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We made the 500 mile trip to Lawton Oklahoma, for an ASCS Sooner Region race. 36 cars signed in making 5 heat races, all with some very stiff competition. Pulling the #8 pill put us on the pole for heat #3. After a couple false starts, a couple incidents the race finally went from green to checkered and Derrik led every lap. The heat race win put him 8th in passing points after the heat races. The top 8 redraw left us starting 3rd for the A feature. After watching the B-mains we made our set up decisions and geared up to run the top side.
While breaking from the 3 wide parade lap a couple cars got together sending one flipping down the back stretch, and bringing out the red flag before the race even started. Once we got lined up and the green flag dropped. Derrik made his way into 2nd coming off turn 2 down the back stretch. The first two laps he traded slide jobs with Sean McClelland for the 2nd spot. Five laps in contact with Danny Wood caused him to fall all the way back to 7th. Being flustered caused more mistakes, and more lost positions. Derrik made some really good laps running in 10th or 11th place but made one final mistake getting over the cushion and making contact with the 03 car of Joe Wood Jr. breaking the front end and bringing an early end to the night.
Overall it was a good night of racing, and a great experience, It was nice being halfway competitive with some really great cars after almost a year out of the car. We will spend some time regrouping, but look forward to hitting the track again later this year. Special thanks to Amber, Manny, Annette, Mac Daddy, Kelly Denison, and Bud Goodwin for their hard work to make this race possible.

Fargo, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz laid the groundwork for Saturday night’s $15,000-to-win Western World finale by earning the pole position with a convincing triumph in Thursday night’s preliminary feature event.

Schatz finished it off in strong form, gunning into the lead at the outset and pacing all 30 rounds atop the 3/8-mile USA Raceway clay oval aboard Tony Stewart’s Bass Pro Shops No. 20 machine for his second career Western World triumph.

“The nice thing about racecars is some days they’re awesome and some days you can’t find your ass, I guess that was one of those good nights tonight,” Schatz commented.

While Schatz led throughout, until a late caution gave him open track, he had company most of the way as Friday night winner Johnny Herrera and Danny Lasoski kept the heat on as they sought any opportunity to pounce for the lead as traffic played a factor.

Schatz, who reached the tail of the field by the tenth circuit, found open track once again when the race’s only caution flew after 21 laps for Michael Dupuy’s stalled mount. Schatz checked out on the restart and raced to the checkered flag with a substantial 1.726-second advantage over Herrera’s JHR No. 45x Maxim.

“After that restart he was a lot better than me, he got away there and I couldn’t get going as good as I was before that restart,” Herrera explained.

Lasoski settled for the show position in the Kistler-powered Michael Ross Foundation No. 33 Eagle, while current Lucas Oil ASCS National points leader Jason Johnson battled his way to a fourth-place finish in the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes/Pope Transportation No. 41 Maxim.

After dicing with Johnson much of the way, Joey Saldana rounded out the top five in the Kasey Kahne Racing Budweiser No. 9, with Cody Darrah, Jack Dover, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Shane Stewart and Brady Bacon completing the top ten.

After Dalten Gabbard and Kyle Hirst kicked off Saturday night’s racing festivities with “C” Main wins, Lucas Wolfe and Brian Brown topped the “B” Mains.

“C” Mains (Top 4 from Each Advance to “B” Mains):

First “C” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 2. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 3. 90-Lance Norick, 4. 98mn-Mitch Olson, 5. 15-Bud Goodwin, 6. 57x-Steve Stone, 7. 11x-Chad Corken, 8. 78-Jody Williams, 9. 45-Martin Edwards. DNS: 77T-Colt Treharn.

Second “C” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 6-Kyle Hirst, 2. 53x-Andy Gregg, 3. 10a-Ricky Logan, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 1s-Sean McClelland, 6. 1p-Curtis Evans, 7. 20az-George Suprick, 8. 44k-Koty McGullam, 9. 41w-Joshua Williams.

