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A WINNER AT IMS! T-MEZ BREAKS THROUGH AT INDY IN BC39 OPENER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 28, 2023)………There’s no denying that 2023 has been a challenging one for Thomas Meseraull and RMS Racing on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail.

To have their season breakthrough finally arrive on Thursday during the opening night of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that’s about as sweet as it gets.

Indy is the place of dreams and heartache, and Meseraull has certainly had his share. He led the most laps on the final night feature of the BC39 in both 2019 and 2021, just narrowly missing victory with accidents prematurely putting an end to his night each time.

This time around, albeit occurring on the opening night, it was the kind that Meseraull had always dreamt of having on the dirt at IMS. No heartache, no headache, just pure jubilation from start to finish. Just pure T-Mez.

“I just picked up a win at IMS; how awesome is that?” Meseraull exclaimed.

The San Jose, Calif. native started from the outside of the front row and raced into the lead on the opening lap of the feature, leading the entire 30-lap distance while enduring intermittent spurts of heavy lapped traffic and a late surge from Taylor Reimer to earn his first feature victory of the 2023 campaign in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Engler Ford.

Meseraull’s 10th career USAC National Midget victory pushed him into 73rd all-time alongside Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung and Chuck Weyant.

But with nary a top-three finish with the series in more than four months and just seven top-ten results in 18 outings this year, Meseraull even admitted that things came to a head a bit after last weekend’s events. But in the competitive spirit and the desire to win remaining so strong despite the setbacks, the performance they’d striven after for so long finally struck the right chord.

The high majority of the year’s storyline surrounding the team has been the continuous development of the EA Stealth Engler Ford engine, a one-of-one type of engine that has been used by them, and only them, throughout the year. With the program making strides, and now with the recent re-addition of Donnie Gentry to the crew, Meseraull is back in USAC National Midget victory lane for the first time in 26 starts, dating back to November of 2022 at California’s Bakersfield Speedway.

“We’ve put in a lot of time and effort on this thing,” Meseraull said of his engine package. “It’s kind of been a year of throwing out the books because we’re getting better, and I think we’ve got this thing figured out.”

Meseraull grabbed the initial lead on the opening lap from pole sitter Chase McDermand while Reimer also swept around the outside of McDermand to slot into second. The first stoppage of the main event came on lap six when 16th running Bryant Wiedeman tipped over on his side in turn one. Thirteen-time Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association champion Keith Rauch also stopped in the incident without contact. Both drivers restarted with Wiedeman racing back to 12th and Rauch to 19th.

A turn two melee also occurred on the lap six restart when fifth-running Jade Avedisian got a tad sideways in turn two, setting off a chain reaction of events behind her that resulted in Kyle Jones (10th), Kevin Thomas Jr. (11th), Jerry Coons Jr. (13th) and Matt Westfall (14th) all stopping. Thomas and Westfall did not return. However, Coons and Jones did, finishing 14th and 17th, respectively.

When action resumed, Meseraull throttled a path away from the rest of the field and found himself in lapped traffic on the 1/4-mile dirt oval by the midway point, forcing him to split between the triumvirate of Taylor Courtney, Rauch and Weston Gorham to escape with a healthy lead and a one-plus second advantage.

Thereafter, Meseraull discovered the proverbial daylight in the nighttime as he came out the other side of traffic to find a clear view ahead while Reimer and McDermand in second and third received their turn to maneuver through the traffic. In the meantime, Meseraull extended his lead to 1.7 sec.

On lap 23, Meseraull found himself in a conundrum as he and Kyle Jones made bumper-to-bumper contact while Meseraull was attempting to put Jones a lap down. Jones wound up in a spin into the infield in turn two. The resulting caution saw Meseraull’s 1.545 second lead disappear. Nonetheless, it gave him a chance to race his way to the finish line without the challenge of traffic.

Meseraull was seemingly cruising with a near full second advantage over Reimer and just four laps to go when the turn four cushion nearly jumped right up and bit him on the ankles. Meseraull biked on the high side before coming back down on all fours, motoring down the front straight with a waft of smoke momentarily emanating from the headers.

Just like that, Meseraull’s lead was snipped nearly in half. Entering the third turn on the final circuit, Reimer made one last ditch effort to challenge Meseraull, and was able to pull even for a split second. However, Meseraull’s high side momentum propelled him past Reimer and across the finish line one final time 0.529 sec. ahead of the pack.

Meseraull was followed to the stripe by Taylor Reimer in second and Chase McDermand in third, all three of whom are locked into Saturday night’s $20,039-to-win BC39 final night feature by virtue of their finishing positions on Thursday night. Jacob Denney and Buddy Kofoid rounded out the top-five.

For Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) it was her best career finish in USAC National Midget competition aboard her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Yahoo – TRD - BuzzBallz/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. Her second-place result topped her previous best USAC feature finish of fourth this past May in Sweet Springs, Mo.

“I honestly felt we were a little better than T-Mez,” Reimer said. “We just weren’t able to capitalize on his mistakes there. In the middle, there was a rut there, and I got a little sideways a couple of times, so we started going above it and began following T-Mez. I tried to do a Hail Mary at the end, but I wasn’t close enough to him.”

It was a superb night for the Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) as he equaled his best career USAC National Midget feature finish with a third-place result on Thursday night at IMS in his Mounce-Stout Motorsports/McDermand Plumbing – Rockwell Security/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“I was struggling off the center of one and two, and that’s where everybody would pull me down the backstretch,” McDermand explained. “We definitely have a good package; we’ve just got to fine tune it a little bit, but we’re really close.”

Daniel Whitley (Ferndale, Calif.) made his first run on The Dirt Track at IMS a successful one in his Abacus Racing/Indy Custom Stone – CG CPAs – Forecheck Marketing/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. He charged from 21st to 13th to earn the Max Papis Innovations Up on the Wheel Award. Whitley received a trophy as well as a pair of MPI racing gloves and a $250 MPI gift card for his efforts.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 28, 2023 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Driven2SaveLives BC39

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold/Underwood), 2. Blake Brannon (#40B Brannon), 3. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Taylor Courtney (#22p RAMCO), 5. Chris Baue (#136 Baue), 6. Tommy Colburn (#10A MWR), 7. John Heydenreich (#22 Heydenreich), 8. Weston Gorham (#18N Gorham), 9. Adam Andretti (#44 Johnson). NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Buddy Kofoid (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Gary Taylor (#32 Dunlap), 3. Jade Avedisian (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Keith Rauch (#27 Bourke), 5. Mitchel Moles (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), 6. Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz), 7. Josh Bilicki (#7c RAMCO), 8. Justin Dickerson (#21D Dickerson), 9. Josh Hodge (#5J Hodge). 1:42.10

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Kameron Key (#21J THK), 2. Kaylee Bryson (#89 CBI), 3. Matt Westfall (#84 Bordner), 4. Chelby Hinton (#4 Klatt), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#1 Crouch), 6. Kyle Jones (#7m RAMCO), 7. Nick Drake (#55D Cline), 8. Robert Carson (#99K LOK/Carson-Segur), 9. Kevin Cook (#9p Cook). NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 2. Bryant Wiedeman (#81 CBI), 3. Chase McDermand (#40 Mounce-Stout), 4. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 6. Daniel Whitley (#58 Abacus), 7. Mariah Ede (#71E Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. C.J. Leary (#14 Legacy), 9. Preston Lattomus (#23 Mounce-Stout). 1:42.14

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Jade Avedisian, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Kameron Key, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Chelby Hinton, 6. Daniel Whitley, 7. Tommy Colburn, 8. Weston Gorham, 9. Adam Andretti. 2:09.58

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Taylor Reimer, 5. Nick Drake, 6. Randi Pankratz, 7. Justin Dickerson, 8. Robert Carson, 9. Blake Brannon. 2:08.42

T.J. FORGED THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Kyle Jones, 2. Gary Taylor, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Josh Bilicki, 7. Preton Lattomus, 8. John Heydenreich, 9. C.J. Leary. 2:10.82

CAR IQ FOURTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Mariah Ede, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Taylor Courtney, 6. Josh Hodge, 7. Keith Rauch, 8. Kevin Cook, 9. Chris Baue. NT

ELLIOTTS’ CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Chelby Hinton, 3. Taylor Courtney, 4. Keith Rauch, 5. Daniel Whitley, 6. Weston Gorham, 7. Chris Baue, 8. Nick Drake, 9. Josh Bilicki, 10. Tommy Colburn, 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Kevin Cook, 13. Randi Pankratz, 14. Blake Brannon, 15. Preston Lattomus, 16. C.J. Leary, 17. Robert Carson, 18. Justin Dickerson, 19. Josh Hodge. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (2), 2. Taylor Reimer (4), 3. Chase McDermand (1), 4. Jacob Denney (7), 5. Buddy Kofoid (3), 6. Kameron Key (5), 7. Jade Avedisian (6), 8. Gary Taylor (8), 9. Kaylee Bryson (10), 10. Hayden Reinbold (14), 11. Mitchel Moles (17), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (15), 13. Daniel Whitley (21), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (13), 15. Mariah Ede (16), 16. Chelby Hinton (18), 17. Kyle Jones (12), 18. Weston Gorham (22), 19. Keith Rauch (20), 20. Taylor Courtney (19), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 22. Matt Westfall (9). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Thomas Meseraull.

**Keith Rauch flipped during the fourth qualifying race. Blake Brannon flipped during the semi. Bryant Wiedeman flipped on lap 6 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1297, 2-Bryant Wiedeman-1138, 3-Jade Avedisian-1081, 4-Justin Grant-1066, 5-Ryan Timms-1041, 6-Daison Pursley-1037, 7-Jacob Denney-1015, 8-Gavin Miller-945, 9-Cannon McIntosh-868, 10-Taylor Reimer-868.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-179, 2-Logan Seavey-130, 3-Emerson Axsom-112, 4-Justin Grant-106, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Mitchel Moles-79.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 29-30, 2023 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Driven2SaveLives BC39

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Chase McDermand (12.186)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Hayden Reinbold

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kameron Key

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull

Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Jade Avedisian

Rod End Supply Second Qualifier Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Qualifier Winner: Kyle Jones

Car IQ Fourth Qualifier Winner: Chase McDermand

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Mitchel Moles

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Thomas Meseraull

MPI Up on the Wheel Hard Charger: Daniel Whitley (21st to 13th)

BC39 STOOPS PURSUIT RESCHEDULED

FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 28, 2023)………The annual running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Stoops Pursuit has been rescheduled for this Friday, September 29, following the night’s preliminary feature event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Drivers eligible for the event include all individuals who currently stand inside the top-10 of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship point standings, plus all of Thursday’s and Friday’s heat race winners and qualifying race winners. Promoters options will start at the rear of the 24-car field.

The Stoops Pursuit race will consist of 25 laps split into five-lap segments with the starting lineup being inverted based on each driver’s hot lap times during Thursday and Friday’s programs. Any car involved in a caution is eliminated. Every five laps, a competition yellow flag will be displayed, and cars with a net loss in position will be called to exit the track.

A checkered flag ends the final segment with the winner earning $1,500 plus $100 for each position gained. All race participants will receive a free right rear tire courtesy of Hoosier.

The BC39 will resume on Thursday night, September 28 at IMS with the first of two preliminary night events featuring a split field with one half of the field competing on Thursday and the other half competing on Friday.

Thursday’s event will have a bit of an earlier start than initially scheduled. The front gates will open at 4pm Eastern followed by practice at 5pm. The regularly scheduled program will begin with hot laps at 6pm and finish off with the first full night of racing action, consisting of heat races, qualifiers and the main events, concluding with a $5,000-to-win, 30-lap feature.

The racing program on Friday, September 29, will resemble much the same as Thursday’s event with hot laps followed by heat races, qualifiers and the main events, concluding with a $5,000-to-win, 30-lap feature.

The BC39 finale, on Saturday, September 30, will have the public gates opening at 4pm with a driver meet and greet scheduled for 4pm in the midway and a public driver’s meeting at the USAC merchandise trailer at 4:45pm. Cars hit the track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with the D-Main, multiple C-Mains, Semi-Feature and the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.

Spectator tickets are also available at www.IMS.com/BC39. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.

The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside turn three at IMS will continue to honor late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increase awareness of and participation in the Indiana Donor Network and Driven2SaveLives.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39. Zeb Wise (2018), Kyle Larson (2019 & 2021) and Dominic Gorden (2022) have won the four previous runnings of the Stoops Pursuit.

WEDNESDAY’S BC39 OPENER RAINED OUT,

USAC MIDGETS RESUME THURSDAY AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 27, 2023)………Wednesday night’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 opening night program at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been canceled due to rain.

Wednesday’s program was to feature two sessions of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice followed by the Stoops Pursuit 25-lap race. USAC and IMS are working to determine if there is a suitable option to run the Stoops Pursuit this weekend.

