Harli White Becomes Only Third Woman To Run Full ASCS National Tour

Story By: SHAWN MILLER / HARLI WHITE RACING – SOMERTON, AZ – Harli White recently became only the third woman to complete a full season on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

“It means a lot that I could finish the tour and not have too many complications throughout the year,” she said. “You have to forget about the hard times and keep going. It feels good to accomplish something as big as running the full national tour. I feel blessed to have the support of sponsors, fans, family and everyone who helped us.”

White improved throughout the final tripleheader of the season last weekend at Cocopah Speedway, where the action began on Thursday with White placing sixth in a heat race, seventh in a qualifier and third in a B Main to transfer into the back of the main event. She then charged from 22nd to a 12th-place finish, which was tied for the most cars passed.

“I think we got faster as the night progressed and I got more comfortable,” she said. “We were able to race hard and race toward the front. You always hope to do better, but passing cars is where it begins.”

White returned to the oval on Friday for Round 2, which she began by maneuvering from sixth to fourth place in a heat race. She then placed seventh in a qualifier before dominating a B Main by winning by more than 10 seconds. White continued that speed in the A Main as she powered from 17th to 11th, which was the second-most cars passed.

“It was the same situation on Thursday and Friday,” she said. “We started at the back of a heat and didn’t get many passing points in that or the qualifier so we had to go to a B Main. As the track widened out throughout the night we were able to make moves and move forward.”

Saturday’s finale opened with White winning a last chance qualifier, which locked her into the ninth starting position for the $5,000-to-win main event.

“Overall, it was a good end to the year,” she said. “We went forward all weekend long and didn’t tear up anything. On Saturday we got to focus on the track better than on Thursday and Friday and we got the car in position to be as fast as we could be. We did get faster all weekend. Every time we were on the track we got quicker and that’s something we can build on.”

White closed the night with an eighth-place finish, which marked her seventh top 10 of the season with the series.

She finished ninth in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour championship standings and second in the Rookie of the Year chase.