Bryan Hulbert – HARTFORD, S.D. (July 6, 2013) The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real took to the high banked I-90 Speedway Saturday night with Logan Forler grabbing his second Protect the Harvest A-Feature triumph of the season.
Keeping the tradition of different winners at the South Dakota oval, Forler became the sixth different winner in as many races at the I-90 Speedway in Hartford, S.D.
“I knew Jeff [Swindell] was starting right there and if he got me on the start, I probably wasn’t going to get him back” commented Forler of the importance to get out front early.
Asked about tire conservation as the track rubbered, Forler replied, “The first probably 15 laps I was babying the car quite a bit but there probably the last seven laps, I knew I had quite a bit of tire left because you can feel when a tire goes away so after then I just drove it for all it was worth to keep Jeff behind me.”
Drawing the pole in the night’s 25 lap feature, Forler quickly worked past fellow front row starter Randy Hibbs to position the Steve Forler Trucking No. 2 on the cushion. Followed quickly by third starting Jeff Swindell and Jason Johnson from fifth, the trio paced into slower traffic on Lap 8 as the high line began to rubber down.
Mired amongst the back markers, Swindell began looking to the inside of Forler’s No. 2L only to have the caution displayed on Lap 10.
“That was really our only real shot going in” said Swindell of the caution coming out in slower traffic. “Sometimes you get the lucky break, sometimes you don’t, and that’s not to say we would have gotten by him, but that was our only shot. Right now I’m just tickled to death with seven straight podium finishes.”
Clear racetrack continued as the red flag flew on Lap 12 for and incident involving the No. 5 of Eric Lutz and No. 97g of Jody Rosenboom. Both drivers were okay.
Underway, the top five shook up as Johnny Herrera worked past Randy Hibbs who was fighting an ill handling racecar with Tony Bruce, Jr. in tow as both pursued fourth running Seth Bergman.
Again, the leaders would begin working into slower traffic. Into the final five laps, the back of the field sat only a quarter straight-a-way ahead of Forler with Swindell and Johnson again closing in as the caution displayed with four laps to run for the No. 1b of Robby Wolfgang who suffered a broken rear axle. In the same instance, Seth Bergman saw his night come to a close with a failed ignition system.
The final four laps was all about tire smoke as tire conservation went out the window, but the best trail of blue and white smoke wasn’t enough to catch Logan Forler as the Lucas Oil No. 2L crossed 1.182 seconds ahead of Jeff Swindell.
Jason Johnson crossed third with Johnny Herrera coming from twelfth to fourth. Tony Bruce, Jr. advanced three spots to complete the top five.
Micah Schliemann earned his fourth top ten finish in Lucas Oil ASCS competition followed by Dustin Morgan. Dylan Petersen climbed from seventeenth to eights to earn the PitStopUSA.com Hard Charge of the night with sixteenth starting Dusty Ballenger and Brad Loyet completing the top ten.
Heat Races numbered five with Jason Johnson, Seth Bergman, Micah Schliemann, Randy Hibbs, and Billy Alley each grabbing a Heat Race win. The Joie of Seating B-Feature went 15 laps with Dylan Petersen picking up the win.
The night’s paring with the Speedway Motors Midwest Region saw Dusty Ballenger earning high points followed by Bryan Gossel, Gregg Bakker Robby Wolfgang and Billy Alley.
The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real continues to the Billings Motorsports Park for the first time on Monday, July 8.
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real
I-90 Speedway – Hartford, S.D.