Thursday’s event will have a bit of an earlier start than initially scheduled. The front gates will open at 4pm Eastern followed practice at 5pm. The regularly scheduled program will begin with hot laps at 6pm and finish off with the first full night of racing action, consisting of heat races, qualifiers and the main events, concluding with a $5,000-to-win, 30-lap feature.

For any questions regarding BC39 tickets, please contact the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office at 317-492-6700 and they will assist you with ticketing options.

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS RETURN TO ANTIOCH
By Lance Jennings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023... The chase for the USAC Western States Midget Championship resumes this Saturday, September 30th at Antioch Speedway. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Tel Tac Digital Tachometers, the “Chet Thomson Memorial” and final round of the Antioch Challenge Mini Series Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises will pay $2,000-to-win, $1,100-for-second, and $800-for-third. The tenth point race will also feature Dwarf Cars, Super Stocks, and Hardtops. Located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds at 1201 West 10th Street in Antioch, California, the Pit Gates will open at 2:00pm, the Front Gates open at 4:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 6:00pm. For more event information “Where Action is The Attraction,” visit the track’s website at antiochspeedway.com or call 925.779.9220.

The Antioch Challenge Mini-Series Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises consists of the August 5th and September 30th races at Antioch Speedway. Points are kept and the champion will earn $500. $500 will also be awarded to fifth (5th) and tenth (10th) place finishers.

Tickets are still available for the October 7th “Championship Night Banquet” at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park. Starting approximately 30 minutes after the final checkered flag of the “George Snider Classic,” the event is the year-end celebration for the USAC Western States Midgets and the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars. Tickets are $40 until September 30th and will be $50 after that date. The event will have awards, dinner (chicken or tri-tip), photo slide show, beverages, and music. To purchase tickets and RSVP, contact Stephanie Odom at the races or email her at odom.stephanie@me.com.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- MEMBERSHIPS / TEMPORARY PERMITS: All racers MUST PURCHASE their USAC license / membership or temporary permit (TP) online PRIOR TO THE EVENT at usaclicense.com. Season memberships come with extra insurance.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: B&B: FRAC-0375-S w/side outlet, COAST FABRICATION: 300x625x17-2s, 350x625x17-2s, 400x625x17-2s, EXTREME: 3515-3030 (15” Long 5” round shell with 3”inlet & 3” outlet), 3615-3030 (15” Long 6” round shell with 3” inlet & 3” outlet), 3515-3030-8 (15” Long 5” round shell with 3”inlet & 3” outlet with turnout), 3615-3030-8 (15” Long 6” round shell with 3” inlet & 3” outlet with turnout), FLOWMASTER: (BCRA Approved) 13009130, 13509130, 13509135, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272730-78, RODELA FAB: 2557-01 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- RULE BOOK: The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
- California state protocol calls for competitors, crews, officials, and anyone on the grounds to practice safe social distancing, proper sanitizing, and follow local regulations regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

In addition to championship points, every event will award points for the season-long Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Standings and the unsponsored Passing Master Standings. Drivers that finish in the top-3 in Woodland points will take home $500-for-1st, $300-for-2nd, and $200-for-3rd. Last season, Michael Faccinto earned Top Qualifier honors and veteran driver Randi Pankratz passed the most cars in the main events.

The “mighty midgets” made their Antioch debut on August 5th and T.J. Smith claimed the victory aboard the Six8 Motorsports’ #68 Stewart. That night, Brody Fuson established the track record of 13.882 seconds.

Returning to Antioch, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) has a 34-point lead over the competition. Driving Rusty Carlile’s #51 RacePa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, Fuson claimed his fourth win of the season at Ventura Raceway on September 9th. At press time, the point leader also has six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, three Ebbco Offroad / Wireless 101 Hard Charger Awards, eight top-10 finishes, and 63 feature laps led on the season. Brody has eight career victories and is tied with Stan Fox, Michael Lewis, Steve Paden, Dave Steele, and Danny Stratton on the series win list. Fuson will be looking to add Antioch to his resume and get closer to the 2023 championship.

Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, California) is second in the championship point standings. Racing Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5K Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Lewis placed fifth in the September 9th feature. To date, the young driver has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, three Ebbco Offroad / Wireless 101 Hard Charger Awards, nine top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led on the year. Cade has two career wins and will have his sights on winning the Thomson Memorial.

Veteran driver Ron Hazelton (Chatsworth, California) is tied for third in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #15 TRC Transmission / West Evans Motorsports Beast scored eleventh at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on September 9th. At press time, Hazelton has five top-10 finishes in the campaign and will be looking for the first win of his career at Antioch.

C.J. Sarna (Brea, California) is tied with Ron Hazelton for third in the USAC Western States Midget point chase. The owner/driver of the #20 ZMax / Final Final Lifestyle Spike placed seventh the last time out at Ventura Raceway. As this writing goes to press, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has six top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights on winning the $2,000 victory at Antioch Speedway.

Ben Worth (Coalinga, California) sits fifth in the USAC Western States Midget point chase. The pilot of Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5V Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike did not compete at Ventura but has one feature win, six top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2019 Rookie of the Year has four career wins and will be looking to gain points with the Saturday night victory.

Leading rookie contender, Ben Covich (Auckland, New Zealand) ranks eighth in the point standings. The owner/driver of the #65 Dean “Kiwi” Alexander / Matt Streeter Racing backed Spike has four top-10 finishes to his credit. The young driver will be looking the upset the field and claim the win at Antioch.

While Ben Covich leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors, he is followed by Samuel May (Oxnard, California), David Gasper (Goleta, California), Kevin Gray (Yuba City, California), Garrett Twitty (Bakersfield, California), Brandon Wiley (Santa Maria, California), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, California), Nicco Panella (Stockton, California), and Steve Hix (Ventura, California).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Caden Sarale, T.J. Smith, Danika Jo Faccinto, Marvin Mitchell, Floyd Alvis, Jim Keene, Jerry Kobza, and more.

Antioch Speedway is located on the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds at 1201 West 10th Street in Antioch, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $20, Military tickets are $15, Senior tickets (60 and over) are $15, Child tickets (under 11) are $15, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. Parking is priced at $10 by the fair board. For more event information, visit the track’s website at antiochspeedway.com or call 925.779.9220.

The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Ebbco Offroad, Esslinger Engineering, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Graunstadt Enterprises, Hoosier Racing Tire, Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters, Jordan Hanni Well Drilling, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Tel Tach Digital Tachometers, Turn Fun, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONS: 1982-Jeff Heywood, 1983-Sleepy Tripp, 1984-Tommy White, 1985-Sleepy Tripp, 1986-Robby Flock, 1987-Sleepy Tripp, 1988-Sleepy Tripp, 1989-Robby Flock, 1990-Sleepy Tripp, 1991-Sleepy Tripp, 1992-Sleepy Tripp, 1993-Robby Flock, 1994-Johnny Cofer, 1995-Billy Boat, 1996-Jay Drake, 1997-Ricky Shelton, 1998-Rick Hendrix, 1999-Marc DeBeaumont, 2000-Wally Pankratz, 2001-Danny Ebberts, 2002-Robby Flock, 2003-Steve Paden, 2004-Johnny Rodriguez, 2005-Jerome Rodela, 2006-Jerome Rodela, 2007-Johnny Rodriguez, 2008-Nic Faas, 2009-Garrett Hansen, 2010-Alex Schutte, 2011-Cory Kruseman, 2012-Shannon McQueen, 2013-Ronnie Gardner, 2014- Ronnie Gardner, 2015-Ronnie Gardner, 2016-Ronnie Gardner, 2017-Ronnie Gardner, 2018-Michael Faccinto, 2019-Robert Dalby, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Blake Bower, 2022-Michael Faccinto.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 4-Brody Fuson, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Cade Lewis, 1-Caden Sarale, 1-T.J. Smith, 1-Ben Worth.

ANTIOCH USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TRACK RECORD: Brody Fuson – 13.882 (08/05/23)

ANTIOCH USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WIN: 1-T.J. Smith.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Fuson-671, 2. Cade Lewis-637, 3. Ron Hazelton-440, -. C.J. Sarna-440, 5. Ben Worth-434, 6. Randi Pankratz-403, 7. Caden Sarale-332, 8. Ben Covich®-319, 9. Samuel May®-293, 10. David Gasper®-264, 11. Blake Bower-255, 12. Steve Paden-220, 13. Robby Josett-207, --. T.J. Smith-207, 15. Danika Jo Faccinto-187, 16. Marvin Mitchell-170, 17. Bryan Drollinger-169, 18. Kevin Gray®-162, 19. Jake Andreotti-160, 20. Garrett Twitty®-142, 21. A.J. Bender-113, 22. Brandon Wiley®-96, 23. Michael Faccinto-80, 24. Mitchel Moles®-78, --. Chase Johnson-78, 26. Mike Leach Jr.-76, 27. Ryan Bernal-73, 28. Floyd Alvis-61, 29. Jim Keene-52, 30. Nicco Panella®-50, 31. Terry Nichols-42, 32. Colby Johnson-41, 33. Billy Rayburn-40, 34. Jerry Kobza-38, 35. Steve Hix®-37.

ANTIOCH CHALLENGE MINI SERIES PRESENTED BY GRAUNSTADT ENTERPRISES POINT STANDINGS: 1. T.J. Smith-78, 2. Cade Lewis-76, --. Jake Andreotti-76, 4. Ben Worth-71, 5. David Gasper®-64, 6. C.J. Sarna-56, 7. Samuel May®-54, --. Danika Jo Faccinto-54, 9. Nikko Panella®-50, 10. Randi Pankratz-47, 11. Ben Covich®-44, 12. Colby Johnson-41, 13. Ron Hazelton-40, ---. Caden Sarale-40, 15. Marvin Mitchell-39, 16. Jerry Kobza-38, 17. Brody Fuson-34, 18. Kevin Gray®-30.

2023 WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALFIER POINTS: 1. Brody Fuson-50, 2. Cade Lewis-30, 3. Caden Sarale-14, 4. Ben Worth-12, 5. C.J. Sarna-11, -. David Gasper®-11, 7. Jake Andreotti-9, 8. Robby Josett-8, 9. Blake Bower-7, --. Randi Pankratz-7, 11. T.J. Smith-6, 12. Michael Faccinto-5, 13. Danika Jo Faccinto-4, 14. A.J. Bender-3, --. Mitchel Moles-3, --. Chase Johnson-3, 17. Brandon Wiley®-2, 18. Ryan Bernal-1, --. Garrett Twitty®-1, --. Ron Hazelton-1, --. Samuel May-1.

2023 SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1. Brody Fuson-563, 2. Cade Lewis-549, 3. Ron Hazelton-408, 4. C.J. Sarna-395, 5. Ben Worth-382, 6. Randi Pankratz-362, 7. Ben Covich®-303, 8. Caden Sarale-287, 9. Samuel May®-255, 10. David Gasper®-232, 11. Blake Bower-223, 12. Steve Paden-199, 13. Robby Josett-180, --. T.J. Smith-180, 15. Danika Jo Faccinto-168, 16. Marvin Mitchell-163, 17. Bryan Drollinger-157, 18. Kevin Gray®-152, 19. Jake Andreotti-137, 20. Garrett Twitty®-130, 21. A.J. Bender-99, 22. Brandon Wiley®-85, 23. Mitchel Moles-67, --. Chase Johnson-67, --. Michael Faccinto-67, 26. Mike Leach Jr.-64, --. Ryan Bernal-64, 28. Floyd Alvis-55, 29. Jim Keene-49, 30. Nicco Panella®-46, 31. Terry Nichols-39, 32. Billy Rayburn-37, 33. Jerry Kobza-35, 34. Steve Hix®-33, --. Colby Johnson-33.

2023 PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. Cade Lewis-33, 2. Brody Fuson-28, 3. Ron Hazelton-23, 4. Ben Covich®-15, 5. Marvin Mitchell-10, -. David Gasper®-10, 7. C.J. Sarna-9, 8. Caden Sarale-8, 9. Steve Paden-7, --. Robby Josett-7, --. Samuel May-7, 12. Jake Andreotti-6, --. Danika Jo Faccinto-6, 14. Jim Keene-5, 15. Bryan Drollinger-4, --. Garrett Twitty®-4, --. Randi Pankratz-4, 18. Brandon Wiley®-3, 18. Brandon Wiley®-3, --. Michael Faccinto-3, --. Ben Worth-3, 21. Chase Johnson-1, --. Blake Bower-1

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
March 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (RAINED OUT)
March 25: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (RAINED OUT)
April 15: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
May 6: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (RAINED OUT)
May 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
June 10: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
June 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Cade Lewis)
July 8: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
July 22: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Caden Sarale)
August 5: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (Winner: T.J. Smith)
September 9: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
September 30: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (Antioch Challenge #2 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises)
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (With USAC West Coast Sprint Cars / Championship Night / George Snider Classic / Awards Banquet)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.

