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All Star Circuit of Champions for Sam Hafertepe

[b Sam Hafertepe Jr. Ends 5 Races With All Stars With 2 Blown Motors At Lawrenceburg]

[i Daryl Turford]

Sunnyvale, Texas-Sam Hafertepe Jr and the Plumbfast Racing Team had a very busy week that included 5 races with the All Star Circuit of Champions. Hafertepe got things started off with a solid run from 12th to 6th at Lernerville Speedway and followed it up with a terrific 2nd place run at Attica. Unfortunately in the weekend finale at Hilltop a brilliant charge from 11th to 5th was ended abruptly due to mechanical failure with just 4 laps remaining. The team then travelled to Lawrenceburg Speedway the following week where they were fast all week but lost 2 motors.
Sam is a typically strong qualifier at Lernerville Speedway having never missed the World of Outlaws invert in any qualifying attempt. Friday would be no exception as Hafertepe blasted around the D shaped oval with the 5th fastest lap time of the night despite a very late draw.
Hafertepe needed only to advance 1 spot in the heat race to secure a top 6 starting position in the feature event and seemed to be well on his way as he was able to get around Danny Holtgraver and Brock Mayes in the early laps. Unfortunately disaster struck on the final lap as Sam spun all on his own in turns 1 and 2.
“That really hurt our chances to win”, explained Sam. “To be honest I just messed up all by myself”.
A dominating B feature performance saw Sam take the win by over a straightaway and earn a 12th place starting position for the feature event.
Sam steadily worked his way through the field in the feature and at the midway point had worked his way into the top 5 but following a yellow the handling of the car would go away and Chad Kemenah would work his way past Sam and drop him to 6th where he would remain for the rest of the event after an entertaining battle with Rod George.
“I really thought after the B Main that we might have a shot to win, even from 12th”, said the 2007 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year. “The car wasn’t quite right and we may have gone with too soft of a tire because after that mid-race yellow we just weren’t the same”.
The Plumbfast Racing Team then made the long tow back to Kear’s Speed Shop to prepare for the race at Attica Raceway Park on Saturday night. Crewmembers Kory Miller and Daryl Turford performed an engine and car swap in hopes of turning in another strong run at Attica.
Sam drew an early number in time trials but unfortunately a large berm had been built around the top. As qualifying went on the berm got knocked off and as a result times got faster as the night went on. Hafertepe laid down one of the fastest laps of the early cars which was ultimately good enough for 8th fastest overall.
The heat race saw Sam work the bottom side of the speedway all of the way around the track. The Sunnyvale, Texas resident patiently picked his way from 5th to 3rd as most of the other cars tried to make the topside of the speedway.
As one of the 6 fastest cars in time trials Sam had the right to draw for his starting position and as luck would have it he would draw the 1st starting position in the feature.
Sam shared the front row with Stevie Smith and unfortunately Stevie would use to the topside of the speedway to vault into the lead coming out of turn 2 on the opening lap. Hafertepe would take up the chase using the bottom of the speedway as Smith continued to stretch his lead on the top.
Hafertepe would soon feel pressure from Daron Clayton and surrendered 2nd to him early in the race before eventually passing him back on a restart around the race’s midway point.
Several restarts gave Sam the opportunity to pass Smith and on several occasions Hafertepe could draw even with him in turns 1 and 2 but the veteran racer used his momentum on the top to hold the lead.
A final caution set up a 2 lap dash between Smith and Sam. Hafertepe worked the bottom and nearly completed the pass on Smith coming to the white flag but Stevie kept the potent Zemco #1z ahead. Sam made one final attempt in desperation in turns 3 and 4 on the final lap but Stevie was too strong and Sam had to settle for 2nd.
“Stevie Smith and the Zemco team have been one of the strongest teams in the nation this year”, said Sam. “Smith is arguably one of the top 3 toughest driver’s in the nation this year and to finish 2nd to him with Dale Blaney in 3rd behind us is nothing to sneeze at. The guys did a great job tonight and Stevie was just flat out faster than us, it’s that simple. The only thing that bothered me was that I thought I could steal the race on the final restart, I feel like I got the jump on Stevie but I spun the tires and I think that killed our chances”.
