2025 ASCS Campaign Defined by Veteran Excellence, Shining Young Talent
Photo by Emily Schwanke
CONCORD, N.C.—The 34th consecutive year of American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) racing is now complete.
In total, 34 races were contested in 11 months at 21 unique tracks in 10 different states. The winners produced storylines aplenty, from dominating forces in the national 360 and 410 Sprint Car world to fresh, young talent making their way up through the ranks.
Here is a look at the top storylines that emerged during the 2025 ASCS season:
SIX FOR SAM — Unprecedented ASCS history was made this year by the now six-time national Series champion, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
Two seasons after returning to full-time 360 Sprint Car action from a stint in the 410 world, the 40-year-old from Sunnyvale, TX, clinched a sixth national ASCS championship on the back of 11 wins, 22 top fives and 27 top-10s in 32 main event starts. He carried the points lead for nearly the entire season and never relinquished it, in the end besting Matt Covington by 144 points to clinch his first ASCS championship since 2020.
In doing so, the Ontario-based Hill’s Racing Team garners its fifth ASCS owner’s championship, claiming the title with Hafertepe in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2025. Hafertepe also surpasses the late Jason Johnson for most driver’s points titles and is now the all-time leader in national ASCS championships.
Of those 11 wins, Hafertepe went to Victory Lane for the first time in his ASCS career at Belleville High Banks, Windy Hollow Speedway and Benton Speedway.
ROOKIE RISING — ASCS fans bore witness to the rise of a new Sprint Car talent in 15-year-old Garrett Benson.
In his first full-time season behind the wheel of a 360 Sprint Car, the Missouri native clinched Rookie of the Year honors and became the youngest driver in ASCS history to win the honor, which was previously held by Cole Wood, who claimed the honor in 2013 at 17 years of age.
On the path to his achievement, Benson posted four top-five finishes — all of which were third-place finishes, which came at Benton Speedway, Electric City Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, and I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park. In 29 Feature starts, Benson also notched 19 top-10 finishes, an average finish of 10.46, and finished fifth in the championship points standings.
NEW KNOXVILLE KING — In August, all eyes of the Sprint Car world turn to the big, 1/2-mile oval in Iowa. Knoxville Raceway’s 35th running of the Xtream Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank drew the attention of all Sprint Car fans with an exciting race to the finish.
Rico Abreu bested Kyle Larson after a thrilling battle in the closing laps to claim the $30,000 grand prize and his first 360 Nationals victory in only his second attempt. In doing so, Abreu became the first driver from California to win the event since Gio Scelzi’s triumph in 2021.
Combined with his preliminary Feature win the night before, Abreu left the event with five wins in seven total starts at the track before following up with a second-place effort in the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s the following week.
CLEANING UP — Four weekend dominations occurred this season, with one driver performing a clean sweep each time.
The first came in the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park in January–February, when 410 Sprint Car invader Justin Peck topped a field of over 50 cars on all three nights of racing as part of the 54th annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. In total, he claimed $18,000 in first-place prize money, and became only the third driver in Series history to win the first three races of the season. (Jason Martin 2023, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 2017)
Hafertepe began a reign of terror over the month of July, starting with back-to-back victories in the inaugural running of The Big One at the historic Belleville High Banks. After winning a spirited battle in lapped traffic with Jason Martin on Friday night, Hafertepe completed the weekend sweep with a flag-to-flag victory on Saturday, worth $10,000 and his first ASCS victories on the half-mile high banks.
Only two weeks removed from the biggest win of his career at the Knoxville Nationals, Ryan Timms and the Liebig Motorsports No. 10 came to Montana’s Big Sky Speedway to compete in the Harvey Ostermiller Memorial. Spoiler alert: Timms gave one of the most dominant performances in ASCS history, leading all 55 laps of Feature competition unchallenged over both nights to bank $19,000 in first-place prize money.
Oklahoma’s own Whit Gastineau showed up to Salt City Speedway in October and showed the national-touring regulars the fast way around the 1/2-mile fairgrounds oval, winning both nights of action in Kansas for a $10,000 sweep of the weekend and his first two national ASCS wins.
FIRST TIMERS — It didn’t happen first until September, but two drivers collected their first career Series victories in 2025, bringing the total number of different winners up to 177 all-time.
Cameron Martin was the first, putting on a masterful performance in a field of nearly 60 cars at Eagle Raceway during the second annual Stewart Alley Memorial. The 21-year-old from Ankeny, IA, engaged in a head-to-head battle for the lead with Hafertepe in the second half of the race, swapping the top spot multiple times before wrestling it away with 15 laps left and holding on to bank the $10,222 grand prize – the biggest win of his budding career.
