Blake
Lonnie Wheatley, LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (October 6, 2018) – Blake Hahn is seemingly developing quite a penchant for big events.
Saturday night, Hahn reeled in the $10,041 lion’s share by topping one of the crown jewels of 360-ci Sprint Car racing with a triumph in the 31st Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires atop the high-banked ¼-mile I-30 Speedway clay oval.
The Sapulpa, OK, native battled past early pacesetter Howard More on the 13th circuit and led the rest of the way in the 41-lapper aboard the Smiley’s Racing Products/Griffith Truck & Equipment No. 52 entry to become the 18th different winner in the storied history of the Short Track Nationals.
Hahn took the checkered flag ahead of Friday night winner Sam Hafertepe, Jr., of Sunnyvale, TX, and Memphis shoe Moore.
“Wow, we’re here in victory lane,” Hahn exclaimed upon climbing out of his winning mount. “To win a race like this, the Short Track Nationals, this is a special win. I ran micros a lot here early in my career, this is pretty close to home for us so this is awesome.”
The signature score goes along with a $13,000 triumph in the early portion of the season in Wichita, KS, giving Hahn a pair of five-figure wins on the season.
After a fifth-place showing in Friday’s preliminary event, Hahn racked up the most passing points in Saturday’s heat race and qualifying race action to secure his first career STN championship feature start and then gridded the main event outside the second row after a fourth-place finish behind Moore, Joe B. Miller and Tim Crawley in the Mike Pack Building Materials “Dash for Cash”.
Moore gunned into the early lead aboard his No. 40 entry with Miller and Hahn battling in side-by-side fashion for several laps in the early going. The duo closed in on Moore as traffic came into play with Hahn making his first attempt to slide into the lead in turns one and two on the 12th round.
Moore battled back with the duo even at the stripe before Hahn slid into the lead for keeps on the 13th circuit. From there, Hahn weathered a pair of interruptions while pacing the field the remaining distance to reach victory lane.
Moore, Crawley and Miller held down the three positions behind Hahn until fifth-running Hafertepe, Jr., picked off a pair of quick positions after a brief stoppage with 30 laps in the books. With the final 11 lap portion run off in non-stop fashion, Hahn was able to open up a near half straightaway advantage as Hafertepe, Jr., and Moore waged war for second.
Hafertepe, Jr., finally secured the runner-up position by the 35th round, but it was too late to reel in Hahn. Hafertepe, Jr., settled for his third career STN runner-up finish in six overall championship feature starts.
Making his second consecutive STN championship finale, Moore posted a career-best finish of third to round out the podium.
Washington native Seth Bergman recorded a career-best STN finish as well by earning Hard Charger honors with a rally from the 14th starting position to capture fouirth. Bergman picked off four positions over the final 15 laps to crack the top five.
Missouri’s Joe B. Miller raced among the lead pack throughout and rounded out the top five in his first career STN championship finale with current USCS points leader Jordon Mallett, Harli White, Skylar Gee, Cody Gardner and Dylan Westbrook completing the top ten.
The feature event was slowed just twice with the first caution flying after 22 laps for a turn two tangle involving John Carney II and Ernie Ainsworth. The red lights flickered on eight laps later when Chris Martin sailed off the turn one embankment.
Along with Hahn, another eight drivers cracked their first STN championship finale including Miller (5th), White (7th), Westbrook (10th), Carney II (13th), Carson Short (14th), Koty Adams (17th) and Martin (18th). Hailing from Marion, IL, Short also ranked as the top-finishing STN rookie.
At the other end of the spectrum, Tim Crawley made an event record 21st career STN championship feature start. He held down fourth with ten laps to go before fading to 12th in the closing rounds.
Carney II, Scott Smith, Matt Covington, Cody Gardner, Bergman, Martin, Moore, Mallett and Brandon Hanks topped heat race action for Saturday night’s 74-car field. Each one picked up a $100 bonus courtesy of Jenkins Fleet Services.
Hahn, Crawley, Westbrook and Morgan Turpen were victorious in qualifying race action with Channin Tankersley and Derek Hagar winning the “C” Mains and then Turpen and Bergman topping “B” Mains.
Moore pocketed an extra $500 by winning the Mike Pack Building Materials “Dash for Cash” with Justin Webb earning a $500 bonus as well by winning the “Red Shirt Dash” in honor of Lanny Edwards.
Brady Bacon was awarded the “Josh Howard Determination Award” worth $300. The Broken Arrow, OK, native now residing in Indiana was involved in a heat race skirmish with five-time STN champion Sammy Swindell that had the crowd abuzz. Bacon rallied back with a charge from 13th to snare the final transfer position in “C” Main action and then made a valiant “B” Main effort from 17th to fifth that fell just two positions shy of advancing to the big dance.
Swindell didn’t fare as well, getting into a “C” Main incident in short order that doused any possibility of a third consecutive STN title.
Each “A” Main event finishing position paid off in a sum finished off by $41 in honor of Jason Johnson. The added money was courtesy of Big Show Productions.