Saturday, July 7, 2013
Car Count: 35
Wesmar Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson[1]; 2. 45X-Johnny Herrera[4]; 3. 5-Eric Lutz[3]; 4. 11X-Gregg Bakker[5]; 5. 75-Tommy Barber[7]; 6. 93L-Derrik Lusk[6]; DNS 10X-Justin Jacobsma
Ti22 Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman[1]; 2. 05-Brad Loyet[4]; 3. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[3]; 4. 6G-Bryan Gossel[6]; 5. 97G-Jody Rosenboom[2]; 6. 4-Jordan Boston[7]; 7. 9A-Clint Anderson[5]
Rod End Supply Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Micah Schliemann[1]; 2. 2L-Logan Forler[5]; 3. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[7]; 4. 12-Troy Schreurs[3]; 5. 35L-Cody Ledger[4]; 6. 17B-Ryan Bickett[2]; 7. 7X-Danny Lee[6]
Saldana Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 2A-Randy Hibbs[1]; 2. 94-Jeff Swindell[5]; 3. 25-Dylan Peterson[2]; 4. 15-Joe Riedel[7]; 5. 17W-Cole Wood[4]; 6. 81-Jared Jansen[3]; 7. 612-Isaac Schreurs[6]
BMRS Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 3-Billy Alley[1]; 2. 93-Dustin Morgan[3]; 3. 1B-Robby Wolfgang[4]; 4. 12L-John Lambertz[5]; 5. 41X-Jordan Opdahl[2]; 6. 29-Brandon Hahn[7]; DNS 12T-Tyler Drueke
The Joie of Seating B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 25-Dylan Peterson[1]; 2. 17W-Cole Wood[7]; 3. 35L-Cody Ledger[6]; 4. 11X-Gregg Bakker[2]; 5. 97G-Jody Rosenboom[9]; 6. 12-Troy Schreurs[5]; 7. 75-Tommy Barber[4]; 8. 93L-Derrik Lusk[12]; 9. 17B-Ryan Bickett[14]; 10. 4-Jordan Boston[8]; 11. 9A-Clint Anderson[17]; 12. 10X-Justin Jacobsma[18]; 13. 41X-Jordan Opdahl[10]; 14. 612-Isaac Schreurs[16]; DNF 29-Brandon Hahn[11]; DNF 81-Jared Jansen[13]; DNF 12L-John Lambertz[3]; DNF 7X-Danny Lee[15]; DNS 12T-Tyler Drueke
Protect the Harvest A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2L-Logan Forler[1]; 2. 94-Jeff Swindell[3]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson[5]; 4. 45X-Johnny Herrera[12]; 5. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[7]; 6. 9-Micah Schliemann[6]; 7. 93-Dustin Morgan[10]; 8. 25-Dylan Peterson[17]; 9. 2D-Dusty Ballenger[16]; 10. 05-Brad Loyet[4]; 11. 2A-Randy Hibbs[2]; 12. 17W-Cole Wood[18]; 13. 6G-Bryan Gossel[14]; 14. 15-Joe Riedel[11]; DNF 11X-Gregg Bakker[20]; DNF 23-Seth Bergman[8]; DNF 1B-Robby Wolfgang[13]; DNF 3-Billy Alley[9]; DNF 97G-Jody Rosenboom[21]; DNF 5-Eric Lutz[15]; DNF 12-Troy Schreurs[22]; DNF 35L-Cody Ledger[19]
Lap Leaders: Logan Forler (1-30)
PitstopUSA.com Hard Charger: Dylan Petersen +9
FSR High Points of the Night: Logan Forler
Hawk Performance Products Fastest Lap of the Night: Logan Forler – 12.734 seconds
Provisionals: N/A
2013 “A” Feature Winners: Jason Johnson-4, Johnny Herrera-3, Jeff Swindell-2, Logan Forler-2, Brian Brown-1, Roger Crockett-1, Kyle Bellm-1, Brad Loyet-1, Danny Lasoski-1, Jack Dover-1, Seth Bergman-1, Jonathan Cornell-1
Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Johnny Herrera 2,416; 2. Jason Johnson 2,365; 3. Jeff Swindell 2,296; 4. Brad Loyet 2,248; 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,182; 6. Logan Forler 2,177; 7. Seth Bergman 2,114; 8. Dustin Morgan 1,965; 9. Cole Wood 1,952; 10. Brandon Hahn 1,537;
The 2013 season marks the twenty-second 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 and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of nine different Regions throughout the nation.
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.
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, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, PitstopUSA.com, Engler Machine and Tool, Roush Yates Racing Engines, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Fuel Safe, Saldana Racing Products, SBI Fuel Bladders, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Simpson, LeJoie Seating, Ti 22 Performance, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, DMI Rear Ends, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com as well as Twitter (@LucasOilASCS) and Facebook. News and information can also be sent to you with the ASCS E-News by texting ASCS to 22828 with any mobile device.
Photo Credit: Rob Kocak