WHAT TO WATCH FOR: ASCS National Tour, Sooner Region Determine Champions in Fuzzy’s Fall Fling

Everything is on the line in Oklahoma.  The 2026 American Sprint Car Series season will close with two nights at Creek County Speedway for the 11th annual Fuzzy’s Fall Fling on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17. The weekend’s opener will pay $4,000-to-win, and Saturday’s finale will reward a $10,000 payday and crown a new champion for the ASCS National Tour and ASCS Sooner Region.  Across the two nights, the 360 Sprint Cars will be joined by Factory Stocks and Dwarf Cars. Pit gates will open at 2 p.m. CT, grandstands will open at 5 p.m., and Hot Laps are scheduled to commence at 7 p.m. You can purchase tickets at the track on race day.  Looking for more info about Creek County? CLICK HERE  WATCH ON DIRTVISION Here’s a look at the top storylines:  The Final Battle – The jury is out on who will be the newest ASCS National Tour champion ahead of the Creek County finale: Sam Hafertepe Jr. or Matt Covington.  The two drivers are separated by 21 points in the standings, with Hafertepe ahead of Covington. On the track, that means as close as a four-position difference and no room for error between the two contenders. Battling toe-to-toe for points and season stats since January, Hafertepe holds more Feature wins and podiums while Covington has more top-10 finishes and Heat race wins.  When the Series visited the 1/4-mile for the Don Swope Classic in June, Hafertepe encountered an engine failure while Covington finished in the runner-up position. Hafertepe bounced back at Creek in POWRi 410 competition the following Saturday with a Feature win.  Sooner Pride – The Oklahoma natives controlled Saturday in Texas at RPM Speedway, with Sapulpa’s Blake Hahn scoring his 27th career ASCS National Tour win, and his 15th with the Sooner Region.  Hahn was one of the three Oklahomans to lead the 30-lap contest, with Tulsa’s Sean McClelland leading the first eight laps, then Glenpool’s Covington sat at the helm for 15 circuits before Hahn made the winning pass.  Hahn will lead the charge of home-state defenders into Creek County as the reigning winner in the Don Swope Classic and the last two Fuzzy’s Fall Fling openers. McClelland, a six-time Sonner Region champion, is an 11-time winner at Creek County with ASCS, with his latest triumph coming in 2025.  Top Dog – Bradley Fezard has two nights left in 2026 before he can officially be called an ASCS champion.  Since taking control of the Sooner Region standings at Creek County in June, the Bonnerdale, AR driver leads 2024 champ Casey Wills by 74 points and Hayden Mabe by 81 ahead of Fuzzy’s Fall Fling. All three are hunting a first win to close the year.  Fezard won at the track in 2022 with the United Sprint League and finished fifth in the two ASCS Features of 2026. Wills and Mabe are each looking for their first win at Creek County.  Pivotal Points – Multiple positions across the top-10 in National Tour points remain unsolidified as “Creekadega” owns the final word through two nights.  Sixth-place Austyn Gossel and seventh-place Cole Schroeder provide the closest battle, with six markers separating the two drivers. While Gossel is seeking to end with a career-high finish, Schroeder will clinch the year’s BRODIX Rookie of the Year to end his first-year racing Sprint Cars on a national scale.  Eighth-place Brogan Carder is 30 points away from Schroeder as he’ll make a final charge at gaining position at Creek. While the Sioux Falls, SD sophomore ends his year in 360 Sprint Cars with ASCS, he’ll close 2026 in a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series debut at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals.  THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE WHEN AND WHERE  Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17, at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, OK  AROUND THE CORNER  Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 4-6, 2027, at Volusia Speedway Park in DeLeon Springs, FL  CURRENT TOP-10 STANDINGS  Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2998 pts) Matt Covington (-21) Seth Bergman (-107) Kyler Johnson (-323) Ryder LaPlante (-488) Austyn Gossel (-589) Cole Schroeder (-593) Brogan Carder (-623) Terry Easum (-678) Garrett Benson (-1314) FEATURE WINNERS (12 Drivers)  6 wins – Sam Hafertepe Jr.  4 wins – Seth Bergman  3 wins – Tyler Courtney  2 wins – Justin Peck, Matt Covington, Jett Barnes, Blake Hahn  1 win – Kyler Johnson, Chris Martin, Brady Bacon, Levi Hillier, Gio Scelzi, Ryan Timms  FEATURE LAPS LED (20 Drivers)  102 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.  