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Sunnyvale, Texas racer Sam Hafertepe Jr is pleased to announce that he will be driving the famous Zemco Speed & Equipment #1 in the 2012 season. Hafertepe who is coming off a breakout season that saw him capture 8 feature wins along with his first career World of Outlaws feature victory at Skagit Speedway will now take over the controls of the John and Pee Wee Zemaitis owned sprinter as he looks to continue the car’s winning tradition.

“I am very proud to have been selected to drive The Zemco car,” said Sam. “John, Pee Wee, Tommy (Carl) and everyone on that team have put together one of the top sprint car teams in the country and it’s an honor to drive for them. There were a lot of good drivers available who all wanted this ride so it means a lot to me that they chose me and I’m going to do everything I can to back up their choice.”

The Zemco car has a long and storied tradition not only in Pennsylvania but across the country and Sam is well aware of what it means to pilot the famous sprint car.

“Comparatively speaking I got a late start on racing compared to many of the current drivers my age and as a result I’m not as familiar with the history of sprint car racing as some might expect,” explained Sam. “However I don’t think it’s possible to follow sprint car racing and not know or have seen The Zemco Speed & Equipment #1. In addition to all of the wins and the impressive list of drivers there is just something about the mystique of that car. There is just something special about when that car rolls into the pits, out of the trailer and onto the track.”

Sam is also quite aware that he has big shoes to fill.

“Stevie did one heck of a job in that car,” said Sam. “I think you expect that from someone with a pedigree like Stevie though so it really was no surprise what he was able to accomplish with The Zemco team. I can’t compare myself to Stevie as his resume speaks for itself but I can definitely say that I’m going to stand on the gas for these guys and get everything out of their car that I can.”

Fans from Pennsylvania will no doubt be familiar with Hafertepe as he based his team in the state for 2 months last year while he competed in his own car and The Pancho’s Racing Products car. Highlights included a 4th place finish in The Keystone Cup as well as 2 top 5 and 8 top 10 finishes.

“I wasn’t totally satisfied with how we ran in Pennsylvania last year,” said Sam. “I felt like we should have had better results but it’s a tough area with some pretty tough competition. It’s definitely a unique area to race in terms of fan loyalty and the surfaces themselves. It takes some getting used to but I’m pretty comfortable now. We’ve made quite a few friends here and I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of them more often and trying to kick their butts.”

Although the team has not set their schedule in stone yet it appears as though they will run a similar schedule as they have the past 3 seasons.

“It looks like we’re going to run about 55 races,” stated Sam. “We will focus primarily on time trial shows and will be doing both Pennsylvania Speedweeks. We will also compete at the major races including The Knoxville Nationals and The Kings Royal.”

As a result of Sam’s “Outlaw” style schedule this past year Hafertepe is already familiar Pennsylvania’s race tracks.

“I think the only place these guys race around here that I haven’t raced at is Susquehanna,” said Sam. “Having run both Speedweeks last year gave me an opportunity to see most of the race tracks and what they are about so I’ll be pretty comfortable. There were a few tracks that I wasn’t happy with my performance at but they were at track’s that The Zemco Team is typically quite successful at so that should help with any learning curve that remains. I’m also really looking forward to getting back to Grandview because I think we had the best car there at both races last year and I feel like I have unfinished business there.”

The 55 race schedule will also give Sam time to run not only his own car but should leave him open to drive for other owners should the opportunity arise.

“You will definitely see me try to fill in my schedule pretty aggressively,” said Sam. “The Zemco car will have priority over anything else but if there’s an open week and some decent money on the line I’m going to run our family car and we are working on putting some things together with other teams to fill in those free weekends.”

The announcement ends a few weeks of anticipation for Sam.

“I was pretty sure from the start that I was in consideration for the ride from talking to Tommy,” said Sam. “However I didn’t know for sure so we had to wait a bit on what we were going to do with our own team in terms of equipment, racing and a schedule. Now that we have a plan in place I couldn’t be any more excited and we’re full speed ahead. I can’t wait to get 2012 started.”

Sam Hafertepe Jr. went where no one else was willing to go and charged to the $11,000 to win Canadian Sprint Car Nationals victory this past Saturday night at Ohsweken Speedway. Hafertepe who had not participated in the opening two preliminary nights put his Lone Star Speedway, Maxim-Fisher #15h crewed on by an all-Canadian crew on the top side of the speedway and worked the perilous top side to perfection as he drove to a dominating victory over a stout field of 30 cars.

Many drivers, teams and fans in attendance thought it was odd when Sam and The Plumbfast Racing Team pulled into The Ohsweken Speedway on Thursday night and then proceeded to unload but not race. The following night the trailer door remained closed while the rest of the competitors competed in twin features.

"We made the conscious decision not to race for several reasons," explained Sam. "The first reason was a financial one in that the races just did not pay enough for us to justify unloading but we also wanted to save our equipment and more importantly, not show anyone how good we were. We wanted the fast teams thinking they were getting everything there was to get out of their cars and not show them that we had a little more."

Hafertepe served notice immediately on Saturday night that he would be a contender to win as he laid down the 2nd fastest lap in warm-ups and then blistered the speedway in time trials to set quick time by just under 4/10ths of a second.

The Sunnyvale, Texas native drew the 6 for his heat race invert and as a result Sam had to line up on the outside of row 3 in his heat race.

