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(Photo by Paul Gould)

Inside Line Promotions – TUCSON, Ariz. (March 11, 2014) – The trip west for Sam Hafertepe Jr. was anything but lucky.

Piloting a Buffalo Wild Wings sponsored car for Blazin’ Racing, Hafertepe Jr. ran into bad luck after bad luck during the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series events at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas and at Tucson International Raceway last week.

“In all honesty we didn’t get to finish one race,” he said. “We broke a right front steering arm in Vegas the first night. The second night (in Las Vegas) we got disqualified for work area procedure. At Tucson, we blew a rear end in the feature. Really it was just a bunch of mechanical woes.”

Hafertepe Jr. qualified 13th quickest and placed fourth in his heat race to open the FVP Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas last Wednesday. That locked him into the feature starting 15th and after working toward the top 10 during the first half of the main event, Hafertepe Jr. ended in the pits with the steering problem and a 22nd-place result.

On Thursday, Hafertepe Jr. timed in eighth quickest and finished fourth in his heat race to lock into the main event. He started 16th in the feature and while attempting to go to the work area to fix an issue, an official deemed Hafertepe Jr. was going too fast and he was parked for the remainder of the event. Hafertepe Jr. ended with an 18th-place finish.

The team hauled to Arizona for the NAPA Wildcat Shootout on Saturday and after qualifying 21st quickest, Hafertepe Jr. placed seventh in his heat race. He then rallied to finish sixth in the Last Chance Showdown to earn the final transfer to the 25-lap main event, which he started 23rd.

However, his night finished early once again as a rear end problem forced him to the infield with a 24th-place result.

“We just never could get jelling on everything,” he said. “I’ve decided to switch directions and I’ll be back in my family car for a while.”

Hafertepe Jr. will run the next few weeks in his car – beginning this Friday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, and Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region – before plans to hook up with another team in the near future.

QUICK RESULTS –

March 5 – The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 4 (1); Feature: 22 (15).

March 6 – The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 18 (16).

March 8 – Tucson International Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. – Qualifying: 21; Heat race: 7 (7); B Main: 6 (4); Feature: 24 (23).

SEASON STATS –

12 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 1 top 10, 3 top 15s, 4 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, and Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.Sam15.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamHafertepeJr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Hafertepe-Jr-and-The-Plumbfast-Racing-Team/116304711773031?ref=br_tf

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Keizer Aluminum Wheels

Keizer Aluminum Wheels has provided custom aluminum racing wheels for any type of racing application for several decades. For more information, visit http://www.KeizerWheels.com.

“I’ve been using Keizer Aluminum Wheels since 2004,” Hafertepe Jr. said. “They are like family to me and have been with me through the highs and the lows.”

Hafertepe Jr. would also like to thank Lone Star Speedway, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Smiley’s Racing Products, Fisher Racing Engines, J&J Auto Racing, Pro Shocks by OC Shocks, Fire-Down Graphics, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Vortex Wings, Kear’s Speed Shop, Pancho’s Racing Products, GPC, Joe Gibbs Racing Oils, Zemco Headers, Kiebler & Sons Lawn and Landscaping and Simpson Racing Products for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.