While he is already up to eight overall victories with three different series this season and sits second in ASCS National Tour points, Seth Bergman does not consider this a “breakout year.” In fact, this is the type of season he expects out of himself and his team, having scored double-digit wins in the past.

Thus far in 2018, Bergman has been victorious with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) presented by Sawblade.com four times. He also has three triumphs with the ASCS Warrior Region as well as a victory in Florida with the United Sprint Car Series (USCS).

“I’ve had seasons where I’ve had more wins than we have this year,” Bergman said. “Every season is a new one and we put a lot of work in during the offseason to be ready. The season is so long that you continue to work throughout the year to be better. I expect to see better results each night.”

Bergman, who has been a full-time driver on the ASCS National Tour since 2011, owns his race team. Being an owner/driver adds to the daily workload, but it’s what the 30-year-old has come to know and what drives him to be his best every day.

“You definitely have to wear more hats,” he explained of being an owner/driver. “Sometimes it’s more challenging to show up and be a driver. You are always thinking about the expense and getting the race team there and making sure everything is prepared and all the work is done. Owning your own team had its benefits and its downfalls. At the end of the day, it’s the route we are taking and we make it work.”

Bergman, who is now an ASCS veteran, competes night in and night out with a number of championship-caliber drivers and teams. Topping the list is two-time defending ASCS champion Sam Hafertepe Jr., who is the current series point leader. Wayne Johnson, the 2000 series titlist, is currently fourth in points, while fellow veteran Johnny Herrera is just outside of the top five. Youngster Blake Hahn and fellow veteran driver Matt Covington are also among the top five in the standings. Bergman is currently second in points as he chases his first ASCS title.

“When I first came out on the road, it was challenging racing against guys who had so much experience,” Bergman shared. “There were a lot of challenges and difficulties at first, but I stuck with it out and that makes you a better race car driver. It’s still challenging, but that’s what the National Tour is all about. These are some of the best drivers and teams in the country. That’s what we signed up for to compete at this level.”

Bergman, who hails from Snohomish, WA, cut his teeth racing in the Pacific Northwest. He won the Grays Harbor Raceway Track championship in 2010. The year prior to that he made his first foray on the ASCS circuit. Bergman returned to ASCS competition in 2011 and has remained a full-time series driver ever since.

“When I was racing around home, we were looking to get more experience in different parts of the country and against different drivers and teams,” he commented. “The ASCS came out with a good points fund around then as well as tow money and that’s what persuaded us to make the leap and follow the tour full-time.”

Bergman is now based in the Oklahoma City area home, as his team has had a shop in the area for a number of years. With numerous races in Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, the location fits well for an ASCS-type racing operation.

“It’s been essential having a shop that is centrally located because it’s tough to get back to Washington,” he said. “Travel-wise, it definitely makes it a lot more manageable being in Oklahoma City, with a large number of the races within a very reasonable distance of the shop.”

Berman scored his biggest win of 2018 at one of his home tracks earlier this season, taking the $15,000-to-win Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway in Washington. He also won the second preliminary night at the 0.3-mile bullring. At Grays Harbor Raceway, Bergman finished second on the opening night of the Fred Brownfield Classic. That was the series lone trip to his home area this season.

“It’s always a nice time of the year up there, weather-wise when we go,” Bergman noted. “We get to race at the tracks I grew up at. It’s always a fun time of the year to get back home and race in front of a lot of people who watched me race when I was younger.

“I still have a hard time believing we won the Dirt Cup, to be honest. I think sometimes in the big races you have to lose a couple and be a part of the event before you win them. Coming into this year I was reflecting a lot on the past few years I ran here, what I did wrong. I tried to use my past experiences as learning tools. I think that contributed a lot to winning it.”

Bergman is currently second in the ASCS standings, 68 markers behind Hafertepe, with less than 20 nights of racing remaining on the docket. He has 16 top-10 finishes in the first 24 races of the season, with 11 of those being top-five performances. Bergman is tied atop the winners' list with Hafertepe, as each has four victories in ASCS National Tour competition. Last year, he finished fifth in points and was a career-best fourth in 2015. Bergman has been among the top 10 in ASCS points in each of the last seven years.

“The key is to finish races,” noted Bergman, when asked what it will take to contend for a title. “The speed has been there all season. The one thing we have lacked is finishing races. We just have to work on that to not have any DNFs and maintain the speed we’ve had.”

While he has spent the majority of his career racing a 360-sprint car, Bergman would certainly entertain the idea of moving to a 410-sprint car if the right opportunity presented itself. For the time being, he is perfectly happy exactly where he is.

“We’re making a living at it,” said Bergman of running with the ASCS. “Obviously, the purse money in the top-level 410 ranks is higher. I would like to move up and run the 410 level, but our team is not equipped to do that when it comes to budget. We are set up to run the 360-level. If that’s where we have to be for a while, I don’t have a problem with that. 

"The 360-level is where we can make everything work right now. If I got with a competitive 410 team or extend our budget a little bit with some more partners, I would definitely like to go to the next level.”