The heat race would be a battle of epic proportions between Sam and 2-time Canadian Sprint Car Nationals champion Steve Poirier. Poirier and Hafertepe charged to the front with Poirier getting to the lead first running the bottom of the speedway. Sam immediately attacked the top side of the speedway and with just 2 laps remaining edged ahead of the Quebec racer. Hafertepe would hold a slight lead over the final 2 laps to take the hard-fought victory and earn him a starting spot in the top 6 for the feature event.

"Not a lot of people in the US have heard of Steve Poirier but he gave me a heck of a race," said Sam. "He was very, very fast and I had to drive the car right on the edge to beat him but fortunately we got it done."

The 6 heat race winners were put in a draw that saw each driver give someone else the number they drew. Sam drew the 3 and gave it to Jared Zimbardi. Zimbardi was the last driver to draw a number and was left with the 6 which he had to give to Sam.

Sam and his all-Canadian crew of Daryl & Peter Turford along with John Watson began preparing Hafertepe's ride for the 35 lap grind.

"Daryl is my regular crew guy and his father Peter along with family friend John Watson usually help me when I race in the area," explained Sam. "For them this was such a huge race and I knew they were going to do everything they could to make sure the car was perfect for the A Main."

The green flag dropped and following a cross-over move in the first set of turns Sam had worked his way into 4th behind Shane Stewart who had won the previous 2 nights of action. Sam worked his way underneath Stewart in turns 3 and 4 and then fought for a few laps once again with Poirier before finally working free and setting his sights on the front running Alain Bergeron and Jamie Collard.

As the leaders worked the bottom side of the speedway Sam attacked the top side of the speedway and began reeling in the leaders. On lap 12 Sam made the winning pass on Collard who had just taken the lead from Bergeron and began to work lapped traffic.

"I knew from watching the past 2 nights that most of the field would be on the bottom," explained Sam. "I knew if we could work up top that no one else would be up there and we would have clear sailing."

Sam began tearing into lapped traffic and immediately set himself apart from the pack as he put car after car in the 30 car field a lap down. The top side was incredibly perilous but very fast. Sam’s night nearly came to an end on lap 25 as he drove the car off the end in turns 3 and 4 but he calmly gathered up the race car and continued in the lead.

"There was no cushion up there so running up there was really risky," explained Sam. "There really wasn't much to hit but the car was perfect so we could do it. That one lap there though I just missed my line a little wee bit and we went off the end but fortunately I'd built a big enough gap that we still had a bunch of lapped cars behind me."

The race's only caution flew on lap 28 and gave Collard and Wayne Johnson one last shot at Hafertepe.

Sam covered the remaining 7 laps with ease, even moving down in turns 3 and 4 to take a very popular victory.

"I didn't drive the car as hard on the final laps," explained Sam. "I knew we probably had a big lead because the car was absolutely perfect so I just took it easy and if anyone pressured me I would have turned up the wick another notch or two."

Hafertepe and the team are now spending a few more days in Canada before they will head back across the border to take on The Outlaws at Eldora and Lernerville Speedway.

"We're going to hit a Blue Jays game," said Sam. "Daryl and Pete took me on a tour of Toronto. They took me up the CN Tower and we ate at Gretzky's and The Old Spaghetti Factory so we might as well finish it up properly with a Jays game. Fortunately they're playing The Angels who are battling with my Texas Rangers for a play-off spot so it's actually a game that matters to me. We'll take off the next morning and see if we can't get ourselves another win with The Outlaws."

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com

For Sam Hafertepe Jr. crossing under the checkered flag as the winner of this past Saturday night's World of Outlaws feature at Skagit Speedway wasn't just the completion of 40 laps but also a lifelong journey that has included several incredible moments and more than it's share of heartbreak along the way. Sam led all 40 laps driving The Rudeen Racing #26 to a dominating performance that saw Sam utilize the whole race track on his way to his first career World of Outlaws feature win and 6th feature win of the year.

"Kevin, Shane, Brent and Seth gave me an absolutely incredible race car," said Sam following the win. "I remember growing up and you would see Shane Stewart driving The Rudeen #26. It always looked so immaculate and you just looked at that ride as one of the dream rides in sprint car racing. To help Kevin and the guys get that first career World of Outlaws win not only for me but for them too is pretty overwhelming when you stop to think about it."

The weekend actually didn't get off to a great start for Sam and the team as he was taken out in a mid-race crash on Friday night.

"A couple of cars got together on the one restart and I couldn't avoid it," explained Sam. "It knocked out the steering and I didn't realize it so I kept going and unfortunately by the time I realized it and tried to get it stopped Kraig Kinser had nowhere to go and piled into us."

The crash damaged the rear of the frame but Sam felt the car had been so good that rather than go to the backup car they would just straighten it.

"We actually had a very good car the first night too," said Sam. "We just started a little too deep in the field. I think we were going to run top 5 for sure but then we got caught up in that wreck. The car was just so good that I figured we could pull the tail tank off, straighten it and be just as fast again."

The following evening Sam timed in 10th and blasted to a heat win after the first start got called back.

"The WoO officials came down after and complained about my starts," said Sam. "They said they were really going to watch me since I was on the pole of the dash and I told them they could watch all they wanted but the Dash start would be the same story because this car just takes off so well."

