9/30/2009
Sam Hafertepe Jr
Sam Hafertepe Jr. Scores 2 Top-10 Finishes Over...
[b Sam Hafertepe Jr. Scores 2 Top-10 Finishes Over Weekend]
[i Daryl Turford]
Sunnyvale, Texas-Sam Hafertepe Jr and The Plumbfast Racing Team headed to the buckeye state this past weekend for a weekend of racing at Eldora Speedway and Fremont Speedway. Friday night at Eldora Hafertepe nearly passed Steve Kinser at the line but settled for 10th and Saturday night Sam made a late charge to score another 10th place finish in the Fremont Speedway season finale.
Sam and the team came into the night’s action at Eldora with high hopes following a strong 3rd place showing at the Kings Royal in July. The night got off to a decent start as Sam turned in the 12th fastest lap in time trials to put himself on the outside front row of his heat.
The initial start was called back after World of Outlaws officials felt that Sam had jumped the start. Hafertepe was forced to move back a row and let everybody know how he felt about it by blasting from the 4th starting spot into the lead coming out of turn 2. Sam kept the hammer down and won the heat by over a straightaway.
Hafertepe drew a 7 for the Dash and wasted little time moving forward. The Sunnyvale, Texas native worked the bottom of the speedway to perfection as he moved up to 5th by the finish after pressuring Joey Saldana for 4th.
Sam had been one of the fastest cars all night but unfortunately at feature time the team encountered problems with the right rear bleeder. Hafertepe did everything he could but soon found himself slipping through the field. A long green flag run allowed Hafertepe to settle into 10th place for much of the race but with 1 lap remaining Sam got a run on Steve Kinser coming out of the 4th turn. The duo drag raced to the finish but Sam crossed the line about a bumper short of 9th.
“Tonight just proves how much you have to be on your game against The Outlaws”, explained Sam following the race. We had one of the fastest cars all night and had to be considered one of the favorites to win the race but we had one little problem with our bleeder and it just killed any chance we had of winning the race”.
The team loaded up and prepared for action against some of Ohio’s best the following night at the always tricky Fremont Speedway. Sam also acquired the services of sprint car legend Rick Ferkel to turn wrenches for the night.
Unfortunately the team had the car too tight in time trials which resulted in a disappointing 16th place effort. The car still wasn’t where it needed to be in the heat but Sam was able to make a good start and move from 3rd to 2nd on the opening lap. Hafertepe tried several different lines and was able to close in on leader Keith Baxter but never made a serious bid for the lead as he came home in 2nd.
Rick and the team set about tightening up the car for Fremont’s typically slick surface. Unfortunately the team went too far and Sam was forced to deal with a tight race car that would not roll the corners like he wanted. Hafertepe struggled through much of the feature and nearly spun after he was hit from behind by another car. The contact seemed to light a spark in Sam as he charged forward in the final laps to move from 14th to 10th.
“We just flat out missed the setup”, said Sam. “This place is pretty tricky and these guys around here run the place so well that you can’t afford to miss the setup one little bit if you want to win.”
The team is now headed to Pennsylvania to take on the best of the World of Outlaws and the famed “Pennsylvania Posse” in a 2 race weekend at Williams Grove which will be broadcast on SpeedTV Saturday evening.
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