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Hafertepe Jr. Caps 3 Race Week With IRA Win At Eagle Valley

Daryl Turford

Sunnyvale, Texas-Following a fantastic run at the Kings Royal Sam Hafertepe Jr and the Plumbfast Racing Team looked to build on the momentum with a 3 race week. Disappointment at the Don Martin Memorial was followed up with more disappointment at Attica Raceway Park before the team capped the weekend off with dominating IRA feature race win at Eagle Valley Raceway in Wisconsin.
At Lernerville on Wednesday night Sam and the Plumbfast Racing #15H Maxim Fisher clearly had not lost any speed from Eldora as they were the fastest car in the first warm-up session with a lap of 13.571. Unfortunately disaster struck when it was discovered that Sam had broken a U-joint in the session. The team was unable to change the U-joint in time and as a result was forced to start dead last in every race they entered.
“We had a bolt break in the U-joint”, said Sam. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s nothing the guys could have detected and it sure put us behind the 8-ball for the rest of the night”.
Sam lined up 11th for his heat with heavy hitters such as Joey Saldana, Craig Dollansky and Daryn Pittman also starting outside of a transfer position. At the drop of the green flag Sam went to the bottom of the track and blasted his way through the field. On the exit of turn 4 on the opening lap he brushed the wall lightly but continued his charge forward. Exiting turn 2 he worked his way into a transfer spot in a brilliant display that saw him pass 6 cars in 5 laps.
Unfortunately for Sam the light contact with the wall would be his undoing. The right rear tire on the car went flat and Hafertepe began trying to nurse the car home. Finally, while exiting turn 4 Sam lost control of the car and spun to a stop. Hafertepe would restart at the back of the field but was only able to work past a couple of cars so rather than risk his equipment he headed to the pits.
Sam started the C Main at the back of the pack and at the drop of the green went forward. Hafertepe took the lead early in the race and cruised to an easy victory and a spot in the Last Chance Showdown.
Hafertepe once again lined up dead last in the Last Chance Showdown. On the opening lap he was able to weave his way through several cars as he marched forward. It soon became clear that despite being fast Hafertepe would not be able to transfer to the A Features. Following a couple of close calls Sam once again took the car to the pits and called it a night.
Following the disappointment of Lernerville the Plumbfast Racing Team headed to Kear’s Speed Shop in Tiffin, Ohio to prepare for their first race off the World of Outlaws tour at Attica Raceway Park.
Sam drew the 5th starting position for his heat race and quickly worked the bottom side of the track past race leader Greg Wilson on lap 3 and drove away to a convincing win.
The team had high hopes heading into the feature as Sam drew a good starting spot when he pulled the number 4.
As the early laps unfolded it was clear that it would be a 3 car battle between front row starters Craig Mintz, Brandon Wimmer and Sam. Unfortunately the #15H wasn’t handling as well as Sam would have liked and making forward progress was difficult on the tricky surface. Hafertepe worked the bottom of the speedway for all it was worth in an effort to track down the front two while they worked the top. The trio entered traffic and just as the race was about to get very interesting a yellow flag was brought out setting up a 10 lap shoot-out.
On the restart Sam used the middle of turns 1 and 2 to work his way past Wimmer. For the next 3 laps the pair battled for the 2nd position before they made contact exiting turn 2. Sam nearly flipped and went off the backstretch but gathered the car back in 5th. He spent the final laps trying to run down the top 4 but ran out of time and had to settle for the final top 5 position.
“To be honest we didn’t have the best car tonight”, explained Sam. “In open track Mintz and Wimmer were quicker. I could get them on restarts and I think if we’d have had a couple more I might have been able to pull something off but in open track those two were better. They were better on their setups for the feature and you’ve got to give them a lot of credit for that”.
The team planned on running Terre Haute with the All Star Circuit of Champions on Saturday night but that race rained out. Freemont also rained out along with KC so the team made the decision to tow down to Wisconsin for a Sunday night show at Eagle Valley Raceway.
Sam got off to a brilliant start as he set a new track record in qualifying with a blistering fast lap of 12.351. The time trial effort meant that Sam would have to start 6th in his heat and run in the top 5 to transfer to the A Main.
The heat race started off well enough as Sam moved from 6th to 3rd early. He soon began pressuring John Haeni for 2nd. The track had a cushion around the top but was slick all of the way up to it which made it very difficult to pass. Sam tried the bottom in turns 1 and 2 with 2 laps remaining but looped the car. He kept going in 4th but under IRA rules he had to restart at the tail. Sam had 2 laps to work his way back into a transfer spot but was up to the task as he worked his way back to a 5th place finish.
Under IRA rules the best the quickest car in qualifying can start the feature is 4th. Fortunately Sam pulled that pill and lined up for the feature race on the outside of row 2.
The early part of the feature was a duel between former WoO traveller Travis Whitney and Sam. Together along with Billy Balog the trio separated themselves from the field as Sam put constant pressure on Whitney. Whitney was able to lead until lap 12 but Sam slipped under him in lapped traffic to take the lead. 1 lap later Sam nearly made contact with a spinning lapped car but was able to slip by underneath without contact.
From there on out it was smooth sailing for Sam as he drove to a straightaway lead over Whitney. A caution flew with 2 laps to go setting up a green-white-checker finish but Sam had several lapped cars between himself and Whitney. Hafertepe pulled away in dominating fashion over the final 2 laps and won his first feature race of 2009.