Sam got another great jump in the Dash and captured the victory to put himself on the pole of the $20,000 to win feature.

"I got out into the lead of the feature and the car was just perfect," said Sam. "I ran the first half of the race on the bottom and it did everything I wanted. I got through traffic though really well and then I saw Brad Sweet get a really impressive run on the top so I figured maybe we should try up there. We got an open red so Shane and I talked it over and we decided we would run the top on the restart."

Hafertepe attacked the topside of the speedway and the results were impressive to say the least.

"You couldn't ask for a better car up there," said the Sunnyvale, Texas native. "I was driving the car as hard as I could. I wasn't holding back a bit and it would do everything I needed it too. I knew as soon as I went up there that the race was over."

The race wasn't over however as there would be one final caution that would give Steve Kinser another shot at Sam.

"On lap 33 they threw a caution for debris," said Sam. "It was the base of a pylon and it was up over the cushion. It wasn't dangerous and it wasn't on the racing surface. Part of me says it was The Outlaws trying to keep me from winning and part of me says they may just be that dumb. Either way it took away a big lead and put Kinser right beside me on the restart."

"I actually wasn't really worried about Steve to be honest," recalled Sam. "I knew we had a great car and I know my restarts were messing him up all race long so if I just kept doing what I was doing we would be fine."

Sam covered the final 7 laps with ease as he took a popular first career World of Outlaws feature win in front of Rudeen Racing's home track crowd.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," said Sam. "You lie awake at night and sometimes you wonder if it's ever going to come. We've been so close so many times and it always seemed like we could never quite get it done no matter how fast we were. Sometimes we broke, sometimes we faded and a lot of nights we just got flat beat. To be able to stand in victory lane and know what it meant to my family, my team, my friends and supporters makes everything we've done, all of the late nights, all of the hard work worth it."

Following the race Sam was warmly received by several of his competitors.

"It meant a lot to me that guys like Donny Schatz and Jason Meyers came by," said Sam. "People out here on the tour know that I usually like to keep to myself and that we kind of do our own thing. To have them come over and congratulate me meant a lot. The only reason winning a World of Outlaws feature means anything is because you have to go through guys like them to do it."

The victory was not just a victory for Sam however.

"I know this win means so much to my Mom and Dad," beamed Sam. "They have been so incredibly supportive of my career. People who know my Father and I know that we can get at each other's throats pretty hard sometimes but if anyone ever has a bad word to say about me I know my Mom and Dad are going to be the first people to have my back and it means so much to me to know that they support me like they do. We could have a very comfortable life if I didn't race and they make a lot of sacrifices for me so to accomplish something like this makes me feel so happy for them."

While there are so many people who have helped Sam throughout his career 2 people in particular immediately came to mind.

"Pancho Lawler and Kevin Rudeen have stepped up and helped me more than anyone can imagine," said Sam. "Pancho was the first guy to ever have faith in me. He was the first guy who ever put me in their race car with no ulterior motive other than that he thought I could drive a sprint car and it was probably him hiring me that showed other owners like Kevin that I was available to drive other people's cars. It really bothers me to see people trashing him and his team on the message boards because he is giving me all of the things I need to win and he doesn't deserve that all. We just ran 7th and 12th against The Outlaws at The Grove. That's damn impressive and you can't do that in a pile of junk. I really hope that by the end of the year I'm able to pay back Pancho for the faith he has shown in me and you better believe he is giving me everything I need to do it."

For Sam a call from The Rudeen Racing Team has forever impacted his career.

"I got a call from Shane in the spring asking me if I could fill in for Bud Kaeding at The Dirt Cup," recalled Sam. "I jumped on the opportunity. The Rudeen Racing #26 has always been one of those cars that you looked at and it always looked absolutely first class. All you have to do is spend a little time with Kevin and his team and you can see why. Kevin, the Andersons (Shane and Brent) and Seth are all first class people and have given me everything they've got. From the shop to the trailer to the car to how they treat their people these guys just do everything first class."

For car owner Kevin Rudeen watching the 40 laps wasn't easy.

"I found out after the race that Kevin didn't even watch because he was so nervous," said Sam with a smile. "He looked at the ground in the infield for all 40 laps and would periodically look up at his friend's face and guage his reaction to see how the car was running. He didn't even know the race was over until someone came up and grabbed his arm and congratulated him. You have to care that much to succeed at this level and if I have a guy in my corner who cares that much you better believe I'm going to give him everything I've got."

Along with Kevin and Pancho there have been several people along the way who have helped Sam get to this point.

"There are so many people who this win means so much to," said Sam. "Wade Huisman from Keizer Wheels has been one of my longest and most loyal friends in racing and Rick Ferkel has done so much more in terms of teaching me how to drive and think in a sprint car than he will ever imagine. My crew guy Daryl actually went home to Canada this week for a vacation and to see his grandma before she has surgery Tuesday and this was the first weekend of racing in years that he missed so I know he's thrilled for me and can't wait to get another crack at The Outlaws in our car. There's just so many people and they know who they are. I just can't thank them enough for their support through the years and I hope they know what it has meant to me."

Following a Sunday flight from Seattle Sam was picked up at the Cleveland airport and spent the night at Rick Ferkel's house in Tiffin, Ohio. The following morning Rick told Sam that the race scheduled for the night before at Wayne County had been re-scheduled for that night.

