HAFERTEPE

comfortable lead, but we’re still going down there to win. To achieve what we’ve achieved this season is fantastic, but even after 15 wins we still strive and work hard to get better.”

Racing begins at 7:30 p.m. on each of the three nights at Cocopah Speedway.

The first event, however, is a Fan Fest scheduled tonight at the Wild River Family Entertainment Center, from 5-7 p.m., with teams practicing on the Somerton oval starting at 7:30 p.m.

Driving for Keith Dobbs Motorsports out of Dallas, Texas, the back-to-back championships are a real feather in his cap considering the team runs on a very narrow budget, making Sam’s performance the driving force on keeping the team on the road.

“If we weren’t winning like we were, we’d definitely be working a lot harder to keep this program rolling,” said Hafertepe. “It

helps us stay prepared and with that, it allows us to have liberties that maybe other teams don’t have. But what’s made it even harder this year is not having a full-time crew guy on the road.”

Having had to cycle through a couple of crew members during the season, namely because of their commitments to school, Sam has had to take on more of the role of mechanic at times. But even then it hasn’t slowed him down with 15 National Tour wins on the season, which ties Hafertepe with follow Texan, Gary Wright, for the most wins in a single season on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

“It really means a lot to even be mentioned in the same breath as Gary Wright, but even with the chance to break that record, we’re not focusing on anything but ending this season with a win, and if we can, a sweep,” said Hafertepe. “We’re going to do what we’ve done all year and focus on the race.”