Story By: SPENCE SMITHBACK / ASCS – KNOXVILLE, IA – Sam Hafertepe Jr. has been no stranger to Victory Lane in 2024 with the American Sprint Car Series National Tour, and he made his seventh visit of the year after taking home the Friday portion of the Xtream powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank at Knoxville Raceway.
“Just a testament to our team, Miles Hill keeps putting the money behind us that it takes to compete at this level,” Hafertepe said. “Definitely not where we wanted to be, going out that late [in Qualifying]. Just couldn’t muster up any better of a time than we put down, but to win the Feature, that’s a good recovery.”
Hafertepe started the Feature on the pole position on the inside of reigning 360 Nationals champion Brian Brown. After diving to the inside berm in Turn 1, Hafertepe slid up to block Brown’s run on the top to take the lead off Turn 2 on the opening lap.
“Brown’s really smart, he runs this place all the time, he’s got a lot of laps around here,” Hafertepe said. “If I saw a nose, we’d move and maybe play a little defense. You watch these guys run all year here, the way they run this place, I just try to mimic some of the block moves.”
Hafertepe continued to work the low lane to build a one-second lead in the early stages, but his gap was erased when a spin by Joe Beaver brought out a yellow six laps in.
Once the race resumed, it looked like a replay of the first run of the race, with Hafertepe pulling away from Brown on the bottom until a caution reracked the field on Lap 11, this time for Parker Price-Miller’s blown engine.
Brown put up his biggest challenge of the race on the ensuing restart, getting within a car length of Hafertepe exiting Turn 2 on Lap 12. Brown powered around the high lane through Turns 3 and 4 before Hafertepe once again slid up to block Brown and hold onto the lead. The tussle allowed Cory Eliason to catch both of them and pass Brown with seven to go.
After clearing the No. 21, Eliason went to work on running down Hafertepe, and he quickly got within striking distance of the leader. But before he could make a move, Hank Davis got into the wall and upside down to bring out the red flag with six laps remaining.
Hafertepe used one more strong restart to power away while Eliason and Brown battled for the second spot. The pair raced side-by-side for more than a lap after the restart, with Eliason staying low and Brown ripping the cushion. Eliason prevailed, but by that point, Hafertepe was already out of range and on his way to the checkered flag.
The Sunnyvale, TX native has been known in recent seasons for bouncing back and forth between 360 and 410 Sprint Car competition but has placed a renewed focus on his 360 program in 2024. With seven National Tour wins along with a Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout victory at Volusia Speedway Park in January under his belt, that decision has clearly paid dividends.
“We run 360s all the time and these guys don’t, and they probably have some issues with their motors taking off,” Hafertepe said regarding his advantage on restarts throughout the race. “We run every night and work on that kind of stuff, and that helps us on our takeoff for sure.”
While Eliason ran out of laps to run down Hafertepe for the win, his runner-up effort was enough to lock him into the Feature and give him a chance at his maiden 360 Nationals triumph.
“I didn’t need that red,” Eliason said. “I felt the longer runs we had, it was good, and right before that red, I got by Brown and I was able to get my nose underneath Sam a few times. I got him uncomfortable and got him searching, which that’s what I needed, clean air is key here, especially with the 360 in.”
While Brown has been known as one of the faces of Knoxville thanks to his six track championships at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World,” he knew he would have his hands full in the Feature with Hafertepe starting on his inside.
“I knew it was going to be a battle between me and Sam initially, just because he’s not a slouch,” Brown said. “He’s obviously the best 360 driver in the country, and he’s a whale of a 410 driver as well, so I knew it was going to be a game of cat-and-mouse.”
Jake Bubak came home fourth for his career-best finish in 360 Nationals prelim competition, while 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Kasey Kahne completed the top five with his best finish of the season in a Sprint Car.
The Hard Charger Award went to Kerry Madsen, who won the B-Main to advance to the Feature before driving from 21st up to eighth at the finish.