72 USAC MIDGETS VIE FOR

$20,039 BC39 PAYDAY AT THE DIRT TRACK AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 26, 2023)………The fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 is set to roll with 72 drivers in a field that consists of 19 past USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winners and represents 20 different United States.

They’ll play in the dirt for four-straight nights on September 27-28-29-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 1/4-mile oval located within the confines of the world famous 2.5-mile course.

The BC39 boasts the largest car count of the season, the highest stakes of the season and the highest payout of the season in an event which has already become one of the defining crown jewels in all of midget racing.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is already magic, but after laying a bit of dirt down, you’ve got magic.

We’ve also got six storylines for you to let sink in as we get ready for one of the marquee events on the entire USAC calendar.

AN ENORMOUS FIELD OF 72

Besides the on-track action, the annual car count for the BC39 makes plenty of headlines for itself. Of the 72 drivers, 20 different states are represented in the field from coast-to-coast: California (15), Indiana (13), Illinois (6), Oklahoma (6), Ohio (5), North Carolina (4), Texas (4), Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Kansas (2), Missouri (2), Pennsylvania (2), Wisconsin (2), Alabama (1), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Florida (1), Louisiana (1), Nevada (1) and Washington (1).

Over the first four editions of the BC39, three states have been represented in victory lane: Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (2018), Indiana’s Zeb Wise (2019), California’s Kyle Larson (2021) and California’s Buddy Kofoid (2022).

Furthermore, of the 72, more than a quarter are previous USAC National Midget feature winners representing 155 total series wins: Tanner Thorson (29), Buddy Kofoid (24), Jerry Coons Jr. (19), Justin Grant (14), Logan Seavey (14), Thomas Meseraull (9), Brady Bacon (8), Cannon McIntosh (6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), Ryan Timms (5), Zach Daum (4), John Heydenreich (4), Jacob Denney (3), Mitchel Moles (3), Emerson Axsom (2), Daison Pursley (2), Gavin Miller (1), Keith Rauch (1) and Bryant Wiedeman (1).

But only one of those aforementioned drivers will be striving for a final night BC39 victory this year.

LONE BACON

Brady Bacon made the winning pass with nine laps to go to score a win in the very first BC39 in 2018. To the surprise of no one, he’s been a solid citizen annually in the event, finishing 3rd in 2021 and 8th in 2022.

Others have come similarly close. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) finished 3rd in 2018 after leading a race-high 30 laps. Thomas Meseraull (San Joes, Calif.) led a combined 34 laps over a two-race span in 2019-21, then finished a best of 3rd in 2022.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) led a lap and finished 2nd in 2021, then scored a 4th in 2022, while Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) led for 16 circuits en route to a 4th place result in 2021. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), meanwhile, came home fifth in the 2019 race.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) waged a fascinating duel with Buddy Kofoid for the win in 2022, with McIntosh leading a race-high 20 laps before finishing 2nd behind Kofoid.

Speaking of Kofoid, you may be saying, “wait, he’s in this year’s field too.” Right you are. However, he will only be participating during Wednesday and Thursday’s programs before other racing duties will prevent him from competing on Saturday for a repeat BC39 victory.

SPLIT RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE

Not one, not two, not three but four nights of racing greet BC39 competitors in 2023, doubling the number of events held annually during the first four runnings.

Wednesday's program will feature all cars on the track for practice, followed by the Stoops Pursuit race, a 25-lap race split into five-lap segments. The field consists of a total of 24 starters with the top-10 drivers in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship points being locked into the event as are the 10 fastest during Wednesday night’s practice who are not already locked in. Up to four promoters options will be available to start the event.

The Stoops Pursuit starting lineup is inverted by fastest hot lap time, with promoter’s options starting at the rear. Any car involved in a caution is eliminated. Every five laps, a competition yellow flag will be displayed, and cars with a net loss in position will be called to exit the track.

A checkered flag ends the final segment, with the winner earning $1,500 plus $100 for each position gained. All race participants will receive a free right rear tire courtesy of Hoosier.

On Thursday and Friday, the field will be split with half the field competing on Thursday and the other half of the field competing on Friday. Both nights will feature a full program of racing consisting of 8-lap heat races and 10-lap qualifying races, followed by a 10-lap C-main (if needed), a 12-lap semi-feature and a 30-lap feature race paying $5,000-to-win with the top-3 feature finishers on each night’s prelim being locked into Saturday’s feature.

All USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants will receive 50 appearance points during each night of their participation on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday’s Championship Night program will consist of hot laps and main events only, starting with the E-Main, two D-Mains, two C-Mains, two semi-features and a last chance race. The 39-lap feature will have 22 starters, plus two USAC provisional starters (if applicable) and two IMS options.

All USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants will receive feature points only on Saturday based on their finishing position. All non-transfers will receive 10 points.

THE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE OF SEAVEY

Logan Seavey is seemingly the unstoppable force in the USAC National Midget ranks entering the BC39. He’s reeled off 14 consecutive top-fives with the series, the most since Jason Leffler’s championship season in 1997 in which he strung together 21 consecutive top-fives.

Seavey is also coming off a weekend in which he swept the USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, joining only Jack Hewitt and Kyle Larson in that regard.

At the BC39, Seavey is looking to up the ante even though he may be the odds-on favorite with six feature victories in his last 14 outings. His best result thus far in the event was a fifth in 2019.

CANNON & THE AXE

Two frontrunners find themselves in new rides for the event with Cannon McIntosh taking the reins of the CB Industries No. 86 while Emerson Axsom has slid over to the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 68.

Between the two teams, they have won the past two BC39 main events, and in each of those two events, the two drivers have finished inside the top-five in each. Axsom scored a 5th in 2021 and McIntosh a close 2nd in 2022.

McIntosh arrives at CBI after competing on the USAC tour for the past three seasons on the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team. Axsom, meanwhile, has competed mainly for the Petry-Hayward Motorsports team throughout 2023.

Both McIntosh and Seavey know their way to USAC National Midget victory lane with McIntosh owning six series victories and Axsom six, but both are aiming for their first one of the season this week at The BC39, which would be a monumental breakthrough win for each respective driver.

A HOARD OF ROOKIES

Twenty-seven of the 72 drivers in this year’s BC39 lineup are race rookies who are taking on the event for the first time in their career.

Max Papis Innovations (MPI) will reward this year’s top Rookie drivers at the Driven2SaveLives BC39 with a bevy of bonuses and awards for their achievements. During both the Thursday and Friday night programs, the hard charger of the feature event will receive the MPI Up on the Wheel Award consisting of a trophy as well as a pair of MPI racing gloves and a $250 gift card to be used toward MPI products that can be redeemed directly through MPI.

During Saturday night’s finale, the MPI Rookie of the Race award will reward the highest finishing BC39 Rookie in the feature with a custom trophy, a custom MPI steering wheel, MPI racing gloves plus a $700 check and a custom lasered BC39 racing wheel.

Among the Rookies in this year’s BC39 field are a pair of USAC National Midget winners in Keith Rauch (Thornton, Colo.) and Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.). Rauch, a 13-time Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association champion, scored his lone USAC National win back in 1990. Miller gained his first series victory just this past June and is USAC’s leading Rookie driver in 2023.

Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) finished 2nd in the USAC National Midget season opener at Kansas’ Belleville Short Track and is among the top candidates to score the MPI prize. Daniel Whitley (Ferndale, Calif.) has run inside the top-five with the USAC National Midget series in 2023 and has been a winner with the Xtreme Outlaw series this summer.

Also joining the Rookie fray are 360 Sprint standout Jake Bubak (Arvada, Colo.) as well as USAC regional champion Mark McMahill (Peoria, Ill.) and USAC regional winners Preston Lattomus (Lewes, Del.), Wes Pinkerton (Reynolds, Ind.) and Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio), plus BCRA Midget titlist Robert Carson (Concord, Calif.).

Josh Bilicki (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) has competed in both the Brickyard 400 and on the road course with the NASCAR Cup series at IMS and will be in one of six RAMCO Speed Group entries for the BC39.

Also a familiar name to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, “Andretti,” will be in the BC39 lineup. Adam Andretti (Brownsburg, Ind.) recently competed on the IMS Road Course with the Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli. Andretti is the younger brother of 1983 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year John Andretti, the son of Aldo Andretti and the nephew of 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner, Formula 1 champion and four-time IndyCar champion Mario Andretti.

RACE DETAILS

The fifth running of the Driven2Save BC39 featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship comes to The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for four consecutive nights on September 27-28-29-30.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 26 with team parking at 3pm Eastern followed by a BC39 Welcome Party at 6pm at USAC Headquarters.

On track action starts Wednesday, September 27, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 3pm Eastern. Public gates open at 4pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 6pm, followed by the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race which will conclude the night’s racing action at 9pm. In this event, 25 cars will start and compete in five, five-lap segments. If a driver gets passed in any segment, they are eliminated.

For Thursday and Friday, September 28-29, the field will be split into two with one half of the field competing on night one and the other half competing on night two. On both nights, public gates open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps at 6pm, followed by heat races, qualifying races, the C-Main, the Semi-Feature and the $5,000-to-win Feature event.

The finale, on Saturday, September 30, will have the public gates opening at 4pm with a driver meet and greet scheduled for 4pm in the midway and a public driver’s meeting at the USAC merchandise trailer at 4:45pm. Cars hit the track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with the D-Main, multiple C-Mains, Semi-Feature and the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.

There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track. Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands. You may also purchase a grandstand seat from the IMS ticketing site with a pit pass upgrade. Competitors must enter IMS via the 16th Street tunnel.

Each entry filed will come with two VIP parking passes for inside parking at IMS, intended for driver and entrant. All others must either purchase inside parking or park outside of turns three and four of 2.5-mile paved oval track.

Spectator tickets are also available www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39.

All four days of the #BC39 can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg

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2023 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES

1 Kevin Thomas Jr./Cullman, AL (Crouch Motorsports)

1D (R) Landon Brooks/Rio Oso, CA (RAMCO Speed Group)

1G (R) Connor Wolf/Lafayette, IN (RAMCO Speed Group)

1z (R) Justin Zimmerman/Athens, TX (Justin Zimmerman)

2 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

4 (R) Chelby Hinton/Dubberly, LA (Klatt Enterprises)

5J Josh Hodge/Brownsburg, IN (Josh Hodge Racing)

5s Scott Orr/Columbia City, IN (Josh Hodge Racing)

6 Isaac Chapple/Willow Branch, IN (Doug Hall)

7c (R) Josh Bilicki/Menomonee Falls, WI (RAMCO Speed Group)

7m Kyle Jones/Kennedale, TX (RAMCO Speed Group)

7p Zach Daum/Pocahontas, IL (RAMCO Speed Group)

7x Thomas Meseraull/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)

8 Randi Pankratz/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

8x Jeff Schindler/Evansville, IN (Jeff Schindler)

9 (R) Wes Pinkerton/Reynolds, IN (Wes Pinkerton)

9p (R) Kevin Cook/Winchester, IN (Kevin Cook)

10A (R) Tommy Colburn/New Berlin, WI (MWR Technology)

10c (R) Mark McMahill/Peoria, IL (MWR Technology)

11 Clinton Boyles/Greenwood, MO (Scott Beierle)

11L Aaron Leffel/Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing)

14 C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN (Legacy Autosport)

17B Austin Barnhill/Wilmington, NC (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

18N (R) Weston Gorham/Colleyville, TX (Kelly Gorham)

19 Daison Pursley/Locust Grove, OK (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ Hayden Reinbold/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19m Ethan Mitchell/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)

19T Mitchel Moles/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21D Justin Dickerson/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)

21H Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports)

21J (R) Kameron Key/Warrensburg, MO (TKH Motorsports)

21K Karter Sarff/Mason City, IL (Jayme Sarff)

22 John Heydenreich/Bloomsburg, PA (John Heydenreich)

22p (R) Taylor Courtney/Indianapolis, IN (RAMCO Speed Group)

23 (R) Preston Lattomus/Lewes, DE (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

25 Jacob Denney/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25K Taylor Reimer/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

25m (R) Jake Andreotti/Castro Valley, CA (Tom Malloy)

27 (R) Keith Rauch/Thornton, CO (Bourke Motorsports)

27B (R) Jake Bubak/Arvada, CO (Bourke Motorsports)

32 Gary Taylor/Snohomish, WA (Brian Dunlap)

36 Ian Creager/Covington, OH (Tod Creager)

40 Chase McDermand/Springfield, IL (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

40B Blake Brannon/Morgan Hill, CA (Blake Brannon)