The final night of the weekend took place at Hilltop Speedway.
Sam was the first to time trial and used a different line than any other driver to decisively earn his 3rd quick time of the season.
“I was really pleased with our time trial”, explained Sam. “The track surface was in pretty bad shape but I don’t think it changed much so to earn the quick time was pretty impressive to me”.
Unfortunately the quick time would be the highlight of the night as disappointment would soon follow in the heat race. Hafertepe was battling in a stacked heat with Chad Kemenah for the final transfer into the feature and to earn a top 6 starting berth when he spun in turn 1.
“The throttle was sticking and I got a little too close to Chad and as a result I had to spin to avoid taking us both out”, explained Sam.
As a result of the spin Kemenah and Sam would again square off in the B feature. Kemenah led the early laps before Sam used the bottom to drive past Chad and drove away to a convincing win.
Dusty and slick track conditions greeted the driver’s in the feature race which made moving forward difficult. Hafertepe dropped to 12th in the opening laps before finally working his way past Todd Kane. Once Kane was cleared Hafertepe began to move through the field. Sam was able to run both the bottom and the middle effectively and just before a yellow flag flew with 4 laps remaining Hafertepe had moved into a battle for 2nd-5th that included Brandon Wimmer, Lee Jacobs and Daron Clayton.
Unfortunately on the restart a shower of sparks emanated from the left front and Sam came to a stop on the backstretch ending a great run and ending what had been a great weekend on a sour note.
“The guys do a nut and bolt check every race day and unfortunately they forgot to check the bolts on the front brake calliper”, said Sam. “It’s one of those things that happens from time to time that shouldn’t and I know the guys feel pretty bad about it and that they won’t let it happen again”.
The team travelled to Lawrenceburg, Indiana and the beautiful Lawrenceburg Speedway where they prepared for the week’s events.
Qualifying went great as Sam laid down the 2nd fastest time in time trials and then blasted from 6th to 3rd in the heat race.
Sam was eligible to start anywhere in the top 6 for the feature but drew the dreaded 6 pill to put himself slightly behind the 8-ball.
As the race got underway it was clear that the car was not handling great as it would lean over on the right rear tire very hard as Sam raced through the corners. Hafertepe struggled to find lines to make the car work and an open red afforded him a chance to make air pressure adjustments. Eventually as the race wore on Sam had worked himself into the top 5 but during a red flag with 5 laps remaining a small part on the rear end let go and Sam was done for the night.
Saturday night would be one the team would not soon forget for all of the wrong reasons.
Hafertepe started off warm-ups by blowing a motor. The Plumbfast Racing Team scrambled to change it and was able to do so without Sam missing his spot in the time trial order. Sam turned the 13th fastest lap having not even looked at the race track and unfortunately as he was finishing up his run he blew another motor.
The Plumbfast Team again went to work and changed a motor but could not get it done in time to start their heat race. The motor was installed for the B Main which Sam started and finished 3rd in to earn the 13th starting position for the feature race.
Sam made several changes to the car which weren’t evident in the early laps of the feature but as the race went on it was clear that he had one of the cars to beat. Hafertepe tore around the topside of the speedway in turns 3 and 4 and had just burst into the top 5 when a fuel leak ended what had been an already very long night.
“We worked our butts off tonight”, said a tired Sam following the feature. “The guys did a good job getting those motors changed and I was pretty impressed with how good the car was in the feature. It just really sucked to have to pull off like that because I really think that we had something for the leaders”.
The team will now head to Spencer, Iowa to race with the World of Outlaws on Wednesday night. Originally the team had planned on competing at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals but they have now decided to either spend the week chasing races in the Iowa area or head to Freemont to race with the All Stars.
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