“B” Mains (Top 3 from Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 2. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 3. 79-Calvin Landis, 4. 3s-John Carney II, 5. 95-Matt Covington, 6. 21c-Justyn Cox, 7. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 8. 50z-Zach Chappell, 9. 98m-Mitch Olson, 10. 35g-Shane Golobic, 11. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 12. 90-Lance Norick, 13. 1x-J.T. Imperial, 14. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 15. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 16. 94T-Steven Tiner,

Second “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 35-Paul McMahan, 3. 2L-Logan Forler, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 2b-Ben Gregg, 6. 5h-Justyn Cox, 7. 3g-Darren Long, 8. 93-Dustin Morgan, 9. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 10. 53x-Andy Gregg, 11. 55-Trey Starks, 12. 10a-Ricky Logan, 13. 6-Kyle Hirst, 14. 31-Brandon Berryman, 15. 22j-John Gaston, 16. 71-Channin Tankersley.

Lucas Oil ASCS Western World Championship Finale:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 20-Donny Schatz, 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 3. 33-Danny Lasoski, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 9-Joey Saldana, 6. 89-Cody Darrah, 7. 53-Jack Dover, 8. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 9. 57-Shane Stewart, 10. 99-Brady Bacon, 11. 83-Tim Kaeding, 12. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13. 9x-Gary Wright, 14. 75-Kyle Larson, 15. 21-Brian Brown, 16. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 17. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 18. 35-Paul McMahan, 19. 2L-Logan Forler, 20. 88-Tim Crawley, 21. 11-Roger Crockett, 22. 79-Calvin Landis, 23. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 24. 6-Kyle Hirst.

Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters (Winged)

Albuquerque’s Johnny Herrera has enjoyed a stranglehold on ASCS Regional racing throughout the west and southwest in recent times, racking up 21 feature wins in 29 Regional starts over the past six seasons.

But, it had been since November of 1996 since “Hollywood” had graced victory lane in the ASCS National spotlight.

Herrera changed that on Friday night, prevailing in a hotly-contested 25-lapper at the 43rd Annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships for his second career Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National triumph and first since a Devil’s Bowl Speedway win over 14 years ago.

Following a red flag stoppage after two laps for Danny Wood’s turn three tangle with the retaining wall, Herrera continued chasing Lucas Oil ASCS points leader Jason Johnson and Danny Lasoski, with traffic coming into play in short order.

The trio of Johnson, Lasoski and Herrera began dicing for the point as they slid through traffic, with Lasoski surging ahead to lead the ninth round before Herrera made a big slide into the lead a lap later as Joey Saldana briefly joined in the lead chase.

“It was crazy there for a few laps, we were all sliding each other back and forth,” Herrera explained afterward. “I thought Johnson would be the one to beat, but then it was like a switch flipped and he just backed up.”

Some slick moves through traffic in the JHR No. 45x Maxim soon gave Herrera some breathing room, leaving Lasoski to fend off Johnson and Saldana until a caution flew just three laps shy of the checkered flag for Wayne Johnson, who turned on his side in turn two while running among the top ten.

After Kyle Hirst slipped too high exiting turn two and flipped on the ensuing restart, Herrera broke free and raced to the checkered flag with a 0.732-second advantage over Lasoski’s Kistler-powered Michael Ross Foundation No. 33 Eagle.

Saldana claimed the show position in the Kasey Kahne Racing Budweiser No. 9, with Johnson settling for fourth in the Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim.

Saldana explained of just his fifth career Lucas Oil ASCS National feature start, “I feel like I’m runnin’ the Chili Bowl, I’m out of my element. I kinda figured it out in the feature, I felt like I was good as those guys, just lapped traffic.”