40x (R) Zach Wigal/Belpre, OH (Chase McDermand)

41 Oliver Akard/Fort Myers, FL (Team OMR)

44 (R) Adam Andretti/Brownsburg, IN (Jeff Johnson)

46 (R) Kenney Johnson/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson)

54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)

55 (R) Trevor Cline/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline)

55D Nick Drake/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline)

56 (R) Mitchell Davis/Auburn, IL (Pat O’Dell)

57 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

57A Daniel Robinson/Wayne City, IL (RAB Racing)

58 (R) Daniel Whitley/Ferndale, CA (Abacus Racing)

67 Ryan Timms/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K Buddy Kofoid/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 Emerson Axsom/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71 Jade Avedisian/Clovis, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71E Mariah Ede/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71T (R) Kyler Johnson/Quinter, KS (Todd Henry)

75AU Bryan Stanfill/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsports)

81 Bryant Wiedeman/Colby, KS (CB Industries)

85 Jerry Coons Jr./Tucson, AZ (Central Motorsports)

86 Cannon McIntosh/Bixby, OK (CB Industries)

88 Tanner Thorson/Minden, NV (Tanner Thorson Racing)

89 Kaylee Bryson/Muskogee, OK (CB Industries)

97 (R) Gavin Miller/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99 (R) Don O’Keefe Jr. /Union City, CA (LOK/Carson-Segur Racing)

99K (R) Robert Carson/Concord, CA (LOK/Carson-Segur Racing)

118 (R) Scott Evans/Rhome, TX (Scott Evans)

136 Chris Baue/Indianapolis, IN (Bill Baue)

(R) represents a BC39 Rookie

================

BC39 FEATURE WINNERS: 2018-Brady Bacon, 2019-Zeb Wise, 2020-Not Held, 2021-Kyle Larson, 2022-Buddy Kofoid

STOOPS PURSUIT WINNERS: 2018-Zeb Wise, 2019-Kyle Larson, 2020-Not Held, 2021-Kyle Larson, 2022-Dominic Gorden

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1297, 2-Bryant Wiedeman-1088, 3-Justin Grant-1066, 4-Ryan Timms-1041, 5-Daison Pursley-1037, 6-Jade Avedisian-1031, 7-Jacob Denney-965, 8-Gavin Miller-945, 9-Cannon McIntosh-868, 10-Taylor Reimer-818.

================

PAST BC39 FEATURE RESULTS:

2018 FEATURE: (39 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (7), 2. Chad Boat (10), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 4. Tyler Courtney (2), 5. Christopher Bell (17), 6. Alex Bright (8), 7. Justin Grant (6), 8. Holly Shelton (9), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (5), 10. Ryan Robinson (3), 11. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (11), 12. Chris Windom (22), 13. Logan Seavey (23), 14. Zeb Wise (14), 15. Shane Cottle (13), 16. Jason McDougal (25), 17. Maria Cofer (24), 18. Terry Babb (20), 19. Brayton Lynch (4), 20. David Budres (19), 21. Brian Karraker (21), 22. Tyler Thomas (18), 23. Tucker Klaasmeyer (15), 24. Jake Neuman (16), 25. Dillon Welch (12), 26. Dave Darland (26). NT

2019 FEATURE: (39 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zeb Wise (5), 2. Tyler Courtney (20), 3. Chris Windom (6), 4. Chad Boat (16), 5. Logan Seavey (14), 6. Jesse Colwell (24), 7. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (15), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 9. Kyle Larson (12), 10. Justin Grant (11), 11. Dillon Welch (8), 12. Tanner Carrick (23), 13. Michael Pickens (4), 14. Gio Scelzi (9), 15. Christopher Bell (17), 16. Brady Bacon (10), 17. Jason McDougal (7), 18. Cannon McIntosh (22), 19. Thomas Meseraull (1), 20. Spencer Bayston (2), 21. Tyler Thomas (13), 22. Tucker Klaasmeyer (18), 23. Jerry Coons, Jr. (19), 24. Chase Briscoe (21), 25. Jake Neuman (26), 26. C.J. Leary (25). NT

2021 FEATURE: (39 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (4), 2. Justin Grant (1), 3. Brady Bacon (6), 4. Daison Pursley (3), 5. Emerson Axsom (19), 6. Ryan Timms (2), 7. Tanner Thorson (21-P), 8. Tyler Courtney (7), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 10. Buddy Kofoid (13), 11. Chase Briscoe (22), 12. Spencer Bayston (14), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 14. Zeb Wise (25-P), 15. Logan Seavey (20), 16. Cole Bodine (12), 17. Kyle Cummins (16), 18. Karter Sarff (17), 19. Kaylee Bryson (18), 20. Chase Randall (24-P), 21. Chris Windom (8), 22. Cannon McIntosh (10), 23. Hayden Williams (23), 24. Thomas Meseraull (5), 25. Corey Day (15). NT

2022 FEATURE: (39 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (6), 2. Cannon McIntosh (1), 3. Thomas Meseraull (11), 4. Justin Grant (18), 5. Kyle Larson (10), 6. Zach Daum (3), 7. Kaylee Bryson (15), 8. Brady Bacon (5), 9. Dominic Gorden (8), 10. Brenham Crouch (23-U), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (14), 12. Chris Windom (9), 13. Emerson Axsom (19), 14. Taylor Reimer (24-U), 15. Trey Gropp (7), 16. Jason McDougal (21), 17. Tyler Courtney (25-P), 18. Chase McDermand (17), 19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (22), 20. Karter Sarff (13), 21. Chase Briscoe (26-P), 22. Michael Pickens (16), 23. Mitchel Moles (2), 24. Jacob Denney (12), 25. Ethan Mitchell (4), 26. Kyle Cummins (20). NT

CANNON RESETS, JOINS CB INDUSTRIES

FOR REST OF 2023 USAC MIDGET SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 25, 2023)………Cannon McIntosh hopes a change will do him good as he joins CB Industries for the remainder of the 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule starting this week, September 27-30, during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) vacates the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports No. 08, which he had driven full-time on the USAC circuit since 2021. Now, he’ll drive Chad Boat’s CB Industries No. 86 for the team alongside fellow full-time series driver Bryant Wiedeman.

Over his career, McIntosh has accumulated six series victories and twice finished fifth in USAC points in both 2020 and 2022. However, the 2023 season, by his own admission, has been a struggle as he remains winless and stands ninth in points.

McIntosh was absent for the past two races last weekend at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, ending his run of 119 consecutive USAC National Midget feature starts since 2019, second most in series history behind only Tracy Hines’ run of 131 straight between 2009-15.

Present at the facility, but without a ride at Eldora, McIntosh officially hit the reset button, serving as a spectator not only of the racing action, but also of the CBI team, who he officially becomes a member of this week.

“It’s a good reset for me,” McIntosh explained. “I feel like the middle of this season became a big struggle for me. I’ve just been looking for a turnaround point. Now, with this opportunity lining up, I feel like it’s a good chance for me to just go out and try to do my best and turn everything around. Chad has great cars and likes to win, and I feel like we’re going to do really well. Just getting to watch Eldora and be around and see how everything was done at CB Industries, it definitely made me confident in what they could do. I feel like we’re going to have some success for sure.”

A midseason change isn’t the most ideal situation for any team, driver or crew member, but McIntosh felt that, at this juncture, it was prudent to do what was best for him, as he put it.

“Racing was becoming very tough,” McIntosh acknowledged. “Our finishes weren’t there at all and I wasn’t having fun doing it for myself. I felt like I had to do something that was going to be a good change for me. It’s a reset to jump into a really good car, which is kind of a bonus. I felt like we always had good cars as well (at Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports). It just wasn’t clicking as well as it used to. Chad’s stuff has been really good lately, so I’m definitely confident in making this switch.”

Now residing in North Carolina, McIntosh acknowledges the differences from being involved in a family-owned team to driving for another outfit. McIntosh knows this firsthand as he previously competed for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports during the 2020 season. With CBI, he expects to be able to focus a bit more on the driving side of things. Furthermore, the CB Industries team is located just about five minutes down the road from his current residence, allowing him to pop-in to the shop anytime.

This week’s BC39 marks the first set of events on McIntosh’s schedule with CB Industries. At the 2022 BC39, McIntosh led a race-high 20 of the 39 laps before finishing second following a riveting duel with winner Buddy Kofoid. The hunger for winning the BC39 has only grown stronger since for the 20-year-old McIntosh, as does the desire of getting back into victory lane with USAC for the first time this year.

“This one had a big highlight on it when I first saw the schedule after last year,” McIntosh explained. “We led a lot of laps and had speed the whole week, then it came down to the wire with Buddy. We were really close, so it’s really one I’d love to snag this year. Winning that race or not, it was cool just to being able to put on a show like that in front of all the fans inside of IMS, but to finish it out on top would be even cooler, I’d imagine. It definitely gives me a little more hunger going into it, especially with the struggles I’ve had. I just needed something to turn it around, so this would be the perfect place to turn it around, I’d say.”

Brent Crews, previously scheduled to compete in the CB Industries No. 86 at the BC39, will not compete in the event. Instead, he will race in this weekend’s Atlas 200 ARCA Menards Series event at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.

RACE DETAILS

The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 26 with team parking at 3pm Eastern followed by a BC39 Welcome Party at 6pm at USAC Headquarters.

For Thursday and Friday, September 28-29, the field will be split into two with one half of the field competing on night one and the other half competing on night two. On both nights, public gates open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps at 6pm, followed by hot laps, heat races, the C-Main, the Semi-Feature and the $5,000-to-win Feature event.

Spectator tickets are also available www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39.

3 WINS, 1 FAIRYTALE NIGHT!

SEAVEY SWEEPS USAC PORTION

OF ELDORA’S 4-CROWN NATIONALS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (September 23, 2023)………In a season in which he’s already captured a Chili Bowl victory, a USAC Indiana Midget Week title and even posted two USAC National feature wins in one day, Logan Seavey managed to top himself once more.

The Sutter, Calif. native scored not one, not two but three USAC National feature wins on Saturday night during the 41st running of the 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Seavey clicked off an avalanche of successive feature victories, first earning a 25-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget main, followed by a wire-to-wire 30-lap USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship triumph and a dominating 50-lap USAC Silver Crown triumph to cap the night.

In doing so, he joined an exclusive list of three drivers who’ve been able to achieve the monumental task and turn a Saturday night in western Ohio into a fairytale night.

Jack Hewitt swept all three USAC wins during the 1998 4-Crown Nationals and added a UMP Modified win to boot. Kyle Larson followed suit by knocking out three consecutive USAC wins on 4-Crown night in 2011.

On this particular night, Seavey collected $10,000 for each feature victory, totaling $30,000 in all. But to put together one of the greatest nights of racing in the 68-year history of the United States Auto Club, well, that’s priceless.

“This is probably one of the coolest nights of my life,” Seavey basked in the moment. “I’m just driving three good racecars and I can do whatever I want, wherever I want with them. It’s just one of those nearly perfect nights. You just have to be driving great racecars and I’ve got three incredible racecars.”

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE

First up was the midget main event, which saw Seavey starting from the outside of the front row alongside Daison Pursley. By the end of lap one, Bryant Wiedeman had raced his way to the front of the field from the inside of the second row. However, on lap four, Seavey was ready to make his move.

There, Seavey dove to the inside of turn one to overtake Wiedeman for the top spot. Wiedeman fought back to retake the position with a slider entering turn three. However, Seavey quickly countered back underneath off the exit of turn four to beat Wiedeman back to the line by a single car length.

On lap six, major trouble ensued when sixth place running Jade Avedisian clipped the turn one wall, which sent her flipping wildly. Meanwhile, Thomas Meseraull (10th), in an effort to avoid the incident, ramped up the wall and also found himself upside down. Both drivers walked away, but their rides were finished for the evening.

Down the stretch, Wiedeman continuously tried to make up ground toward Seavey on the low line. Wiedeman continuously hugged the bottom while Seavey embraced the high side. Wiedeman was able to draw close time after time, but the low groove was unable to match the top side momentum that pushed Seavey back out front at the exit of turns two and four each and every time.

Under green, Seavey admitted to glancing up at the video board located between turns one and two at the facility to see where Wiedeman was located. Ultimately, Seavey worked himself out of the habit, and instead, refocused his attention away from what Wiedeman was doing and hammered it late to win going away.

In the final tally, Seavey claimed his first career Eldora midget victory by a 1.215 second margin in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Indy Custom Stone – Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. Seavey had previously finished as the runner-up during the midget feature at the 2021 4-Crown. This weekend also marked Abacus Racing’s first ever visit to Eldora and snapped CB Industries record four-race Eldora winning streak.