“This car was absolutely awesome all night”, said the happy winner. “Kory (Miller) and Daryl (Turford) had everything right on the car, we made the right calls and this car was just awesome to drive. I was trying to be really patient when I was behind Whitney, he did a nice job and really didn’t make too many mistakes but I saw an opening in traffic and when you’ve been fortunate enough to have the experience I have in traffic you’re able to take advantage of those openings. Hopefully we can build on this and win a few more races this year”.
The Plumbfast Racing Team has once again headed back to Orange City, Iowa and the home base of Keizer Wheels. The team is preparing for a hectic week as they will take part in the Thunder Through The Plains Tour with the All Star Circuit of Champions starting on Wednesday night at US 36 Raceway in Cameron, MO.
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Heart Break for Hafertepe at “The Doty”, Redemption at The Kings Royal

Daryl Turford

Sunnyvale, Texas-Brad Doty was one of the greatest sprint car drivers during the decade of the 1980’s until his career was cut short by a vicious crash at Eldora Speedway in 1988. Sam Hafertepe Jr and the Plumbfast Racing Team headed to Limaland Speedway in Lima, OH to participate in the Brad Doty Classic this past Wednesday night. The night ended in heartbreak but the Plumbfast Racing Team was able to redeem themselves at the 26th Annual Kings Royal that weekend at Eldora Speedway with an impressive 3rd place finish.
At Lima Sam was one of the fastest drivers in his warm-up session and carried the momentum through qualifying as the 3rd year World of Outlaw racer timed in an impressive 5th quick overall in a very stout field.
Sam took off at the start of his heat getting around Steve Kinser for 2nd in turns 1 and 2 on the bottom and had begun to put a slide job on Neil Shepard for the lead when the start was called back. The following restart saw Sam dive to the bottom again in turns 1 and 2 but he couldn’t quite work his way past Shepard for 2nd. During the later stages of the heat Hafertepe was able to use the top side of the speedway to track down Shepard and with 2 laps remaining was able to make the slide job stick in turns 3 and 4 to take 2nd and move Sam into a Dash position. Hafertepe was able to close in on leader Steve Kinser during the final 2 laps but could not get close enough to mount a serious challenge for the win.
Sam had the hot hand when it came time to draw for the Crane Cams Dash as he pulled the #1 pill to put himself on the pole alongside of Daryn Pittman. The duo raced side by side at the drop of the green flag. Pittman and Sam battled for a complete lap side by side which allowed Jason Meyers to blast past both of them. Sam settled into 3rd and set his sights on Pittman. Hafertepe dove under Pittman in turn 3 and executed a perfect slide job to take 2nd late in the race. Hafertepe hammered the cushion in an attempt to run down Meyers but the two cars stayed even and Sam crossed the line in 2nd.
The main event was a slugfest and at the drop of the green flag Sam let everyone know that he was looking to earn his first career victory as he blasted into the lead. Hafertepe headed to the cushion and immediately put some real estate between himself and Meyers as he ran the fastest lap of the race on lap 3. Hafertepe continued to stretch his lead as he and Meyers began to enter lapped traffic.
The lapped traffic forced Sam to switch from the top of the track to the bottom and Sam soon found himself struggling to get past the lapped cars. On several occasions Meyers was able to apply pressure on Sam and sometimes he could even slide past Sam but each time the Sunnyvale, Texas youngster was able to turn back underneath of Meyers and drive away. Eventually Sam was able to get 2 lapped cars between himself and Meyers when the caution flew on lap 23. The caution flag removed the lapped cars from between Sam and Meyers and set the stage for another dog-fight. Hafertepe got a great restart and pulled several car lengths on Meyers through turns 1 and 2 but another caution flag flew before the lap was completed.
The restart saw Sam continue to work the bottom but Meyers was able to get a nice run on the top of turns 1 and 2 and pass Sam for the lead. Hafertepe chased after Meyers desperately as Steve Kinser entered the battle. Sam and Steve swapped positions lap after lap and together they began to reel in Meyers.
On lap 29 Meyers and Hafertepe switched lines but as Sam was heading down the back straightaway disaster struck as he hit the wall and began a vicious series of flips which resulted in a destroyed race car.
“I came out of turn 2 and thought I might be able to pass Meyers on the top in turns 3 and 4”, explained the sore racer. “Unfortunately I got the right front into some loose dirt and it sucked us up into the wall. I hit it and was able to pull it off the wall but when I got to the opening on the backstretch the dirt sucked me back into the wall again but this time it snapped the right front tire right off the axle which resulted in the front of the car digging into the ground and it sent me into a series of end over end flips. I just hate it so much because we had a really good car, I don’t know if we had the race won but it was going to be a heck of a race between the 3 of us during those last 10 laps”.
Two nights later The Plumbfast Racing Team found themselves at Eldora with a new car looking to take the $50,000 to win Kings Royal.
The Friday night show started off well enough as Sam was one of the fastest cars in warm-ups but a mechanical problem related to the steering of the car caused Sam to time in a disappointing 19th quick in the field of 40+ cars.
The steering problem persisted in the heat as Sam dropped from 5th to 7th.
“Every time I entered the corner the steering would lock up”, explained Sam. “I would have to shake the car loose entering the turn to keep it from happening and you just can’t do that and be fast here”.
The problem wouldn’t go away in the B Main and Sam pulled in early. The team spent the night and then changed steering boxes for the next day when the big money would be on the line.
In warm-ups Sam was once again very happy with the car but the steering problem persisted.
“We had the guys from KSE come down and see if they could think of anything”, said Sam. “We later were able to figure out what the problem was and fortunately it wasn’t the box. We made the changes that were necessary and from there on out we were fast all night”.
Sam laid down the 14th fastest lap in time trials which placed him on the outside of the front row for his heat.