31st Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires Saturday Night Results – October 6, 2018:
Heat Races (Top 40 in Finishing/Passing Points to Qualifying Races; Balance to Two “C” Mains):
First Heat (10 Laps): 1. J2-John Carney II (2), 2. 17b-Ryan Bickett (1), 3. 94-Jeff Swindell (3), 4. 5x-Tyson Hall (4), 5. 17T-Channin Tankersley (5), 6. 10-Terry Gray (6), 7. 9jr-Derek Hagar (9), 8. 91a-Ernie Ainsworth (7), 9. 11g-Mike Goodman (8).
Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. 12-Scott Smith (2), 2. 8z-Zach Pringle (7), 3. 2c-Wayne Johnson (6), 4. 47-Dale Howard (5), 5. 2h-Wally Henson (1), 6. 32m-Adam Miller (3), 7. 93-Jake Knight (4), 8. 44c-Chase Howard (8), 9. 00-Johnny Smith (DNS).
Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington (2), 2. 51b-Joe B. Miller (4), 3. 1x-Tim Crawley (6), 4. 08-Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. 26-Marshall Skinner (8), 6. 31-Justin Webb (1), 7. 3-Sammy Swindell (3), 8. 99b-Brady Bacon (7).
Fourth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 88r-Cody Gardner (1), 2. 1-Robbie Price (2), 3. 47x-Dylan Westbrook (4), 4. 21a-Koty Adams (5), 5. 74e-Claud Estes (6), 6. 21k-Kevin Hinkle (7), 7. 24-Kenny Coke (3), 8. 95x-Asa Swindell (DNS).
Fifth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman (3), 2. 10k-Dewayne White (1), 3. 77x-Alex Hill (2), 4. 72k-Rick Kahler (5), 5. 38-Rick Pringle (8), 6. 13m-Chance McCrary (6), 7. 44h-Ronny Howard (4), 8. 6-Dustin Gates (7).
Sixth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 44m-Chris Martin (2), 2. 52-Blake Hahn (8), 3. 10m-Morgan Turpen (4), 4. 17w-Harli White (6), 5. 9$-Kyle Clark (7), 6. 12w-Dale Wester (5), 7. 58-Gary Floyd (3), 8. 99J-Blake Jenkins (1).
Seventh Heat (10 Laps): 1. 40-Howard Moore (3), 2. 5-Eric Lutz (5), 3. 121-Jan Howard (1), 4. 57-Cody Howard (4), 5. 0-Eric Baldaccini (6), 6. 44-Jason Howell (2), 7. 10k2-Burt Wilson (7), 8. 29w-Wade Woolsey (8).
Eighth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 14-Jordon Mallett (2), 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera (4), 3. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (8), 4. 21x-Carson Short (3), 5. D6-Dakota Gaines (5), 6. 5J-Jamie Ball (6), 7. 39-Brad Bowden (7), 8. 94L-Layne Himebaugh (1).
Ninth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 84-Brandon Hanks (2), 2. 86-Tony Bruce, Jr. (4), 3. 99-Skylar Gee (7), 4. 30-Joseph Miller (1), 5. 2x-Tucker Doughty (6), 6. 12T-Joe Young (3), 7. 21m-Spencer Meredith (8), 8. 45-Martin Edwards (5).
Qualifying Races – Top 12 in Combined Passing/Finishing Points to “A” Feature; Balance to “B” Mains
First Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn (6), 2. 40-Howard Moore (5), 3. 17w-Harli White (7), 4. 84-Brandon Hanks (3), 5. 77x-Alex Hill (8), 6. 17b-Ryan Bickett (1), 7. 12-Scott Smith (4), 8. 57-Cody Howard (10), 9. 72k-Rick Kahler (9), 10. 2c-Wayne Johnson (2).
Second Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 1x-Tim Crawley (2), 2. 51b-Joe B. Miller (3), 3. 26-Marshall Skinner (7), 4. 21x-Carson Short (10), 5. 8z-Zach Pringle (6), 6. 47-Dale Howard (8), 7. 10k-Dewayne White (1), 8. 121-Jan Howard (9), 9. 95-Matt Covington (4), 10. 5-Eric Lutz (5).
Third Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 47x-Dylan Westbrook (1), 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera (3), 3. 88r-Cody Gardner (2), 4. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (6), 5. 99-Skylar Gee (5), 6. 44m-Chris Martin (4), 7. 08-Cannon McIntosh (8), 8. 38-Rick Pringle (7), 9. 9$-Kyle Clark (9), 10. 74e-Claud Estes (10).
Fourth Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 10m-Moran Turpen (1), 2. 86-Tony Bruce, Jr. (3), 3. 14-Jordon Mallett (4), 4. 1-Robbie Price (2), 5. 23-Seth Bergman (6), 6. J2-John Carney II (5), 7. 21a-Koty Adams (8), 8. 0-Eric Baldaccini (10), 9. 94-Jeff Swindell (7), 10. 5x-Tyson Hall (9).