CBI’s Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) took second for the third time in four career midget starts at Eldora with no finish worse than third. Rico Abreu (St. Helena, Calif.) took third with Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) fourth and Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) rounding out the top-five. Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) was the night’s hard charger, finishing a career best seventh after starting 15th.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE

With the first crown in his pocket, at this point in the night, Seavey felt his confidence brewing going into feature number two.

“After last night, I knew we had some work to do with our midget and we got that way better,” Seavey explained. “After we won the midget race, I was really, really excited knowing that my sprint car was on the pole. I knew that thing was going to drive good.”

As it turned out, Seavey was right on the mark with that remark as he immediately stepped out in front to command the USAC Sprint Car field. However, the major breaking story at the moment was the tumultuous night for Brady Bacon.

On lap six, Bacon suffered an engine woe that forced him to the pits and a 22nd place finish, dropping him from 15 points out of the championship lead to 66 behind Grant with just three races remaining. With that said, it was just the latest in a nightmarish evening for Bacon, starting with methanol splashing into his eye during a pit mishap, which caused his eye to swell shut. To add insult to injury, during his qualifying run, Bacon tagged the turn four wall and flipped, forcing him into a backup ride.

Back up front, Seavey never relented control as he maintained roughly a one second lead throughout the duration, although Grant was able draw closer than anyone else with 10 laps to go until smacking the outside turn one wall with his right rear tire.

At that point, Seavey worked lapped traffic with ease and coasted to victory lane in his 2B Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Benic Enterprises – Goodnight Racing/DRC/Claxton Chevy. The nine-year old chassis dubbed “Barney” for its proximity in age to the era of dinosaurs, guided the 2B team with Scott Benic at the helm to their first 4-Crown victory since Levi Jones popularized the term “four-in-the-fluff” in 2005.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was 1.131 sec. behind Seavey at the finish line in second with Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) third, Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) fourth and Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) fifth. Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) scored hard charger honors with an 18th to 10th run in his first 4-Crown sprint car experience.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE

It was two down and one to go for Seavey entering the USAC Silver Crown night capper. But after two front row starts, Seavey was slated to start fifth in the Silver Crown finale. However, that was just a temporary hangup in his pursuit to the front.

Silver Crown Rookie Chase Dietz was the first big mover and shaker in the field as he burst through to the opening lap lead from his fourth starting position. After a lap six caution for Matt Mitchell who stalled with a car that jumped out of gear, Seavey began to haul.

On the ensuing lap seven restart, Seavey scooted under pole sitter Justin Grant in turn three to slot into third. Seavey did the same to Matt Westfall in turn two to grab second on lap nine. One lap later, Seavey broadsided past Dietz in turns one and two to corral the race lead for good on the 10th circuit.

Seavey rode the rim the rest of the way aboard his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/STIDA.com – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Felker Chevy, controlling the remaining 41 laps with relative ease and precision, crossing the line 2.169 seconds ahead of Westfall to complete the USAC portion sweep of the night.

Rounding out the top-five behind Seavey and Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) were Chase Dietz (York, Pa.) followed by a career-best fourth place run for Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pa.) while Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) rounded out the top-five.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) drove from 14th to 7th, earning himself ProSource Passing Master honors for the 4-Crown weekend with 18 total positions advanced throughout the three USAC divisions combined. Furthermore, Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.), subbing for Brady Bacon in Chris Dyson’s No. 9, made a major charge from the 26th starting spot to finish 8th. Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.), a 25th place finisher, equaled Brian Tyler with the most career Silver Crown starts, making his 212th on Saturday night at Eldora.

But the headline story was Seavey who joined Jack Hewitt in a multitude of manners on Saturday night. Another feather in the cap for Seavey was his third straight USAC Silver Crown win at Eldora, a feat that only Hewitt had achieved before with three consecutive in 1994-95-96. It was par for the course for Seavey on a historical night at The Big E.

“I feel so confident when we get in this thing anywhere, especially this dirt car, miles, half-miles, it doesn’t really matter, but especially these half-miles,” Seavey noted. “This thing drives so good and A.J. Felker does such a great job with our engine. This is exactly what you need for the dirt stuff we do.”

Seavey now exits Eldora with a 16-point lead over Kody Swanson in the pursuit of his first Silver Crown championship with one race remaining on October 14 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/ROD END SUPPLY FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 2. Rico Abreu (#24 Thorson), 3. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 4. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 5. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 6. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 7. Daniel Whitley (#58 Abacus), 8. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold/Underwood), 9. Briggs Danner (#98 Schneider). NT

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Jade Avedisian (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Daison Pursley (#19 Reinbold-Underwood), 4. Bryant Wiedeman (#81 CBI), 5. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Mitchel Moles (#19T Reinbold/Underwood), 7. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Jake Andreotti (#25m Malloy), 9. Ethan Mitchell (#4 Bundy Built). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 3. Rico Abreu (4), 4. Gavin Miller (9), 5. Jacob Denney (11), 6. Daison Pursley (1), 7. Hayden Reinbold (15), 8. Ryan Timms (7), 9. Mitchel Moles (12), 10. Chris Windom (6), 11. Jake Andreotti (14), 12. Briggs Danner (17), 13. Daniel Whitley (13), 14. Justin Grant (8), 15. Taylor Reimer (16), 16. Jade Avedisian (5), 17. Thomas Meseraull (10), 18. Ethan Mitchell (18). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Bryant Wiedeman, Laps 4-25 Logan Seavey.

**Jade Avedisian & Thomas Meseraull flipped on lap 6 of the feature.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-171, 2-Logan Seavey-126, 3-Emerson Axsom-108, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Justin Grant-103, 6-Matt Westfall-101, 7-Robert Ballou-98, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-71.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 27-30, 2023 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Driven2SaveLives BC39

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Rico Abreu (16.988)

Simpson Race Products / Rod End Supply First Heat Winner: Chris Windom

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Second Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Bryant Wiedeman

Hard Charger: Hayden Reinbold (15th to 7th)

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-16.390; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.402; 3. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.415; 4. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-16.453; 5. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.464; 6. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.497; 7. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-16.507; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 23, NIKSTE-16.508; 9. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-16.690; 10. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.716; 11. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-16.872; 12. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-16.897; 13. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.916; 14. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.927; 15. Kody Swanson, 3R, Rock Steady-16.938; 16. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-17.030; 17. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-17.063; 18. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-17.152; 19. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-17.166; 20. Keith Sheffer II, 86, Sheffer-17.305; 21. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-17.394; 22. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-17.408; 23. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-17.435; 24. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-17.462; 25. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.523; 26. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-17.530; 27. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-17.549; 28. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16TH, Newton-17.637; 29. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-17.651; 30. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.748; 31. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-17.763; 32. Dallas Hewitt, 6, Miller-17.854; 33. Jack James, 99, James-18.014; 34. Tayte Williamson, 20, Williamson-18.456; 35. Curt Elliott, 28, Elliott-18.803; 36. Jason Cherry, 67c, Cherry-19.256; 37. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-NT; 38. Evan Mosley, 20T, Thomas-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Brian Ruhlman, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Jack James. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Matt Mitchell, 6. Mitchel Moles, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Hunter Maddox, 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Tayte Williamson. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Korbyn Hayslett, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Paul Dues, 5. Kody Swanson, 6. Nick Bilbee, 7. Saban Bibent, 8. Curt Elliott, 9. Max Adams. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Mario Clouser, 6. Dallas Hewitt, 7. Ryan Barr, 8. Jason Cherry, 9. Keith Sheffer II. NT

C-MAIN: (6 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Saban Bibent, 2. Dallas Hewitt, 3. Sterling Cling, 4. Tayte Williamson, 5. Jason Cherry, 6. Jack James, 7. Curt Elliott.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Kody Swanson, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Brian Ruhlman, 6. Max Adams, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Tayte Williamson, 9. Saban Bibent, 10. Braxton Cummings, 11. Sterling Cling, 12. Zack Pretorius, 13. Dallas Hewitt, 14. Jadon Rogers, 15. Keith Sheffer II, 16. Ryan Barr, 17. Nick Bilbee, 18. Matt Mitchell.

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Justin Grant (5), 3. Emerson Axsom (7), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Briggs Danner (11), 6. Robert Ballou (8), 7. Jake Swanson (13), 8. Thomas Meseraull (2), 9. Matt Westfall (3), 10. Daison Pursley (18), 11. Chase Stockon (4), 12. Chance Crum (19), 13. Carson Garrett (20), 14. Mitchel Moles (15), 15. Paul Dues (14), 16. Kody Swanson (16), 17. Korbyn Hayslett (9), 18. Mario Clouser (10), 19. Brian Ruhlman (21), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (22), 21. Max Adams (12), 22. Brady Bacon (17). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Logan Seavey.

**Mitchel Moles flipped during qualifying. Brady Bacon flipped during qualifying. Keith Sheffer II flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2251, 2-Brady Bacon-2185, 3-Emerson Axsom-2107, 4-Jake Swanson-2031, 6-C.J. Leary-1973, 5-Kyle Cummins-1966, 7-Robert Ballou-1903, 8-Chase Stockon-1717, 9-Mitchel Moles-1679, 10-Logan Seavey-1678.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-179, 2-Logan Seavey-126, 3-Emerson Axsom-112, 4-Justin Grant-106, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-101, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-73.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 7, 2023 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – 16th Fall Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Brady Bacon (16.269)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (16.390)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Korbyn Hayslett

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Mitchel Moles

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Logan Seavey

Hard Charger: Daison Pursley (18th to 10th)

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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 22-23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.076; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.145; 3. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-17.264; 4. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-17.336; 5. Chase Dietz, 86, Lee-17.444; 6. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.497; 7. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-17.516; 8. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.534; 9. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-17.696; 10. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-17.735; 11. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.764; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 24, Haggenbottom-17.813; 13. Emerson Axsom, 20, Nolen-17.926; 14. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-17.943; 15. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.974; 16. Mitchel Moles, 97, Lein-18.023; 17. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-18.032; 18. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-18.043; 19. Matt Mitchell, 5, DMW-18.045; 20. Dallas Hewitt, 57, Hewitt-18.117; 21. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-18.171; 22. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-18.227; 23. Sterling Cling, 07, Tosti-18.240; 24. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-18.334; 25. Zach Hampton, 99, Armstrong-18.347; 26. Joss Moffatt, 37, Felker-18.361; 27. Wayne Johnson, 12, Two C-18.434; 28. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-18.558; 29. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-18.572; 30. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-18.655; 31. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-18.738; 32. Mark Bitner, 4, Yeska-18.803; 33. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-18.854; 34. Danny Long, 44, Long-18.866; 35. Tim Simmons, 3, Simmons-19.590; 36. Gary Dunkle, 34, Dunkle-20.704.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Kyle Steffens, 3. Zach Hampton, 4. Trey Burke, 5. Russ Gamester, 6. Wayne Johnson, 7. Joss Moffatt, 8. Chris Fetter, 9. Taylor Ferns, 10. Dave Berkheimer, 11. Danny Long, 12. Tim Simmons, 13. Gary Dunkle, 14. Sterling Cling, 15. Mark Bitner. NT

FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (5), 2. Matt Westfall (6), 3. Chase Dietz (4), 4. Carmen Perigo (8), 5. Kody Swanson (7), 6. Justin Grant (1), 7. Mitchel Moles (14), 8. Tyler Courtney (#9) (26), 9. C.J. Leary (2), 10. Chase Stockon (9) 11. Jake Swanson (3), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 13. Wayne Johnson (23), 14. Emerson Axsom (11), 15. Brian Ruhlman (13), 16. Kaylee Bryson (16), 17. Trey Burke (21), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (19), 19. Kyle Robbins (15), 20. Taylor Ferns (24-P), 21. Trey Osborne (12), 22. Travis Welpott (27-P), 23. Zach Hampton (20), 24. Dallas Hewitt (18), 25. Russ Gamester (22), 26. Matt Mitchell (17), 27. Kyle Steffens (25), 28. Mario Clouser (28). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Chase Dietz, Laps 10-50 Logan Seavey.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-621, 2-Kody Swanson-605, 3-Justin Grant-497, 4-C.J. Leary-404, 5-Mario Clouser-395, 6-Kaylee Bryson-395, 7-Taylor Ferns-389, 8-Matt Westfall-382, 9-Bobby Santos-315, 10-Trey Burke-307.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-179, 2-Logan Seavey-130, 3-Emerson Axsom-112, 4-Justin Grant-106, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-73.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 14, 2023 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Howard Companies Championship Saturday

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (16.498)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (17.076)

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying Race Winner: Jerry Coons Jr.