Defending Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Shane Stewart rounded out the top five in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered Rock Star Energy Drink No. 57 A.R.T., with 12th-starter Tim Kaeding, “King of California” Kyle Larson and ASCS Northwest ace Roger Crockett earning lock-in positions to Saturday night’s Western World Championships finale by finishing sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Brian Brown missed a lock-in by one position by crossing the stripe in ninth, with Lucas Wolfe completing the top ten.

Lasoski, Herrera, Stewart and Larson topped Friday night’s heat race action, with Brown winning the 12-lap “B” Main.

Ricky Logan flipped in the night’s first winged heat race, but was able to return for “B” Main action. Joshua Williams flipped early in the “B” Main, escaping injury as well.

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to “B" Main):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 33-Danny Lasoski, 2. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 83-Tim Kaeding, 5. 21-Brian Brown, 6. 41w-Joshua Williams, 7. 3g-Darren Long, 8. 77T-Colt Treharn, 9. 10a-Ricky Logan.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 2. 9-Joey Saldana, 3. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 4. 45-Martin Edwards, 5. 94-Danny Wood, 6. 20s-Kyle Sager, 7. 88-Tim Crawley, 8. 2b-Ben Gregg, 9. 11x-Chad Corken.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 11-Roger Crockett, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 6-Kyle Hirst, 5. 3s-John Carney II, 6. 1s-Sean McClelland, 7. 20az-George Suprick, 8. 90-Lance Norick.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 75-Kyle Larson, 2. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 3. 93-Dustin Morgan, 4. 94T-Steven Tiner, 5. 35g-Shane Golobic, 6. 35-Paul McMahan, 7. 78-Jody Williams, 8. 44k-Koty McGullam.

"B" Main (Top 6 Advance to "A" Main):

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 93-Dustin Morgan, 3. 2b-Ben Gregg, 4. 35-Paul McMahan, 5. 3g-Darren Long, 6. 94T-Steven Tiner, 7. 88-Tim Crawley, 8. 10a-Ricky Logan, 9. 90-Lance Norick, 10. 78-Jody Williams, 11. 1s-Sean McClelland, 12. 41w-Joshua Williams, 13. 45-Martin Edwards, 14. 11c-Chad Corken, 15. 44k-Koty McGullam, 16. 20s-Kyle Sager. DNS: 20az-George Suprick, 77t-Colt Treharn.

Lucas Oil ASCS Western World Friday Preliminary Feature (Top 8 Lock into Saturday’s “A” Main):

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 2. 33-Danny Lasoski, 3. 9-Joey Saldana, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 83-Tim Kaeding, 7. 75-Kyle Larson, 8. 11-Roger Crockett, 9. 21-Brian Brown, 10. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 11. 35-Paul McMahan, 12. 3s-John Carney II, 13. 2b-Ben Gregg, 14. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 15. 88-Tim Crawley, 16. 35g-Shane Golobic, 17. 93-Dustin Morgan, 18. 94T-Steven Tiner, 19. 3g-Darren Long, 20. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 21. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 22. 6-Kyle Hirst, 23. 94-Danny Wood.

Lonnie Wheatley, LAS CRUCES, N.M. (November 13, 2010) – There’s a reason they call him “The King”.

And, Steve Kinser showed exactly why on Saturday night, prevailing over Jason Johnson in a classic, non-stop 30-lap duel atop the 5/16-mile Southern New Mexico Speedway clay oval for his first triumph in Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National action.

“That was a heck of a race right there!” a pleased Kinser exclaimed after the $6,000 victory to put the wraps on the much anticipated Lucas Oil ASCS National return to the Land of Enchantment.

Vying to knock off one of his early mentors, current series points leader Johnson paced a dozen circuits before Kinser slipped by in traffic on the 24th round en route to becoming the 99th different winner in the 601st feature event in ASCS National history.

After finishing third behind Jack Dover and Johnny Herrera in Friday’s preliminary feature to lock into Saturday’s main event, Kinser redrew the front row outside with four-time ASCS National champion Gary Wright racing into the redraw and landing on the pole position after pulling a “69” to kick off the night.