UP NEXT: A 360 Knoxville Nationals champion will be crowned on Saturday night and presented with a $20,000 winner’s check, the largest top prize of the National Tour season.
360 A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 2. 8-Cory Eliason[4]; 3. 21-Brian Brown[2]; 4. 27B-Jake Bubak[3]; 5. 9-Kasey Kahne[9]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[7]; 7. 2M-Ryan Giles[11]; 8. 55-Kerry Madsen[21]; 9. 1TZ-Tasker Phillips[6]; 10. 77X-Alex Hill[12]; 11. 27-Carson McCarl[17]; 12. 35-Skylar Prochaska[5]; 13. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[10]; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer[23]; 15. 26-Zeb Wise[24]; 16. 17-Tyler Groenendyk[8]; 17. 88T-Tanner Thorson[19]; 18. 69K-Daryn Pittman[13]; 19. 41-Colton Hardy[18]; 20. 53-Joe Beaver[20]; 21. 98P-Miles Paulus[15]; 22. 2C-Hank Davis[22]; 23. 9P-Parker Price Miller[14]; 24. 9M-Liam Martin[16]
360 B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 55-Kerry Madsen[4]; 2. 2C-Hank Davis[2]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer[8]; 4. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 5. 40-Clint Garner[3]; 6. 7A-Jack Anderson[11]; 7. 4Z-Dusty Zomer[10]; 8. 11M-Brendan Mullen[6]; 9. 1-Brenham Crouch[7]; 10. 14T-Brooke Tatnell[15]; 11. 5A-Alex Vande Voort[9]; 12. 15-Ryan Turner[5]; 13. 29-Emilio Hoover[17]; 14. 71-Brady Baker[12]; 15. 18-Ryan Roberts[18]; 16. 1Z-Justin Zimmerman[13]; 17. 15D-Andrew Deal[16]; 18. 48T-Tyler Thompson[14]; 19. 7-Tyler Lee[21]; 20. 13V-Seth Brahmer[22]; 21. 3R-Russell Potter[20]; 22. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[19]; 23. 4C-Tuesday Calderwood[24]; 24. 91-Michael Day[23]
360 C Feature (10 Laps): 1. 7-Tyler Lee[4]; 2. 13V-Seth Brahmer[7]; 3. 91-Michael Day[8]; 4. 4C-Tuesday Calderwood[11]; 5. 16G-Austyn Gossel[3]; 6. 938-Bradley Fezard[9]; 7. 41D-Dan Henning[6]; 8. 22W-Aaron Werner[10]; 9. 14-Aidan Zoutte[5]; 10. 10-Scott Bogucki[1]; 11. 47T-Dustin Selvage[2]; 12. G5H-Josh Higday[13]; 13. 24N-Nathan Mills[12]
360 Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Tyler Groenendyk[6]; 2. 69K-Daryn Pittman[2]; 3. 9M-Liam Martin[1]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[3]; 5. 4Z-Dusty Zomer[7]; 6. 40-Clint Garner[5]; 7. 18-Ryan Roberts[9]; 8. 48T-Tyler Thompson[8]; 9. 41D-Dan Henning[10]; 10. 10-Scott Bogucki[4]
360 Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9P-Parker Price Miller[2]; 2. 27-Carson McCarl[1]; 3. 9-Kasey Kahne[3]; 4. 35-Skylar Prochaska[5]; 5. 26-Zeb Wise[6]; 6. 7A-Jack Anderson[7]; 7. 11M-Brendan Mullen[4]; 8. 14T-Brooke Tatnell[8]; 9. 13V-Seth Brahmer[10]; 10. 7-Tyler Lee[9]
360 Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Colton Hardy[1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[6]; 3. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[3]; 4. 27B-Jake Bubak[4]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer[2]; 6. 55-Kerry Madsen[5]; 7. 15D-Andrew Deal[8]; 8. 71-Brady Baker[7]; 9. 91-Michael Day[10]; 10. 14-Aidan Zoutte[9]