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Chase Dietz

Hard Charger: Tyler Courtney (26th to 8th)

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

September 23, 2023 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Glenn Howard Classic”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.831; 2. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.842; 3. Tommy Malcom, 5X, Napier-16.844; 4. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-16.847; 5. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-16.872; 6. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.879; 7. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.907; 8. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-16.991; 9. Don Gansen, 7G, Gansen-17.011; 10. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.019; 11. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-17.028; 12. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.046; 13. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-17.049; 14. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.133; 15. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.361; 16. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.474; 17. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.568; 18. Malyssa Perkins, 73M, Perkins-17.646; 19. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-17.714; 20. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.791; 21. 21. Brent Sexton, 44I, Sexton-18.198; 22. Mark Henry, 39R, Henry-18.379; 23. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-18.883; 24. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / BILLSJERKY.NET FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Grabowski, 2. L.Wiliams, 3. C.Gansen, 4. Tafoya, 5. A.Williams, 6. Boul, 7. Henry, 8. G.Sexton. 2:58.38.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Davis, 2. Bender, 3. McCarthy, 4. Calderwood, 5. Roa, 6. Sweeney, 7. S.Sexton, 8. Marshall. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Edwards, 3. D.Gansen, 4. Perkins, 5. Owens, 6. C.Williams, 2:58.28.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Tommy Malcolm (4), 2. Brody Roa (8), 3. Austin Williams (7), 4. Austin Grabowski (15), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 6. Matt McCarthy (11), 7. Cody Williams (9), 8. Logan Calderwood (2), 9. Kyle Edwards (12), 10. Tanner Boul (18), 11. Verne Sweeney (16), 12. Shane Sexton (19), 13. Grant Sexton (10), 14. Chris Gansen (3), 15. Logan Williams (13), 16. Gary Marshall Jr. (22), 17. Brent Sexton (20), 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (6), 19. A.J. Bender (14), 20. Malyssa Perkins (17), 21. Mark Henry (21), 22. Don Gansen (1). NT.
----------------------------
**Bonneau flipped during practice.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 D.Gansen, Lap 12 C.Gansen, Laps 13-30 Malcolm.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Austin Grabowski (15th to 4th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Grant Sexton

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: October 14 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 23, 2023 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Glenn Howard Classic”

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / BILLSJERKY.NET FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Grabowski, 2. L.Wiliams, 3. C.Gansen, 4. Tafoya, 5. A.Williams, 6. Boul, 7. Henry, 8. G.Sexton. 2:58.38.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Davis, 2. Bender, 3. McCarthy, 4. Calderwood, 5. Roa, 6. Sweeney, 7. S.Sexton, 8. Marshall. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Edwards, 3. D.Gansen, 4. Perkins, 5. Owens, 6. C.Williams, 2:58.28.

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: October 14 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

WINDOM & THEN SOME!

BIG DADDY & CBI WIN AGAIN AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (September 22, 2023)………Death, taxes and Chris Windom/CB Industries winning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget races at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

That is the itemized list of life’s seemingly inevitabilities that have been certain in recent years, and nobody has proven it more often of late at the 1/2-mile dirt oval than the Canton, Ill. driver and the Mooresville, N.C. based team.

During Friday night’s BeFour The Crowns 25-lap feature event, Windom checked out on the field from his front row starting position and kept himself and his right rear tire firmly planted within inches of the outside wall en route to a wire-to-wire victory in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

It was Windom’s third Eldora midget win in his last four starts at The Big E dating back to 2021. His 15th overall USAC National Midget feature triumph also moved him inside the top-50 all-time alongside USAC Hall of Fame inductees Don Branson and Larry Rice.

Furthermore, CB Industries’ prowess on the high banks was once again on full display as the team became the first entrant to earn four consecutive Eldora feature wins – three with Windom in 2021-22-23 and another with Mitchel Moles on the opening night of the 2022 4-Crown Nationals weekend.

The outfits who had previously earned three-straight at Eldora are synonymous with the sport: Steve Lewis (2001-02), Keith Kunz Motorsports (2011-13 & 2015-17) and Clauson Marshall Racing (2018-21). However, one team now stands alone in uncharted territory – CB Industries.

Windom’s sixth overall 4-Crown Nationals feature win (3 Midget, 2 Silver Crown, 1 Sprint) ranks fourth all-time behind only Jack Hewitt (19), Tyler Courtney (7) and Dave Darland (7). In all those wins, nothing compares to the moment when everything clicks from the track to the car to the individaul behind the wheel. All of it worked in perfect synchronicity for Windom and CBI on this night. Their night.

“It’s just such a fun racetrack when it’s like this, up on the fence,” Windom, the 2020 USAC National Midget champion, explained. “You’ve got a lot of room and midgets are so fun to run when it’s like that. I’ve had a decent amount of experience here doing it too. I always enjoy coming back and racing for (team owner) Chad (Boat) every chance I can; we have a lot of fun together. It’s so much fun and it’s one I look forward to doing every season.”

Windom’s initial starting spot was slated to be the outside of the front row. However, original pole starter Jade Avedisian was ruled to have jumped the initial start and was subsequently penalized, dropping her back to the second row for a complete restart. That moved Windom to the pole, yet still, the outside line is where he preferred as he immediately slid right up to the high line in turn one right after the 21-car field took the green flag.

By halfway, Windom had stretched his lead to more than a full second over Bryant Wiedeman and Avedisian who utilized two distinctly differing approaches in their pursuit of Windom. Wiedeman stuck his CB Industries machine to the bottom wall while Jade stayed true against the outside wall lap after lap.

Avedisian raced her way back into the second spot on lap 16 as she dug in on the high line to beat Wiedeman to the stripe, then began to track down Windom little-by-little to within a half second. However, with Windom occupying the same top side path, Avedisian followed his tracks up top, a location Windom had no intention of straying from.

“Early on throughout the night, guys were able to run the middle and the bottom, and there’s enough juice on exit to where you can do that,” Windom detailed. “Once it cleans off and the sprint cars run, it’s hard to beat momentum here. If you can get up top and hit your marks and not make a mistake, it’s really tough to beat a guy up there. I knew that’s where I needed to be, and I wasn’t going to move until I saw anybody else.”

Under five laps to go, traffic began to loom for the front runners with Avedisian feeling she just might have a shot to pounce for the win. However, Windom navigated with extreme precision, refusing to cave to the pressurized situation that lay ahead, and instead, never wavered off his line.

With that said, Avedisian remained well withing striking distance to the tune of about a half second behind Windom. Nonetheless, with three laps remaining, Avedisian stumbled against the turn three cushion/wall, which cost her another half second along with a shot at stealing one away from Windom late in the going.

In the end, Windom was 2.149 seconds ahead of the field when he crossed under the checkered flag in front of Jade Avedisian, Rico Abreu, Bryant Wiedeman and Logan Seavey, the series point leader who recorded his 13th consecutive top-five result.

For Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), it was a fine first-time run as she rode the high line in spectacular fashion to finish as the runner-up in her Eldora Speedway debut aboard her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – JBL Audio/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. Eldora is a venue she considers a bucket list track, and to her, it lived up to hype, as she equaled her best career series finish once again for the third time this year.

“This is awesome,” I’ve always dreamed of coming to Eldora and it lived up to the moment,” Avedisian exclaimed. “I was going hard from the start, and I just really want to win one of these races. If we keep finishing up front, our time will come. From the start, I got put back, which kind of set us back, but during the last 10 laps, we were closing the gap on him, and I made a mistake in three and lost the gap again.”

For Rico Abreu (St. Helena, Calif.), it was a solid reemergence in midget racing for the two-time 4-Crown Midget race winner. Abreu made his first series start since 2020 a good one, finishing third in his Tanner Thorson Racing/Maestro’s Classic - Eddie Gilstrap Motors - Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. After jumping out of the midget, he promptly strapped in for a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car feature and proceeded to win it about a half-hour later.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 22, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – BeFour The Crowns

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.637; 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-16.743; 3. Rico Abreu, 24, Thorson-16.782; 4. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-16.845; 5. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-16.846; 6. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.905; 7. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-16.978; 8. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.987; 9. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-17.005; 10. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.008; 11. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.071; 12. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-17.093; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-17.207; 14. Jake Andreotti, 25m, Malloy-17.248; 15. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-17.274; 16. Clinton Boyles, 98x, RMS-17.299; 17. Briggs Danner, 98, Schneider-17.351; 18. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.364; 19. Holly Jones, 4, Bundy Built-17.528; 20. Kyle Simon, 23, Simon-17.757; 21. Ian Creager, 36, Creager-17.944.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Holly Jones. 2:18.90

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Bryant Wiedeman, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Taylor Reimer, 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Kyle Simon. 2:20.94

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Jacob Denney, 6. Daniel Whitley, 7. Ian Creager. 2:20.78

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (2), 2. Jade Avedisian (1), 3. Rico Abreu (4), 4. Bryant Wiedeman (5), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Daison Pursley (3), 7. Justin Grant (9), 8. Gavin Miller (10), 9. Thomas Meseraull (14), 10. Ryan Timms (7), 11. Jacob Denney (13), 12. Mitchel Moles (8), 13. Daniel Whitley (11), 14. Jake Andreotti (15), 15. Hayden Reinbold (18), 16. Taylor Reimer (12), 17. Clinton Boyles (16), 18. Briggs Danner (17), 19. Holly Jones (19), 20. Kyle Simon (20), 21. Ian Creager (21). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Chris Windom.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1227, 2-Justin Grant-1031, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1021, 4-Jade Avedisian-1000, 5-Ryan Timms-992, 6-Daison Pursley-982, 7-Jacob Denney-907, 8-Gavin Miller-884, 9-Cannon McIntosh-868, 10-Thomas Meseraull-785.

4-CROWN NATIONALS PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Bryant Wiedeman-6, 2-Logan Seavey-5, 3-Thomas Meseraull-5, 4-Rico Abreu-4, 5-Kyle Steffens-4, 6-Trey Burke-4, 7-Chris Windom-3, 8-Justin Grant-3, 9-Hayden Reinbold-3, 10-Dave Berkheimer-3.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-171, 2-Logan Seavey-125, 3-Emerson Axsom-108, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Justin Grant-103, 6-Matt Westfall-101, 7-Robert Ballou-98, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-71.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (16.735)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (16.637)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Bryant Wiedeman

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Chris Windom

Hard Charger: Thomas Meseraull (14th to 9th)

GRANT SCORES USAC SILVER CROWN POLE

FOR SATURDAY'S 4-CROWN AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (September 22, 2023)………Justin Grant scored the pole position for Saturday night’s USAC Silver Crown main event at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, part of the 41st running of the 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) made the Honest Abe Qualifying run during Friday night’s preliminary program with a time of 17.076 seconds around the half-mile dirt oval in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Nick Bohanon LLC/DRC/Foxco Chevy.

It’s Grant’s second consecutive pole position with the series after also starting from the number one spot for the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds on September 2. Grant’s ninth career Silver Crown pole position tied past series champions Chuck Gurney (1989) and Jason Leffler (1998) for ninth all-time.

The top-20 qualifiers were locked in through time trials with Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio) making the final cut for Saturday’s event.

A subsequent 12-lap Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying race was held with the top-six transferring their way into Saturday's feature. Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) captured the victory, thus making the cut for his 20th career Eldora 4-Crown Nationals USAC Silver Crown start. Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) secured the final transfer spot by a car length over Joss Moffatt (Columbus, Ind.).

USAC Silver Crown National Championship point leader Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) will start sixth in Saturday’s field while Kody Swanson (Sutter, Calif.) will roll off eighth. Seavey leads Swanson in the standings by one single point entering Saturday, which serves as the penultimate race of the series’ season. Seavey has also won the past two Eldora Silver Crown features in 2021 and 2022.

Furthermore, Russ Gamester’s fifth place finish in the Qualifying Race secured his spot in Saturday’s feature lineup. It will be a milestone run for the Peru, Ind. native as he gets set to make his 212th career Silver Crown start, which will tie him with Brian Tyler for first place all-time.

===============

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 22, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

FEATURE STARTING LINEUP: (50 laps)

ROW 1: 91 Justin Grant – 6 C.J. Leary

ROW 2: 9 Brady Bacon – 10 Jake Swanson

ROW 3: 86 Chase Dietz – 22-Logan Seavey

ROW 4: 54 Matt Westfall – 77-Kody Swanson

ROW 5: 92 Mario Clouser – 52 Carmen Perigo

ROW 6: 69 Chase Stockon – 24 Kevin Thomas Jr.