With the legendary duo of Wright and Kinser leading the way to the green flag in front of Johnson and Herrera with Dover and Wayne Johnson in the third row, it was “The Texan” gunning into the lead at the outset.

A winner of 126 career ASCS National features, Wright led his first two feature laps of the 2010 season before slipping off the edge of turn four on the third lap to open the door for Kinser, with Johnson dashing by for second as well.

Reaching traffic by the ninth circuit, Johnson worked the topside of one and two and the bottom of three and four, finally slicing underneath Kinser exiting turn four to take command on the 12th circuit.

“The Ragin’ Cajun” led the way aboard the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes / Pope Transportation No. 41 Maxim over the ensuing circuits, opening up an advantage of several car-lengths as Jack Dover moved around Wright for third on the 17th lap and then began to put the pressure on Kinser for second with just ten laps to go.

Kinser began to surge forward though, and when Johnson slipped just a bit too high on the perilously thin turn two cushion, it was all Kinser needed to take advantage and race into the lead on the 24th lap.

“I finally got the wing back a little bit and got to working the middle,” Kinser explained. “He got a little loose off the top and I got by on the bottom.”
While Johnson tried to counter as the laps clicked off, Kinser slipped past a final pair of lapped cars on the white-flag lap to secure the triumph aboard the TSR Bass Pro Shops No. 11 Maxim.

Johnson settled for runner-up honors, while Dover claimed the show position aboard the Shaver-powered 3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle. Danny Lasoski climbed from eleventh to claim fourth, while Wright brought Scott Brown’s Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x across the stripe in fifth for his first top-five run since May 30 at the Jetmore Motorplex.

Trying to keep current Lucas Oil ASCS National points leader Johnson within reach in the series $60,000 title chase, 20-year-old Brady Bacon crossed the stripe sixth in front of fellow Oklahoma shoes Danny Wood and Wayne Johnson.

Leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Hirst of Loomis, CA, claimed ninth, with New Mexico native Herrera completing the top ten.

With all 30 laps run in non-stop fashion, 21 of the scheduled 23 feature starters took the checkered flag.

While the feature ran off without caution, that was not the case in the night’s earlier action with the red flag flying on several occasions.

The night’s first red flag flew on the second lap on the second heat race when Tony Stewart went for a wild ride off turn two. While Stewart was uninjured, his first weekend of Lucas Oil ASCS National competition was cut short with a mangled car.

Koty McGullam flipped later in the second heat, while Channin Tankersley flipped and junked a car after current ASCS Southwest points leader Rick Ziehl spun in turn four in the third heat race. The night’s final red flag flew at the start of the first “B” Main when Joshua Hodges went for a ride down the frontstretch. There were no injuries.

Tim Crawley, John Gaston, Ricky Logan, Lasoski, Mason Moore and Sammy Swindell won Saturday night’s heat races, with Kyle Larson, Shane Stewart and Darren Long topping the “B” Mains.
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters

Southern New Mexico Speedway Saturday Results:

Locked in from Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

53-Jack Dover, 45x-Johnny Herrera, 11-Steve Kinser, 77x-Wayne Johnson.

Heat Races (Top 12 in Passing Points, including the 6 Heat Race winners, to "A" Main; Balance to 3 "B" Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 35-Shane Golobic, 3. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 4. 3s-John Carney II, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 55-Trey Starks, 7. 41j-Joshua Williams, 8. 20s-Kyle Sager.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 22j-John Gaston, 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 9x-Gary Wright, 4. 3g-Darren Long, 5. 52-David Burns, 6. 44k-Koty McGullam, 7. 57x-Steve Stone, 8. 14-Tony Stewart.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 10a-Ricky Logan, 2. 6-Kyle Hirst, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 6. 77-Colt Treharn, 7. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 8. 71-Channin Tankersley.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 33-Danny Lasoski, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. 19-Wes Wofford, 5. 11x-Chad Corken, 6. 11w-Tim West, 7. 145x-Derek Demartino, 8. 99x-Chuck Jackson.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 5h-Mason Moore, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 1p-Curtis Evans, 4. 2L-Logan Forler, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 62-Bill Mitchell, 7. 16-Chris Kaiser.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 2. 79-Calvin Landis, 3. 75-Kyle Larson, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. 15-Bud Goodwin, 6. 41x-Jesse Baker, 7. 90-Lance Norick.