"We leave and work on our car at The Big Lots in Tiffin, Ohio just down the street from Rick's house," explained Sam. "So we spent Sunday night at Rick's and he told us there was a $4000 to win show re-scheduled for that night. Fortunately, Daryl, his father Pete and I had done most of the maintenance on the car before I left for Seattle so Daryl and I hustled, got everything done and we took off for Wayne County with Rick."

The decision to race paid off as Sam timed in 2nd, finished 2nd in his heat and won the feature after leading all 30 laps from the pole to pick up the $4000 win.

"We scrambled a bit getting there but Rick and Daryl had the car pretty good for the feature," said Sam. "I guess Haud was pressuring me pretty good in traffic but we got a red flag and after that we set sail and won. It was the perfect way to cap off an incredible weekend. I love whenever Rick can come racing with us and if anyone questions how good he still is on these cars all you have to do is look at our record when he's turning the wrenches."

Sam and The Plumbfast Racing Team will now prepare The Lone Star Speedway #15h Maxim-Fisher for a weekend in Pennsylvania.

"We are going to take a shot at The Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal," said Sam. "We're going to run our car and I think we're going to be pretty good. We learned a lot the last time there in The Factory Pancho's car and I think it should translate pretty good to our car so hopefully we can head up there and finally get a win in PA."

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com

Sam Hafertepe Jr. put yet another exclamation point on what has been the best season of his career by qualifying for his second career Knoxville Nationals and earning a 14th place finish this past weekend at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. Hafertepe did not shy away from performing on the biggest stage in sprint car racing as he turned in a dazzling charge Wednesday night to finish 6th before starting 11th in the Saturday finale.

A weak draw threatened to set Hafertepe and The Plumbfast Racing Team back on Wednesday night. Sam was one of the last cars to qualify in a session that saw the track drastically slowing. Despite the odds stacked against him Hafertepe gutted it out and laid down the 7th fastest lap of the night.

“It was really hard to keep the car on the bottom in the turns,” explained Sam. “I actually missed the exit on both ends on my first lap but fortunately I was able to put it all together on the second lap or we would have been in big trouble.”

An 8 car invert greeted the Sunnyvale, Texas native in his heat race and as a result Sam would grid 7th in the most intense and important heat race of the season. Tyler Walker jumped the berm in turns 1 and 2 on the start and as a result Sam’s bottom line became clogged up and Sam exited turn 2 in 8th. Hafertepe would pass Wade Nygaard and set his sights on Shane Stewart. Hafertepe worked his way past Stewart with 2 laps remaining only to have Stewart return the favor and slide Sam back on the final lap as Sam finished a disappointing 7th and would have to qualify for the A Main out of the B Main.

The Lone Star Speedway Maxim-Fisher #15h started 2nd in the B Main but Sam soon slipped to 3rd behind Fred Rahmer and Tim Shaffer. Hafertepe was running comfortably in 3rd when he decided to change his line. Sam began running the top 2 cars down and impressively drove past Shaffer and then Rahmer for the lead before checking out and scoring a decisive win.

Sam lined up for his preliminary night A Main in the 21st position and used the bottom on the opening lap to vault into the 15thposition. Hafertepe then hit the cushion and began charging through the field. Sam quickly entered the top 10 and with just 2 laps remaining found himself on the rear bumper of Steve Kinser when the yellow flag flew.

“I was pretty sure we were faster than Steve and probably Shane,” said Sam. “I’d actually outrun Shane all feature long but I got hung up on a restart earlier and he made a nice pass to get by me but I really felt if I made a good restart we could run at least 4th.”

Unfortunately for Sam things didn’t go quite as he planned.

“We got a great restart and I had a fantastic run off turn 2,” recalled Sam. “I was pretty sure I could slide my way to 4th and then the motor stuttered. We were starting to run out of fuel.”
Hafertepe brought the fuel starved motor home 6th and was able to score the 11th highest point total of the week to earn a spot in his second career Knoxville Nationals A Main event.

“This means a lot to my team and I,” said Sam. “We’ve been waiting for this race all year and preparing for it so to know that after a disastrous year like last year that we can bounce back and put it in the show solidly says a lot about us.”

Following an opening lap flip by Austin McCarl Sam was able to get a great start to the 50 lap A Main as he drove by both Danny Heskin and Fred Rahmer on the opening lap.

“We were really good during the early laps,” explained Sam. “I was able to pass a few cars and run a few more down and then we started to get tighter and tighter. I was able to maintain my spot on long green flag runs but on restarts it was really hard to get going and set sail and as a result I lost a few more positions.”

The previously planned fuel stop allowed teams five minutes to make whatever changes to the car teams wanted. Sam opted to go with none.

“I felt like the car was just starting to come in and that we would be fairly strong over the second half of the race.” He explained.

The restart was once again unkind but Sam soon settled into a nice pace and began to track down some of the cars that had passed him. The late stages of the race saw Sam overtake local hero Terry McCarl before Sam started stalking “The King of The Outlaws” Steve Kinser.

Sam worked high and low and with 2 laps remaining he was able to make the pass on Steve on the low side in turns 3 and 4 for 13th. Hafertepe dove low on the final corner to block a possible slide job from Kinser only to have Stevie Smith blast past him on the final corner as Sam crossed the line in 14th.

