Bryan Hulbert – BILLINGS, Mont. (July 9, 2013) After rain forced the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real to delay the series debut at the Billings Motorsports Park from Monday, July 8 to Tuesday, July 9, Jason Johnson parked the MVT No. 41 in victory lane for the fifth time in 2013.
Marking his seventy-third Protect the Harvest A-Feature win, Johnson worked from sixth for the Billings score on a multi-grooved track prepared by racing legend Jimmy Sills and BMP owner Mike Quigley.
“If you were going to run around the bottom, you had to run right around the tires and you defiantly had to hit your marks” commented Johnson about his low groove pass for the lead. “These Stenhouse Motorsports guys dialed this Maxim Chassis in and it was a dream to drive. It was really fun.”
Advancing to third by Lap 4 behind Brad Loyet and Logan Forler, the races first cautions came back to back; first for the stalled No. 23n of Brock Lemley and then stopped No. 72 of Phil Dietz who would return after the red flew for the No. 2 of Kyle Evans who slammed the wall with four laps still completed. All drivers were okay.
The restart would position Logan Forler to the outside line of the Billings Motorsports Park, where the pass for the lead came on Lap 6 exiting turn four.
Immediately diving to the bottom to prevent Loyet from building a run, Forler would begin pulling his advantage as Johnson worked to the runner up spot on Lap 10.
Running down slower traffic, Forler raced to the back of the field on Lap 11. Closing the gap in an instant, a hesitation on the part of Forler on Lap 13 allowed Johnson the opportunity. Committing to the bottom groove entering turn three, the Stenhouse, Jr. Motorsports No. 41 shot to the lead.
From there, slower traffic would play to Johnson’s favor as the race went the remaining distance caution free. Logan Forler crossed 4.545 seconds behind Johnson with Jeff Swindell coming from eighth to keep his streak of podium finishes alive at eight.
Brad Loyet slipped to fourth with Johnny Herrera climbing from tenth to complete the top five. Tony Bruce, Jr. crossed sixth with Joe Frazier earning the PitStopUSA.com Hard Charger of the Night, coming from nineteenth to seventh. Seth Bergman finished eighth despite damage to the right side suspension that kept the No. 23 bound up. Reece Goetz earned ninth from eighteenth with Kelly Mille coming from twentieth to complete the top ten.
Heat Races numbered four with Jeff Swindell, Trever Kirkland, Tony Bruce, Jr., and Logan Forler taking wins. Forler’s Heat win from fifth earned the Arizona driver the FSR Radiator High Point Driver of the Night.
The night’s Joie of Seating B-Feature was won by Phil Dietz.
The night also included the announcement of the ASCS Frontier Region which saw Joe Frazier earning top points for the new region. Kelly Miller, Phil Dietz, David Hoiness, and Joe Perry completed the top five in regional point earners.
The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real along with the Frontier Region are scheduled to complete Wednesday, July 10 at the Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, Mont. Races are slated to begin at 7:30 P.M. (MDT).
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real
ASCS Frontier Region
Billings Motorsports Park – Billings, Mont.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Car Count: 29
Wesmar Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 94-Jeff Swindell[1]; 2. 90-Randi Miller[4]; 3. 23-Seth Bergman[5]; 4. 45X-Johnny Herrera[7]; 5. 98-Joe Frazier[6]; 6. 72-Phil Dietz[8]; 7. 21-Ryder Olson[2]; 8. 44M-Damon McCune[3]
BMRS Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 37-Trever Kirkland[2]; 2. 05-Brad Loyet[5]; 3. 29-Brandon Hahn[3]; 4. 93-Dustin Morgan[6]; 5. 27DD-David Hoiness[7]; 6. 2X-Shad Peterson[1]; 7. 77-Mark Sweet[4]
Rod End Supply Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[4]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson[5]; 3. 2W-Wheeler Boys[1]; 4. 9R-Reece Goetz[3]; 5. 44-Kelly Miller[6]; 6. 32-Tyler Gabel[2]; 7. 12-Paxton Lambrecht[7]
Ti22 Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 2L-Logan Forler[5]; 2. 23N-Brock Lemley[2]; 3. 17W-Cole Wood[6]; 4. 0J-Jeremy McCune[1]; 5. 28-Joe Perry[7]; 6. 2-Kyle Evans[4]; DNF 17-Jerry Brey[3]
Joie of Seating B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 72-Phil Dietz[4]; 2. 9R-Reece Goetz[1]; 3. 98-Joe Frazier[2]; 4. 44-Kelly Miller[3]; 5. 0J-Jeremy McCune[5]; 6. 2-Kyle Evans[6]; 7. 32-Tyler Gabel[7]; 8. 17-Jerry Brey[11]; 9. 2X-Shad Peterson[9]; 10. 12-Paxton Lambrecht[8]; 11. 21-Ryder Olson[12]; 12. 44M-Damon McCune[13]; DNF 77-Mark Sweet[10]
Protect the Harvest A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson[6]; 2. 2L-Logan Forler[2]; 3. 94-Jeff Swindell[8]; 4. 05-Brad Loyet[1]; 5. 45X-Johnny Herrera[10]; 6. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[7]; 7. 98-Joe Frazier[19]; 8. 23-Seth Bergman[9]; 9. 9R-Reece Goetz[18]; 10. 44-Kelly Miller[20]; 11. 17W-Cole Wood[5]; 12. 93-Dustin Morgan[12]; 13. 72-Phil Dietz[17]; 14. 27DD-David Hoiness[15]; 15. 29-Brandon Hahn[13]; 16. 28-Joe Perry[16]; 17. 37-Trever Kirkland[3]; 18. 90-Randi Miller[4]; 19. 0J-Jeremy McCune[21]; DNF 23N-Brock Lemley[11]; DNF 2W-Wheeler Boys[14]; DNF 2-Kyle Evans[22]
Lap Leaders: Brad Loyet (1-5), Logan Forler (6-12), Jason Johnson (13-30)
PitstopUSA.com Hard Charger: Joe Frazier +12
FSR High Points of the Night: Logan Forler
Hawk Performance Products Fastest Lap of the Night: Jason Johnson – 13.829 seconds
Provisionals: N/A
2013 “A” Feature Winners: Jason Johnson-5, 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 2,541; 2. Jason Johnson 2,515; 3. Jeff Swindell 2,431; 4. Brad Loyet 2,378; 5. Logan Forler 2,319; 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,304; 7. Seth Bergman 2,230; 8. Dustin Morgan 2,071; 9. Cole Wood 2,060; 10. Brandon Hahn 1,637;
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: Bryan Hulbert