ROW 7: 20 Emerson Axsom – 81 Trey Osborne

ROW 8: 49 Brian Ruhlman – 97 Mitchel Moles

ROW 9: 7 Kyle Robbins – 26 Kaylee Bryson

ROW 10: 5 Matt Mitchell – 57 Dallas Hewitt

ROW 11: 55 Jerry Coons Jr. – 08 Kyle Steffens

ROW 12: 99 Zach Hampton – 11 Trey Burke

ROW 13: 51 Russ Gamester – 12 Wayne Johnson

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-548, 2-Kody Swanson-547, 3-Justin Grant-439, 4-Mario Clouser-380, 5-Taylor Ferns-366, 6-Kaylee Bryson-364, 7-C.J. Leary-358, 8-Bobby Santos-315, 9-Matt Westfall-315, 10-Trey Burke-278.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-152, 2-Logan Seavey-104, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Robert Ballou-87, 5-Matt Westfall-86, 6-Justin Grant-85, 7-Brady Bacon-85, 8-Emerson Axsom-81, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (16.498)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (17.076)

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying Race Winner: Jerry Coons Jr.

BC39 FORMAT REVEALED FOR SEPT. 27-30

USAC EVENT AT THE DIRT TRACK AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 20, 2023)………A new format expanded across four nights at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will welcome competitors to an fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on September 27-28-29-30.

The competition to make the field for the event has proven to be intense with only 24 starting positions available for the final night’s $20,039-to-win main event on Saturday, September 30 at the action-packed quarter-mile dirt oval inside turn three of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 39-lap feature race honors late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson. In addition, it increases awareness of the Indiana Donor Network and its Driven2SaveLives campaign.

Let’s take a look at the format.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

**Wednesday's program will feature all cars on the track for practice.

**The Stoops Pursuit race on Wednesday night is a 25-lap race split into five-lap segments. The field consists of a total of 24 starters. The top-10 drivers in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship points are locked into the event as are the 10 fastest during Wednesday night’s practice who are not already locked in. Up to four promoters options will be available to start the event.

**The Stoops Pursuit starting lineup is inverted by fastest hot lap time, with promoter’s options starting at the rear. Any car involved in a caution is eliminated. Every five laps, a competition yellow flag will be displayed, and cars with a net loss in position will be called to exit the track.

**A checkered flag ends the final segment, with the winner earning $1,500 plus $100 for each position gained. All race participants will receive a free right rear tire courtesy of Hoosier.

THURSDAY & FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28-29

**The field will be split for Thursday and Friday’s racing program with half the field competing on Thursday and the other half of the field competing on Friday.

**Thursday and Friday night will both feature a full program of racing consisting of 8-lap heat races and 10-lap qualifying races, followed by a 10-lap C-main (if needed), a 12-lap semi-feature and a 30-lap feature race paying $5,000-to-win.

**Points for the heats will be accumulated by finishing position and total number of positions advanced. Cars will be positioned into qualifying races based on the passing points accumulated in the heats.

**Total points from the heat races and qualifying races will be added to set the starting lineups for the prelim main events on Thursday and Friday. The top-16 overall in accumulated points will start straight-up in the first eight rows of Thursday and Friday’s A-Main feature.

**The top-3 feature finishers on each night’s prelim will be locked into Saturday’s feature. Prelim night finishers 4-17 will be slated for one of two semi-features on Saturday night. Prelim night feature finishers 18-22, plus finishers 7-15 in the semi-feature, will start in Saturday’s C-Main. Prelim night semi-feature finishers 16th on back will start in Saturday’s D-Main.

**All USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants will receive 50 appearance points during each night of their participation on Thursday and Friday.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

**Hot laps and main events only will take place on Saturday night.

**E-Main (if needed): 10 laps, top-4 transfer (2 to each D-Main).

**2 D-Mains: 10 laps, top-4 transfer to the C-Main.

**2 C-Mains: 12 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi-feature.

**2 Semi-Features: 12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature.

**Last Chance Race: 15 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature.

**The 39-lap feature will have 22 starters, plus two USAC provisional starters (if applicable) and two IMS options.

**All USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants will receive feature points only on Saturday based on their finishing position. All non-transfers will receive 10 points.

THE DETAILS

Driver registration is now officially open for the fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39. Teams can file their entry for the event at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2023-bc39, where they may also purchase grandstand tickets, pit and parking passes for the event.

The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track.

Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands.

You may also purchase a grandstand seat from the IMS ticketing site with a pit pass upgrade. Competitors must enter IMS via the 16th Street tunnel.

Spectator tickets are also available www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 26 with team parking at 3pm Eastern followed by a BC39 Welcome Party at 6pm at USAC Headquarters.

On track action begins Wednesday, September 27, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 3pm Eastern. Public gates open at 4pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 7pm, followed by the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race which will conclude the night’s racing action at 9pm. In this event, 25 cars will start and compete in five, five-lap segments. If a driver gets passed in any segment, they are eliminated.

For Thursday and Friday, September 28-29, the field will be split into two with one half of the field competing on night one and the other half competing on night two. On both nights, public gates open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps at 6pm, followed by qualifying, opening ceremonies, heat races, the C-Main, the Semi-Feature and the Feature event.

The finale, on Saturday, September 30, will have the public gates opening at 4pm and cars on track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with the D-Main, multiple C-Mains, Semi-Feature and the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.

DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track.

Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands.

You may also purchase a grandstand seat from the IMS ticketing site with a pit pass upgrade. Competitors must enter IMS via the 16th Street tunnel.

Spectator tickets are also available www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 26 with team parking at 3pm Eastern followed by a BC39 Welcome Party at 6pm at USAC Headquarters.

For Thursday and Friday, September 28-29, the field will be split into two with one half of the field competing on night one and the other half competing on night two. On both nights, public gates open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps at 6pm, followed by qualifying, opening ceremonies, heat races, the C-Main, the Semi-Feature and the $5,000-to-win Feature event.

GAS SEAVEY:

USAC MIDGET POINT LEADER

STRIKES ANOTHER WIN AT GAS CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Gas City, Indiana (September 21, 2023)………Back in June, Gas City I-69 Speedway served as the turning point of the 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season for Logan Seavey.

On Thursday night during the fifth running of the James Dean Classic, the Sutter, Calif. native cemented the case that his quest for a second career season championship shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Seavey racked up his second straight series win at the Gas City, Ind. 1/4-mile dirt oval this season, doing so with even more late-race heroics in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Indy Custom Stone – Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

Three months earlier, Seavey took over the lead just two laps from the finish line en route to victory at Gas City during USAC Indiana Midget Week, but on Thursday, he got a bit of a head start on his pursuit, swiping the lead from Jacob Denney six laps from the checkered flag in the 30-lap affair.

In the end, Seavey bested Denney to the stripe by a 0.728 second margin to earn his fifth victory of the season and the 13th of his career with the series. That elevated him to 56th on the all-time list alongside Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman and Stevie Reeves.

Entering the Gas City round in June, Seavey was mired an astonishing 110 points out of the championship lead and stood sixth overall in the standings. In the 12 races since, he’s reeled off 12 consecutive top-five results and now leads the series standings by a staggering 183 points.

Seavey started his feature run on Thursday from the eighth position and had already surged into the second spot by lap three. Up front, outside front row starter Justin Grant nipped pole sitter Hayden Reinbold by about a foot or two to lead lap one, but soon had to contend with a surging Seavey.

However, on lap six, defending James Dean Classic winner Buddy Kofoid found himself in an unsavory position when he cracked the turn one cushion with his right rear tire, causing him to helicopter several times before landing upside down. By that point, the 2021-22 USAC National Midget champ had already advanced from 12th to 5th. After his car spent time in the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area, Kofoid restarted at the tail and worked his way back up to a seventh place finish.

The night’s Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier, Cannon McIntosh, scooted to third by lap seven, but soon after, clipped an infield tire, which knocked his left front suspension a little wonky and askew, forcing him to a stop in between turns one and two on lap 12. He too returned to action after time in the work area, ultimately finishing 11th.

Nearing halfway, Grant worked high in turns one and two with Seavey operating the low line, but on lap 16, Seavey attempted to slide Grant in turn two, and instead, swung wide, thus matadoring Denney right by him into second.

Denney drove past Grant for the lead on the bottom of turn four on lap 18, and a half lap later, lightning struck Grant twice as he slid sideways in turn two, allowing Seavey to fly around the outside of him and slot into second.

Seavey stayed with the game as he chased down Denney, drawing nearer and nearer with each passing lap until, six laps later, he zipped past into the lead on lap 25. Seavey revealed that the seas sort of parted due to the pressure from Denney on Grant, which forced Grant to search around on the track’s surface.

“I knew the track was slowing down and I knew the bottom was just going to keep getting trickier,” Seavey explained. “I knew Grant would have to do something different for me to pass him. I was trying to show my nose on the bottom, and I got him to go down there once but I wasn’t close enough. It’s cat and mouse when you’re running against somebody that good.”

However, it was a chain of successive events that brought Seavey to the forefront, seemingly all occurring within a split second of each other amid high speed and high stakes.

“Denney was a lifesaver, really,” Seavey revealed. “He got Grant searching for me, which got Grant kind of messed up and I was finally able to go by him. I was just a hair too free to cut the bottom like that, and Grant knew that as long as he didn’t screw up, he was probably okay, then Denney came by.”

If this scenario sounds oddly familiar, perhaps you saw last Friday night’s USAC National Sprint Car feature when a much similar scenario played out during Seavey’s victorious last lap performance at Indiana’s Circle City Raceway.

“It felt a lot like Circle City when (Shane) Cottle pulled Kyle (Cummins) off my back bumper and I was able to get clean track again, make some good laps and run him back down,” Seavey documented. “Denney and I were wheel-to-wheel over in turns three and four for like five or six laps. I was on the chip for the whole straightaway, but the SR-11 ran great all day and Denney ran a great race too.”

Seavey had a few fisticuffs with traffic to avoid in order to navigate his way home during the final six voyages, but not a single misstep was detected as Seavey became just the second driver, along with Shane Cottle, to earn multiple USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget feature victories in a career at Gas City.

Jacob Denney collected a second-place result with Bryant Wiedeman third, Daison Pursley fourth and Justin Grant fifth.

Denney (Galloway, Ohio) felt the bottom of the track going away quite abruptly late in the race and practically knew it was a matter of time before the sand in the hourglass would run out on the bottom in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota. However, it was quite the homecoming for Denney who missed the last two series races due to a crash in an Xtreme Outlaw series event at Paragon (Ind.) Speedway that forced him to take some time off. In his Gas City return, Denney raced all the way from 10th to finish second, earning hard charger honors for the evening.

After getting upside down in the James Dean Classic at Gas City a year ago this weekend, Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) scored a third-place finish in his CB Industries/Nutrien Ag Solutions – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota at Gas City. In USAC competition, it was Wiedeman’s first podium result since his July victory at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds in his home state of Kansas.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 21, 2023 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – James Dean Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac Dalby-12.170; 2. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.211; 3. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.215; 4. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.216; 5. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.242; 6. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.242; 7. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.269; 8. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.304; 9. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.331; 10. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.345; 11. Briggs Danner, 98, Schneider-12.365; 12. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.370; 13. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-12.371; 14. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.402; 15. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.443; 16. Jake Andreotti, 25m, Malloy-12.486; 17. Kaylee Bryson, 89, CBI-12.513; 18. Holly Jones, 4, Bundy Built-12.537; 19. Weston Gorham, 18N, Gorham-12.611; 20. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.639; 21. Clinton Boyles, 98x, RMS-12.739; 22. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-12.790; 23. Devon Dobie, 23DD, Dobie-12.902.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Daniel Whitley, 6. Jacob Denney, 7. Justin Dickerson, 8. Weston Gorham. 2:08.18

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Taylor Reimer, 6. Gavin Miller, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Devon Dobie. 2:09.51

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Bryant Wiedeman, 6. Holly Jones, 7. Clinton Boyles. 2:10.41

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (8), 2. Jacob Denney (10), 3. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 4. Daison Pursley (5), 5. Justin Grant (2), 6. Thomas Meseraull (11), 7. Buddy Kofoid (12), 8. Ryan Timms (7), 9. Daniel Whitley (14), 10. Jake Andreotti (16), 11. Cannon McIntosh (6), 12. Kaylee Bryson (17), 13. Clinton Boyles (21), 14. Gavin Miller (9), 15. Hayden Reinbold (1), 16. Jade Avedisian (15), 17. Taylor Reimer (20), 18. Holly Jones (18), 19. Weston Gorham (19), 20. Justin Dickerson (22), 21. Ethan Mitchell (4), 22. Briggs Danner (13), 23. Devon Dobie (23). NT

**Buddy Kofoid flipped on lap 6 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Justin Grant, Laps 18-24 Jacob Denney, Laps 25-30 Logan Seavey.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1156, 2-Justin Grant-973, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-947, 4-Ryan Timms-941, 5-Jade Avedisian-927, 6-Daison Pursley-920, 7-Cannon McIntosh-868, 8-Jacob Denney-862, 9-Gavin Miller-830, 10-Taylor Reimer-750.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-171, 2-Logan Seavey-122, 3-Emerson Axsom-108, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Robert Ballou-98, 6-Justin Grant-95, 7-Matt Westfall-92, 8-Brady Bacon-91, 9-Chase Stockon-86, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-70.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 22-23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Bryant Wiedeman (12.327)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Cannon McIntosh (12.170)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Justin Grant

Hard Charger: Jacob Denney (10th to 2nd)

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT:

GRANT SPRINTS TO JAMES DEAN CLASSIC

WIN AT GAS CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Gas City, Indiana (September 21, 2023)………Throughout Thursday night’s James Dean Classic at Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway, Justin Grant experienced the fluctuating feeling of a season-long USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship battle swaying in the balance.

