Bergman Wins At TMS
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FORT WORTH, Texas – Seth Bergman took home the checkered flag after the second Lucas Oil ASCS feature of the weekend at the Port-A-Cool U.S. National Dirt Track Championship on Saturday evening. Bergman, a native of Washington, started in sixth, but moved up through the field before passing Sam Hafertepe Jr., the winner of Friday’s feature, on Lap 16 and never looked back. The win is Bergman’s first at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
“As far as prestige and a race you want to win, this is probably the biggest win of the year for us,” Bergman said. “It’s one of the marquee events on our calendar all year for the Lucas Oil ASCS. I’ll definitely take that big Port-A-Cool fan home, I’m happy about that. I’ve watched guys for the past two years here put that cowboy hat on and smile. To finally be the guy down there wearing the cowboy hat and taking home all those cool prizes, you can’t beat that feeling.”
Hafertepe Jr. looked like a TMS sweep was on his mind after quickly moving from
eighth to first over the first nine laps. The Sunnyvale, Texas, native looked unbeatable again as he surged through the crowded field, but as the moisture left the track throughout the race, it was all about who would be the first to find the rubber on the surface and lucky for Bergman, he found it before Hafertepe Jr.
“I think all of the teams knew the rubber was going to come eventually and it was all about who was going to get out front first and who was going to find it,” Bergman said. “Luckily we got through there before it came. I found the bottom in Turns 1 and 2 where the rubber was before Hafertepe Jr. I think that was the key move of the race and at that point when I got around him, the rubber down was all the way around the race track so I stayed in that one groove and didn’t slip out of it.”
Points leader Brad Loyet rebounded from his eighth-place finish on Friday to finish third in Saturday’s feature. Two-time defending Port-A-Cool U.S. National Dirt Track Championship winner, Jason Johnson, uncharacteristically went a lap down to Bergman on Lap 17, ultimately finishing 14. Johnny Herrera and Jeff Swindell rounded out the top five.
The strong weekend performance for Hafertepe Jr. moves him into sole possession of second in the championship points standings for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour, 83 points behind Loyet. Swindell drops to third and 96 points back while Johnson loses more ground as he falls to fourth, 119 points back.
In the Limited Modified division, Tracy Denby Jr. of Vidor, Texas, completely dominated the competition earlier Saturday night at the Port-A-Cool U.S. National Dirt Track Championship. After winning the eight-lap pole dash over Travis Johnson by .47 seconds, Denby Jr. earned the right to start on the inside of Row 1 for the A-Main feature event. The pole dash win turned out to be the difference as Denby Jr. held off Johnson for the entirety of the 30-lap feature event.
The Vidor native was able to build a significant six-car length lead over the first half of the race as Johnson was busy fighting off Gabe Tucker for the second position, but lapped traffic over the final six laps made for a tight finish. Johnson got the nose of his limited modified into the back of Denby Jr. on Lap 28, but Denby Jr. held on for his first career win at the 0.4-mile clay oval.
Exciting dirt track action returns to Texas Motor Speedway in 2015 for the Port-A-Cool Texas World Dirt Track Championship on May 15-16. The two-night event will feature Limited Modified and Modified divisions as well as the SUPR Late Model series. Visit www.texasmotorspeedway.com or call (817) 215-8500 for more information.
