Justin Sanders Unstoppable at Arizona Speedway ASCS Southwest Copper Classic
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (December 1, 2019) Bettering his third-place finish from Saturday by two, Justin Sanders captured a long-awaited victory at the 4th annual Copper Classic. His first career victory with the ASCS Southwest Region, the Arizona Speedway win was worth $5,000 to the Aromas, California driver.
Taking several tries to get the A-Feature rolling, the green lights finally stayed on long enough for Hunter Schuerenberg to jump into the lead with Colton Hardy and Christopher Bell duking it out for second. Advantage to Bell, the red lights would come on for Mark Dobmeier, who had already gone over once, with 23 laps to go. Mark was ok.
Caution a lap later for James Aragon, the race for the lead was on as Bell shot low but couldn’t secure the spot; giving 10th starting Justin Sanders the run for the runner-up spot. Going back and forth for the spot, Sanders was able to fend off the No. 21 as the caution flew for the spun No. 75 of J.T. Imperial.
Restarting with five laps complete, Sanders went for the lead with no success, opening the door for Bell to go after the No. 17 again. Trading second around, Sanders once more held off Bell as Hunter Schuerenberg steadily pulled away.
Slowed again on Lap 14 as Alex Pettas rolled to a stop on the front straightaway, the battle for the lead took off with Sanders sliding Schuerenberg off the second turn. Diving under Sanders to retake the spot into the third turn, Sanders took the line even lower to take the point on Lap 15. Battling with Bell for second, mechanical issues struck the No. 19az for the second night in a row.
Back to green, Sanders was unchallenged and kept it that way for the $5,000 top prize. Christopher Bell crossed 2.002 seconds behind the No. 17 with Craig Stidham completing the podium. Taking fourth, Colton Hardy locked up the 2019 ASCS Southwest Region Championship. The top five rounded out with 14th starting. Billy Chester.
Jesse Baker in sixth was followed by J.T. Imperial who rebounded to seventh. Lonnie Cox, Bud Rowe, and James Aragon completed the top-ten.
With the 2019 season in the books, work is already being done to layout the 2020 lineup of events. Updates will be released as they are ready. The American Sprint Car Series would like to thank everyone who took part in the 2019 schedule of events and look forward to seeing you again next season.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
ASCS Southwest Region
Arizona Speedway (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
4th annual Copper Classic – Night 2
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson, [1]; 2. 9-Dustin Freitas, [3]; 3. 01-Thomas Kennedy, [2]; 4. 22B-Jesse Baker, [5]; 5. 13-Mark Dobmeier, [4]; 6. 2-Alex Pettas, [6]; 7. 18J-Paul Jones, [7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 74-Colton Hardy, [2]; 2. 17-Justin Sanders, [4]; 3. 3-Craig Stidham, [1]; 4. 7B-Bill Balog, [3]; 5. 75X-J.T. Imperial, [5]; 6. 45-Lonnie Cox, [6]; 7. 6-Bud Rowe, [7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 19AZ-Hunter Schuerenberg, [2]; 2. 21-Christopher Bell, [1]; 3. 25-Geoff Ensign, [3]; 4. 99-James Aragon, [5]; 5. (DNF) 2B-Billy Chester III, [4]; 6. (DNF) 50S-Rocky Silva, [6]
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 17-Justin Sanders, [10]; 2. 21-Christopher Bell, [4]; 3. 3-Craig Stidham, [5]; 4. 74-Colton Hardy, [2]; 5. 2B-Billy Chester III, [14]; 6. 22B-Jesse Baker, [11]; 7. 75X-J.T. Imperial, [15]; 8. 45-Lonnie Cox, [17]; 9. 50S-Rocky Silva, [18]; 10. 6-Bud Rowe, [20]; 11. (DNF) 99-James Aragon, [12]; 12. (DNF) 19AZ-Hunter Schuerenberg, [1]; 13. (DNF) 2-Alex Pettas, [16]; 14. (DNF) 13-Mark Dobmeier, [13]; 15. (DNF) 01-Thomas Kennedy, [3]; 16. (DNF) 57-Kyle Larson, [6]; 17. (DNF) 9-Dustin Freitas, [7]; 18. (DNF) 7B-Bill Balog, [8]; 19. (DNF) 25-Geoff Ensign, [9]; 20. (DNF) 18J-Paul Jones, [19]
Sources: Bryan Hulbert/ASCS PR
(Image Credit: Ben Thrasher)