“I wouldn’t say I’m pleased with how we ran in the feature but I’m certainly satisfied,” said Sam following the race. “We had the car good but not great and in a race like this with the best drivers bringing their best stuff you really need to be spot on if you want to run up front. I feel like if we gain a little more experience we’re going to get a lot better in this race and I have no doubt that one day if we keep doing what we’re doing we’re going to run up front in this race.”

Sam and The Plumbfast Racing Team have now towed to Keizer Aluminum Wheels where they will prepare for an upcoming 3 race week at Fargo, Grand Forks and Husets as well as the 3rd Annual Keizer Wheels Golf Tournament.

“We’re just going to relax here with Wade Huisman (Owner of Keizer Aluminum Wheels) and get ready for Fargo,” said Sam. “We’re going to go there on kill and hopefully we’ll grab a trophy or two while we’re out there.”

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com

Sam Hafertepe Jr. and The Plumbfast Racing Team are looking to build on what has already been a successful 2011 season as they look towards the upcoming "Month of Money". Hafertepe has spent much of the past 2 months racing in the Pennsylvania and Ohio area but is planning on heading to Knoxville Raceway this weekend in preparation for both the 360 and Knoxville Nationals which will take place at the same race track in August. In addition to racing at Knoxville Sam will also be headed to Huset's on Sunday night as he tries to take home the $5000 first place prize.

"The 2011 season has gone really well so far," stated Sam. "We've been racing a lot in The Factory Pancho's #93 in Pennsylvania but their schedule sort of calms down for a bit so we are using the opportunity to try and build towards The Nationals."

The Factory Pancho's schedule saw Sam race in both The Keystone Cup and Pennsylvania Speedweek. Hafertepe found plenty of success at The Keystone Cup but struggled early in The Speedweek before finding success late.

"It seemed like during The Keystone Cup we could do nothing wrong," reflected Hafertepe. "We had 3 top 10's in 4 races and were able to earn 4th in points. I was really pleased about that and I think it spoke volumes about the team that Pancho has put together. Unfortunately it took us a little bit to get going during Speedweek and we weren't able to turn in the same results until later but by then it was already too late to have a good run in the standings."

Hafertepe struggled on big tracks early on in Speedweek but was fast around the smaller ones initially.

"We were okay at Lincoln," said Sam. "The car was off and we got collected in a wreck. Fortunately we had some open reds later on and we were able to get the car better and earn a top 10 finish."

The biggest heartbreak for the team took place at Grandview following a disappointing run at Hagerstown. Hafertepe had been fast all night and was leading the feature early when contact with a lapped car eliminated both himself and 2nd place running Brian Leppo.

"That was just a bad deal all the way around," said Sam. "Our car was a rocket and they had some guys in the field who really should have pulled off once the green came out that decided to stay out. I came up to the first one and he had gone high in turns 3 and 4 the lap before and looked like he was going high again so I went low. At the last second he changed his line and there was nothing I could do to avoid the contact. Leppo had nowhere to go as well and piled into the mess. It was a real shame because that guy took out two very good cars to make $350."

The Factory Pancho's Team set out to fixing the car and two nights later were rewarded with their first solid run on a big track as they earned a 7th at Williams Grove. Hafertepe started from the pole but the car was just a tick off all feature long as he battled hard to keep the car up front.

"We threw something at the car for the feature that we thought might work but we weren't totally sure," explained Sam. "Fortunately we almost got the car where we needed it. I was able to make the top work in turns 1 and 2 but we just didn't quite have enough in turns 3 and 4. I had some pretty intense battles with Tyler Walker and Fred Rahmer though and I drove the car about as hard as I could so despite going from the pole to 7th it was actually a very satisfying race in terms of car setup and my driving."

The following evening at Port Royal the team built on what they had learned and were even better.

"We went a little father with the changes we'd made at The Grove and the car was great," stated Sam. "We were having a really good feature race, I was learning more and more every lap about the track and we were catching Mark Smith for 6th when I could feel a vibration coming off the left rear and I knew we were in trouble."

Finally with 6 laps remaining Sam's luck ran out and the left rear tire exploded sending Sam spinning in turn 4.

"The motor was running 260 while we were out there and it spiked at over 300," explained Sam. "I asked Pancho if he wanted me to go back on the track and we decided that since the motor had 14 nights on it and it was our only one that we were done for the night."

The motor trouble also meant a premature end to the Speedweek for the team as they were forced to miss the finale at Selinsgrove.

"It's really unfortunate," said Sam. "I know it means a lot to Pancho to run the whole deal but we just had to be smart about it. We have 14 nights on the motor, it's our only one, it doesn't have the same steam as it had earlier and it's overheating. So we're going to send it to Ott and now we'll have it fresh and ready to go for The Outlaw shows in a few weeks at The Grove."

Hafertepe will now turn his focus to his family owned #15H Lone Star Speedway Maxim-Fisher.

"It feels like forever since I've driven our own car," said Sam. "We've got it ready to go though and we feel like this is a perfect week to head to Knoxville and get dialed in for The Nationals. Normally we get there with The Outlaws but since we've done our own schedule this year we weren't there when they went there and this was the date that made the most sense for us. It's a twin feature night so we get two cracks at the track and with Husets putting up $5000 on Sunday it just makes sense for our team to head out there this weekend."

