Mark Smith Victorious In Hockett/McMillin Memorial Opener

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Using slower traffic to his advantage, Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith rocketed from the fifth starting spot to win Thursday’s opener of the General Tire Hockett/McMillin Memorial with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at Lucas Oil Speedway.
 
Smith’s second career victory with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network; the win is his 18th overall in 2020.
 
Of the last lap challenge, Smith stated, “I saw somebody’s tires down there, but there really isn’t much you can do when the track gets like this unless you take somebody out, and Jordon’s a good driver. He wouldn’t do something like that.”
 
Chasing down Ayrton Gennetten as the leaders found the back of the field on Lap 7, Smith closed the gap on the No. 3 through the next revolution. Swinging wide off the fourth turn on Lap 9, that opened the door for Smith to bolt into the lead.
 
Opening a nearly 2.5-second advantage on the field, lapped cars kept second through fifth on their toes. Slipping through the back-markers from eighth, Jordon Mallett moved the second on Lap 16. Hugging the berm of the three-eighths-mile oval, Mallett slowly chipped away at Smith’s advantage.
 
Held up with three laps to run, Smith’s cushion over the field quickly faded as Mallett rolled his Porter Commercial Refrigeration No. 14 to the back bumper of the Mach1 Chassis No. M1. With a low line run through turns one and two on the final lap, Mallett pulled to Smith’s left rear. Making slight contact, Jordon rolled out of the throttle to avoid the crash. Giving it one last run into the final two turns, it wasn’t enough as Smith held off the charge by 0.342-seconds.
 
Mallett’s best career finish with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at Lucas Oil Speedway; the Thursday silver is the second time that Mallett has graced a National Tour podium. Falling back early after starting on the pole, Scott Bogucki rallied back to third in the SawBlade.com No. 28.
 
Making up seven positions, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. made it to fourth with Dylan Westbrook in fifth.
 
Sixth went to Jonathan Cornell, followed by Derek Hagar, who charged from 17th to seventh. Roger Crockett was eighth with Seth Bergman and Ayrton Gennetten completing the top ten.
 
A record field of 77 drivers was on hand for the first night of the General Tire Hockett/McMillin Memorial. Eight SCE Gaskets Heat Races went to Justyn Cox, Sean McClelland, Billy Butler, Scott Bogucki, Seth Bergman, Garet Williamson, Jonathan Cornell, and Ryan Conium. Hoosier Tire Qualifiers numbered seven and were topped by Joe B. Miller, Chase Randall, Jordon Mallett, Mark Smith, Brandon Anderson, Tim Crawley, and Miles Paulus. BMRS B-Features went to Brandon Anderson, Howard Moore, and Devon Borden. The Brodix LCQ was won by Derek Hagar.
 
Provisional starts were utilized by Matt Covington, Chase Randall, and Austin O’Neal.
 
The General Tire Hockett/McMillin Memorial continues on Friday, September 18. Racing gets underway at 7:00 P.M. (CT). Information and tickets can be found online at http://www.lucasoilspeedway.com.
 
 
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2020, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
 
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