During the heat races, his point lead vanished for a brief moment when Brady Bacon scored a victory. Shortly thereafter, Grant regained a grip on the lead when he answered with his very own heat race win.

With all that said, there was absolutely no fluctuation whatsoever in the feature from the eighth lap onward. As soon as Grant assumed the point, he gained total command of the race at hand and control of the big picture in terms of the series point lead by scoring his 10th series win of the season aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

The performance turned in by Grant was one for the record books as he became just the 11th driver in the series’ 68-year history to reach double-digit feature victories in a single USAC National Sprint Car season, joining Tom Bigelow (14 in 1977), Robert Ballou (13 in 2015), J.J. Yeley (13 in 2003), Larry Dickson (12 in 1968), Pancho Carter (12 in 1976), Bubby Jones (11 in 1979), Tyler Courtney (11 in 2018), Larry Dickson (10 in 1970), Pancho Carter (10 in 1977) and Jay Drake (10 in 2000).

Grant officially owns the bragging rights for USAC National Sprint Car racing at Gas City in 2023, already staking claim as the winner of the Indiana Sprint Week round in July. Furthermore, Grant posted his second career James Dean Classic victory, previously doing so in 2020.

The 44th USAC National Sprint Car win of Grant’s career now moves him to within one of 1968-70-75 series champion Larry Dickson (45 wins) for sixth place on the all-time list.

Starting seventh in the 22-car field, Grant had some strenuous work to perform in the 30-lap span. Initially, Shane Cottle bolted to the lead from his outside front row starting position on lap one. However, Cottle’s lay of the land was short-lived as third-starting Robert Ballou split between Cottle and pole starter Emerson Axsom in turn one on lap two to position himself at the forefront of the field.

Following a yellow flag for a spin by 22nd running Rylan Gray between turns one and two on lap six, Bacon was the newest riser through the pack as he flashed around the outside of Emerson Axsom for second place on the restart.

Quickly, though, it became readily apparent that Grant came to play. First, he hit the alley between Axsom and Bacon in turn four on lap seven to escape from fourth to second. Less than a lap later, Grant was in the lead as he blazed by Ballou midway down the back straight to surge into the lead on lap eight.

Immediately, Grant launched away to a near full-straightaway lead as the race neared the halfway mark, more than three seconds ahead with 15 laps remaining as Ballou, Axsom and Bacon fought like bulldogs on a porkchop for the second spot.

In traffic, Grant was unattainable as his lead ballooned to five seconds with 10 laps to go. But funny enough, as his lead continuously expanded lap after lap, Grant truly believed that more and more pressure was mounting from the second-place car of Axsom. As it turned out, it was just a mirage in the form of another lapped car.

“While I was working lapped traffic, I kept seeing a black and white car kind of poking down there; I thought it was Axsom,” Grant revealed. “I thought I had mega pressure in lapped traffic the whole time, so I had no idea we were that good. It was so slick around here, but I knew our car was really, really good. I was kind of worried about somebody getting the bottom rolling.”

Meanwhile, behind him, Matt Westfall was crawling the bottom with perfection to edge his way up to the third spot past Ballou on lap 24 after beginning his race from mid-pack in the 22-car starting field.

However, Grant’s lead was erased on lap 25 when Daison Pursley (14th) performed a 360-degree spin in turn four which necessitated a caution. Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to deter Grant who stepped away from the pack over the final six laps while riding the rim as the trailing Axsom and Westfall rolled the bottom in their pursuit.

In the end, Grant was too much to handle as he earned a 1.408 second margin of victory over Emerson Axsom, Matt Westfall, Robert Ballou and Brady Bacon. With Bacon finishing fifth and Grant first, Grant’s series point lead increased to 15 markers with four races remaining. But in this pressure cooker, the night sweats never cease when thinking about the championship.

“With Brady, the pressure is never off,” Grant acknowledged. “He’s a really good racecar driver; he always finds a way; and he keeps his cool. He’s just so, so hard to beat. It’s an honor to compete with him in this deal. I’ve had to become a lot better of a racecar driver because of him. It’s fun to go toe-to-toe with him and he’s as good as it gets. When we can come out on top, it feels really, really good and really rewarding.”

Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) had gone seven consecutive USAC National Sprint Car starts without a top-five result in his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/Driven2SaveLives – ZMax Race Lubricants/Spike/Kistler Chevy. On this night, he ended that streak with a runner-up result.

Patience is a virtue and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) possesses that in droves. At Gas City, he took to the low side and picked his way from his 12th starting spot to a third-place result in his Ray Marshall Motorsports/Buckeye Machine – Hempy Water/DRC/Gressman Chevy. His plus-nine performance earned him hard charger honors for the evening.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 21, 2023 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – James Dean Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.712; 2. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-11.792; 3. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-11.829; 4. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-11.841; 5. Jack Hoyer, 11, Hoyer-11.906; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-11.944; 7. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-11.959; 8. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-11.962; 9. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-11.965; 10. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-11.991; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.992; 12. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.010; 13. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.050; 14. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.089; 15. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-12.114; 16. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-12.121; 17. Harley Burns, 16B, Burns-12.134; 18. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.135; 19. Isaac Chapple, 6, Chapple/Hall-12.146; 20. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.146; 21. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-12.168; 22. Colten Cottle, 57, Hazen-12.202; 23. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.209; 24. Jackson Slone, 16, Borzio/Slone-12.236; 25. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-12.250; 26. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.288; 27. Thomas Meseraull, 23, NIKSTE-12.314; 28. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Ensign-12.360; 29. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.481; 30. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-12.488; 31. Wes Pinkerton, 21, Hajduk-12.548; 32. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-12.556.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Jack Hoyer, 6. Matt Mitchell, 7. Saban Bibent, 8. Brandon Mattox. 2:06.47

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7. Colten Cottle, 8. Wes Pinkerton. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Rylan Gray, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Isaac Chapple, 6. Dustin Ingle, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Geoff Ensign. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zack Pretorius, 2. Max Adams, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Daison Pursley. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Chance Crum, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Isaac Chapple, 7. Dustin Ingle, 8. Jack Hoyer, 9. Brandon Mattox, 10. Geoff Ensign, 11. Saban Bibent, 12. Colten Cottle, 13. Matt Mitchell, 14. Wes Pinkerton. 2:44.36

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (7), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Matt Westfall (12), 4. Robert Ballou (3), 5. Brady Bacon (6), 6. Max Adams (4), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 8. Logan Seavey (10), 9. Jadon Rogers (17), 10. C.J. Leary (15), 11. Mitchel Moles (14), 12. Carson Garrett (13), 13. Jake Swanson (5), 14. Harley Burns (18), 15. Daison Pursley (11), 16. Chance Crum (16), 17. Isaac Chapple (19), 18. Chase Stockon (22), 19. Zack Pretorius (9), 20. Rylan Gray (20), 21. Shane Cottle (2), 22. Thomas Meseraull (21). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Shane Cottle, Laps 2-7 Robert Ballou, Laps 8-30 Justin Grant.

**Jackson Slone flipped during qualifying. Sterling Cling & Daison Pursley flipped during the fourth heat.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2171, 2-Brady Bacon-2156, 3-Emerson Axsom-2035, 4-Jake Swanson-1974, 5-Kyle Cummins-1966, 6-C.J. Leary-1901, 7-Robert Ballou-1840, 8-Chase Stockon-1665, 9-Mitchel Moles-1640, 10-Logan Seavey-1602.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-171, 2-Logan Seavey-124, 3-Emerson Axsom-108, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Justin Grant-101, 6-Matt Westfall-101, 7-Robert Ballou-98, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-71.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2023 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 41st 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Jake Swanson (11.911)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (11.712)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Zack Pretorius

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Logan Seavey

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Shane Cottle

Hard Charger: Matt Westfall (12th to 3rd)

BC39 PRELIM NIGHT

USAC MIDGET ROSTERS REVEALED!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 21, 2023)………The preliminary night driver rosters for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 have been revealed for the September 27-28-29-30 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With the new split field format in place for the fifth running of the event, the 71 cars entered thus far have been separated into two nights of competition on Thursday, September 28, and Friday, September 29.

Each car can only compete one night or the other with 36 assigned to Thursday’s event and 35 assigned to Friday’s event at press time with a possibility of a handful more entries set to be filed in the coming days.

Both preliminary night events on Thursday and Friday will present full racing programs consisting of practice, heat races and qualifying races, the points of which will seed the lineups for that night’s C-Main (if needed), semi-feature and 30-lap feature event.

All USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants will receive 50 appearance points during each preliminary night of their participation on Thursday and Friday.

The top-three feature finishers from each preliminary night will be locked into the 39-lap, $20,039-to-win main event on Saturday night, September 30. All other finishers will seed the E, D, C and B-Main lineups for Saturday night’s program based on their prelim night finishing position.

All USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants will receive feature points only on Saturday based on their finishing position. All non-transfers will receive 10 points.

Wednesday night's, September 27, program will feature all cars on the track for practice. The Stoops Pursuit race on Wednesday night is a 25-lap race split into five-lap segments. The field consists of a total of 24 starters. The top-10 drivers in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship points are locked into the event as are the 10 fastest during Wednesday night’s practice who are not already locked in. Up to four promoters’ options will be available to start the event.

Without further ado, here are the driver rosters for each prelim night of the BC39 on Thursday and Friday.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2023, FIELD

08 Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

1 Kevin Thomas Jr. (Crouch Motorsports)

4 Chelby Hinton (Klatt Enterprises)

5J Josh Hodge (Josh Hodge Racing)

7c Josh Bilicki (RAMCO Speed Group)

7m Kyle Jones (RAMCO Speed Group)

7x Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing)

8 Randi Pankratz (Wally Pankratz)

9p Kevin Cook (Kevin Cook)

10A Tommy Colburn (MWR Technology)

14 C.J. Leary (Legacy Autosport)

18N Weston Gorham (Kelly Gorham)

19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21D Justin Dickerson (Mike Dickerson)

21J Kameron Key (TKH Motorsports)

22 John Heydenreich (John Heydenreich)

22p Taylor Courtney (RAMCO Speed Group)

23 Preston Lattomus (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)

25K Taylor Reimer (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

27 Keith Rauch (Bourke Motorsports)

32 Gary Taylor (Brian Dunlap)

40 Chase McDermand (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

40B Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)

44 Adam Andretti (Jeff Johnson)

54 Matt Westfall (Steve Bordner)

58 Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing)

67K Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71 Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71E Mariah Ede (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71T Kyler Johnson (Todd Henry)

81 Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries)

85 Jerry Coons Jr. (Central Motorsports)

89 Kaylee Bryson (CB Industries)

99K Robert Carson (LOK/Carson-Segur Racing)

136 Chris Baue (Bill Baue)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023, FIELD

1D Landon Brooks (RAMCO Speed Group)

1G Connor Wolf (RAMCO Speed Group)

1z Justin Zimmerman (Justin Zimmerman)

2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)

3G Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing)

5s Scott Orr (Josh Hodge Racing)

6 Isaac Chapple (Doug Hall)

7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)

8x Jeff Schindler (Jeff Schindler)

9 Wes Pinkerton (Wes Pinkerton)

10c Mark McMahill (MWR Technology)

11 Clinton Boyles (Scott Beierle)

11L Aaron Leffel (Team Taylor Racing)

17B Austin Barnhill (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

19 Daison Pursley (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19m Ethan Mitchell (Bundy Built Motorsports)

19T Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19x TBA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

21H Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports)

21K Karter Sarff (Jayme Sarff)

25m Jake Andreotti (Tom Malloy)

27B Jake Bubak (Bourke Motorsports)

36 Ian Creager (Tod Creager)

40x Zach Wigal (Chase McDermand)

41 Oliver Akard (Team OMR)

46 Kenney Johnson (Jeff Johnson)

56 Mitchell Davis (Pat O’Dell)

57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)

57A Daniel Robinson (RAB Racing)

67 Ryan Timms (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 Emerson Axsom (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

86 Brent Crews (CB Industries)

97 Gavin Miller (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99 Don O’Keefe Jr. (LOK/Carson-Segur Racing)

118 Scott Evans (Scott Evans)