Looking Back on Defining Moments of 2024 ASCS National Tour Season
Photo by Emily Schwanke
CONCORD, N.C. — The 2024 season for the American Sprint Car Series National Tour was one for the record books.
After finding a new home with World Racing Group, 34 races were contested across 21 tracks in 10 states. Two hundred fifty-six drivers took part in at least one event, while 14 of them went to Victory Lane. And when it was all over, Seth Bergman was crowned Series champion for the first time in his career.
Take a look back at this year’s biggest storylines:
A NEW BEGINNING: On March 1, it was announced that the American Sprint Car Series had been acquired by World Racing Group, ushering in a new era for one of the sport’s oldest and most iconic brands.
“The ASCS is vitally important to Sprint Car racing, creating opportunities for tracks to have a big show while giving drivers a chance to compete and develop in regional and national events,” World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter said following the purchase of the Series from founder and longtime owner Emmett Hahn. “Emmett and his family have created something special, and we all agree how important it is to ensure the success of the ASCS in the larger scope of the sport.”
That mission of growing Sprint Car racing at the national and regional levels has remained a core focus for the Series throughout the year, leading to considerable increases in exposure and notoriety for 360 Sprint Car racing’s premier touring Series.
The broadcast of every National Tour race live on DIRTVision allowed fans from around the world to watch the stars of the Series each week, while a points fund exceeding $150,000 was awarded at the end of the season to the 12 teams who completed the full tour.
Season two is shaping up to provide even more reasons to be excited, including an expanded schedule, fresh faces chasing the championship, plenty of returning challengers and more marquee events than ever before.
AT LONG LAST: As a 15-year veteran of the 360 Sprint Car division, Bergman and the No. 23 team finally got the one thing at the top of their wish list for all those years – a National Tour championship.
The Snohomish, WA driver won the season opener with TwoC Racing before departing the team a month later, but the abrupt shift didn’t seem to faze him. Bergman triumphed again in his first night back in his own car at Rush County Speedway to maintain control of the points lead, a position he wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the year.
The title didn’t come easy though, as Sam Hafertepe Jr. put up a remarkable 12 wins on the year in his quest for championship number six. But Bergman wasn’t going to let 2024 be a repeat of 2018 – the year he finished second behind Hafertepe in the final tally – as his seven wins and 21 podiums in 33 starts were enough to host the ASCS Emmett Hahn Championship Trophy at Creek County Speedway in November.
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: Following Bergman’s aforementioned departure from TwoC, the Wayne Johnson-led operation went searching for someone to fill the seat for the remainder of the year. Following a recommendation from wife Sara, Johnson settled on his choice – Hank Davis.
Nine top fives in his first 10 nights in the car showed that Davis had what it took, and by mid-summer, the whole field knew that a win was right around the corner. After plenty of near misses, Davis got the job done on night one of the Montana Roundup at Electric City Speedway before going back for seconds on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep.
One more win at Paducah International Raceway in October along with a slew of strong finishes earned Davis the Rookie of the Year Award by a hefty margin. He also kept Todd Carlile and the TwoC team in the hunt for the Owners title up to the closing laps of the season, ultimately falling short to the Hill’s Racing Team No. 15H in that battle.
While TwoC and Davis went their separate ways following the end of the season, they both have their sights set on the 410 Sprint Car division in 2025. In August, it was announced that Cole Macedo would join Johnson and TwoC for a run at the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. Meanwhile, Davis will be wheeling Shannon Wheatley’s No. 45 in a full slate of 410 racing next year, including plenty of appearances with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Davis’ stellar rookie season was merely the top example of the impressive rookie class the Series welcomed in 2024.
Finishing two spots behind Davis in sixth in points was the No. 15D of Andrew Deal. The Caney, KS driver initially signed up for the full tour as a bucket-list opportunity more than anything, but his two podiums and five top fives on the year proved that Deal was indeed capable of contending with the stiffest competition 360 Sprint Car racing has to offer.
Zach Blurton already knew he had what it took to beat the National Tour – he did so at his home track of WaKeeney Speedway in 2022. The longtime 305 Sprint Car driver stepped up to the next level in 2024 with a full-time campaign with the Series, with his best showings coming in August in the form of podium finishes at Lincoln County Raceway and Big Sky Speedway.
Terry Easum may not have entered 2024 with any National Tour wins on his resume, but he didn’t take long to fix that. In his second start as a full-timer, Easum got the best of eventual champion Bergman to take the win at Red Dirt Raceway for the biggest Sprint Car triumph of his career. After fighting through plenty of challenges in the middle stages of the season, Easum ended his maiden voyage on the National Tour with a top 10 finish in the points.
Austyn Gossel and Bradley Fezard rounded out this year’s freshman class, with both drivers racking up a handful of top 10 runs in the closing weeks as they built toward 2025.
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY: One thing has remained constant on the National Tour for more than a decade – if you want to win, you’re going to have to deal with the No. 95 of Matt Covington.
The Glenpool, OK native has picked up 19 wins with the Series since his first full season in 2010, including a streak of seven seasons with at least one win from 2017 to 2023. Early in the year, there was no reason to believe Covington wouldn’t extend that mark to eight, as a runner-up in the third race of the year at Rush County proved that he was right on the doorstep of Victory Lane.
The following night at Dodge City Raceway Park, Covington had the car to beat, leading the first 13 laps of the Feature until a run-in with a slower car knocked him out of the race.
Covington racked up several more top fives in the weeks that followed, and when the tour rolled into 81 Speedway in Wichita, it once again looked like it could be his night. The No. 95 charged from sixth to second in seven laps and got within striking distance of leader Hafertepe, but Covington was unable to make the winning move and settled for second once more.
As the season wore on, Covington maintained his spot as one of the most consistent drivers on tour but rarely found himself battling for the win late in the race. That was up until the final night of the season, when he found himself at the front of the pack on a late-race restart with six to go.
It wasn’t meant to be though, as Hafertepe rocketed past to take the win and the Owners title in walk-off fashion, leaving Covington empty-handed on the season for the first time since 2016. But despite the goose egg in the win column, Covington’s 18 top fives and 5.9 average finish in 2024 netted him the third spot in the final standings, his fourth-straight top-three points finish on the National Tour.
AWARD WINNERS
After injuries stemming from a crash in April forced Wayne Johnson to pivot to the crew chief role, the 2000 Series champion was chosen as the National Tour’s Crew Chief of the Year.
Kyler Johnson’s ability to maneuver his way through the field night after night was awarded at the season-ending banquet, as he was presented with the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars on the season.
Taking on the full schedule with limited crew help and little experience on the road is no easy feat, but that’s exactly what Andrew Deal did in 2024. He was presented with the Gary Wright Determination Award for his unwavering commitment to the Series all season long.
Vince Rosa, owner of Bradley Fezard’s No. 938 machine, was given the National Tour Sportsmanship Award for his constant positive presence in the pit area in spite of all the obstacles the team overcame in 2024.
The American Sprint Car Series National Tour will see a new start to its 2025 season with the Series now opening Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Jan. 30-Feb. 1. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap of the 2025 ASCS National Tour season live on DIRTVision.
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