Story By: SPENCE SMITHBACK / ASCS – CONCORD, NC – The American Sprint Car Series National Tour roars back from a three-week hiatus for the second doubleheader weekend of the year in Kansas.
First up is a stop at Lakeside Speedway for the 11th time in Series history on Friday, July 19 in Kansas City. From there, competitors will make the three-hour drive to 81 Speedway near Wichita and go to battle on Saturday, July 20.
Both nights will feature a $4,000-to-win/$400-to-start purse. The Sprint Cars will be joined on the card by B-Mods and Pure Stocks at Lakeside and A-Mods and Super Stocks at 81.
Tickets to the 81 Speedway event are available online in advance, while both tracks will have tickets on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to the track, catch every ASCS National Tour race live on DIRTVision.
Here are the top storylines entering the weekend:
WHAT TIME OFF?: While some teams used the break in the National Tour schedule to regroup after a busy June stretch, others have hit the track several times since last racing at Tulsa Speedway.
Matt Covington was victorious in ASCS Western Plains Region action at Dodge City Raceway Park on July 6, his first win of 2024 with any series. He followed that up with a trip to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night, where he came home 14th in local competition.
Covington was joined at Knoxville by Hank Davis, Jason Martin and Sam Hafertepe Jr., all of whom were looking to turn some extra laps ahead of the Xtream powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank in two weeks. Davis led the ASCS regulars in 11th, while Martin’s night was over following the Last Chance Showdown and Hafertepe finished 12th in the 410 division.
Elsewhere, Kyler Johnson and Zach Blurton scored top 10s with the United Rebel Sprint Series at WaKeeney Speedway in Kansas, while Bryan and Austyn Gossel broke out the pavement Sprint Cars for a pair of events at Colorado National Speedway.
LAKE DAY: The National Tour will return to one of the largest and fastest tracks on the schedule Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City.
Last time the Series visited the 4/10-mile oval in August of last year, Covington took the checkers, and it remains his most recent National Tour victory. While it was his first win at the facility, it did not come as much of a surprise, as it was his fourth top-five run at Lakeside with the National Tour.
While Covington’s results in Kansas City suggest he will be a threat to win Friday night, he is far from the only one on tour with past success at the track. The two drivers ahead of him in the standings are both former Lakeside winners, as Seth Bergman was victorious in 2018 while Hafertepe triumphed on two occasions in 2021 and 2022.
WELCOME TO WICHITA: The National Tour made its 81 Speedway debut back in 2001 with a race won by Kevin Ramey, but did not return to the track for 20 years after that inaugural event. Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series star Ryan Timms won the first Series race in Wichita in two decades, and the track has been a regular stop on the schedule ever since.
Much like Lakeside, Covington has plenty of good memories at 81, scoring the win there in 2022 and a pair of runner-up finishes last season. On both occasions, Covington finished second to Martin, who will be going for his third-straight win at the track and first of the year.
The reigning champion’s quest for a repeat crown took a sour turn when he was injured in a crash at Tri-State Speedway and sat out the following race at Batesville Motor Speedway as a result. He rebounded with a P8 run at Tulsa Speedway and will look to continue climbing back up the standings this weekend in his home state.
REMARKABLE ROOKIES: While Bergman has a healthy lead atop the standings, the battle for the Rookie of the Year Award has been tight all season long. Andrew Deal leads the first-year drivers in the tally, while Davis trails him by 90 points entering this weekend’s events. The TwoC Racing driver missed the Feature in the season opener at Super Bee Speedway and was absent at Red Dirt Raceway before joining his current team, and has been playing catch up ever since.
While Davis has not yet found Victory Lane, he has been the epitome of consistency ever since he slid into the No. 2C machine beginning at Rush County Speedway. He has finished in the top five seven times in his first eight starts with the team, with four of those being podiums.
Meanwhile, Deal has racked up just three top fives this season, with his best finish being a runner up at Super Bee to start the year. However, a pair of nights in his native Kansas could present an opportunity for Deal to extend his lead. While neither driver has ever competed at Lakeside under the ASCS banner, Deal has scored three top fives in Sprint Car action at 81 between Sooner Region and Oil Capital Racing Series competition, compared to just one for Davis.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Friday, July 19 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS
Saturday, July 20 at 81 Speedway in Wichita, KS
AROUND THE TURN:
The American Sprint Car Series National Tour will head to the Sprint Car Capital of the World Aug. 1-3 for the most prestigious event in 360 Sprint Car racing, the Xtream powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank.