Defending American Sprint Car Series champion takes on 410 talent this weekend in Texas
CONCORD, NC (March 12, 2026) — Sam Hafertepe Jr. has shown time and time again his ability to compete with the best Sprint Car drivers in the world. This weekend, he’ll suit up to compete against them again in front of a home-state crowd.
As the six-time American Sprint Car Series champion prepares to take on the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at Kennedale Speedway Park this Friday and Saturday night, he and the Hill’s Racing Team will bolt a 410 cubic-inch engine inside the Townline Variety, Fisher/Triple-X No. 15H for the challenge on the 1/4-mile Texas oval.
It serves as both a subtle reminder of the world from which he came and how differently he approaches national 410 competition. Much time has passed since Hafertepe’s days as a World of Outlaws full-timer (2007–2010), but he’s not forgotten how to handle the speed and the spotlight.
“Back then, we were trying to establish ourselves and learn and try to prove to the world that you can do it,” Hafertepe, of Sunnyvale, TX, said. “Nowadays, I’m 40 years old, and we’re not really proving anything anymore. Now, you want to be prepared enough to go out there and race with those guys and do well at playing their game.”
Hafertepe has no trouble recalling his time on the road as a 20-something, up-and-coming talent in the national open-wheel world. It wasn’t until the season after his final full-time effort that he broke through to Victory Lane at Skagit Speedway in 2011. Driving for renowned team and track co-owner Kevin Rudeen, Hafertepe topped the likes of Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz and Sammy Swindell at the Washington venue for the first and only World of Outlaws win of his career thus far.
One year ago, Hafertepe shined against the Outlaws in Texas, leading the first 10 laps of the finale at Kennedale before finishing second to Buddy Kofoid, and recording another podium finish the following weekend with a third-place effort behind only Kofoid and David Gravel at Cotton Bowl Speedway.
Now a seasoned veteran of the sport, Hafertepe has raced both generations of champions and seen many talents come and go. But from his perspective, today’s competition is just as, if not more intense than it was when he started.
“It’s so hard to compare,” Hafertepe said. “I think now, guys are more cutthroat in today’s time just because everything is so equal. You know if you don’t get in clean air, you’re probably not getting around that guy and will have a really hard time passing him all race.”
While his mindset coming into race day stays the same, regardless of the competition he meets, part of his purpose in racing 410s is different. Hafertepe commonly uses these opportunities as a gauge to examine how well his car stacks up against the best in the nation, often taking what he learns and incorporating the information into his 360 Sprint Car program.
“I think that’s probably the hardest thing for us, when you get going really good at what you’re doing; we’ve been so successful with the 360, you kinda just stay on the same page with what you’ve been doing with that and you kinda get left behind,” Hafertepe said. “I think the last couple years — I didn’t realize it as much as I did last year — that’s something that we’ve really worked on is to try to stay in the loop and try to stay up on our program because I felt like for two-three-four years, we were kinda behind what was going on.
“We really needed to figure out some of the changes we needed to make with our program. And I think we’ve been doing a really good job of that lately.”
Hafertepe is the current American Sprint Car Series points leader, still searching for his first Feature win of the season. But this weekend, it’s full-speed-ahead with the World of Outlaws, putting up another challenge to the national Sprint Car stars as one of the best talents from the “Lone Star State.”
“We like our chances to run well,” Hafertepe said. “To say we’re gonna run second or first or whatever that may be, it’s real farfetched to say that when you race with the World of Outlaws. We take the same mindset every time we go out and race with those guys. We unload, try to prepare the fastest car we can and try to make the best decisions throughout the night.
“If the Dash Draw goes your way, great. If you make the Dash, great. You can only control what you can control. So, basically, we’ll spend some time in the shop trying to prepare the best thing we think is going to be to lay out on the racetrack, and hopefully we hit it right.”
Tickets to see the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars at Kennedale Speedway Park are on sale now; click here to purchase.
Hafertepe Reflects on Former World of Outlaws Days Ahead of Kennedale Doubleheader
Defending American Sprint Car Series champion takes on 410 talent this weekend in Texas
CONCORD, NC (March 12, 2026) — Sam Hafertepe Jr. has shown time and time again his ability to compete with the best Sprint Car drivers in the world. This weekend, he’ll suit up to compete against them again in front of a home-state crowd.
As the six-time American Sprint Car Series champion prepares to take on the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at Kennedale Speedway Park this Friday and Saturday night, he and the Hill’s Racing Team will bolt a 410 cubic-inch engine inside the Townline Variety, Fisher/Triple-X No. 15H for the challenge on the 1/4-mile Texas oval.
It serves as both a subtle reminder of the world from which he came and how differently he approaches national 410 competition. Much time has passed since Hafertepe’s days as a World of Outlaws full-timer (2007–2010), but he’s not forgotten how to handle the speed and the spotlight.
