Mark Smith Untouchable On Night 2 Of The Hockett/McMillin Memorial

Leading start to finish Friday night, Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith was untouchable with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network on Night 2 of the Hockett/McMillin Memorial.
 
Asked what it took to stay up front both nights, Smith replied, “This is a hard track to keep up with. When the reworked, I really didn’t know what to do, so I just ended up doing the same setup I had last night, and it worked really well.”
 
Battling the first few laps with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. for the lead, Smith cleared the Hill Racing No. 15h and began to pull away. Running first and second the first eight laps, Hafertepe grabbed the cushion through the first and second turns, allowing California’s Justin Sanders to slip by. Well, into slower traffic by that point, Smith was still able to pick his way to a nearly three-second advantage.
 
Under red on Lap 14, when Chase Randall flipped off the fourth turn, the race resumed with slower cars giving Smith a three-car buffer over the field. Finding lapped traffic once more, slower cars did little to slow the Mach1 Chassis No. M1 as the checkered flag dropped greeting the winner 2.642-seconds ahead of Sanders and earned the Pennsylvania shoe the pole in Saturday’s $10,000 to win A-Feature.
 
Justin’s third career podium appearance with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network; the run was enough to lock the No. 16a into Saturday’s big show. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. in third will position the No. 15h to the right of the front row. Advancing 10 positions for the second night in the row, Derek Hagar crossed fourth with Jordon Mallett completing the top five.
 
Moving up from 10th, Blake Hahn made it to sixth with Tim Crawley tearing through the field from 20th to grab seventh. Scott Bogucki was eighth with Dylan Westbrook and Ayrton Gennetten, making up the top ten.
 
Of the 77 drivers that checked in on Thursday, 74 were on hand Friday night. SCE Gaskets Heat Race wins went to Chase Randall, Ryan Timms, Mark Smith, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Timothy Smith, Alex Hill, Sean McClelland, and Zach Davis. Hoosier Tire Qualifiers were won by Jordon Mallett, Kyle Bellm, Slater Helt, Jonathan Cornell, Tanner Holmes, Robbie Price, and Matt Covington. BMRS B-Feature wins went to Brandon Anderson, Dale Howard, and Harli White. Brandon Anderson topped the Brodix LCQ.
 
Provisional starts were utilized by Matt Covington (Points), Roger Crockett (Points), and Miles Paulus (Regional).
 
The General Tire Hockett/McMillin Memorial concludes on Saturday, September 19, 2020, with Hot Laps on track at 5:30 P.M. (CT). Information on Lucas Oil Speedway can be found at https://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).
 
ASCS PR