"B" Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to "A" Main):

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 75-Kyle Larson, 2. 3s-John Carney II, 3. 55-Trey Starks, 4. 35-Shane Golobic, 5. 19-Wes Wofford, 6. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 7. 41j-Joshua Williams, 8. 16-Chris Kaiser, 9. 95-Matt Covington, 10. 74x-Joshua Hodges. DNS: 11w-Tim West, 71-Channin Tankersley.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 2L-Logan Forler, 3. 79-Calvin Landis, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 11x-Chad Corken, 6. 62-Bill Mitchell, 7. 99x-Chuck Jackson, 8. 145x-Derek Demartino, 9. 93-Dustin Morgan. DNS: 44k-Koty McGullam, 14-Tony Stewart.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 3g-Darren Long, 2. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 3. 1p-Curtis Evans, 4. 20s-Kyle Sager, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 15-Bud Goodwin, 7. 41x-Jesse Baker, 8. 90-Lance Norick, 9. 52-David Burns, 10. 57x-Steve Stone. DNS: 77-Colt Treharn.

Southern New Mexico Speedway “A” Main:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 11-Steve Kinser, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 53-Jack Dover, 4. 33-Danny Lasoski, 5. 9x-Gary Wright, 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 94-Danny Wood, 8. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 9. 6-Kyle Hirst, 10. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 11. 10a-Ricky Logan, 12. 88-Tim Crawley, 13. 57-Shane Stewart, 14. 1-Sammy Swindell, 15. 75-Kyle Larson, 16. 3g-Darren Long, 17. 5h-Mason Moore, 18. 57w-Lucas Wolfe, 19. 3s-John Carney II, 20. 22j-John Gaston, 21. 2L-Logan Forler, 22. 21-Brian Brown, 23. 95-Matt Covington.

Lonnie Wheatley, LAS CRUCES, N.M. (November 12, 2010) – “Dancin’” Jack Dover logged into the record books as the winner of the 600th feature event in Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National history by wiring the field in Friday night’s 25-lap preliminary feature atop the high-banked, 5/16-mile Southern New Mexico Speedway clay oval.

The 20-year-old from Springfield, NE, served early notice in the first series event in the state of New Mexico since 2004 and first at Las Cruces in more than 13 years by outgunning fellow front row starter and NASCAR ace Tony Stewart to win the fifth of the night’s six heat races for the stacked 50-car field.

A perfectly-executed opening lap move in the feature event to dispose of front row starters Tim Crawley and Johnny Herrera from the third starting position then proved more than enough to get the job done for his second late season Lucas Oil ASCS National triumph aboard the Shaver-powered 3D Auto Transport/Home Pride No. 53 Eagle.

Dover locked himself into Saturday’s $6,000-to-win Southern New Mexico Speedway finale along with Herrera, Steve Kinser and Wayne Johnson.

After gunning past both Crawley, the 1994 series winner at Las Cruces, and home-stater Herrera at the outset, Dover’s only truly close call came when he was forced to loop it to avoid the stalled car of Trey Starks, who spun in turns one and two on the eleventh lap.

“I wasn’t looking as far ahead then as I should have been and I about got into him,” Dover explained. “I knew if I could keep it going it would be okay, but it was real close to dying out on me. That would have been really frustrating!”

Dover kept it under power though to retain the lead and survived another couple of cautions to secure his fourth career ASCS National victory in just his 67th career series feature start. Even with a green-white-checkered run after Kyle Larson’s second spin, Dover took the checkered flag with a half straightaway edge over Herrera’s JHR No. 45x Maxim.