Last weekend, in the season finale at Creek County Speedway, Illinois open-wheel standout Zach Daum took the checkered flag in the Fuzzy’s Fall Fling finale, again winning a spirited battle for the lead with Hafertepe in the latter half of the main event to bag the $10,000 winner’s share — the second-richest win of his career.
UP NEXT: The American Sprint Car Series opens its 2026 season again at Volusia Speedway Park during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Jan. 29-31.
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FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS
1 Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3834pts)
2 Matt Covington 3690pts (–144)
3 Blake Hahn 3647pts (–187)
4 Jason Martin 3510pts (–324)
5 Garrett Benson 3229pts (–605)
6 Kyler Johnson 3184pts (–650)
7 Zach Blurton 3111pts (–723)
8 Brady Baker 3044pts (–790)
8 Austyn Gossel 2980pts (–854)
10 Ryder Laplante 2895pts (–939)
FEATURE WINNERS (13 Drivers):
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (11 wins)
Justin Peck, Matt Covington, Jason Martin (3 wins)
Rico Abreu, Ryan Timms, Blake Hahn, Whit Gastineau (2 wins)
Zach Blurton, Austin McCarl, Seth Bergman, Cameron Martin, Zach Daum (1 win)
FEATURE LAPS LED (24 Drivers)
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (259 laps)
Matt Covington (109 laps)
Jason Martin (78 laps)
Justin Peck, Ryan Timms (65 laps)
Blake Hahn (46 laps)
Rico Abreu, Cameron Martin (34 laps)
Whit Gastineau (31 laps)
Zach Chappell (28 laps)
Zach Blurton (25 laps)
Kyler Johnson (21 laps)
Chase Randall (16 laps)
Brian Brown (15 laps)
Seth Bergman (14 laps)
Austyn Gossel, Jake Bubak (13 laps)
Matt Sherrell (11 laps)
Zach Daum (10 laps)
Brady Baker (9 laps)
Austin McCarl (4 laps)
Kyle Larson, Garrett Benson (2 laps)
Chance Morton (1 lap)
QUICK TIME AWARDS (17 Drivers)
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (8 awards)
Matt Covington (6 awards)
Seth Bergman, Blake Hahn, Tony Rost (2 awards)
Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Kyler Johnson, Roger Crockett, Jason Martin, Carson McCarl, Ryan Timms, Ryder Laplante, Kelly Miller, Whit Gastineau, Garrett Benson, Sean McClelland (1 award)
HEAT RACE WINNERS (50 Drivers)
Matt Covington (15 wins)
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (13 wins)
Jason Martin, Garrett Benson, Blake Hahn (8 wins)
Seth Bergman (6 wins)
Sean McClelland (4 wins)
Justin Peck, Austyn Gossel, Chris Martin, Cameron Martin (3 wins)
Scotty Thiel, Whit Gastineau, Hank Davis, Harli White, Jake Bubak, Kyler Johnson, Ryder McCutcheon, Zach Blurton (2 wins)
Cole Macedo, Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Caleb Saiz, Bradley Fezard, Bryan Gossel, Jordon Mallett, Bryant Wiedeman, Sterling Cling, Tucker Boutlon, Landon Britt, Dustin Selvage, Jamie Ball, Matt Juhl, Tony Rost, Jack Dover, Cam Sorrels, Tyler Lee, Chase Dietz, Trever Kirkland, Elijah Gile, Ryan Timms, Brekton Crouch, Roger Crockett, Clint Garner, Brady Baker, Fred Mattox, Zach Chappell, Kyle Bellm, Kaleb Montgomery, Matt Sherrell (1 win)
DASH APPEARANCES (64 Drivers)
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (26 appearances)
Matt Covington (22 appearances)
Blake Hahn (15 appearances)
Garrett Benson (12 appearances)
Seth Bergman (10 appearances)
Kyler Johnson, Jason Martin (9 appearances)
Austyn Gossel, Whit Gastineau, Sean McClelland (5 appearances)
Jake Bubak, Cameron Martin, Brady Baker, Zach Blurton (4 appearances)
Justin Peck, Chris Martin, Austin McCarl (3 appearances)
Emerson Axsom, Scotty Thiel, Danny Dietrich, Cole Macedo, Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Jordon Mallett, Bryant Wiedeman, Ryan Timms, Hank Davis, Roger Crockett, Ryder McCutcheon, Elijah Gile, Chance Morton (2 appearances)
Jordan Thomas, Scotty Thiel, Brian Brown, Caleb Saiz, Bradley Fezard, Bryan Gossel, Joey Danley, Alex Sewell, Steven Shebester, Harli White, Tucker Boulton, Landon Britt, Sterling Cling, Scotty Milan, Trever Kirkland, Garen Linder, Ryder Laplante, Ian Myers, Kelly Miller, Tony Rost, Brekton Crouch, JJ Hickle, Riley Goodno, Carson McCarl, Clint Garner, Terry Easum, Fred Mattox, Matt Sherrell, Garth Kasiner, Zach Daum, Kaleb Montgomery, Zach Chappell, Chase Porter, Kyle Bellm (1 appearance)
SMITH TITANIUM LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (21 Drivers)
Blake Hahn (2 wins)