Ageless veteran Danny Smith and Sam led their heat to the green with Sam able to take the lead. Jason Sides attempted a slide job in turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap but Sam kept his foot on the gas, kept his momentum up and held on to the lead. Sam would stretch his lead each and every lap as he laid down the fastest lap of any driver in any of the heat races. Hafertepe had nearly a full straightaway lead when he took the checkers to lock himself into the 5th starting position for the Dash.
“If you wanted a realistic shot at that $50,000 you had to win the heat race”, said Sam. “Fortunately the guys had the car on a rail and the car was really easy to drive”.
Sam would move up a row in the Dash following a Lee Jacobs mechanical failure but the Texas racer got a relatively bad start and fought a loose race car before eventually dropping to 5th which was where he would start the 26th Annual Kings Royal.
The opening lap was an eventful one for Sam as Steve Kinser cut down on him and nearly ended his night before he even turned a corner. As a result of an evasive manoeuvre Sam lost several spots but was bailed out when Joey Saldana crashed necessitating a complete restart and moving Sam up a row.
The restart of the Kings Royal saw Sam settle into the 4th position behind Danny Lasoski. Following a lap 6 yellow flag Sam began to apply pressure on Lasoski before he eventually drove by and into the 3rd position.
As the race wore on it became a battle between 3-time World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz, All Star Circuit of Champions kingpin Dale Blaney and Sam. Schatz and Blaney swapped the lead as Sam began to slowly reel the duo in.
“Around lap 15 of the race my car was working absolutely beautiful”, recalled Sam. “I was barely steering all of the way around and I could put the car wherever I wanted”.
Just before the halfway point Sam was able to work his way past Blaney and began setting his sights on Schatz. Soon enough Sam was gaining noticeably on Donny and looked poised to make the pass for the lead.
“At that point I really believed that we were going to win the Kings Royal”, said Sam. “My car was absolutely perfect, we were rolling and we could get through traffic better than those guys could because I could run lines they couldn’t. I was sure Schatz was trying to save his tires but I was also sure that we had something for him because I was conserving mine too and trying to take care of them as best as I could”.
The complexion of the race changed on lap 23 with a yellow. Sam now got to line up on Schatz’s bumper and the #15 was all that stood between himself, his first WoO feature win and $50,000.
On the restart however Schatz began to steadily pull away from Sam.
“Following the restart we just weren’t as good as we had been”, said Sam. “The car was starting to get tighter and tighter. I was moving the wing and trying to adapt to it and eventually found where it was good but we just weren’t as strong as we had been. I really think that had the race gone caution free we just might have won it but after that yellow Schatz really put the hammer down and showed his true hand and to be honest we just didn’t have anything for him any more”.
The lead that Schatz had built up began to evaporate in lapped traffic.
“He got to Lee Jacobs and at that point the track began taking rubber”, explained the for ASCS regional champion. “We closed down on him but he cleared him before I could get to him. Once I got to Jacobs it was just really tough to get around him because I had to leave the rubber to try to make it happen”.
Sam’s struggles would continue as the motor began to run dry on fuel and began sputtering.
“This motor just eats up fuel”, explained Sam. “All week it was using more fuel than what we are used to going through here. We knew going into the feature that there would probably be an open red and that it would probably be beneficial to us”.
The red flag finally appeared on lap 36 but unfortunately for Sam that was 1 lap too late as Blaney had already completed the pass of the sputtering G-H Plumbing #15H.
“If we hadn’t started sputtering there was no way Blaney was going to get us”, said Sam. “We weren’t going to track down Schatz but I’m pretty sure 2nd was ours”.
The 4 lap dash to the finish was relatively uneventful as Schatz, Blaney and Hafertepe slowly distanced themselves from each other and the rest of the field as Hafertepe crossed the line in 3rd.
Crew members Kory Miller and Daryl Turford greeted Sam at the scales and together had nearly as jubilant of a celebration as the winning team.
“My mom is originally from the Ohio area so I had my parents and a bunch of my family down to see this”, said the smiling racer. “Daryl is also relatively close to this area and his grandpa, father and brother were down to see this race along with a bunch of his fellow racers from back home and it was just so awesome to have a run like this in front of so many people who care about this team and how it does”.
The Plumbfast Team had originally planned to race with the All Star Circuit of Champions on Sunday at Tri-City but that was called off.
“We decided to celebrate and not worry about going to that race”, said Sam. “We thought we’d stay and celebrate this run. It’s about to be a really busy time in our schedule and I thought it would be nice to let the guys relax and enjoy a run like that because you never know how often you’ll do well in those big races and it’s always nice to enjoy when you do succeed at them”.
The team has now headed to Tiffin, Ohio and the Kear’s Speed Shop where the team will prepare for the Don Martin Memorial race at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvannia on Tuesday night.
“I really like running at Lernerville”, said Hafertepe. “It’s one of my favourite tracks and I always seem to do pretty well there. I can’t think of a better place to try to pick up my first World of Outlaws feature win”.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SAM’S PRESS RELEASE SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR E-MAIL PLEASE SEND AN E-MAIL TO: sam15press@gmail.com
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Daryl Turford) Sunnyvale, Texas-It was a busy and difficult week for Sam Hafertepe Jr and the Plumbfast Racing Team. The team struggled at 34 Raceway, got taken out by a lapped car after coming from last to 7th at Charter and then capped the week off with a 15th place run at Cedar Lake.
The team started off the week at 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA. In 2008 Sam had turned in a blistering time trial lap but that would not be the case this time as he was unable to crack the top 20 and could only turn in a lap good enough for 21st overall.