“Back then, we were trying to establish ourselves and learn and try to prove to the world that you can do it,” Hafertepe, of Sunnyvale, TX, said. “Nowadays, I’m 40 years old, and we’re not really proving anything anymore. Now, you want to be prepared enough to go out there and race with those guys and do well at playing their game.”
Hafertepe has no trouble recalling his time on the road as a 20-something, up-and-coming talent in the national open-wheel world. It wasn’t until the season after his final full-time effort that he broke through to Victory Lane at Skagit Speedway in 2011. Driving for renowned team and track co-owner Kevin Rudeen, Hafertepe topped the likes of Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz and Sammy Swindell at the Washington venue for the first and only World of Outlaws win of his career thus far.
One year ago, Hafertepe shined against the Outlaws in Texas, leading the first 10 laps of the finale at Kennedale before finishing second to Buddy Kofoid, and recording another podium finish the following weekend with a third-place effort behind only Kofoid and David Gravel at Cotton Bowl Speedway.
Now a seasoned veteran of the sport, Hafertepe has raced both generations of champions and seen many talents come and go. But from his perspective, today’s competition is just as, if not more intense than it was when he started.
“It’s so hard to compare,” Hafertepe said. “I think now, guys are more cutthroat in today’s time just because everything is so equal. You know if you don’t get in clean air, you’re probably not getting around that guy and will have a really hard time passing him all race.”
While his mindset coming into race day stays the same, regardless of the competition he meets, part of his purpose in racing 410s is different. Hafertepe commonly uses these opportunities as a gauge to examine how well his car stacks up against the best in the nation, often taking what he learns and incorporating the information into his 360 Sprint Car program.
“I think that’s probably the hardest thing for us, when you get going really good at what you’re doing; we’ve been so successful with the 360, you kinda just stay on the same page with what you’ve been doing with that and you kinda get left behind,” Hafertepe said. “I think the last couple years — I didn’t realize it as much as I did last year — that’s something that we’ve really worked on is to try to stay in the loop and try to stay up on our program because I felt like for two-three-four years, we were kinda behind what was going on.
“We really needed to figure out some of the changes we needed to make with our program. And I think we’ve been doing a really good job of that lately.”
Hafertepe is the current American Sprint Car Series points leader, still searching for his first Feature win of the season. But this weekend, it’s full-speed-ahead with the World of Outlaws, putting up another challenge to the national Sprint Car stars as one of the best talents from the “Lone Star State.”
“We like our chances to run well,” Hafertepe said. “To say we’re gonna run second or first or whatever that may be, it’s real farfetched to say that when you race with the World of Outlaws. We take the same mindset every time we go out and race with those guys. We unload, try to prepare the fastest car we can and try to make the best decisions throughout the night.
“If the Dash Draw goes your way, great. If you make the Dash, great. You can only control what you can control. So, basically, we’ll spend some time in the shop trying to prepare the best thing we think is going to be to lay out on the racetrack, and hopefully we hit it right.”
Tickets to see the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars at Kennedale Speedway Park are on sale now; click here to purchase.
If you can’t be at the track, how can you watch World of Outlaws and American Sprint Car Series action in 2026? Every lap is broadcast live on DIRTVision.


Josh Berry returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend with some recent history on his side.Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head back to the 1.5-mile Nevada oval as the defending winners of Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, the race where Berry earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory last spring.In last year’s race, Berry started seventh and emerged from a door-to-door battle with Daniel Suarez in the closing laps to secure the win, crossing the finish line 1.358 seconds ahead of Suarez. Ryan Preece, William Byron and Ross Chastain completed the top five as Wood Brothers Racing earned the 101st victory in the team’s storied history.Berry led twice for a total of 18 laps, including the final 16 circuits of the race. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse showed strong speed throughout the event, and the team was able to overcome a loose wheel during a pit stop to stay in contention and ultimately capitalize late in the race.“The weekend went really well from start to finish,” Berry said this week. “I felt like we had a good car. We had some issues on pit road that set us back and got us off strategy, but we were able to catch the cautions at the right time and get ourselves back in the mix and capitalize there at the end.”The victory marked Berry’s third career win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway across NASCAR’s national series, including two in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.“Vegas has provided a lot of cool wins for me over the years,” he said. “Hopefully we can go back and have a solid run like we did last spring and put ourselves in contention again.”Berry said the Las Vegas track surface and conditions can change significantly between the spring and fall events, presenting a challenge for teams trying to find the right setup.“Working with my team this week and going through the races from last year, it’s such a challenging place,” he said. “The biggest thing is how much it changes. In the spring it usually has a lot of grip and the weather is cooler. Then you go back in the fall after the track has sat all summer and it’s usually really hot, and it feels completely different.“The hard part for the teams and us drivers is figuring all that out and what you need for the different conditions. It’s constantly evolving, and that’s why you tend to see different players up front. It really comes down to who hits it right that weekend.”Practice for the Pennzoil 400 is scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 3:40 p.m. ET with coverage on Prime Video.Sunday’s 267-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to begin just after 4 p.m. ET with television coverage on FS1. Stage breaks are planned for Lap 80 and Lap 165.
