07/12/2026
Matt Covington is not going to let a chance at his first American Sprint Car Series title slip away.
The Glenpool, OK racer took his first National Tour win at Batesville Motor Speedway in a 25-lap Feature that highlighted major points implications at the top.
As Covington started the race from the inside of the second row, polesitter Sam Hafertepe Jr. took the lead over Brady Baker as Covington and Seth Bergman overtook Baker to occupy the podium positions.
Through the first five laps, Hafertepe marched away from the two drivers by 1.8 seconds until lapped traffic came into his crosshairs.
With Hafertepe stuck in traffic, Covington and Bergman shredded the gap by 0.3 seconds each lap to catch him by Lap 10. Covington caught Hafertepe with momentum and reached for the inside of the No. 15H in Turn 3. Both drivers used every inch of racing room exiting Turn 4, but they made contact, sending Hafertepe into the wall and spinning across the frontstretch, prematurely ending the night.
On Lap 13, Bergman suffered a flat right-rear tire, which forced him into the pits and squandered his hopes of a third Series win in 2026. With Hafertepe and Bergman out of contention, Covington had to face Christopher Townsend and Whit Gastineau for the remaining 12 laps around the 3/8-mile oval.
Covington’s No. 95 Triple X Chassis flew away with the lead around the bottom lane while Townsend and Gastineau attempted different lines to gain an edge. Covington ran away to a 2.3-second gap by Lap 19, only to be gridlocked in lap traffic. Then, it was Townsend and Gastineau’s turn to chase down the leader, recing within one second of the back of Covington’s machine until the final caution waved on Lap 22.
In the remaining three laps, Covington scurried away from Townsend and Gastineau to lock up his 24th career Series win – tying 2015 champion Aaron Reutzel for 12th on the all-time wins list.
“My vantage point was that I thought I had room, and I thought I could stay off (Hafertepe),” Covington said. “That’s the last guy I want to run into on the racetrack. Sam, as fast as he is and as many races he wins, he’s the cleanest guy I know that’s been out here. I’m just real happy about tonight, other than making some contact. It looked like it tore Sam’s stuff up pretty good, so a bad night in that regard, but a good night to finish on top.”
Leaving the night at Batesville, Covington became the new Series points leader by two points over Hafertepe and 64 markers in front of Bergman.
Townsend finished second for a career high on the National Tour, and Gastineau cemented the Friday podium in his first visit to the facility. Baker finished fourth, and sophomore racer Ryder LaPlante made up the night’s top five finishers.
Recap Notes:
Quick Time Award: Sam Hafertepe Jr. (12.055 sec.)-Set a new track record!!
Heat Race Winners: Ryder LaPlante, Matt Covington, Seth Bergman
Hard Charger Award: Whit Gastineau (+7)
