Warming up for the 27th annual Knoxville 360 Nationals on August 3-5, Seth Bergman had a successful weekend in Iowa while racing with the American Sprint Car Series.

More than 80 cars are entered this weekend, so passing will be critical, and Bergman gained some experience doing so at Knoxville and Mason City last weekend.

Finishing third, he tied his career-best finish at Knoxville (IA) Raceway on July 29 and grabbed the Hard Charger award after advancing nine positions from 22nd to 13th at Mason City (IA) Motor Speedway on June 30.

In a field of more than 60 cars, simply making the field was an accomplishment. But Bergman was not content to ride in the middle of the pack. He also moved up nine positions at Knoxville.

Bergman finished fourth in his heat, which forced him to line up on the outside of row six.

"With 60-plus cars there it was a great tune-up for the 360 Knoxville Nationals next week," Bergman said. "To start off the night with a good qualifying time was critical just like it will be during the Nationals. We were able to move forward in the heat race, and then we had a great run in the main event."

At Mason City the following night, Bergman could not make up any ground in his heat. He started and finished eighth, which buried him 22nd in a field of 25. Bergman picked his way through traffic and landed in the top 15.

That was the first time in the past nine ASCS races that he failed to crack the top 10 -- a streak dating back to the Dirt Cup finally at Skagit Speedway in Alger on June 24.

"Passing was definitely at a premium," he said. "Our pill draw didn't do us any favors, and that set us pretty far back the rest of the night. I was pleased with how we rebounded in the A-Main."

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