ROSSBURG, Ohio -- Rico Abreu may have been the man to beat, but Sam Hafertepe Jr. came out on top, scoring night seven of Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The victory, Hafertepe’s first-ever 410 Sprint Car triumph at The Big E. 

Hafertepe secured a $12,000 payday, clinching the top spot on lap 20 when Rico Abreu surrendered the lead by visiting the work area. A flat tire led to Abreu’s misfortune, but Hafertepe ultimately capitalized, racing the final circuits unchallenged for his third-ever Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory.

Starting from the outside-pole position, Abreu earned the initial jump and led the first 19 circuits over Hafertepe, that until caution flags waved on lap 20 for a stopped Cale Thomas. Under caution, Abreu’s left rear tire went flat causing him to go to the work area; the rest is history.

Buddy Kofoid would chase Hafertepe to the final Whistle Stop event checkers, followed by Brent Marks, Anthony Macri, and “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney. Abreu would power back to eighth.

WATCH FEATURE REPLAY

Ohio Sprint Speedweek At Eldora Speedway Highlights

VIDEO: Watch Friday's Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions feature from Eldora. 

Winning Quote From Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 

“Just super excited for our team. Obviously, Rico [Abreu] had it in the bag, but we were able to hang with him there at the beginning. His misfortune led to my fortune. Hopefully this gives us some great momentum moving forward.”

Ohio Sprint Speedweek Results From Eldora Speedway

1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]

2. 55-Michael Kofoid[3]

3. 19M-Brent Marks[7]

4. 39M-Anthony Macri[6]

5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]

6. 26-Zeb Wise[11]

7. 13-Justin Peck[8]

8. 24-Rico Abreu[2]

9. 29-Sye Lynch[15]

10. 35-Zach Hampton[9]

11. 5T-Travis Philo[13]

12. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[12]

13. 69K-Lance Dewease[14]

14. 97-JJ Hickle[26]

15. W20-Greg Wilson[23]

16. 23-Zeth Sabo[22]

17. 99-Skylar Gee[19]

18. 2L-Logan Forler[16]

19. 45-Tim Shaffer[21]

20. 81-Lee Jacobs[18]

21. 4-Chris Windom[25]

22. 1-Nate Dussel[24]

23. (DNF) 49X-Cale Thomas[10]

24. (DNF) 101-Cody Maroske[20]

25. (DNF) 11-Cory Eliason[4]

26. (DNF) 11K-Kraig Kinser[17]

2023 Ohio Sprint Speedweek Point Standings

1. Zeb Wise - 660

2. Tyler Courtney - 656

3. Buddy Kofoid - 652

4. Chris Windom - 578

5. Tim Shaffer - 576

6. J.J. Hickle - 574

7. Cap Henry - 562

8. Skylar Gee - 558

9. Greg Wilson - 538

10. Cody Maroske - 534

Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions Point Standings

With a sixth-place finish on Friday night, Zeb Wise jumps up to second in the driver championship standings. Wise now trails series points leader Tyler Courtney by 144 points. 

Updated Point Standings

Last Race: June 15 - Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions at Atomic Speedway

Next Race: June 17 - Tezos ASCoC Ohio Speedweek at Portsmouth Raceway Park