Bryan Hulbert - Santa Maria, California (July 29, 2012) It was only a matter of time before Brad Loyet found victory lane with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV. Rolling the high-line to perfection, the man of infinite hometowns finally found the win he was searching for at Santa Maria Speedway this past Sunday.
“Basically I rolled up there before that yellow and the car felt good. I was ok on the bottom, just as good as anyone else, but you can’t pass anybody when you’re following them” commented Loyet in victory lane. “I just got up there and got going. This is a pretty big win for me you know. We’ve been really close to getting a feature win and to finally get this one it’s a pretty big deal.”
Having to re-stack the field after Dustin Morgan found himself upside down, a second red out fly for the flipped No. 84 of Kyle Evans on lap two.
Finally getting the feature rolling, Loyet would roll off eighth; spending the first third of the feature outside the top five as Brady Bacon showed the way after drawing the number one spot.
Leading Gary Wright into slower traffic, the Fatheadz Eyewear No. 99 was true to form, committing to the inside line. Only pulling off the bottom to clear lapped traffic, Bacon would maintain a seven car length advantage before the caution lights blinked on for the stopped No. 45x of Johnny Herrera on lap fourteen.
Taking the green, Loyet would restart fifth. Getting the run to the outside, the Vacuworx International No. 05 would quickly bolt into the top three. Running down Gary Wright by lap sixteen, the pass for second was made exiting turn two while the pass of the lead would come exiting turn four on the same lap.
Pulling immediately to a near straight-a-way advantage, the field would quickly be on Loyet’s bumper as the caution flew for Herrera again on lap nineteen, giving the Albuquerque racer a twentieth place showing.
Up to speed on the high line, Loyet wasted little time again pulling to a comfortable advantage before another caution was displayed on lap twenty-three for the spun No. 21 of Tommy Tarlton and No. 94 of Steven Tiner. Tarlton would rejoin the line-up however Tiner would be towed to the pits for a nineteenth place finish.
Underway for the final seven laps, there would be little challenge for the Loyet Motorsports No. 05 as Brad Loyet drove away to his first Lucas Oil ASCS triumph. Brady Bacon would settle for second with Kyle Hirst taking third by inches at the line over the spinning No. 41 of Jason Johnson after the two drivers came together at the starters stand. Gary Wright would hold on to round out the top five. Tony Bruce Jr. would grab sixth with Logan Forler seventh. Shane Golobic, Dominic Scelzi, and Seth Bergman completed the top ten.
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV
Santa Maria Speedway - Santa Maria, California
July 29, 2012
Car Count: 25
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 041-Dominic Scelzi[3]; 2. 9-Gary Wright[1]; 3. 83-Kyle Hirst[4]; 4. 77x-Wayne Johnson[5]; 5. 21-Tommy Tarlton Jr.[7]; 6. 90-Lance Norick[6]; DNF 51-Gary Paulson[2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5h-Logan Forler[2]; 2. 7-Steven Kent[4]; 3. 99-Brady Bacon[5]; 4. 88n-D.J. Netto[6]; 5. 99d-Shawn Wright[1]; 6. 15-Eric Humphries[3]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 05-Brad Loyet[4]; 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera[1]; 3. 22-Shane Golobic[3]; 4. 23-Seth Bergman[5]; 5. 4j-Andy Ferris[2]; 6. 84-Kyle Evans[6]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 94-Steven Tiner[1]; 2. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[4]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson[3]; 4. 4f-Mike Faria[2]; 5. 2-Dustin Morgan[6]; 6. 14-Nick Green[5]
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 05-Brad Loyet[8]; 2. 99-Brady Bacon[1]; 3. 83-Kyle Hirst[10]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson[13]; 5. 9-Gary Wright[3]; 6. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[7]; 7. 5h-Logan Forler[5]; 8. 22-Shane Golobic[12]; 9. 041-Dominic Scelzi[6]; 10. 23-Seth Bergman[15]; 11. 88n-D.J. Netto[11]; 12. 14-Nick Green[23]; 13. 77x-Wayne Johnson[14]; 14. 7-Steven Kent[2]; 15. 4f-Mike Faria[18]; 16. 21-Tommy Tarlton Jr.[16]; 17. 4j-Andy Ferris[19]; 18. 90-Lance Norick[21]; 19. 94-Steven Tiner[4]; DNF 45x-Johnny Herrera[9]; DNF 15-Eric Humphries[24]; DNF 84-Kyle Evans[22]; DNF 2-Dustin Morgan[17]; DNF 99d-Shawn Wright[20]; DNS 51-Gary Paulson
Lap Leader(s): Brady Bacon (1-15), Brad Loyet (16-30)
Pitstopusa.com Hard Charger of the Night: Nick Green +11
FSR Radiator High Point Driver: Brad Loyet
Provisional(s): N/A
2012 Feature Winners: Jason Johnson-8, Wayne Johnson-7, Brady Bacon-5, Tony Bruce Jr.-3, Brian Brown-1, Seth Bergman-1, Danny Lasoski-1, Jason Martin-1, Dustin Morgan-1, Danny Wood-1, Cody Baker-1, Jordan Boston-1, Brock Lemley-1, Shane Stewart-1, Mason Moore-1, Brad Loyet-1
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV Points (top 10): 1. Wayne Johnson 4,644; 2. Jason Johnson 4,623; 3. Brady Bacon 4,479; 4. Brad Loyet 4,225; 5. Johnny Herrera 4,201; 6. Tony Bruce Jr. 4,115; 7. Seth Bergman 3,826; 8. Dustin Morgan 3,700; 9. Gary Wright 3,662; 10. Logan Forler 3,649
The 2012 season marks the 21st year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. For information regarding availability and listings in your area log onto www.mavtv.com.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MavTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire, Brodix, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, General Tire, K&N Filters, PitstopUSA.com, FSR Radiator and Racing Proucts, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
Photo Credit: Jon Paquet (www.paquetphotography.com)