“Our motor has a lot of nights on it”, explained Sam. “It ran pretty decent for us at Husets so we thought we’d be fine here but we were wrong. It’s just not pulling like it should and that killed us tonight”.
Sam started 6th in a stacked heat race. Hafertepe tried high and low to find a way into the feature but eventually came home 7th in a heat race where both he and 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser were unable to transfer out of.
Hafertepe lined up for the last chance showdown in the 4th position and was able to work his way into 3rd on the opening lap. Sam worked the bottom in turns 1 and 2 which allowed him to drive past Johnny Herrera for 2nd. Hafertepe looked like he might be able to close down on Steve Kinser for the win but just as quickly as he worked his way forward, he began to go backwards. Hafertepe hung on the rest of the way to take 3rd and transfer to the A feature.
“We got pretty lucky there”, explained the 2007 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year. “The bolt came all of the way out of the torsion stop which pretty much killed us for the rest of the race. We were lucky to do as well as we did”.
Hafertepe rolled out for the A Feature from deep in the field and during the opening laps struggled to make headway.
“The car was perfect in turns 1 and 2 but just was just terrible in turns 3 and 4”, said Sam.
Hafertepe would struggle much of the way before spinning late and settling for an 18th place finish.
Following the race in Burlington the team headed to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and Charter Raceway for a Saturday night show. Head Mechanic Kory Miller and crew member Daryl Turford went to work at preparing the car and dropping in a fresh Fisher Racing Engine.
Sam took advantage of the fresh bullet under the hood of the G-H Plumbing #15H as he posted the 4th quickest lap out of the 35 car field in time trials.
Sam lined up on the outside of the second row for his heat race. The bottom row got going before the top row at the start of the heat race but Sam was able to work his way into the 3rd position behind Kraig Kinser and John Haeni. The track was one lane around the top and offered little opportunity to pass on the slick surface. Lap after lap Sam tried desperately to slide by Haeni but he couldn’t get it done as there was just not enough traction on the low side of the speedway. In the end Hafertepe had to settle for 3rd which would ultimately transfer him directly to the A Main but his time trial was one spot short of locking him into the Crane Cams Dash.
The Plumbfast Racing #15H lined up for the A Feature in the 11th position. The start of the race was a disaster as on the first lap Sam had to head to the work area with an unknown problem. Miller quickly diagnosed a problem with the left front torsion stop, made some slight adjustments and Sam returned to the track in 24th.
Sam was a rocket on the restart and immediately began tearing through the field. Hafertepe quickly sliced and diced his way up to 15th in the first 3 laps. Hafertepe continued on his tear and broke into the top 10 a few laps later. Sam worked the top in turns 1 and 2 before switching to bottom in turns 3 and 4. The Plumbfast Racing #15H was battling with Jason Sides for 8th when the duo went 3-wide around a lapped car. The lapped car and Sam made contact which sent both cars spinning out of the exit of turn 2. The contact resulted in Sam once again heading pitside where it was determined that he had a badly bent axle but no other damage. Hafertepe returned to the back of the pack.
On the restart Sam once again sliced his way through the field but with an ailing car he wasn’t able to do it as quickly. As the laps wound down he found himself running 11th all over Kraig Kinser in an attempt to break into the top 10. The duo circled the bottom of the speedway all of the way around as Sam made several attempts to dive underneath Kinser but he could never quite get it done. Hafertepe would have to settle for an 11th place finish (verify).
The Plumbfast Racing Team loaded up and headed to the Northern part of Wisconsin and the Cedar Lake Speedway.
Sam was 10th quick in warm-ups and was the first qualifier. Despite not laying down the lap he was looking for Hafertepe was still able to turn in the 12th quick time overall which put him on the pole for his heat race.
The heat race did not go well at all for the G-H Plumbing #15H. Sam and Kraig Kinser ran side by side into turn 1 with Kraig coming out ahead. Sam lost momentum battling with Kraig which gave Jac Haudenschild a run at him in turns 3 and 4. Haudenschild slid by Sam along with Jason Sides. Sam tried to work the bottom but Craig Dollansky made the top work a little bit better and was able to make his way by at the midway point. Sam continued to struggle and lost 5th on the final corner of the last lap but 6th was good enough to qualify him directly into the A feature.
The Feature race would be another exercise in frustration. Sam found the topside of the speedway to his liking early and was quick but as soon as he would try to make a move it would backfire on him.
“We spent a lot of the race trying to pass cars”, explained the 3rd year WoO racer. “I could get into the corners really well but the car was struggling coming out. I could get side by side with guys but whenever I left the top the car was just no good. I could enter the corners fine, but in the middle to the exit we’d struggle really badly so I could never finish my pass attempts and then I’d lose momentum and the guy behind me would slide by me in the next turn. It was really, really frustrating”.
Sam ended up finishing a disappointing 15th in the feature race.
The Plumbfast Racing Team is now headed to Tiffin, Ohio and the Kear’s Speed Shop to prepare for the month of money.
“These are some very important races that can really turn a whole season around”, said Sam. “To have a place like Kear’s where Shirley, Mark and everyone treat you so well, let us use their facilities and get us anything we need is really important to our team”.
Sam and the team are back in action Wednesday night as they take part in the Brad Doty Classic before they head to Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway for a regular Friday night show and then the $50,000 to win Kings Royal on Saturday. The team will then make the 5 hour trek to Tri-City for a date with the All Star Circuit of Champions.