Saturday, March 14Josh Berry will sign autographs at the Team Penske/Wood Brothers merchandise hauler beginning at 9:50 a.m. local time in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway fan zone. 100 wristbands will be distributed on a first come, first-served basis.
Josh BerryAge: 35 (Oct. 22, 1990)Hometown: Hendersonville, TennesseeCrew Chief: Miles StanleyIG: @joshberry88X: @joshberry
About Motorcraft®
The view of construction on the Arlington Assembly plant from the roof of the grandstand at Arlington Downs Raceway (Rights held by The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections)
The first Chevrolet rolls off the assembly line in Arlington, Texas (Rights held by The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections)






LARSON WITH A STEADY CLIMBDespite a tumultuous start to his championship-defending campaign, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team are back to proving that they’re a consistent threat. The 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native put together a season-best qualifying effort and finishing result at Phoenix Raceway last weekend – starting second en route to a third-place finish. With back-to-back top-six results, Larson has entered the top-10 of the points standings for the first time this season as the Team Chevy driver heads to a track where he exudes confidence. In 10 Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has made three trips to victory lane, with arguably his most notable win coming in March 2021 to mark his first triumph with the organization. In the Next Gen era, Larson has produced a staggering eight top-nine results at the Nevada venue, including two additional victories and three runner-up finishes.
EARLY SEASON CONSISTENCY FOR THE NO. 71 TEAM A strong Saturday turned into yet another valiant effort by Michael McDowell and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team at Phoenix Raceway last weekend. Despite being plagued with a tire issue near the halfway point of the race, the Travis Peterson-led team rebounded to take home a ninth-place finish to mark back-to-back top-10 results. The performance was enough for McDowell to make yet another move up the points rankings, with the Glendale, Arizona, native heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway sitting eighth in the standings. McDowell has just two starts at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval under the Spire Motorsports banner – earning 16th-place results in each appearance to mark his career best finish at the track. While their Saturday speed has been prevalent this season, expect that to be no different this weekend with the No. 71 team returning to the track as the event’s defending pole winner.
PAGING A NEW LEADERWith a race-high 69-point day and a trip to victory lane, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier was able to make a jump up two positions to take over the points lead heading into the Las Vegas race weekend. The 39-year-old Riverton, Illinois, native returns to the Nevada venue as the defending winner of the track’s spring event, making him a shoo-in to become the series’ first two-time winner of the season. But it’s his career stats at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that sets him apart from much of the field. In 23 career NOAPS starts at the track, Allgaier has racked up 20 top-10 finishes, including a streak of nine-straight.
LOVE STACKING STATSJesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team logged their season-best performance at Phoenix Raceway – tallying top-two points in both stages, a race-high 114 laps led en route to a strong runner-up finish. The effort was enough to keep the reigning champion second in the series’ points standings and just three-points behind the points leader and fellow Team Chevy driver, Justin Allgaier. His championship-defending season has been strong right out of the gate with Love still boasting as the only driver to finish in the top-10 in each event this season. The Menlo Park, California, native has a short but stout resume at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his past three appearances at the track, Love has recorded top-six results and points in each stage.
Event: Straight Talk Wireless 500Location: Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, ArizonaDate: Sunday, March 8, 2026Start: 10thFinish: 32ndAfter an up-and-down day in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Josh Berry and the No. 21 eero team were swept up in a multi-car crash on Lap 254 of 312, resulting in a 32nd-place finish.Berry started the race from 10th and spent much of the opening 60-lap Stage running inside the top 15 before finishing Stage 1 in 15th place.In Stage 2, Berry again ran just outside the top 15 through the early laps, but the eero Ford Mustang Dark Horse sustained damage to the front splitter in an incident on Lap 104 that dropped him to 26th in the running order. Following a restart, Berry mounted a strong charge back toward the front, climbing into the top 15 and ultimately finishing the Stage in 14th.In the process of recovering from the earlier setback, however, the No. 21 team had used most of its allotted tires. When the caution flag waved for a crash involving Ryan Preece, the team elected to stay on track while many others pitted. The strategy briefly paid off as Berry inherited the race lead and paced the field for 13 laps.But with older tires compared to the cars behind him, Berry soon slipped outside the top 20 once the race returned to green. Then, shortly after a restart following the seventh caution of the race, Berry was collected in a seven-car incident that brought his day to an early end.“Wrong place, wrong time,” Berry said after being checked and released from the track’s care center. “Obviously I saw the smoke there for a second and could tell something was happening. I checked up and someone got into me.“Either way I was wrecking.”Berry said the crash capped off a frustrating afternoon for the team.“It was a tough day, a really tough day,” he said. “We didn’t have the car like we wanted. We had some bright spots there and got some track position and looked alright. Ultimately we were down a set of tires and honestly we were just trying to finish it out and take what we could today. We just got caught up in the issues.”Next weekend, Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where they return as the defending winners of the Pennzoil 400.