The team also knows they are rapidly approaching other big races as well.

"Right now it seems like those big races are so far away but they are really just around the corner," said Sam. "When we head back from Knoxville we'll be headed to Lima for The Brad Doty Classic which isn't a big paying race or anything but it carries a lot of prestige and then from there we head into The Kings Royal which is a race I've had circled on my calendar for the last 3 years. I feel like we are really ready as a team to win that race. If you look back at the last 2 years we've been right there in contention and we learned some things in the spring Outlaw show there that we think are going to pay big dividends in that race. People may not think of us as a favorite to win that race but I'll tell you right now we're going there to win it and anything less will be a disapointment to us."

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com

2011 has continues to be a deam season for Sam Hafertepe Jr. and The Plumbfast Racing Team as they turned in another strong performance Friday night against The World of Outlaws at Attica and then backed it up Saturday night against The All Star Circuit of Champions at Mercer.

Friday night at Attica saw Sam get off to another fast start as he was one of the fastest of the 57 cars in warm-ups and then backed it up by laying down the 3rd fastest time in time trials.

Dale Blaney raced his was into the Dash through his heat and as a result Sam only had to run in the top 4 in his heat to garauntee a start in the Dash.

Hafertepe immediately worked his way past Greg Wilson and Jessica Zemken and into 2nd where he was running when a caution flew. On the restart Sam worked his way into the lead past Jac Haudenschild but "The Wild Child" charged back around the top to take the lead. Hafertepe then surrendered 2nd to Kraig Kinser and crossed the stripe in 3rd.

"I was just taking it easy out there," explained Sam. "I knew we were in a dash spot and I wasn't going to risk our car. If I went at it really hard with Haud who knows what would have happened and Kraig wanted that spot pretty badly after timing in poorly so I wasn't going to race either guy particularily hard because we had a lot more to lose than they did."

Following the Dash inversion draw Sam found his Lone Star Speedway Maxim-Fisher #15h lining up in the 3rd position. From the drop of the green flag Sam found himself in an intense battle with several cars and unfortunately he got the short end of the stick as he dropped to 6th after losing positions to Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky.

Sam and the team made several changes to the car for the feature in an attempt to hook up on Attica's tricky surface and in the opening laps of the race the changes didn't appear to pay off. Sam dropped from 6th to 9th in the field until a lap 23 caution changed the complexion of Sam's race.

"I was sitting in the car under the yellow and I was trying to think of what to do," explained Sam. "I wanted to pull the wing back but the front end was already light so I wasn't sure that I should do it but I figured we were going backwards anyway so I decided to put the wing all the way in the trunk and on the restart I couldn't believe how good the car started sticking."

Following the drop of the green flag Sam immediately started working his way through the field. As Hafertepe moved his way forward he soon found himself as part of the meat in an Elite Racing sandwich as he began a torrid battle between himself, Jason Meyers and Stevie Smith. The trio battled furiously for the 4th position with all 3 drivers utilizing all parts of the speedway to their advantage until Smith spun suddenly in turn 4 to bring out a caution with 4 laps remaining.

Hafertepe was able to work his way past Steve Kinser on the restart and into 3rd. Sam appeared to be poised to battle with Craig Dollansky and Donny Schatz for the lead when another caution flew 1 lap later. The caution would be Sam's undoing in terms of having a chance to capture his first World of Outlaws feature win.

"We were being really aggressive on tire pressure," explained Sam. "We probably ran them lower than most of the other teams and when we had such a long yellow I could feel the right rear bleeding off and getting lower and lower. I kept buzzing the tires to try to keep them where they needed to be but they were just a little too low and on the restart I just tried to hold on."

A final restart would allow Tim Shaffer to work his way past Sam but the Sunnyvale, Texas racer was able to cover the last 3 laps and hold on for 4th.

"That was a pretty satisfying race," said Sam following the feature. "Last time were here we ran 5th against The Outlaws and we thought we'd be hard pressed to run better than that but we were pretty good all night and we were able to get the job done."

The following night the team made the decision to skip The World of Outlaws event at I-96 and instead headed to Mercer to take on The All Star Circuit of Champions.

Despite never having seen the track before Sam unloaded fast in warm-ups but a late draw would hurt his chances at a win.

Sam laid down a lap of 14.094 which was far better than anyone around him in time trials but was only good for 11th fastest.

"Honestly, we laid down one heck of a lap," said Sam. "We went out late and no one around us was even close. We ran a 14.0, the problem was that everyone else it seemed like did too. Pittman ran a 14.0 and he was 3rd quick. So even though we were right there, the format buried us."

Hafertepe lined up for his heat race in the 4th position and finished there.

"Pittman got us on the start but we were able to work our way around a car too," said Sam. "As the race wore on we began to track Pittman down but we just ran out of laps."

Sam lined up for the feature event from the 8th position. In the opening laps he was able to work his way around Jessica Zemken for 7th as he settled in on the bottom.

"The track wasn't exactly ideal for passing," said Sam. "Once everyone got in line there wasn't much I could do. You pretty much just got in line, hope someone messed up and missed the bottom and hopefully you could drive under them."

Sam himself slipped up in turns 3 and 4 which allowed Brian Ellenberger to work his way past him but a late race spin by Bob Felmlee would move Sam back up to 7th where he would finish.

