News Director 
Story By: SPENCE SMITHBACK / ASCS – TULSA, OK – The 2024 American Sprint Car Series National Tour season has taken the best 360 Sprint Car teams in the nation from Louisiana to Montana and everywhere in between, but the 34-race journey comes to an end this weekend in Oklahoma.
Action starts Thursday night at Tulsa Speedway with a pair of Features – the $6,000-to-win Dirt Down in T-Town main event that was postponed due to weather in June, as well as a separate $4,000-to-win full program.
Teams will then make the drive across Tulsa to Creek County Speedway for Fuzzy’s Fall Fling. A $4,000-to-win Feature on Friday night will set the stage for the season finale on Saturday night, where the race winner will take home $10,000 and the all-new ASCS Emmett Hahn Championship Trophy will be awarded.
The Sprint Cars will be joined on the card by Factory Stocks, Tuners and Dwarf Cars at Tulsa and NOW600 Dwarf Cars at Creek County.
Here are the top storylines entering the weekend:
ON THE VERGE: Seth Bergman has already had his best season ever on the National Tour, and with a 156-point lead in the standings, he’s in position to put a bow on it this weekend with his maiden Series championship.
His six wins and 20 top fives in 2024 are the highest totals of his career in both categories with four more chances left to add to them.
And while Snohomish, WA will always be home, Bergman has resided in the Tulsa area since 2018, which means he’ll have the opportunity to clinch the title and commence the celebration in front of his hometown fans.
If the stat sheet is anything to go by, the No. 23 team has a good chance of ending the season on a high note. Bergman finished fifth at Tulsa earlier this season in his second appearance at the track, while his visits to Creek County this year have netted him a Sooner Region win in March and a runner-up with the National Tour in June.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: The closest title fight entering the weekend is on the Owners side, as TwoC Racing leads Hill’s Racing Team by 50 markers.
For TwoC driver Hank Davis, it’s his chance to earn one more trophy for Todd Carlile and Wayne Johnson in his final weekend with the team. It also marks his return to the 360 after spending last week in Charlotte making his World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car debut with Michael Dutcher Motorsports at the World of Outlaws World Finals.
As a native of nearby Sand Springs, OK, Davis is no stranger to either track on this weekend’s schedule. He made several 305 Sprint Car starts at both Tulsa and Creek County early on in his Sprint Car career and translated that experience into finishes of second at Tulsa and third at Creek County in the 360 earlier this year.
However, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and the No. 15H team are well within striking distance heading to two tracks they have had plenty of success at in the past. Hafertepe enters the weekend with momentum on his side after winning the most recent race on tour at RPM Speedway, and he went to Victory Lane with the Series at both Tulsa and Creek County in June.
The Tulsa win came in his first start at the track, while his National Tour victory at Creek County was one of three wins there this year alongside a local win in May and a POWRi triumph in September.
LAST CHANCE: For everyone not on the list of 13 names who have won a National Tour race in 2024, this weekend is their last opportunity to take the checkers before putting the race cars away for the winter.
The highest driver in the standings without a win is Matt Covington, who is looking to snap a 37-race winless streak dating back to August 25, 2023 at Lakeside Speedway. Two of Covington’s 15 National Tour top fives this year came at Tulsa and Creek County, so he isn’t far off from having a race-winning combination at either track.
Others searching for their first win of the year and of their National Tour careers include Andrew Deal, who sits 20 points behind Jason Martin in the battle for the last spot in the top five, as well as Zach Blurton, who will be looking to end the season with the same speed that garnered him a pair of podiums in August at Lincoln County Raceway and Big Sky Speedway.
SOONER SENDOFF: The 2024 season for the ASCS Sooner Region will also come to an end this weekend, with a first-time Series champion set to be crowned.
Casey Wills took on the full Sooner tour in 2024 for the first time, and the decision has paid off with a commanding lead atop the points entering the weekend. Wills is still searching for his first win of the year, but considering his season-best finish of third came at Creek County in August, he could be a threat to end the season in Victory Lane and keep the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling trophy in the Sooner State.
Other regional names to keep an eye on include Sean McClelland, who won that August Sooner Region show, as well as Alex Sewell, who has finished second at Creek County three times this season between the Sooner Region and the Oil Capital Racing Series.
OUTSIDE INVADERS: With the season drawing to a close and few options on the table for where to race, plenty of non-regulars are expected to take on the National Tour in Oklahoma.
Two drivers on that list who won’t have to travel far are Sapulpa, OK’s Blake Hahn and Broken Arrow, OK’s Roger Crockett. Hahn nearly scored his first Series win of the year last time out at RPM, where he led early in the Feature before Hafertepe slipped by. Crockett has also impressed in his limited appearances on the National Tour, winning at Arrowhead Speedway and finishing third at 81 Speedway.
Brady Baker has also announced his intentions to make the trip west from his Alexander, AR home in search of his maiden Series triumph. He’s been knocking on the door throughout the year, with podiums at Super Bee Speedway, Arrowhead and RPM highlighting his 13 National Tour appearances so far.
Knoxville Raceway will be well represented in Oklahoma, as Tasker Phillips, JJ Hickle, Riley Goodno and Zach Hampton are all expected to make the seven-hour drive south to compete.
Other drivers to keep an eye on include 14-year-old Brogan Carder, who is looking to make his first Feature start with the Series after four attempts at Riverside and RPM, as well as local favorite Emilio Hoover, who recently picked up his first National Tour top 10 at Arrowhead.