Making his Lucas Oil ASCS debut, “King of the Outlaws” Steve Kinser worked forward from the eighth starting position and was among the top five in the opening handful of laps. Kinser took fourth from Wayne Johnson by the tenth round and then slipped past Crawley on the 20th circuit to claim the show position aboard the TSR Bass Pro Shops No. 11 Maxim.

Johnson shuffled Crawley out of the fourth and final lock-in position in the final rounds aboard the Ohsweken Speedway No. 77x.

Crawley settled for fifth in Mike Ward’s Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim, with 19-year-old Brodix Rookie contender Channin Tankersley next across the stripe in sixth just ahead of 21-year-old fellow rookie shoe Matt Covington.

ASCS Southwest title contender Calvin Landis posted an eighth-place finish in his first career Lucas Oil ASCS National feature start, with defending series champion Shane Stewart and Zach Chappell completing the top ten.

While Kinser and Landis both posted top-ten runs in first career Lucas Oil ASCS feature appearances, Tony Stewart rebounded for a 14th-place finish in his first National start after looping it on the 12th circuit and collecting current Lucas Oil ASCS points leader Jason Johnson. Johnson was forced pitside with front end damage after using his first provisional of the year just to start the main event. Even with a 22nd-place finish, point damage proved minimal with closest challenger Brady Bacon just 15th and then Shane Stewart in ninth.

Also making his first career Lucas Oil ASCS feature event, Bill Mitchell flipped in turn two on a lap 11 restart when sixth-running Kyle Sager looped it.

Before setting up the green-white-checkered run, Larson had rallied from 13th to sixth before spinning in turn two for the first time on the 17th lap.

Chappell, Crawley, Kinser, Covington, Dover and Larson topped the night’s heat race action. Bacon beat Logan Forler to the stripe in the first “B” Main. Tony Stewart topped the second “B” Main, while 14-year-old Trey Starks fended off Brian Brown for the second and final transfer position. Danny Wood won the third “B” Main, with El Paso’s John Carney II taking quick advantage of Sammy Swindell’s brief slip off the top of turn two to take the second position.

The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series return to the Land of Enchantment concludes with Saturday night’s $6,000-to-win card, which gets under way at 7:45 p.m.

Lonnie Wheatley, PEORIA, Ariz. (October 22, 2010) – Albuquerque’s Derrik Ortega hadn’t made a Sprint Car start all year. The 19-year-old knocked the rust off in short order though by kicking off Canyon Speedway Park’s Hall of Fame Classic weekend with a strong drive to victory lane in Friday night’s 25-lap winged ASCS Southwest Region main event atop the semi-banked, 3/8-mile clay oval.

A Rocky Mountain Regional champion two years ago, Ortega took his fourth career American Sprint Car Series Regional feature win by racing to the stripe from the pole starting position after 17-year-old Dalten Gabbard broke a wing slider midway through the feature event.

While Ortega took the checkered flag aboard the family-owned No. 35, Gabbard held on for runner-up honors with two-time ASCS Southwest champion and current points leader Rick Ziehl taking the show position.

Calvin Landis was fourth and John Gaston rallied from 18th to round out the top five with the balance of the top ten including J.T. Imperial, R.J. Johnson, Lance Norick, Wes Wofford and Mike Rux, Jr.

Joshua Williams, Gabbard and Joshua Hodges topped Friday night’s heat race action.

The wingless forces of the ASCS Canyon Region take to Canyon Speedway Park on Saturday night to put the wraps on the Hall of Fame Classic weekend.

