(Image Credit: Matt Ward)
Bryan Hulbert – BELGRADE, Mont. (July 9, 2021) A much-needed rebound after a heartbreaking finish to the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, Oklahoma’s Blake Hahn returned to SawBlade.com Victory Lane with a dominating performance on Night 1 of the NAPA of Bozeman Grizzly Nationals with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
Hahn’s third win at the Gallatin Speedway since sweeping the Grizzly Nationals in 2016, the win is his fourth on the season and 13th all-time with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
“We needed this one after the way our trip to Washington ended,” stated Hahn. “Our car after Dirt Cup was junk. We had to cut the right side off just to get the engine out, so this was the first night on our backup car, and it worked. I could pretty much run anywhere I needed to, plus the track was awesome. Hopefully, we get something like that tomorrow.”
Chasing Scott Bogucki at the start, the SawBlade.com No. 28 rolled to the lead from third on Lap 1. Keeping Hahn at bay through a couple of cautions, one of which reverted a pass by Hahn, a Lap 9 restart saw Bogucki switch lines from the bottom to the middle. Leaving the hub open for Hahn, the Sage Fruit, Co. No. 52 shot to the lead through the third and fourth turns.
“Scott changed his line, so I just committed the bottom and hoped he wasn’t going to turn it down to catch the moisture. When he didn’t, I just focused on getting him going into three and making sure I didn’t miss my line and take each other out.”
Into traffic in a matter of laps, the slower cars did little to slow Blake, who lapped into the top ten before the checked flag dropped. Winning by 3.627-seconds, the race for second was intense through the final five laps as Scott Bogucki worked to hold off J.J. Hickle. Opening his line on Lap 23, Hickle was able to sneak by to claim the runner-up finish with 17th starting Dylan Westbrook making a final lap pass for the show position. Settling for fourth, Bogucki was chased to the line by Matt Covington.
James Setters, in sixth, posted his best career finish against the National Tour. Bringing out the caution as the field made a second attempt at the start of the A-Feature, Logan Forler tore through the field to finish seventh. Colby Thornhill was eighth with Alex Hill ninth. Washington’s Lane Taylor completed the top ten.
A field of 23 drivers made up Night 1 of the NAPA of Bozeman Grizzly Nationals. Three SCE Gaskets Heat Races were won by James Setters, Logan Forler, and Scott Bogucki. Everyone advanced to the A-Feature.
Racing continues at Gallatin Speedway on Saturday, July 10. Gates open at 5:00 P.M. with racing at 7:00 P.M. (MDT). Tickets are $20 for adults, with kids 12 and under free into the Grandstands. Saturday will also feature WISSOTA Super Stocks. Gallatin Speedway is located at 2290 Tubb Rd. in Belgrade, Mont. Information on Gallatin Speedway can be found online at https://www.gallatinspeedway.com or by calling (406) 388-ZOOM (9666).
The 2021 season is the 30th year of competition for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
For the first time, the series can be seen live on two platforms, with Racinboys.com and FloRacing.com featuring National Tour events in tandem. Both are subscription-based sites. FloRacing.com is $20 per month, billed annually at $150 per year. Racinboys.com is $29.99 per month.
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 2021, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
ASCS Frontier Region
Gallatin Speedway (Belgrade, Mont.)
Friday, July 9, 2021
Car Count: 23
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Everyone advances to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2J-James Setters[1]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn[5]; 3. 17B-Ryan Bickett[2]; 4. 4L-Lane Taylor[6]; 5. 88-Travis Reber[8]; 6. 74U-Chauncey Filler[7]; 7. 00B-Michael Bingham[4]; 8. 2X-Mike Manwill[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2L-Logan Forler[4]; 2. 33T-Tyler Driever[1]; 3. 9K-Kory Wermling[2]; 4. 37-Trever Kirkland[8]; 5. 34-Trevor Plambeck[5]; 6. 2-Shad Petersen[3]; 7. 77-Damon McCune[7]; 8. 31-Shane Moore[6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki[1]; 2. 77X-Alex Hill[3]; 3. 63-JJ Hickle[4]; 4. 95-Matt Covington[6]; 5. 19-Colby Thornhill[7]; 6. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[5]; 7. 38B-Bryan Brown[2]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn[2]; 2. 63-JJ Hickle[5]; 3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[17]; 4. 28-Scott Bogucki[3]; 5. 95-Matt Covington[10]; 6. 2J-James Setters[1]; 7. 2L-Logan Forler[4]; 8. 19-Colby Thornhill[14]; 9. 77X-Alex Hill[7]; 10. 4L-Lane Taylor[9]; 11. 33T-Tyler Driever[8]; 12. 88-Travis Reber[11]; 13. 9K-Kory Wermling[13]; 14. 17B-Ryan Bickett[12]; 15. 74U-Chauncey Filler[16]; 16. 38B-Bryan Brown[21]; 17. 34-Trevor Plambeck[15]; 18. 77-Damon McCune[19]; 19. 00B-Michael Bingham[20]; 20. 37-Trever Kirkland[6]; 21. 2-Shad Petersen[18]; 22. 31-Shane Moore[22]; 23. 2X-Mike Manwill[23]
Lap Leader(s): Scott Bogucki 1-9; Blake Hahn 10-25
Hard Charger: Dylan Westbrook +14
High Point Driver: Logan Forler
Provisional(s): N/A
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
Broadcast: FloRacing.com and Racinboys.com
Live-Scoring (Where Applicable): MRP Live
2021 Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Blake Hahn 2,049; 2. JJ Hickle 2,011; 3. Matt Covington 2,008; 4. Dylan Westbrook 1,852; 5. Scott Bogucki 1,779; 6. Colby Thornhill 1,639; 7. Seth Bergman 1,553; 8. Ryan Bickett 1,485; 9. Alex Hill 1,408; 10. Travis Reber 1,309;
2021 A-Feature Winner(s): Blake Hahn – 4 (4/17 – Park Jefferson Speedway); 5/15 – Volunteer Speedway; 6/24 – Skagit Speedway; 7/9 – Gallatin Speedway); JJ Hickle – 3*** (3/19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 3/20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 6/20 – Grays Harbor Raceway); Scott Bogucki – 2 (5/21 – Tri-City Speedway; 5-29 – Lake Ozark Speedway); Dominic Scelzi – 2 (June 25 – Skagit Speedway; June 26 – Skagit Speedway); Blane Heimbach – 1 (5/1 – Selinsgrove Speedway); Matt Covington – 1 (5/8 – I-96 Speedway); Ryan Timms – 1 (May 30 – Lake Ozark Speedway); Cam Smith – 1 (6/19 – Grays Harbor Raceway);
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA.): http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD): https://www.facebook.com/rynotrucking
Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, S. Aust.): https://www.facebook.com/ScottBogucki89
Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK): http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK): http://www.blakehahnracing.com
JJ Hickle (Quilcene, WA): https://www.facebook.com/JJHickleRacing
Alex Hill (Six Nations, Ontario, Can.): https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Travis Reber (Rapid City, SD): https://bit.ly/2P3Ok2r
Colby Thornhill (Enumclaw, WA): https://www.facebook.com/colby.thornhill.92
Dylan Westbrook (Scotland, Ont. Can.): https://twitter.com/westbrook47x
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 and Victory Lane. For more information, log onto https://www.sawblade.com and follow 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, MAVTV Plus, and General Tire.
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.