Story By: BRYAN HULBERT / ASCS – WHEATLAND, MO – Closing online registration with 94 drivers on the docket, the field has been split into their respective qualifying nights for the 13th edition of the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., happening September 14-16, 2023.
The 13th time the event will be contested at the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, this year marks the 14th time the event has been run, with the first taking place at Lake Ozark Speedway in 2010, where Zach Chappell picked up the win. The event moved to Lucas Oil Speedway the following year, with Jason Johnson winning the next two events.
Johnny Herrera was the champion in 2013, followed by Derek Hagar in 2014. Brad Loyet became the only Missouri born driver to win the Hockett/McMillin in 2015. Oklahoma’s Wayne Johnson picked up the win in 2016 and enters the 2023 event as the defending race winner. The only driver with three wins, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. topped the Hockett/McMillin in 2017, 2018, and 2020. Blake Hahn in 2019 and Washington’s J.J. Hickle in 2021 make up the list of event winners.
This year’s list of entrants is comprised of drivers from 17 states (AR, AZ, CO, IA, IL, KS, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX). Drivers can still pre-register by contact Terry Mattox via email to terry@ascsracing.com. Drivers entering now will be placed on a qualifying night.
Thursday Night Qualifiers:
1JR Steven Russell
1K Kelby Watt
1P Curtis Evans
1T Joshua Tyre
2 Chase Porter
3 Howard Moore
4W Jamie Ball
6 Christopher Townsend
7B Ben Brown
7C Chris Morgan
7M Chance Morton
8 Alex Sewell
8M Kade Morton
9C Chase Randall
9$ Kyle Clark
9JR Derek Hagar
10 Landon Britt
10C Jeremy Campbell
11 Roger Crockett
11M Michael Tyre
12X Garet Williamson
13 Elijah Gile
14M Randy Martin
16 Hannah Merritt
22S Slater Helt
23 Lance Moss
31 Casey Wills
41 Mackenzie Borchers
44 Ronny Howard
44C Chris Martin
45X Kyler Johnson
51B Joe B. Miller
52 Blake Hahn
55 Brandon Anderson
57 Billy Butler
71 Channin Tankersley
73 Samuel Wagner
75 Tyler Blank
86 Timothy Smith
88 Austin McCarl
91 Michael Day
91K Austin O’Neal
91T Tyler Thomas
97 Kevin Cummings
98P Miles Paulus
99D Tucker Daly
Friday Night Qualifiers:
1 Sean McClelland
1H Hank Davis
1X Jake Bubak
2C Wayne Johnson
2J Zach Blurton
2X Tony Rustad
3Z Zach Davis
4C Chase Richards
4M Cameron Martin
4X Brad Bowden
5 Ernie Morriss
9C Tony Crank
10K Jordan Knight
10K1 Dewayne White
12M Greg Merritt
12 Jeffrey Newell
13C Chase Howard
14 Jordon Mallett
14E Kyle Bellm
14T Travis Oldfield
15D Andrew Deal
16S Steven Howell
18 Ryan Roberts
18X Nathan Ryun
19 Ayrton Gennetten
20 Kelsey Ivy
21 Kameron Key
22K Kaleb Johnson
22M Rees Moran
27 Carson McCarl
32 Riley Valentine
32D Daryn Langford
33 Alan Zoutte
36 Jason Martin
37 Ayden Gatewood
41H Colton Hardy
47 Dale Howard
52D Skyler Daly
71B Brady Baker
74 Tucker Boulton
77 Jack Wagner
83 Kurt Mueller
87J Jace Park
96S Brandon Sampson
95 Matt Covington
97M Scotty Milan
187 Landon Crawley
938 Bradley Fezard
Nights are subject to change without notice.
The 2023 event takes place September 14-16. Entry for the $ 10,000-to-win event is free for ASCS competitors. Draw is $20 at the event. When entering, you will be placed on a qualifying night based on current numbers. A driver may not switch nights once they pull onto the track to Qualify.
With the change, teams will be able to Hot Lap, then Qualify, whereas last year, they were done at the same time.
Hockett/McMillin ASCS Format:
Preliminary nights will follow ASCS National Format, with teams drawing for their Qualifying Group. Max number of cars on track per Qualifying session is five.
The breakdown of the ASCS National Format is online at http://www.ascsracing.com.
Event Points are awarded each time a driver takes a competitive green flag. These points are used to set the field for Saturday and are not used to set lineups during a preliminary night. A driver may not switch nights once they pull onto the track to Qualify.
Qualifying and Heat Race Points are awarded: 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3
B-Feature Points, starting with the first non-qualifier, are awarded: 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, etc.
A-Feature points are awarded: 150, 142, 135, 130, 125, 122, 119, 116, 113, 110, 108, 106, 104, 102, 100, 98, 96, 94, 92, 90, 89, 88
Following the completion of Friday’s program, event points will be totaled with the Top 8 locked in, straight up, into Saturday’s A-Feature. All other drivers will be lined up into four Last Chance Qualifiers on Saturday. Any ties in event points will be broken by the driver with the faster qualifying time.
Lineups will be staggered by points (9th to the pole of LCQ 1, 10 to the pole of LCQ 2, etc). Top 2 finishes in each LCQ will advance to the A-Feature. Winners of LCQ 1 starts 9th, winner of LCQ 2 will start 10th, and so on.
Those not transferring will lineup into B-Features, straight up by their LCQ finish. Two B-Features, will take the top three from each. Three B-Features, will take the top two from each.
**ASCS National Driver Point, Regional Attendance, and Promoter’s Provisionals will be allowed, but will not award any points for the A-Feature. Points will be calculated from the position earned prior to the Provisional.
Purse structure for each night is as follows:
Thursday and Friday:
A-Feature: 1. $3,000; 2. $1,500; 3. $1,100; 4. $1,000; 5. $800 6. $700; 7. $600; 8. $500; 9. $475; 10. $450; 11. $425; 12. $400 13. $400; 14. $400; 15. $400; 16. $400; 17. $400; 18. $400; 19. $400; 20. $400; 21. $400; 22. $400; Any non-transferring driver will be paid $100.
Saturday:
A-Feature: 1. $10,000; 2. $5,000; 3. $2,500; 4. $1,500; 5. $1,250; 6. $1,150; 7. $1,100; 8. $1,000; 9. $900; 10. $800; 11. $700; 12. $600; 13. $550; 14. $525; 15. $500; 16. $475; 17. $450; 18. $425; 19. $400; 20. $400; 21. $400; 22. $400; Any non-transferring driver will be paid $100.