“It’s a really busy time of year for us”, said Sam. “For the next 3 months we’ll be racing nearly every other night and hopefully we can pick up some wins along the way”.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SAM’S PRESS RELEASE SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR E-MAIL PLEASE SEND AN E-MAIL TO: sam15press@gmail.com
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Sunnyvale, Texas-It was an up and down weekend for the Plumbfast Racing Team and Sam Hafertepe Jr. Following a Friday night rainout at Husets the team headed to the Eagle Raceway in Nebraska where Sam brought home a 6th place finish on 7 cylinders. The following night Hafertepe was back in Husets and on the pole but the night came to a disappointing end after Sam was caught up in an opening lap wreck.
A tacky Eagle Raceway surfaced welcomed Sam and the rest of the Outlaws. Hafertepe had no trouble adapting to the track and was 2nd quick in his warm-up session.
Time trials were also good to Sam as he was the second car out to time trial and set the early standard. The track got faster and faster as qualifying went on and Sam eventually dropped to 4th.
“We went out early and the track was pretty greasy”, said the 2007 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year. “We laid down a great lap and it wasn’t until fairly late in the session that the guys were able to beat it so we were pretty happy”.
The Plumbfast Racing #15H lined up 3rd in the heat race but following the start Sam had dropped to 4th. Hafertepe would settle in and earn a 4th place finish to qualify for a spot in the Crane Cams Dash.
Sam started the dash in 5th but dropped to 6th on the start. The race was fairly uneventful from there on out as Hafertepe would hold his position.
“The top was the place to be on the starts”, explained Sam. “Every driver who started on the outside of the row beat the driver starting on the inside”.
Hafertepe was running 5th heading into turn 1 on the opening lap but was forced up the track to avoid being run into by another car. As a result of his evasive manoeuvre Sam found himself in 7th chasing Craig Dollansky and Jac Haudenschild. As the race went on Sam started noticing a problem.
“I could feel something was wrong and I could hear a funny noise in the cockpit”, explained Sam. “We found out following the race that we had a problem in the motor and we actually ran most of the feature on 7 cylinders”.
As the race wore on Sam began to close on Haudenschild and finally on lap 34 and despite a sick motor he was able to make the pass stick on the bottom of turn 4. Hafertepe would hold 6th for the rest of the way to bring home a hard-earned top-10 finish.
That evening the team made the decision to tow back to Husets where they had been rained out Friday night.
“We’ve decided we’d like to run more races than just the World of Outlaws schedule”, explained Sam. “Kory (Miller) drove through the night to get us to Huset’s and then he, Daryl (Turford) and I washed the car and changed the motor out to get it ready”.
The team’s hard work paid off as the car was a rocket in warm-ups.
“We were supposed to time trial but 2 rain showers ended that so we ended up lining up the heats based on the draw”, explained Sam. “We were fortunate because that put us on the front row for our heat”.
The heat was stacked as Sam lined up beside Scott Winters with local hero Terry McCarl starting in the 2nd row and track points leader Mark Dobmeier starting deep in the field.
Sam dropped the hammer at the drop of the green and out-dragged Winters into turn 1. Winters was able to stay with Sam for the first 2 laps but Hafertepe began to steadily pull away and eventually won the heat by over a straightaway even after encountering lapped traffic over Winters and McCarl.
Hafertepe was then called to the front straightaway where he was asked if he wanted to take a challenge to come from the back for a hefty bonus.
“The money was tempting but the track was just way too fast to try to come from the back against this competition”, explained Sam. “I thought it was pretty cool when Robby Wolfgang decided to give it a shot though”.
Following the challenge offering Sam drew for the feature race inversion. The Sunnyvale, Texas native pulled the precious “1” pill to put himself on the pole for the feature race event.
Any hopes Sam had of tasting victory were crushed before the field completed a lap.
“We took the green and I could feel the other guy on the front row’s tire on my right rear most of the way down the straightaway”, recalled Sam. “I had to drive it into turn 1 and 2 really deep to keep us from wrecking and when I did that I got into the ledge of the cushion pretty hard. I was able to settle the car down and we were headed straight down the backstretch so I got my foot back on the gas when I felt a car slam into my left rear hard. The guy didn’t even lift, I’m not totally sure what he was thinking but he hit us and hit us hard. He hit us so hard in the left rear that he broke our right rear birdcage in addition to the left rear cage. I just really feel terrible not only for us, but also the fans. There was a ton of people there and I think a lot of them were pretty pumped to see Terry and I go at it in the feature and to be honest I was too. I think we were fast enough to win that race and it sucks that it got taken away like that”.
The team will once again head back to the Keizer Aluminum Wheels shop in Orange City, Iowa where they will prepare to take on the World of Outlaws on Wednesday night at 34 Raceway in Burlington, Iowa.
“McCarl is promoting the show in Burlington”, said Sam. “I feel like he got some of our money tonight so we’ll try to take as much of his on Wednesday”.
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Sunnyvale, Texas-The past weekend was one of frustration for the Plumbfast Racing Team and Sam Hafertepe Jr. A terribly handling race car at US 36 Raceway resulted in a disappointing 22nd place finish and then a tired motor at Knoxville resulted in an 18th place finish.
In an effort to try to improve the team and dial in their J&J chassis a little better the team decided to head down to the shop of one of the greatest mechanics in sprint car history, Kenny Woodruff to prepare for the weekend events. The team spent the week at Kenny’s shop in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma preparing both the primary and back up cars in preparation for the race at US-36. Woodruff decided to help the team for the weekend and headed for the track with the team.
The new combination proved to be quick right out of the box as Sam emerged from warm-ups with the 4th fastest time on the tiny, high-banked speedway.
Sam was able to keep up the speed from warm-ups as he clocked in with a lap of 11.048 which was good enough for 7th quick and put him on the outside of the front row for his heat.
