4]; 3. 81-Stuart (Stu) Snyder[2]; 4. 92-Jordan Weaver[8]; 5. 33-Kris Miller[3]; 6. 52-Blake Hahn[5]; 7. 18R-Ryan Roberts[6]; 8. 14K-Kyle Bellm[10]; 9. 35L-Cody Ledger[7]; 10. 12-Tyler Drueke[11]; DNS 84-Brandon Hanks
A-Feature: 30 Laps – Lock-ins: Ian Madsen, Jeff Swindell, Brian Brown, and Don Droud, Jr..
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover[2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown[3]; 3. 94-Jeff Swindell[4]; 4. 77X-Wayne Johnson[5]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen[6]; 6. 45X-Johnny Herrera[11]; 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel[17]; 8. 3A-Billy Alley[12]; 9. 95-Matt Covington[9]; 10. 17-Josh Baughman[10]; 11. 4J-Lee Grosz[18]; 12. 92-Jordan Weaver[20]; 13. 14K-Kyle Bellm[23]; 14. 52-Blake Hahn[22]; 15. 81-Stuart (Stu) Snyder[19]; 16. 77-John Klabunde[14]; 17. 33-Kris Miller[21]; 18. (DNF) 23-Seth Bergman[15]; 19. (DNF) 24BH-Bill Balog[8]; 20. (DNF) 41P-Seth Brahmer[7]; 21. (DNF) 99-Tony Rost[16]; 22. (DNF) 2-Don Droud Jr[1]; 23. (DNF) 31C-Justyn Cox[13]
Lap Leader(s): Jack Dover 1-30
KSE Hard Charger: Aaron Reutzel +10
FSR High Point: Wayne Johnson
Provisional(s): Kyle Bellm (BP1)
=======================
2015 Lucas Oil ASCS Winners: Aaron Reutzel 5; Seth Bergman 3; Jason Solwold 3; Johnny Herrera 3; Jason Sides 1; Mark Smith 1; Brian Brown 1; Blake Hahn 1; Wayne Johnson 1; Tony Bruce, Jr. 1; Ian Madsen 1; Jack Dover 1;
Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Points (Top 10): 1. Aaron Reutzel 2,869; 2. Johnny Herrera 2,816; 3. Wayne Johnson 2,758; 4. Seth Bergman 2,527; 5. Matt Covington 2,455; 6. Blake Hahn 2,364; 7. Kyle Bellm 2,304; 8. Jordan Weaver 1,058; 9. Kris Miller 1,788; 10. Jeff Swindell 1,540;
=======================
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.
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series – http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/
Audio Broadcast – http://www.racinboys.com
Live Scoring (Where Applicable) – http://www.ascsracing.com/live and the Race Monitor App
ASCS National Drivers Online:
Kyle Bellm – http://www.kylebellm.com
Seth Bergman – http://www.sethbergmanracing.
Tony Bruce, Jr. – http://www.tonybrucejr.com
Matt Covington – http://www.
Blake Hahn – http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – http://www.sam15.com
Johnny Herrera – http://www.
Wayne Johnson – https://www.facebook.com/
Aaron Reutzel – http://www.aaronreutzelracing.
Jeff Swindell – http://www.jeffswindell.com
Jordan Weaver – https://www.facebook.com/
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.
==========================
Sources: Bryan Hulbert/ASCS PR