“C” Features – Top 3 from Each Advance to Corresponding “B” Feature; Positions 4-6 to “Red Shirt Dash”
First “C” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 17T-Channin Tankersley (2), 2. 91a-Ernie Ainsworth (13), 3. 2x-Tucker Doughty (1), 4. 39-Brad Bowden (9), 5. 12w-Dale Wester (6), 6. 32m-Adam Miller (7), 7. 44-Jason Howell (8), 8. 93-Jake Knight (10), 9. 21k-Kevin Hinkle (3), 10. 99J-Blake Jenkins (14), 11. 13m-Chance McCrary (5), 12. 2h-Wally Henson (4), 13. 29w-Wade Woolsey (15), 14. 3-Sammy Swindell (11), 15. 6-Dustin Gates (12). DNS: 58-Gary Floyd, 95x-Asa Swindell.
Second “C” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 9jr-Derek Hagar (3), 2. 5J-Jamie Ball (5), 3. 99b-Brady Bacon (13), 4. 10-Terry Gray (4), 5. 31-Justin Webb (9), 6. D6-Dakota Gaines (2), 7. 11g-Mike Goodman (15), 8. 30-Joseph Miller (1), 9. 12T-Joe Young (7), 10. 24-Kenny Coke (11), 11. 44h-Ronny Howard (10), 12. 45-Martin Edwards (12), 13. 10k2-Burt Wilson (8), 14. 21m-Spencer Meredith (6), 15. 94L-Layne Himebaugh (14). DNS: 44c-Chase Howard, 00-Johnny Smith.
Mike Pack Building Materials Dash for Cash (Finishing Order Set First Two Rows of “A” Main):
Dash (6 Laps): 1. 40-Howard Moore (1) [$500], 2. 51b-Joe B. Miller (2) [$250], 3. 1x-Tim Crawley (3) [$150], 4. 52-Blake Hahn (4) [$100].
“B” Features – Top 3 from Each Advance to “A:
First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 10m-Morgan Turpen (1), 2. J2-John Carney II (5), 3. 21x-Carson Short (2), 4. 77x-Alex Hill (4), 5. 47-Dale Howard (6), 6. 17T-Channin Tankersley (13), 7. 84-Brandon Hanks (3), 8. 21a-Koty Adams (8), 9. 91a-Ernie Ainsworth (14), 10. 5x-Tyson Hall (12), 11. 2x-Tucker Doughty (15), 12. 10k-Dewayne White (9), 13. 17b-Ryan Bickett (7), 14. 72k-Rick Kahler (11), 15. 121-Jan Howard (10). DNS: 5-Eric Lutz, 2c-Wayne Johnson.
Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman (1), 2. 99-Skylar Gee (3), 3. 88r-Cody Gardner (2), 4. 95-Matt Covington (8), 5. 99b-Brady Bacon (17), 6. 1-Robbie Price (4), 7. 9jr-Derek Hagar (15), 8. 44m-Chris Martin (5), 9. 9$-Kyle Clark (13), 10. 0-Eric Baldaccini (10), 11. 5J-Jamie Ball (16), 12. 38-Rick Pringle (11), 13. 74e-Claud Estes (14), 14. 08-Cannon McIntosh (7), 15. 94-Jeff Swindell (12), 16. 21-Scott Smith (6), 17. 57-Cody Howard (9).
Lanny Edwards “Red Shirt Dash”
Dash (6 Laps): 1. 31-Justin Webb (1) [$500], 2. 39-Brad Bowden (4) [$300], 3. 10-Terry Gray (3) [$250], 4. D6-Dakota Gaines (6) [$200], 5. 32m-Adam Miller (5) [$150], 6. 12w-Dale Wester (2) [$100].
STN Championship “A” Feature
A Feature (41 Laps – Starting position in parentheses): 1. 52-Blake Hahn (4) [$10,041], 2. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (7) [$5,041], 3. 40-Howard Moore (1) [$2,541], 4. 23-Seth Bergman (14) [$2,241], 5. 51b-Joe B. Miller (2) [$2,041], 6. 14-Jordon Mallett (8) [$1,741], 7. 17w-Harli White (9) [$1,541], 8. 99-Skylar Gee (16) [$1,341], 9. 88r-Cody Gardner (18) [$1,241], 10. 47x-Dylan Westbrook (12) [$1,141], 11. 45x-Johnny Herrera (5) [$1,041], 12. 1x-Tim Crawley (3) [$941], 13. J2-John Carney II (15) [$941], 14. 21x-Carson Short (17) [$941], 15. 26-Marshall Skinner (11) [$841], 16. 10m-Morgan Turpen (13) [$841], 17. 21a-Koty Adams (20) [$841], 18. 44m-Chris Martin (19) [$841], 19. 86-Tony Bruce, Jr. (6) [$841], 20. 91a-Ernie Ainsworth (21) [$841], 21. 8z-Zach Pringle (10) [$841].
Note: 44m-Chris Martin and 21a-Koty Adams were awarded the 19th and 20th “A” Main starting positions as the top two driver in accumulated passing/finishing points from heat races and qualifiers over Friday and Saturday that had not already secured feature starting berths; 91a-Ernie Ainsworth was awarded the 21st starting position via the I-30 Speedway track champion provisional.
Lap Leaders: Howard Moore 1-12, Blake Hahn 13-41.