73 laps – Seth Bergman  54 laps – Kyler Johnson  52 laps – Justin Peck  49 laps – Matt Covington  38 laps – Blake Hahn  37 laps – Jett Barnes  30 laps – Levi Hillier,  Ryan Timms  29 laps – Brady Bacon  24 laps – Austyn Gossel  22 laps – Chris Martin  21 laps – Austin McCarl  20 laps – Gio Scelzi  16 laps – Cameron Martin  15 laps – Tyler Courtney  13 laps – Brian Brown  11 laps – Sean McClelland  9 laps – Whit Gastineau  7 laps – Cole Macedo  2 laps – Brady Baker  QUICK TIME AWARDS (11 Drivers)  11 awards – Sam Hafertepe Jr  4 awards – Matt Covington  2 awards – Kyler Johnson, Jett Barnes  1 award – Seth Bergman, Howard Moore, Chris Martin, Levi Hillier, Aaron Reutzel, Brogan Carder, Sean McClelland  HEAT RACE WINNERS (44 Drivers)  11 wins – Matt Covington  8 wins – Seth Bergman  6 wins – Sam Hafertepe Jr.  5 wins – Ryder Laplante  4 wins – Garrett Benson, Kyler Johnson  3 wins – Chris Martin, Whit Gastineau, Justin Peck  2 wins – Austyn Gossel, Cam Martin, Blake Hahn  1 win – Jordan Mallett, Sean McClelland, Brady Bacon, Tyler Clem, Emerson Axsom, Brian Brown, Cole Macedo, Garen Linder, Colby Copeland, Nick Parker, Hank Davis, JJ Hickle, Alex Hill, Jeremy Campbell, Kade Morton, Alex Sewell, Brady Baker, Howard Moore, John Carney II, Tanner Holmes, Austin McCarl, Matt Juhl, Tyler Courtney, Ryan Timms, Tasker Phillips, Clint Garner, Evan Semerad, Brogan Carder, Cole Schroeder, Jett Barnes, Josh Schneiderman, Michael Day  DASH STARTS (43 Drivers)  17 starts – Sam Hafertepe Jr., Matt Covington  12 starts – Kyler Johnson  9 starts – Seth Bergman  7 starts – Whit Gastineau  6 starts – Ryder Laplante  4 starts – Levi Hillier, Chris Martin, Jett Barnes, Garrett Benson  3 starts – Tyler Courtney, Brian Brown, Justin Peck, Cameron Martin, Brogan Carder  2 starts – Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Brady Bacon, Davie Franek, Howard Moore, Austyn Gossel, Cole Schroeder, Blake Hahn  1 start – Jordan Mallett, Paul Solomon, Brock Zearfoss, Cole Macedo, Tyler Clem, Hank Davis, Nick Parker, Colby Copeland, Garen Linder, JJ Hickle, Alex Hill, Alex Sewell, Kade Morton, Jeremy Campbell, Bryant Wiedeman, Brady Baker, Rich Bailey, Terry Easum, Paxton Fleming, Jamie Ball, Josh Schneiderman, John Carney II, Sean McClelland, Michael Day  LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (15 Drivers)  2 wins – Braxton Weger, Rico Abreu  1 win – DJ Christie, Matt Covington, Tyler Clem, Whit Gastineau, Sterling Cling, Gage Montgomery, Brogan Carder, Bradley Fezard, Chris Martin, Cole Schroeder, Kade Morton, Zach Blurton, Austyn Gossel, Steven Shebester  HARD CHARGER AWARDS (18 Drivers)  3 awards – Seth Bergman, Whit Gastineau  2 awards – Sam Hafertepe Jr.  1 award – Ryder Laplante, Brady Bacon, Cole Macedo, DJ Netto, Brogan Carder, Joe B. Miller, Bradley Fezard, Hayden Mabe, Jack Thomas, Kyler Johnson, Casey Wills, Riley Goodno, Tasker Phillips, Rico Abreu, Cole Schroeder, Zach Blurton, Sheldon Bender, Austyn Gossel, Christopher Townsend, Steven Shebester  PODIUM FINISHES (30 Drivers)  13 podiums – Sam Hafertepe Jr.  12 podiums – Matt Covington  8 podiums – Seth Bergman  4 podiums – Kyler Johnson, Tyler Courtney  3 podiums – Garrett Benson, Justin Peck, Whit Gastineau, Brady Bacon  2 podiums – Blake Hahn, Austin McCarl, Levi Hillier, Austyn Gossel, Ryan Timms, Aaron Reutzel, Jett Barnes  1 podium – Cole Macedo, Emerson Axsom, Brock Zearfoss, JJ Hickle, Jordan Mallett, Chris Martin, Alex Sewell, Christopher Townsend, Gio Scelzi, Kyle Larson, Ryder Laplante, Cole Schroeder, Zach Blurton, Cameron Martin  2026 AMERICAN SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE + WINNERS  Date / Track / City, State / Winner (Total Wins)  *Denotes Split-Field Prelim Feature  Thu, Jan. 29 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Tyler Courtney Fri, Jan. 30 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Tyler Courtney (2) Mon, Feb. 2 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brady Bacon Sat, Feb. 21 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Justin Peck Sun, Feb. 21 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Matt Covington Sat, Feb. 28 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Justin Peck (2) Sun, Mar. 1 / Central Arizona Raceway / Casa Grande, AZ / Levi Hillier Sat, Apr. 11 / Salina Highbanks Speedway / Salina, OK / Chris Martin Fri, May 8 / Benton Speedway / Benton, MO / Seth Bergman Fri, June 5 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK / Blake Hahn Sat, June 6 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Seth Bergman (2) Fri, June 26 / Belleville High Banks / Belleville, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. Sat, June 27 / Belleville High Banks / Belleville, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2) Fri, July 10 / Batesville Motor Speedway / Locust Grove, AR / Matt Covington (2) Sat, July 11 / Texarkana 67 Speedway / Texarkana, AR / Seth Bergman (3) Sat, July 25 / Dodge City Raceway Park / Dodge City, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3) Sat, Aug. 1 / Viking Speedway / Alexandria, MN / Kyler Johnson *Thu, Aug. 6 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Gio Scelzi *Fri, Aug. 7 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Tyler Courtney Sat, Aug. 8 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Ryan Timms Fri, Aug. 28 / Big Sky Speedway / Shepherd, MT / Seth Bergman (4) Sat, Aug. 29 / Big Sky Speedway / Shepherd, MT / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4) Sun, Aug. 30 / Sheridan Speedway / Sheridan, WY / Jett Barnes Fri, Sept. 4 / Gallatin Speedway / Belgrade, MT / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5) Sat, Sept. 5 / Electric City Speedway / Black Eagle, MT / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (6) Sat, Sept. 12 / Moberly Motorsports Park / Moberly, MO / Jett Barnes (2) Sat, Oct. 10 / RPM Speedway / Crandall, TX / Blake Hahn (2)