Following 2 top 10 runs this weekend Hafertepe will now find himself once again strapped to the frame rails of The Pancho's Racing Products #93 as the team prepares to embark on The Keystone Cup starting at Grandview on Wednesday night.

"I'm really looking forward to running this," explained Sam. "You sit there on The Outlaw tour and you kind of get jealous that those guys in Ohio and Pennsylvania get to run those speedweek races while you're sitting in some truck stop or a Wal-Mart parking lot biding your time and waiting for the next Outlaw race so it's nice to actually be a part of it. I think we've gotten the car better and better every race and I'm hoping that the team will continue to gel like it has because I think before long you're going to see that #93 car up front at the end of the night."

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com

Sam Hafertepe Jr. and The Pancho's Racing Products #93 were able to squeeze more speed out of the car this past weeekend and had a solid run with The World of Outlaws at Williams Grove. Sam and the team had struggled mightily two weeks ago the first time they teamed up in 2011 at The Grove and Port Royal but the team made some changes to the car for this weekend and Sam was able to crack the A Main line-up. The team was planning on building on Friday night's success in races on Saturday and Sunday but Mother Nature had different ideas and those races were rained out.

The Sunnyvale, Texas youngster was fast right out of the box Friday night as he was 5th fastest in warm-ups and then backed it up with a 7th place run in time trials.

"Any time you are at Williams Grove time trialing is crucial," explained Sam. "That's the whole key to your night. At other tracks you can maybe miss a little here or there and it's okay but here we had 35 cars within half a second of each other so there is just no room for error. We had the car good in warm-ups, it stayed good for time trials and I ran about as good of a lap as I could and we were rewarded with 7th."

Sam lined up for yet another typically stacked heat race from the 3rd position right behind a front row that consisted of Donny Schatz and Jason Meyers. Hafertepe ran the bottom on the start and was able to work his way under Meyers and into 2nd. Hafertepe was able to hold steady ahead of Meyers but soon faced challenges from a very strong Jason Sides. Sides pressured Sam for several laps before he was able to work his way past Sam. Hafertepe made a last ditch effort to re-take the dash spot but it nearly ended in disaster.

"I drove it in really hard to turn 1 there when Sides got me," said Sam. "I knew if we could make the dash we'd be starting up front based on our time so I had to take a risk. Unfortunately I hit the cushion pretty hard and upset the car pretty badly which allowed a couple more cars to pass me."

Sam gathered up the car in the 5th and final transfer spot with Tyler Walker breathing down his neck. Hafertepe held the bottom and held of Walker to take the final transfer out of the heat.

The Pancho's Racing Products #93 J&J lined up for the Main event from the 15th position. Sam was able to move a few spots forward early in the race and was able to work as high as 11th before the handling began to fade on the car. As the race wore on Sam tried several different lines but just could not find anywhere on the track that the car seemed to like.

"I was trying everything," said Sam. "I was trying high, low, lifting early, driving it in deep, there just wasn't anything I could think of to get the car to hook up and go."

Hafertepe solidiered on to finish a disapointing 22nd but knows there is more in the car.

"After the week we had before we can definitely say we've made a lot of improvements to the car," said Sam. "We are a lot faster but there is more in the car. We were originally going to build a Maxim for this weekend but we decided not too because we just hadn't given this car a fair shake. Tonight we had it a lot better but we didn't go far enough with our changes. I actually feel like we made a lot of good decisions with the car but we just didn't take them far enough."

The following night the team unloaded for another night at The Grove and had just finished warm-ups when the rain came to end the night.

"It wasn't like it was a heavy rain or anything," explained Sam. "I know a lot of fans wondered why they would cancel because the rain wasn't that strong or anything. The problem was that we had run warm-ups and the track was really hard. When you have the track hard like that it's just way too difficult to get it back into racing shape and I don't think a lot of people realize how long it would have taken to get it back."

The following evening at Lincoln Speedway the team had just pulled into the pits when the storm clouds opened up.

"I was looking at the track in turns 1 and 2," recalled Sam. "It was actually my first time seeing the track in person. I was about to walk to turns 3 and 4 and all of the sudden the rain came pouring down. It was really disapointing. Everyone always tells me that Lincoln would be a place where I really like racing and that suits me really well and all I could think of after seeing the place while we left is how much fun it would have been to race there that night. Fortunately our schedule has us coming back there a few times this year and I'm really looking forward to it."

Sam will now be headed to Ohio for a race with The World of Outlaws Friday night at Attica and then Saturday night with The All Stars at Mercer. Sam will be behind the wheel of his familiar, family owned Lone Star Speedway Maxim-Fisher #15h but before he actually gets to Attica he's going to be side-tracked by a trip back home.

"My dad and I have had Dallas Mavericks season tickets for a really long time," said Sam proudly. "We had them when the team was absolutely terrible and now they are on their way to the Conference Finals so I'm going to fly back and catch their two home games and then head back to Ohio. Hopefully Daryl hasn't burned down the truck and trailer by then and we can come back and try to get that first Outlaws win at Attica."

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com

Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, Texas nearly capped of a terrific night at Eldora Speedway this past Friday night The World of Outlaws (WoO) with his first career WoO victory but came up just short as he trailed Joey Saldana to finish after starting in the 11th position. Hafertepe who is in the midst of the best season of his career having already captured 2 ASCS feature wins worked the bottom of the speedway to perfection as he once again reminded sprint car fans that he is on the verge of breaking through for his first Outlaw win.