360 Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 88T-Tanner Thorson[1]; 2. 2M-Ryan Giles[3]; 3. 8-Cory Eliason[5]; 4. 53-Joe Beaver[7]; 5. 5A-Alex Vande Voort[2]; 6. 1-Brenham Crouch[4]; 7. 2C-Hank Davis[6]; 8. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[9]; 9. 16G-Austyn Gossel[8]; 10. 938-Bradley Fezard[10]
360 Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown[4]; 2. 77X-Alex Hill[3]; 3. 1TZ-Tasker Phillips[6]; 4. 98P-Miles Paulus[2]; 5. 15-Ryan Turner[5]; 6. 1Z-Justin Zimmerman[7]; 7. 3R-Russell Potter[9]; 8. 29-Emilio Hoover[8]; 9. 22W-Aaron Werner[10]; 10. 47T-Dustin Selvage[1]
Qualifying: 1. 17-Tyler Groenendyk, 00:16.405[10]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:16.424[9]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:16.466[36]; 4. 2C-Hank Davis, 00:16.537[5]; 5. 1TZ-Tasker Phillips, 00:16.606[3]; 6. 40-Clint Garner, 00:16.614[13]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 00:16.677[7]; 8. 55-Kerry Madsen, 00:16.688[21]; 9. 8-Cory Eliason, 00:16.701[33]; 10. 15-Ryan Turner, 00:16.717[4]; 11. 10-Scott Bogucki, 00:16.739[22]; 12. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 00:16.749[2]; 13. 27B-Jake Bubak, 00:16.750[12]; 14. 1-Brenham Crouch, 00:16.757[42]; 15. 21-Brian Brown, 00:16.775[34]; 16. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 00:16.790[47]; 17. 9-Kasey Kahne, 00:16.805[28]; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 00:16.813[19]; 19. 2M-Ryan Giles, 00:16.815[30]; 20. 77X-Alex Hill, 00:16.861[15]; 21. 69K-Daryn Pittman, 00:16.867[51]; 22. 9P-Parker Price Miller, 00:16.911[20]; 23. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 00:16.926[48]; 24. 5A-Alex Vande Voort, 00:16.928[11]; 25. 98P-Miles Paulus, 00:16.967[41]; 26. 9M-Liam Martin, 00:16.974[37]; 27. 27-Carson McCarl, 00:16.993[35]; 28. 41-Colton Hardy, 00:17.007[26]; 29. 88T-Tanner Thorson, 00:17.019[46]; 30. 47T-Dustin Selvage, 00:17.050[43]; 31. 4Z-Dusty Zomer, 00:17.055[29]; 32. 7A-Jack Anderson, 00:17.062[18]; 33. 71-Brady Baker, 00:17.108[16]; 34. 53-Joe Beaver, 00:17.223[53]; 35. 1Z-Justin Zimmerman, 00:17.226[1]; 36. 48T-Tyler Thompson, 00:17.240[8]; 37. 14T-Brooke Tatnell, 00:17.275[27]; 38. 15D-Andrew Deal, 00:17.325[32]; 39. 16G-Austyn Gossel, 00:17.332[31]; 40. 29-Emilio Hoover, 00:17.340[23]; 41. 18-Ryan Roberts, 00:17.349[50]; 42. 7-Tyler Lee, 00:17.411[45]; 43. 14-Aidan Zoutte, 00:17.466[14]; 44. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek, 00:17.513[40]; 45. 3R-Russell Potter, 00:17.556[6]; 46. 41D-Dan Henning, 00:17.595[25]; 47. 13V-Seth Brahmer, 00:17.673[49]; 48. 91-Michael Day, 00:17.786[38]; 49. 938-Bradley Fezard, 00:18.161[52]; 50. 22W-Aaron Werner, 00:18.283[17]; 51. 4C-Tuesday Calderwood, 00:18.619[39]; 52. G5H-Josh Higday[44]; 53. 24N-Nathan Mills[24]