Sam and pole sitter Kraig Kinser led the field through turns 1 and 2 at the start of his heat race with Kraig getting the advantage. Hafertepe tried to drive under Kraig in turns 3 and 4 but lost momentum which allowed Jac Haudenschild to try a slide job on Sam in turns 1 and 2. There was nearly contact between the two drivers and Sam had to move above the cushion to keep off the R19. Sam lost the 3rd position to Jason Sides as he tried to gather the car back up. For the rest of the race Sam would hammer the top side of the speedway, he was unable to pressure Sides for 3rd but was never challenged.
Sam lined the Fusion Energy Boost #15H J&J 11th for the 40 lap main event but an opening lap tangle with Donny Schatz in turn 3 resulted in Sam spinning and restarting at the tail of the field.
It was clear that Sam was fighting an ill-handling race car as he spun again. During the yellow he headed to the pits where crew members Kory Miller and Daryl Turford worked at trying to fix the handling. Miller made a torsion bar adjustment and sent Sam back out.
On the restart Hafertepe was able to move forward a few spots but again on the next yellow headed pitside where the team changed a shock and sent him back out.
Sam was able to move forward steadily but was still fighting an ill-handling car. He had just passed Wayne Johnson and Tim Kaeding and was pressuring Gary Brazier when he spun out of turn 4. At that point Sam called it a night and headed to the pits and called it a night.
“That was one of the worst handling cars I’ve ever driven”, said Sam. “It seemed like no matter what we did we couldn’t fix it. We decided that night to bring our Maxim chassis down from upstairs and run it at Knoxville”.
The following night at Knoxville the team had the Maxim chassis down but they were racing with a tired motor.
In warm-ups the car was a little tight on corner entrance and was only 34th fastest. The team decided to change the left front torsion bar and the car handled flawlessly for the rest of the night.
Hafertepe laid down a lap of 15.230 in time trials which was good enough for 20th quick, just outside of the heat race inversion.
“The car was the best I’ve ever had here”, said Sam. “We were pretty down on power though and that cost us what could have been a great qualifying run”.
Sam lined up inside the 3rd row in his heat. He made a good start and on the 2nd lap was able to work his way into 4th. Hafertepe would hold the position and earn a direct transfer to the A Main.
Sam was able to gain a couple of positions in the early stages of the race after starting 19th. As the race wore on he chased Craig Dollansky. Together the pair past a few cars as Sam had a pretty uneventful race eventually crossing the line in 18th.
“I was actually fairly happy with the run”, said Sam. “This was the best car I’ve ever had here and I think once we get the Fisher motor back in this car the guys are going to have to contend with us once again”.
The team has once again headed to the Keizer Aluminum Wheels shop in Orange City, Iowa.
“We love heading to Orange City”, said Sam. “The Huisman’s know how to take care of us really well. It’s just unfortunate to see Wade hopping around on one leg these days because I was hoping to take him to school on the golf course at some point this week”.
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Sunnyvale, Texas-Sam Hafertepe Jr and the Plumbfast Racing Team made up for a disappointing run Friday night at River Cities Speedway with a top-10 effort at Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday night. It was Hafertepe’s second straight top-10 run at the facility that is quickly becoming one of Sam’s favourites. The team followed the run up the following evening at Nodak Speedway with a 12th place run.
The night didn’t get off to the greatest of starts at Red River Valley as the Fusion Energy Boost #15H wasn’t as good as Sam wanted and as a result his warm-up time placed him mid-pack.
Sam along with Chief Mechanic Kory Miller went to work at tuning the #15H and they were rewarded with a lap 16.787 which put Sam just outside of the top 10 in 11th. The qualifying effort would result in a coveted front row starting spot in the heat.
The heat race would prove to be very intense for the Sunnyvale, Texas racer. The top 2 cars earn a direct transfer to the Dash which can lead to some very intense racing for the top 2 positions.
At the drop of the green Sam got a nice run and led the field through turns 1 and 2. Hafertepe put it on the fence while Danny Lasoski ran in 2nd on the bottom. Sam appeared to be cruising to an easy heat race victory when a local car slowed to a stop to bring out the yellow.
The restart saw Sam once again head for the top while Lasoski went to the bottom and was able to sneak past Sam and into the lead. Hafertepe now had to milk every ounce of speed from his car as he was beginning to feel the pressure from 20-time WoO champion Steve Kinser. Kinser like Lasoski before him was running the bottom and on the white flag lap had a run on Sam. Hafertepe, sensing Kinser’s presence switched his line and headed for the bottom in turns 1 and 2. There was nearly contact between the pair but Sam was able to come out ahead and cover the final lap to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash.
“You have to make the move I made on the white flag lap”, explained Sam. “That’s one of the differences between most locals and an Outlaw. You have to be willing to change lanes and you have to be willing to take away lanes. I’m sure had the roles been reversed that Steve would have done the exact same thing”.
Despite the great run in the heat Sam would have his work cut out for him as when it came time pull a starting spot number in the Dash the 3rd year WoO racer pulled the dreaded “10” pill.
Any intentions Sam had of making a charge went out the window at the start of the Dash when the car hiked up on the right rear viciously heading into the first corner. Sam gathered the car up and began to chase down Lucas Wolfe but ran out of time. He would have to settle for a 10th place start in the A Feature.
The feature race went non-stop with action all over the speedway. Sam held the 10th position on the opening lap and began pressuring Lucas Wolfe early. Unfortunately Sam’s attempts to pass Wolfe gave Steve Kinser an opportunity to slip past Sam and drop him to 11th. Sam spent the rest of the feature race chasing down Wolfe for 10th while the pair diced through lapped traffic, sometimes going 3-wide.
