Story By: SPENCE SMITHBACK / ASCS – CONCORD, NC – When the 2024 American Sprint Car Series National Tour champion is crowned following the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling at Creek County Speedway on Nov. 16, they will have a special piece of hardware waiting for them.
Series officials have unveiled the new ASCS Emmett Hahn Championship Trophy, which pays tribute to Series founder Emmett Hahn. “The Emmett” stands two feet tall and is complete with Hahn standing proudly with his left hand on his hip atop a metal base. Every detail, from the embroidery on the firesuit, to the shoelaces, to the facial expression was meticulously crafted in honor of the Sprint Car legend.
“There’s a representation of a driver on all of our championship trophies for our major series, and we wanted ASCS to be the same,” World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter said. “We thought there was no better person to represent that driver on this trophy than the man himself, Emmett Hahn, who really helped establish ASCS and grow it to what it is. We’re happy to carry that legacy forward.”
After its founding in 1992, the American Sprint Car Series grew into the largest Sprint Car sanctioning body in the United States under Hahn’s ownership. Following the sale of the Series to World Racing Group this season, Hahn’s founding mission of growing Sprint Car racing at the national and regional levels remains strong. Hundreds of races are conducted annually under the ASCS banner across the National Tour – the premier touring series in 360 Sprint Car racing – as well as eight regional tours.
“When Brian and I sat down and talked, I said it then and I still believe it now: World Racing Group is the only group that could take ASCS and take it forward,” Hahn said. “I believed that then and I’ve just seen the proof.”
In addition to the one-of-a-kind trophy, the champion will also receive the $40,000 champion’s share of the more than $150,000 that will be paid out to the top 10 drivers in the final standings. Awards will be distributed at the Series banquet on Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, OK.
With 10 races to go in the battle for the ASCS Emmett Hahn Championship Trophy, Seth Bergman leads the way as he chases his first National Tour title, while Sam Hafertepe Jr. sits 111 points behind in his quest to become a six-time champion. Up next on the calendar is the World Short Track Challenge at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, AR on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28.