Harli White Makes History with Lucas Oil ASCS at Riverside International Speedway
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (July 11, 2020) A historical night for Oklahoma’s Harli White, the driver of the Life of Hope Ministries/Champion Brands No. 17w parked in Victory Lane at the famed Riverside International Speedway to become the first woman to ever top the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
Harli is the 152nd different winner with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network since 1993, and the fifth winner on the 2020 season. Co-Sanctioned with the ASCS Mid-South Region, the win counts as her second with the regional tour.
“This has been a long time coming. I feel like we finally got the Gorilla off our back. I can’t describe how good it feels to finally get this done. We had so many times where luck just didn’t go our way, something would happen to the car, or on the track, and tonight everything went right,” stated a jubilant Harli White in SawBlade.com Victory Lane.
“I can’t thank my parents and Johnny [Herrera] enough for believing in me and always pushing me and everyone on this car. Without them, none of this would be possible.”
Leading the opening two circuits, White nearly went around off the second turn on Lap 3. Able to recover, Harli has the task of running down Derek Hagar. Getting into slower traffic, Harli paced the bottom of the Arkansas quarter-mile.
Reeling in the No. 9jr, the two danced around a slower car off the second turn on Lap 7 with White able to secure the point. Weaving through the backmarkers, Hagar was able to take several shots at the lead but was unable to get back to the front.
Caution on Lap 16 for Scott Bogucki and Danny Sams III, clean racetrack allowed White to steadily pull away. Working the low and middle grooves as she raced back into slower traffic, it was not enough to allow Hagar a run, as Harli found the checkered flag with a 1.766-second advantage.
Battling with Howard Moore over the final five laps, Hagar held on for the runner-up spot with Moore in third. Roger Crockett made up two spots to fourth with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. moving up 12 positions to fifth after having to race through the first BMRS B-Feature.
Marshall Skinner crossed sixth with Brad Bowden advancing from 14th to seventh. Dale Howard grabbed eighth, followed by Blake Hahn who advanced 11 positions to finish ninth. Zach Pringle completed the top ten.
A field of 37 drivers was on hand at Riverside International Speedway. Five SCE Gaskets Heat Races went to Harli White, Marshall Skinner, Jeffrey West, Jr., Roger Crockett, and Travis Reber. BMRS B-Features were topped by Sam Hafertepe, Jr. and Scott Bogucki. Provisionals were utilized by Matt Covington, Garet Williamson, and Ernie Ainsworth.
The next outing for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is Friday, July 17 at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborne, Mo.
Live coverage is available for those who cannot make the trip on http://www.racinboys.com.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2020, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV and ASCS Mid-South Region
Riverside International Speedway (West Memphis, Ark.)
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Car Count: 37
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17W-Harli White[7]; 2. 3-Howard Moore[8]; 3. 61-Cody Howard[1]; 4. 77X-Alex Hill[6]; 5. 24-Garet Williamson[4]; 6. 21-Spencer Meredith[5]; 7. 95-Matt Covington[2]; 8. 9-Chase Randall[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Marshall Skinner[1]; 2. 9JR-Derek Hagar[5]; 3. 44-Ronny Howard[2]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn[4]; 5. 28-Scott Bogucki[7]; 6. 27J-Joseph Poe Jr[3]; 7. 95A-Asa Swindell[6]; 8. 30-Joseph Miller[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 24W-Jeffrey West Jr[2]; 2. 4S-Eddie Gallagher[1]; 3. 8Z-Zach Pringle[6]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 5. 91A-Ernie Ainsworth[3]; 6. 1X-Tim Crawley[7]; 7. G6-Cody Gardner[5]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Roger Crockett[2]; 2. 47-Dale Howard[3]; 3. 14-Jordon Mallett[4]; 4. 24D-Danny Sams III[7]; 5. 99-Blake Jenkins[6]; 6. 0-Mike Vaculik[1]; 7. 10K-Dewayne White[5]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Travis Reber[1]; 2. 94L-Layne Himebaugh[3]; 3. 2-Brad Bowden[4]; 4. 72K-Rick Kahler[2]; 5. 13-Chase Howard[5]; 6. 21K-Kevin Hinkle[7]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[6]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 3 from each advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]; 2. 1X-Tim Crawley[5]; 3. 61-Cody Howard[1]; 4. 91A-Ernie Ainsworth[4]; 5. 27J-Joseph Poe Jr[7]; 6. 95-Matt Covington[8]; 7. G6-Cody Gardner[9]; 8. 0-Mike Vaculik[6]; 9. (DNF) 99-Blake Jenkins[3]; 10. (DNF) 13-Chase Howard[10]; 11. (DNS) 30-Joseph Miller
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki[2]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn[1]; 3. 9-Chase Randall[10]; 4. 72K-Rick Kahler[3]; 5. 21K-Kevin Hinkle[5]; 6. 24-Garet Williamson[4]; 7. 95A-Asa Swindell[7]; 8. 21-Spencer Meredith[6]; 9. 17B-Ryan Bickett[8]; 10. (DNF) 10K-Dewayne White[9]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 17W-Harli White[1]; 2. 9JR-Derek Hagar[2]; 3. 3-Howard Moore[4]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett[6]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[17]; 6. 26-Marshall Skinner[7]; 7. 2-Brad Bowden[14]; 8. 47-Dale Howard[9]; 9. 52-Blake Hahn[20]; 10. 8Z-Zach Pringle[8]; 11. 24W-Jeffrey West Jr[3]; 12. 4S-Eddie Gallagher[12]; 13. 24D-Danny Sams III[11]; 14. 14-Jordon Mallett[13]; 15. 9-Chase Randall[22]; 16. 91A-Ernie Ainsworth[25]; 17. 77X-Alex Hill[15]; 18. 88-Travis Reber[5]; 19. 28-Scott Bogucki[18]; 20. 24-Garet Williamson[24]; 21. 44-Ronny Howard[16]; 22. 94L-Layne Himebaugh[10]; 23. 61-Cody Howard[21]; 24. 95-Matt Covington[23]; 25. 1X-Tim Crawley[19]
Lap Leader(s): Harli White 1-2, 7-30; Derek Hagar 3-6
Hard Charger: Sam Hafertepe, Jr., +12
High Point Driver: Harli White
Provisional(s): Matt Covington (Points); Garet Williamson (Points); Ernie Ainsworth (Regional)
Special Event Note
Before tonight’s races at Riverside International Speedway, all ASCS National Tour Drivers in attendance were called to a meeting to vote on a matter concerning Dylan Westbrook. With his Uncle passing away, he has returned to Canada to be with family and cannot return to the United States for 14 days due to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions.
As we have done in the past, when extenuating circumstances keep a team from attending, they are awarded Show-Up Points for the night upon the affirmative vote of their peers. This is the fourth occurrence in the past 15-years.
All teams voted in the affirmative, and Westbrook/Hills Racing Team will receive 50 points tonight.
Driver Point Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 858; 2. Roger Crockett 814; 3. Harli White 770; 4. Jordon Mallett 763; 5. Blake Hahn 729; 6. Scott Bogucki 701; 7. Matt Covington 698; 8. Dylan Westbrook 661; 9. Chase Randall 597; 10. Justin Sanders 578; 11. Garet Williamson 569; 12. Danny Sams III 562; 13. Alex Hill 558; 14. Travis Reber 511; 15. John Carney II 481;
2020 A-Feature Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 3 (2/29 – Canyon Speedway Park; 6/25 – Caney Valley Speedway; 6/27 – I-30 Speedway); Matt Covington – 1 (2/28 – Canyon Speedway Park); Brad Sweet – 1 (3/6 – Merced Speedway); Andy Forsberg – 1 (3/8 – Petaluma Speedway); Harli White – 1 (7/11 – Riverside International Speedway);
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs (@lucasoilascs)
Instagram: LucasOilASCS
Video Broadcast: http://www.racinboys.com
Live-Scoring (Where Applicable): MRP Live
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA.): http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, S. Aust.): https://www.facebook.com/ScottBogucki89
John Carney II (El Paso, TX): https://www.facebook.com/JohnCarneyRacing
Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK): http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Roger Crockett (Broken Arrow, OK): http://www.rocketdesignsllc.com
Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK): http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Alex Hill (Six Nations, Ontario, Can.): https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Thomas Kennedy (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Can.): https://twitter.com/tjkennedy21k
Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR): https://www.jordonmallett.com
Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, Can.): http://www.bdsmotorsportsllc.com
Chase Randall (Waco, TX): https://twitter.com/chaserandall09
Danny Sams III (North Port, Fla.): https://www.samslamtnracing.com
Harli White (Lindsay, OK): http://www.harliwhiteracing.net
Dylan Westbrook (Scotland, Ont. Can.): https://twitter.com/westbrook47x
Garet Williamson (Columbia, MO.): https://twitter.com/garetw3
ASCS Sponsors:
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 Motorsports Network is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto http://www.mavtv.com for more information.
Sawblade.com is the official SawBlade of the American Sprint Car Series and title sponsor of every National Tour A-Feature as well as Victory Lane. For more information, log onto https://www.sawblade.com and follow along on Social Media at @SawBladecom on Twitter, on Instagram at Sawblade.com_, and Facebook.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented the MAVTV Motorsports Network include Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix. All Heat Races are brought to you by SCE Gaskets. All B-Features are presented by BMRS.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, Geico, SRI, General Tire, MAVTV Motorsports Network, LucasOilRacing.tv, and General Tire.
All events are broadcast online at http://www.racinboys.com.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by SCE Gaskets, K&N Filters, BMRS, SpeedMart, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, MyRacePass.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, and Triple X Race, Co.
Sources: Bryan Hulbert/ASCS PR
Image Credit: Scott Frazier