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Hafertepe Jr. Opens Eyes With Impressive Speedweek

Few, if any, invaders visit the ultra competitive Central PA Region during The Pennsylvania Speedweek. Sam Hafertepe Jr. and The Plumbfast Racing Team were an exception to the rule as they not only competed in, but nearly pulled off an upset victory. Hafertepe’s performance was highlighted by a dominating victory in Round 3 of Speedweek at Big Diamond Speedway to go along with three Top 5 and six Top 10 finishes in the seven races that made up The Speedweek.

Sam opened Speedweek at Williams Grove Speedway by being the only car to break the 16 second barrier in time trials with a lap of 16.892. Hafertepe followed up winning The Fast Tees Fast Time Award by charging from 4th to 2nd in his heat race. The Lone Star Speedway J&J-Fisher combination lined up in the 6th starting spot in the feature event and Sam was able to run 4th until the final lap when the motor went sour and he gave up the 4th position to Brent Marks.

“Our car was really, really good tonight,” explained Sam. “We had a new motor in the car and it wouldn’t quite get off the corners like we needed it too. If we could have gotten off the corner I think we would have been in contention for the win.”

The following night at Lincoln Speedway Sam missed quick-time in time trials by 0.003 seconds and ended up 2nd. He was able to move to 3rd in his heat race and lined up for the feature 3rd. Sam had settled into 3rd during the feature event when a red flag was flown on lap 9. Following the restart, Sam’s right rear tire had gone flat as a result of a bleeder that had come apart. The final 21 laps were a struggle as Sam tried to hold onto the 3rd position. He was able to do so by running the top of the speedway but as the bottom came in late Sam faded to a 7th place finish.

“That bleeder really hurt us,” said Sam. “We had a really good car again and I felt like I had something for Rahmer in 2nd. It’s really disappointing because we had a chance to leave here with The Speedweek points lead.”

Round 3 at Big Diamond would prove memorable for Sam as he captured his first feature victory against the famed “Pennsylvania Posse”. Hafertepe timed 8th fastest in time trials and finished 2nd in his heat before being placed on the pole of the feature by the pill draw. Hafertepe dominated the feature event from start to finish.

“I couldn’t possibly be more proud,” exclaimed Sam. “Central Pennsylvania is such a tough area of the country to come in and race at so to walk out of here with a victory is such an honor and a boost for our whole team. We had everything working tonight from our Fisher motor, to the J&J Chassis and our Pro Shocks tuned by OC and I think it really showed tonight.”

As a result of the victory Sam had pulled into The PA Speedweek points lead heading into Sam’s best Central Pennsylvania track; Grandview Speedway. Unfortunately Mother Nature put an end to any hopes Sam had of another win as the night’s events were rained out.

Round 5 of Speedweek saw the teams travel to Hagerstown Speedway and Sam was once again near the front of the pack in time trials as he timed in 3rd fastest. In arguably his most impressive heat of the week, Sam stormed from 4th to the lead and won by nearly half a lap. Unfortunately, once Hafertepe returned to the pits and the team soon discovered that their rear-end assembly needed to be changed. The Plumbfast Racing Team sprang into action and the rear end change went smoothly however the team was unable to watch the changing track conditions and as a result were forced to guess at a setup for the feature. From the drop of the green flag, it was clear the team had not gone far enough to deal with the slick track conditions. Sam fell back and settled into 7th from his 3rd place starting position until a late race re-start cost Sam 3 more positions and ended the race in 10th.

“The rear end breaking just killed us,” explained Sam. “We had been so good up to that point and it changed our focus from dealing with track conditions to just getting the car on wheels again. We’ve only been here twice before so we weren’t sure how far to go in preparing the car and we just underestimated how slow the track had gotten and it cost us.”

Speedweek returned to the fabulous Lincoln Speedway for Round 6 and Sam was a little off in time trials which resulted in a 13th place effort. Hafertepe was able to win his second straight heat race and found himself on the front row for the feature. Sam blasted into the lead on lap one with a slide job on JJ Grasso in turn four. The Texas racer worked the bottom of the speedway before Brent Marks used to the top to blast by into the lead on lap four. Hafertepe followed Marks around the top but had nothing for the leader. He appeared to be settling in for a 2nd place finish when the bottom of the speedway came in which allowed eventual winner Stevie Smith and Alan Krimes sneak by with just 5 laps remaining as Sam finished 4th.