Emerson Axsom, Tyler Clem, Kyle Clark, Bryant Wiedeman, Jason Martin, Harli White, Connor Lee, Giovanni Scelzi, Tanner Holmes, Daison Pursley, Adam Trimble, Landon Britt, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Zach Blurton, Lane Taylor, Jack Wagner, Sean McClelland, Tony Rost, Andrew Deal, Chase Porter (1 win)
HARD CHARGER AWARDS (23 Drivers)
Brady Baker (7 awards)
Zach Blurton (3 awards)
Ryder Laplante, Kelly Miller, Landon Britt (2 awards)
Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom, Blake Hahn, Jordon Mallett, Jason Martin, Brad Bowden, Stu Snyder, Tanner Holmes, Tasker Phillips, Giovanni Scelzi, Brogan Carder, Kory Wermling, Matt Covington, Seth Bergman, Kyler Johnson, Cole Vanderheiden, Cody Gardner, Sam Henderson (1 award)
PODIUM FINISHES (32 Drivers)
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (19 podiums)
Blake Hahn (11 podiums)
Jason Martin (10 podiums)
Matt Covington (9 podiums)
Seth Bergman, Garrett Benson, Kyler Johnson (4 podiums)
Justin Peck, Ryan Timms, Cameron Martin (3 podiums)
Brian Brown, Rico Abreu, Parker Price-Miller, Kyle Larson, Austin McCarl, Austyn Gossel, Whit Gastineau, Brady Baker, Sean McClelland (2 podiums)
Emerson Axsom, Cole Macedo, Zach Blurton, Joey Danley, James McFadden, Jake Bubak, Bryant Wiedeman, Trever Kirkland, Hank Davis, JJ Hickle, Terry Easum, Zach Chappell, Zach Daum, Matt Sherrell (1 podium)
2025 SCHEDULE + WINNERS
Race Number. Day, Date / Track / City, State / Winner (Total Wins)
Thu, Jan. 30 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (1)
Fri, Jan. 31 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (2)
Sat, Feb. 1 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (3)
Sat, April 12 / Salina Highbanks Speedway / Salina, OK / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1)
Sat, May 10 / Paducah International Raceway / Paducah, KY / Matt Covington (1)
Fri, May 30 / Salt City Speedway / Hutchinson, KS / Zach Blurton (1)
Sat, May 31 / Dodge City Raceway Park / Dodge City, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2)
Sat, June 7 / Texarkana 67 Speedway / Texarkana, AR / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3)
Sat, June 21 / Batesville Motor Speedway / Locust Grove, AR / Blake Hahn (1)
Thu, July 3 / Belleville High Banks / Belleville, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4)
Fri, July 4 / Belleville High Banks / Belleville, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5)
Fri, July 18 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (6)
Fri, July 25 / Windy Hollow Speedway / Owensboro, KY / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (7)
Sat, July 26 / Benton Speedway / Benton, MO / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (8)
Thu, July 31 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Austin McCarl (1)
Fri, Aug. 1 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Rico Abreu (1)
Sat, Aug. 2 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Rico Abreu (2)
Fri, Aug. 15 / WaKeeney Speedway / WaKeeney, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9)
Sat, Aug. 16 / El Paso County Raceway / Calhan, CO / Jason Martin (1)
Fri, Aug. 22 / Big Sky Speedway / Billings, MT / Ryan Timms (1)
Sat, Aug. 23 / Big Sky Speedway / Billings, MT / Ryan Timms (2)
Fri, Aug. 29 / Electric City Speedway / Great Falls, MT / Jason Martin (2)
Sat, Aug. 30 / Electric City Speedway / Great Falls, MT / Seth Bergman (1)
Fri, Sept. 5 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS / Matt Covington (2)
Fri, Sept. 5 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS / Blake Hahn (2)
Sat, Sept. 6 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (10)
Sun, Sept. 7 / Eagle Raceway / Eagle, NE / Cameron Martin (1)
Fri, Sept. 19 / Paducah International Raceway / Paducah, KY / Jason Martin (3)
Sat, Sept. 20 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway / Pevely, MO / Matt Covington (3)
Fri, Oct. 10 / Salt City Speedway / Hutchinson, KS / Whit Gastineau (1)
Sat, Oct. 11 / Salt City Speedway / Hutchinson, KS / Whit Gastineau (2)
Fri, Oct. 17 / Tulsa Speedway / Tulsa, OK / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (11)
Fri, Nov. 14 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK / Blake Hahn (3)
Sat, Nov. 15 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK / Zach Daum (1)
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