Sam Hafertepe Jr.
Hometown: Sunnyvale, Texas
Resides: Sunnyvale, Texas
Birthday: November 8, 1985
Car: No. 15H
Chassis: J&J
Car Owner: Sam Hafertepe Sr.
Web site: http://www.sam15.com


2008 Season Review: 11th in points

After paying his dues in 2007 during his rookie year on the road with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, Sam Hafertepe Jr. had a breakout year in 2008. The sophomore driver came close to winning a couple of races and when the final numbers were tallied, he had racked up 18 Top-10 finishes, with four of those being Top-Five performances.

The native of Sunnyvale, Texas wrapped up the year 11th in points, after a 19th place showing in 2007 as a rookie. He hit his stride in the middle of June, rattling off five consecutive finishes of ninth or better, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at River Cities Speedway in North Dakota. He used this momentum to continue run among the Top-10 and earned three podium finishes by season’s end.

“All in all we had a pretty good year,” said Hafertepe. “We are satisfied with how the year went. We had our ups and downs, but we are happy. We are looking for even better next season.”

Hafertepe opened 2008, by arriving early in Florida early to begin the season by turning some extra laps and won his first career race in a 410-sprint car. That gave him added confidence heading into the always challenging World of Outlaws season.

He gained a lot of momentum during the first East Coast swing of the season for the World of Outlaws, scoring Top-10 finishes at Lernerville Speedway in the Commonwealth Clash, as well as at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in late May in an event that was broadcast live on SPEED. He followed that up with a third-place performance at Virginia Motor Speedway to match his career-best finish as he continued to chase his first series win. He raced his way into the Crane Cams Dash 23 times in 2008 to earn Top-10 starting spots in A-Feature events, including winning the dash to start on the pole at Princeton Speedway in Minnesota.

“Everything we learned last year helped us this year, from being out on the road to all the race tracks,” shared the sophomore driver. “We got to see tracks for the second time this year and that had us more prepared. We’ll be even more prepared for next year.”

Hafertepe came close to winning on a couple of occasions this season, including at Thunderbowl Raceway in California in October, where he wound up third. He also finished third at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York as well as the aforementioned strong run at Virginia.

“It definitely lifts the confidence and makes you feel like you belong out here when you are running up front. Next year we hope to be running strong again and running up front and continuing to improve.”

Hafertepe continued to gain precious experience on bigger tracks in 2008, and picked up back-to-back Top-10’s at Eldora Speedway and Knoxville Raceway. He followed this up with four consecutive Top-10 finishes on short tracks, as he continued to learn the intricacies of racing on various sized tracks.
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For the final stretch run of the season, Hafertepe welcomed Hall of Fame Driver Rick Ferkel, one of the original “Outlaws” to his team to serve as crew chief. This allowed the 23-year old driver to focus more on driving and not have to worry about turning the wrenches himself, though the sophomore driver remained one of the most hands-on drivers in the pit area, driving his truck and trailer throughout the season.

“It took a lot of pressure off of me, because I normally set my own car up,” Hafertepe noted of Ferkel’s presence. “It relaxes me more and makes me more confident as a driver.”

While Hafertepe continued to compete against drivers that had been racing for 10, 20 and even 30 years, he viewed that as an important tool to help him continue his development as a driver.

Late in the season he matched his best finish of the year with a third-place run at Thunderbowl Raceway in California, battling Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild for the win, nearly getting around the two legendary drivers in heavy lapped traffic.

“There is no price you can put on how much you learn out here racing with the Outlaws,” explained the native of Sunnyvale, Texas. “You have guys out here that have been racing longer than I have been alive. You just learn more and more every night and that is very important. I’ve probably learned more this year than I have ever learned before.”


2008 Season Stats
Driver                                 Pts.             $Earned         Wins         Top 5         Top 10
Sam Hafertepe Jr.         7543             $80,180             0                 4                 18


World of Outlaws history: 2007- 19th in points; 2nd in Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award standings…2008-11th in points

Previous Racing History: 2003- ASCS- Gulf South Region- Rookie of the Year…2004- ASCS- 10th in National points; Competed in select ARCA stock car events… 2005- ASCS-3rd in Nationals Points; Competed in select ARCA stock car events… 2006- ASCS Sooner Region- Champion; ASCS 9th in National points

Interesting Facts: Began racing at the age of 12… Won first sprint car race in 2004 at Thunder Valley Speedway in Union Hill, Louisiana…Enjoys bowling and has a 200 average… Is a Dallas Mavericks fans…Enjoys going to NBA games when he can… Favorite food is anything Italian… Enjoys returning to local dirt tracks in his spare time to visit with friends and drivers he competed with in the past.