“It was pretty hairy out there”, said Sam. “They’ve offered a bonus to the locals so they are out there racing each other pretty hard. Most of them stayed on the bottom while the Outlaws ran the top but every now and then you’d come up to a lapped car running the top and you’d have to make some tough decisions a lot quicker than you want to”.
As the laps wound down Sam began to close in on Wolfe and with just a few laps remaining he made a bold move to the top side of the speedway to blast past a lapped car and Wolfe and into the top 10. The rest of the race would end without incident and Sam had himself a 10th place finish.
The team made most of the 4 hour haul from Red River Valley Speedway to Nodak Speedway in Minot, ND during the morning following Saturday night’s race. Sam had suspected that he had a rear end going bad the night before and unfortunately when Chief Mechanic Kory Miller checked it Sam’s fears were realized. Miller along with Sam and crew member Daryl Turford swapped out rear ends, performed routine maintenance and had the Fusion Energy Boost #15H ready to go.
“We’d been seeing hints that the rear might go bad the last few times Kory maintenance the car”, explained Sam. “During the feature at Red River Valley I could smell the rear end going bad and we were fortunate to finish the race because it was just about to give up on us”.
Qualifying appeared to go well for Sam as he set quick time up to that point with a lap of 14.642. The track would get faster through time trials however and Sam would fall down the speed charts and eventually earn the 9th fastest time which put him on the outside of the front row for his heat.
The first start in Sam’s heat was called back when Brian Ellenberger jumped the initial start. Danny Lasoski moved to the pole position. Lasoski got the jump on Sam heading into turn 1 and Donny Schatz was able to duck underneath of Hafertepe as the duo raced through turns 3 and 4. Sam would run the rest of the heat uncontested in 3rd position. As a result of his finish the Fusion Energy Boost #15H was locked into the 11th starting spot for the feature race.
Sam was able to sneak under Jason Meyers coming out of turn 4 on the opening lap of the feature race but 1 lap later the race went yellow. The restart saw Meyers head to the top part of the speedway and drive back around for 10th.
As the race wore on Sam began trying to chase down Sides for 10th. During the midway point of the feature Sides nearly lost control of his car allowing Sam to close up. Sam then got back on the gas but Sides hadn’t quite saved it yet and the two made contact. The pair kept going but Sam lost the 11th position to Lucas Wolfe in the mess.
“Jason made a motion when I hit him”, recalled Sam. “He was giving me a thumbs up because he’d killed the motor trying to gather up his mess and when I hit him it fired his car back up. I thought he was giving me a different signal and I got pretty fired up until I talked to him after the races”.
Hafertepe was able to close back down on Wolfe and following a yellow flag on lap 24 the pair spent 2 laps side by side with neither giving an inch. Wolfe was eventually able to hold on to the spot after working the top side of the track. Sam tried over the final laps to pass the 2008 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year but in the end had to settle for a 12th place finish.
“It was pretty frustrating”, said Sam. “Everyone was so even so even though we were pretty close on the setup it didn’t matter and it was tough to move forward. We did pick up a vibration in the right rear near the end but other than that we were pretty decent”.
The team will now prepare for next weekend’s races in Cameron, MO and Knoxville, Iowa.
FUSION ENERGY BOOST FAST FACT-Most World of Outlaws fans may not know that Sam attempted to run stock cars a few years back as he competed in 3 ARCA races. During the 2004 season Sam made 3 starts with a best finish of 13th at Nashville Speedway.
“We had a top-5 run going in my first race at Nashville when there was a yellow with just a few laps remaining”, recalled Sam. “The crew chief looked at my Dad and asked him if he wanted to buy another set of tires for the final sprint. My dad decided I was doing a great job and that I might be able to keep the car up front. Unfortunately when everyone got fresh tires they blew by and I dropped to 13th in those final laps”.
Sam’s ARCA career was cut short early however 2 races later when another car spun out of the warm-up lane and directly into Sam’s path. The car was totalled.
“That was one of the hardest hits I’ve ever taken”, said Sam. “Following that crash we decided that the exposure we were getting for my parents investment wasn’t worth it and we decided to focus solely on sprint cars”.
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Support the people who support Sam: Fusion Energy Boost, G-H Plumbing, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, AFCO Shocks, Wings Unlimited and Smiley’s Race Products

Sunnyvale, Texas-It was a frustrating night for the Plumbfast Racing Team at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND this past Friday night. Sam Hafertepe Jr and his Fusion Energy Boost #15H appeared to be salvaging a difficult night with a top-10 finish when a late race spin cost the team a good finish.
Hafertepe and the team came into the night’s racing very prepared having spent the week going over the car at the Keizer Aluminum Wheels shop.
“Wade and everyone at Keizer treat us like kings when we are there”, explained Sam. “Those guys take care of us so well and definitely know how to have a good time, I always look forward to visiting them.”
Unfortunately all of the hard work didn’t seem to pay off as Sam was a disappointing 17th in warm ups. The lack of speed continued through time trials as Hafertepe could only muster another 17th place time in qualifications.
“The car just wasn’t right”, said Sam. “It was leaning over on the right rear really hard and it seemed like we chased that all night”.
The problems continued through the heat race but Sam was able to improve 1 spot on the initial start and was able to stay with the lead pack throughout the contest to earn himself a spot directly into the A Feature with a solid 5th place finish.
Hafertepe began the feature from the 16th starting spot and was able to move forward 3 positions on the opening lap. The good start would not last however as it was clear that Sam was fighting an ill-handling car and he began dropping through the field.