ASCS Southwest Region Results from Canyon Speedway Park:

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 41-Joshua Williams, 2. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 3. 20s-Kyle Sager, 4. 79-Calvin Landis, 5. 97-Stevie Sussex, 6. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 7. 22j-John Gaston.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 77d-Dalten Gabbard, 2. 1x-J.T. Imperial, 3. 19-Wes Wofford, 4. 90-Lance Norick, 5. 61x-Chuck Buckman, 6. 61-Chuck Jackson, 7. 57x-Steve Stone.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 35-Derrik Ortega, 4. 44k-Koty McGullam, 5. 57x-Jesse Stone, 6. 20az-Marty Wilcox, 7. 77-Colt Treharn.

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 35-Derrik Ortega, 2. 77d-Dalten Gabbard, 3. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 4. 79-Calvin Landis, 5. 22j-John Gaston, 6. 1x-J.T. Imperial, 7. 15-R.J. Johnson, 8. 90-Lance Norick, 9. 19-Wes Wofford, 10. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 11. 61x-Chuck Buckman, 12. 61-Chuck Jackson, 13. 20s-Kyle Sager, 14. 44k-Koty McGullam, 15. 41-Joshua Williams, 16. 57x-Steve Stone, 17. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 18. 97-Stevie Sussex. DNS: 77-Colt Treharn, 57-Jesse Stone, 20az-Marty Wilcox.

ASCS Southwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Rick Ziehl 1,600 2. Calvin Landis 1,503, 3. John Gaston 1,448, 4. Joshua Hodges, 1,382, 5. Joshua Williams 1,323, 6. Steve Stone 1,298, 7. Koty McGullam 1,229, 8. J.T. Imperial 1,071, 9. Lance Norick 970, 10. Mike Rux, Jr. 912.

After a full year’s absence from competition Derrik Ortega will be climbing back in the Brake Man, Advanced Racing Suspension, Wesmar Powered Maxim to shake it down for the upcoming ASCS National Shows.
Ortega will pilot the #35 for the ASCS Southwest Region race at Canyon Raceway October 22nd. “I am excited and nervous to jump back in the car,” Derrik stated, “but we need everything to be perfect when we show up to Las Cruces with Shane, so getting the car back on the track to check things out is the best way.”
Albuquerque hot shoe Joshua Hodges will also be attending the ASCS Southwest Region race and sticking around for the ASCS Canyon Region race Saturday night. The Ortega Team will probably stay around to help out the Napa Auto Parts, Hodges Automotive entry.
After the race they will be pretty well prepared for both the Kronik Energy Drink Western World, and the Southern New Mexico Speedway National ASCS Shows. California young gun Shane Golobic will be piloting the Ortega Racing #35, both Shane and the Ortega Team are excited for a couple great weeks of racing, It is coming up fast.

After a year break from racing the Ortega Racing, Brake Man, HRP, Advanced Racing Suspension, Wesmar powered #35 Maxim will be returning to action with Fremont, CA driver Shane Golobic at the wheel. The 2009 Calistoga Speedway track champion will compete at the ASCS National Show at Southern New Mexico Speedway November 12th and 13th.
It would be hard to pass up the opportunity to have the Ortega Racing #35 compete with all the big names at a track so close to home. All the ASCS National stars, a handful of world of outlaw drivers, including “The King” Steve Kinser, and more are expected. All these drivers on the high banked Southern New Mexico Speedway should be an exciting weekend of racing.
Shane who posted a 13th place finish at The Gold Cup Race of Champions earlier this season will also pilot the #35 at the 43rd Annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships at USA Raceway in Tucson, AZ. Close to one hundred and fifty top Sprint Car teams from around the country are expected to migrate to warmer climates for their final chance at a big payday and another opportunity to add their name to prestigious list of winners.

Both the winged and wingless forces will tackle USA Raceway's 3/8-mile clay oval for three nights on November 18th, 19th and 20th, with more than $100,000 in "A" Feature money alone distributed over the course of the blockbuster event. A $15,000 share awaits the winner of the Lucas Oil ASCS Western World Champion, while the ASCS Canyon Region conqueror will pocket $5,000.