Sam began the evening by driving his Lone Star Speedway Maxim-Fisher to the 4th quick time in time trials but felt he left a lot on the table.

"We were actually not good at all in qualifying," said Sam. "We were way too free and I didn't make the laps I wanted to make. I didn't get the first lap right but fortunately our second lap was pretty good but like I said, we left a lot on the table. I'm not going to say we'd have knocked Kemenah off quick time as I have no idea how he dropped a lap that fast but we probably should have been 2nd quick if we'd have been close on setup."

Sam started 4th in his heat race and dropped to 5th on the start. He would hound Greg Wilson throughout the heat trying high and low to get around him but ultimately had to settle for 5th.

"I was really surprised they let the start go," said Sam. "The guy inside of me was beside the leaders before they even took the green and that let everyone freight train me on the start. I don't know why they didn't call the start back but that in addition to just being a little off in time trials may have cost us the win."

The team went to work on preparing the car for the feature and made a few changes.

"We spent a couple of days before the races at our engine builder Charlie Fisher's shop," explained Sam. "People who know Charlie or remember his cars know he was willing to try some pretty radical ideas on his cars when he raced. He had some ideas for us and I wasn't quite willing to try them, but what Daryl and I tried to do was adopt the thinking behind it. The idea that no matter where we start, no matter where we are, we are going to try to win the race. So often on The Outlaw tour you are afraid to try things and Charlie sort of freed our mind up and helped us see that we could make changes that we didn't think we should try in the past. I had a gut feeling all week about what I would need to do to the car for the feature and I normally wouldn't have done it but when we brought up the idea at the track we decided that we were going to try it and that we'd either look like heroes or zeros, but at least we'd try to win the race."

The changes the team made to the race car paid off when the green flag dropped as it was evident to anyone who watched Sam that he had a fast race car althout it wasn't clear to Sam himself.

"We had a red on lap 4 and I'd kind of been stuck behind Daryn Pittman and treading water," recalled Sam. "Daryl said the car looked really good though and that if we could clear Pittman we could get up there. I knew the car was decent but I didn't realize how fast we actually were until the restart when I was able to pass 4 cars in turns 1 and 2."

Sam's pass of Pittman, Chad Kemenah, Kerry Madsen and Paul McMahan was negated by a yellow flag but he was now aware he had a fast car. Following the restart Sam went right back to work and began moving forward by driving in on the top in turn 1 and then diamonding turn 2 and working the bottom in turns 3 and 4. As the race went on Sam became more and more dependant on the bottom.

"The car was actually good all over the track," said Sam. "I could run the car wherever I wanted but everyone was up high so I just started to run the bottom all of the way around and had clear track in front of me the whole time."

Hafertepe disposed of McMahan, Jason Meyers and Steve Kinser to work his way into the 3rd spot when a red flag flew on lap 20.

"That was our chance to win the race right there," stated Sam. "I was restarting on the top and I knew I could get a run on Joey on the restart. I got a nice jump and I got outside of Joey but he sort of moved up to block me. At the same time McMahan had gone higher than both of us and had a run on the outside. I sort of got squeezed in the middle and had to blip the throttle for a second. Instead of being 2nd right on Donny Schatz going into turn 1 I ended up dropping to 4th."

Hafertepe began an intense battle with McMahan as he began working his way back into contention for the win. Finally with 5 laps remaining he was able to dispose of McMahan and 1 lap later drove under Schatz for 2nd.

"From there on out I changed my line a bit and ran the top in 3 and 4," said Sam. "I couldn't tell if I was catching or losing ground to Joey so I think we were pretty even over the final laps and I was going to need him to make a mistake to win. Joey Saldana in open track at Eldora isn't going to make a mistake though and once again we found ourselves running 2nd to that #9 car. It seems like every time we're close to a win he's always the guy that gets us."

Despite being oh so close and coming up just short of his first career WoO win Sam was quite happy.

"There's been times where we ran 2nd with these guys and I've been absolutely disgusted," recalled Sam. "I can swallow this one a lot easier though. We had a good car, we made things happen, we were fast and we gave it everything we had. We can leave here with our heads held high and you better believe that we will be set on kill when we come back here for The Kings Royal in July."

Sam will now once again head back to Pennsylvania and hop behind the wheel of The Pancho's Racing Products #93 at Williams Grove Speedway for 2 nights against The Outlaws before they head to Lincoln Sunday for a time trial show.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back into the Pancho's car and proving that the other week was an aberration," said Sam. "They are at the shop right now building me a brand new Maxim chassis so there are going to be no excuses. We're going to throw everything we have at them and hopefully we'll come out of the weekend with some solid results as we build towards The Keystone Cup at the end of the month."

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Plumbfast Mechanical, Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Pancho's Racing Products, Kear's Speed Shop, PPM Titanium Products, GPC Race Products, Butlerbuilt, Infinity Shocks, DMI, Finish Line Machining, Torco Racing Oils, Smiley's Racing Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Vortex Wings, AFCO Racing Shocks, Simpson Racing Products, Quick Sand Express Inc.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO SAM'S PRESS RELEASE LIST PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO: sam15press@gmail.com