Sam began searching around and adjusting his driving to suit the track conditions and soon began to work his way back through the field. Hafertepe began an intense battle with locals Mark Dobmeier and Wade Nygaard along with Outlaw regular Lucas Wolfe that would see the foursome swap positions frequently as Sam ran the bottom for all it was worth.
As the race wore on Sam would establish himself in 13th and began to close in on Brian Ellenberger before he spun. Hafertepe moved into the top 10 on lap 21 and began to chase down ‘The Wild Child’ Jac Haudenschild.
Jac ran his customary high line while Sam continued trying to make the track smaller and smaller, sometimes doing wheelies as he worked his way through the infield. Hafertepe began closing in at first but a couple of good laps by Haudenschild saw him pull away. Sam continued plugging away however and eventually closed the gap on him when the yellow flag flew.
Sam continued pressuring Haudenschild on the restart but on lap 30 disaster struck as the Fusion Energy Boost #15H did a lazy spin in turns 3 and 4.
Hafertepe would restart in 16th and actually worked his way back up to 13th but he was passed on the final lap and had to settle for 14th.
“Tonight just never went our way”, said the frustrated youngster. “We are definitely getting better though because tonight we were able to deal with it and if I hadn’t spun we’d have taken a car that had no business being in the top 10 and put it there. The car just kept getting over on the right rear and it finally bit us there at the end. I think I have a pretty good idea what our problem is though so tomorrow Kory (Miller) and I will go through the car and we should be really good when we get to Fargo.”
FUSION ENERGY BOOST FAST FACT-Despite the slow start to the season Sam is starting to show just how far he has come this year. In what many thought was a breakthrough year for Sam last year he was able to score 4 top 5 finishes. 2009 has already seen the Sunnyvale, Texas native take home 3 top 5 finishes and it appears as though more are on the way.
“It really makes me feel good to see us becoming a consistent top-5 threat”, said Sam. “Our top-10’s aren’t really where we want them to be but the top 5’s show that we can definitely be fast when we are on. Hopefully we’ll start getting a little more consistent out here and we’ll start to really pile up the numbers”.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SAM’S PRESS RELEASE SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR E-MAIL PLEASE SEND AN E-MAIL TO: sam15press@gmail.com
Support the people who support Sam: Fusion Energy Boost, G-H Plumbing, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, AFCO Shocks, Wings Unlimited and Smiley’s Race Products

Sunnyvale, Texas- (Daryl Turford) It is only fitting that the World of Outlaws scheduled a 2-race weekend in Dodge City, Kansas. The area made so famous by outlaws of the past was invaded by Sam Hafertepe Jr and the rest of the World of Outlaws this past weekend.
The Fusion Energy Boost #15H was fast off the trailer and despite heading out later in warm-ups he was able to reel off a lap that was good enough for 9th overall in the 34 car field with a lap of 13.329.
Sam drew the second lowest number in qualifying and headed on to the track with hopes of bumping his way into the invert. Sam’s first lap was not good enough to make the 16 car inversion and his second lap was .006 short of making the invert. Sam would have to settle for 17th fastest after he turned in a time of 13.238.
‘Qualifying is just so vital with the Outlaws and we seem to just keep missing it a tiny bit’, said the frustrated racer following time trials. ‘You have to make that invert or it is going to make for a very long night. The car wasn’t right and the motor wasn’t right and you just can’t think you’re going to have a good lap against these guys because they’re just too good’.
Sam lined up 5th in his heat race and held his position throughout the heat. He was able to stay on the back bumper of Danny Lasoski but never mounted a serious bid for 4th while never having to defend the 5th spot. The result would see Sam headed directly to the A Feature but he would have to start deep in the pack.
The Fusion Energy Boost #15H started the feature race from the 17th slot but was able to move up a row when Tim Kaeding spun on the initial start. On the following restart Sam dropped back with the rest of the cars on the inside line but quickly started moving forward as it was clear he was a man on a mission.
Sam entered high into turn 1 and drove around Jason Martin on the top and then cut back down low exiting turn 2 to get by Tony Bruce. One lap later he blasted past 3-time defending WoO champion Donny Schatz.
Sam continued moving forward and had run down the group of cars in front of him when disaster struck. Sam was exiting turn 4 on Brooke Tatnell’s back bumper when Jac Haudenschild made contact with another car and went spinning across the track. Hafertepe had nowhere to go and hammered the #R19. The car did a wheelie and then came down hard on the nose which began a vicious series of end over end flips. The crash began exiting turn 4 and Sam’s car came to a stop upside down in turn 1. Thankfully Hafertepe emerged with only a sore neck from the crash.
‘That was one of the hardest crashes I’ve ever taken’, explained Sam. ‘I could see the crash setting up the whole time but I just had no idea where to go and I hit Jac hard. The frame is okay but we tore up pretty much every bolt on part. Fortunately my father and one of his employees; Pancho were here to help Kory, Daryl and I fix the car and we should be good to go tomorrow’.
The Plumbfast Racing Team will once again be in action at Dodge City Raceway this evening (Saturday) and will be looking to avenge last night’s disappointment with Speed TV cameras rolling.
FUSION ENERGY BOOST FAST FACT- Sam now has 1:64 scale die cast cars available at his souvenir trailer.
‘We just got the shipment in the other day’, explained Sam. ‘It’s pretty neat to have your own 1:64 scale car, it’s one of those things that shows you how far you’ve come in your career. I never thought I’d see this day when I was younger.
The cars will also be available on Sam’s merchandise page at www.sam15.com.
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