“We weren’t really sure what direction to go in terms of setup for the feature,” explained Sam. “We went with a bigger left rear than we usually do and tightened the car up probably a little too much. We couldn’t get in on the top like we needed to and we couldn’t roll the bottom either. I’ll take 4th though.”

A return to Williams Grove Speedway saw Sam regain his form in time trials as he laid down the second fastest lap. In arguably the most exciting heat race of Speedweek, Sam dogged Fred Rahmer for the lead. Sam made several attempts on the bottom side of the speedway to take the lead and was able to get side by side with “Fast Freddie” twice, but the cagey veteran was able to hold Sam off for the win. Sam’s 15h lined up 7th in the feature and Sam held his ground throughout the event. A late race pass by Stevie Smith relegated Sam to an 8th place finish.

“Once again we weren’t really sure where to go with the setup in the feature,” explained Sam. “We took a guess and gambled a bit on our left rear and we just missed. We don’t have the laps these guys have here and it caught up to us. We weren’t bad, we just weren’t great. We just sort of maintained all feature race.”

Round 8 at Port Royal proved to be the final night of Speedweek. Hafertepe entered the night’s event with a 40 point lead in The Speedweek chase over Fred Rahmer and 52 over Greg Hodnett who was in 3rd. Unfortunately, Hafertepe struggled from the moment the team unloaded and was only able to muster a 27th place time trial effort. Sam tried to transfer through his heat race but came up one spot short and had to run the B Main. Hafertepe lined up 7th in the B Main and was able to come through as he made a late race pass for the final transfer spot into the feature event.

Hafertepe entered the final feature with an eight point lead but was taking the green in the 24th starting position. At the drop of the green flag, Sam began charging through the field. A lap 13 red flag saw Sam up to 15th, just a few positions behind Rahmer. During the open red flag, the team made a change to the car in an effort to get more drive off the turns that unfortunately backfired. Hafertepe wasted no time in going from 15th to 12th on the restart but changing track conditions and the red flag adjustment conspired to keep Sam from moving forward as he settled for a 12th place finish. The result dropped Sam to 4th in The Speedweek point standings.

“We just didn’t need that open red flag at all,” explained Sam. “We were flying and I think most of our Speedweek contenders were struggling. Following the red, we struggled and those guys seemed like they made the right changes to their cars. The bottom line is we just need more laps here. We unloaded slow off the trailer and it just took us too long to dig out of the hole we dug ourselves.”

The final night of Speedweek at Selinsgrove was rained out and as a result Sam ended up 4th in The Speedweek standings, 27 points shy of winner Greg Hodnett.

“Overall I’m really pleased with our performance,” said Sam. “I don’t think many people thought an invader could contend for The PA Speedweek title and we proved them wrong. There were several nights where our lack of track time at these places forced us to make guesses in terms of setup but, in general, I think we handled those situations pretty well. I was very proud to lead the deal going into the final night but between our motor going sour at The Grove, our bleeder coming apart at Lincoln, the rear end going at Hagerstown and our Port Royal qualification we just didn’t quite get it done. You need everything to go nearly perfect to win this deal and we just had to fight off too many issues. I feel like we were fast every night and I feel like we gave The Posse all they could handle and I’m immensely proud of that, it just sucks to lead most of the way and lose the title on the last night.”

In addition to their performance Sam wanted to thank everyone in Pennsylvania for their support.

“You often read and hear how hard Posse fans are on outsiders and sometimes they get a bad reputation,” stated Sam. “From the first night we unloaded here we couldn’t believe the support we got from the fans. At Williams Grove in particular we had one of our best nights ever in terms of selling t-shirts. I was blown away in all honesty. It’s really easy to come out here, bust your ass and have no one realize what you go through trying to compete against The Posse so to have so many people welcome us like that and support us is just incredible. I can’t wait to get back to The Grove for The Summer Nationals and see if we can’t use what we learned this week to land in victory lane.”

Sam would like to thank the following supporters: Lone Star Speedway, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Smiley's Racing Products, Fisher Racing Engines, J&J Chassis, Pro Shocks by OC Shocks, Fire-Down Graphics, Butlerbuilt, Vortex Wings, Kear's Speed Shop, Pancho's Racing Products, GPC, Joe Gibbs Racing Oils, Simpson Racing Products

Check out Sam on the web at: www.sam15.com

Follow Sam on Twitter: @samhafertepejr

Join The Sam Hafertepe Jr. Group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/35945374969

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