Last Chance Heat – Points Only: 1. 4C-Tuesday Calderwood[1]; 2. G5H-Josh Higday[3]; 3. 24N-Nathan Mills[2]
Hot Laps: 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 00:16.231[19]; 2. 8-Cory Eliason, 00:16.239[33]; 3. 9-Kasey Kahne, 00:16.270[28]; 4. 27B-Jake Bubak, 00:16.318[12]; 5. 27-Carson McCarl, 00:16.323[35]; 6. 17-Tyler Groenendyk, 00:16.374[10]; 7. 55-Kerry Madsen, 00:16.386[21]; 8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:16.408[36]; 9. 40-Clint Garner, 00:16.443[13]; 10. 21-Brian Brown, 00:16.485[34]; 11. 41-Colton Hardy, 00:16.509[26]; 12. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 00:16.522[47]; 13. 10-Scott Bogucki, 00:16.541[22]; 14. 9P-Parker Price Miller, 00:16.549[20]; 15. 1-Brenham Crouch, 00:16.553[42]; 16. 2M-Ryan Giles, 00:16.580[30]; 17. 69K-Daryn Pittman, 00:16.602[51]; 18. 9M-Liam Martin, 00:16.638[37]; 19. 7A-Jack Anderson, 00:16.665[18]; 20. 47T-Dustin Selvage, 00:16.669[43]; 21. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:16.784[9]; 22. 5A-Alex Vande Voort, 00:16.784[11]; 23. G5H-Josh Higday, 00:16.801[44]; 24. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 00:16.833[48]; 25. 98P-Miles Paulus, 00:16.835[41]; 26. 14T-Brooke Tatnell, 00:16.872[27]; 27. 53-Joe Beaver, 00:16.878[53]; 28. 29-Emilio Hoover, 00:16.916[23]; 29. 13V-Seth Brahmer, 00:16.933[49]; 30. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek, 00:16.939[40]; 31. 18-Ryan Roberts, 00:16.960[50]; 32. 15D-Andrew Deal, 00:16.963[32]; 33. 24N-Nathan Mills, 00:17.001[24]; 34. 15-Ryan Turner, 00:17.039[4]; 35. 4Z-Dusty Zomer, 00:17.091[29]; 36. 4C-Tuesday Calderwood, 00:17.093[39]; 37. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 00:17.112[2]; 38. 16G-Austyn Gossel, 00:17.115[31]; 39. 2C-Hank Davis, 00:17.156[5]; 40. 77X-Alex Hill, 00:17.186[15]; 41. 91-Michael Day, 00:17.225[38]; 42. 1TZ-Tasker Phillips, 00:17.307[3]; 43. 41D-Dan Henning, 00:17.310[25]; 44. 22W-Aaron Werner, 00:17.386[17]; 45. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 00:17.477[7]; 46. 7-Tyler Lee, 00:17.493[45]; 47. 71-Brady Baker, 00:17.508[16]; 48. 938-Bradley Fezard, 00:17.659[52]; 49. 48T-Tyler Thompson, 00:17.717[8]; 50. 3R-Russell Potter, 00:17.779[6]; 51. 14-Aidan Zoutte, 00:17.911[14]; 52. 1Z-Justin Zimmerman, 00:17.911[1]; 53. 88T-Tanner Thorson, 00:17.911[46]
Saturday Feature Starting Lineup (based on combined point totals from Thursday and Friday):
- Emerson Axsom
- Tyler Courtney
- Cory Eliason
- Austin McCarl
- Jamie Ball
- Tasker Phillips
- Tyler Groenendyk
- Kaleb Johnson
- Brian Brown
- Terry McCarl
- Kade Higday
- Cole Macedo
- Sam Hafertepe Jr.
- Jake Bubak
- Justin Peck
- Matt Covington
- Aaron Reutzel
- Zeb Wise
- Kerry Madsen
- Skylar Prochaska
- B-Main Transfer 1
- B-Main Transfer 2
- B-Main Transfer 3
- B-Main Transfer 4