USAC News

USAC Race Results & Press Releases

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS AT SANTA MARIA SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

APRIL 28, 2025... After rain washed away last Saturday’s event at Perris, the chase for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car championship will head to Santa Maria Speedway this Saturday, May 3rd. Now under new ownership, the popular Central Coast facility will also feature Mini Stocks on the racing card. Located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California, the pit booth at "The West's Best Short Track" will open at 1:00pm, front gates open at 4:00pm, time trials at 5:00pm, and racing will begin at 6:00pm. For more information, visit the track’s website at santamariaspeedway.net or call 310.493.4900.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- MUFFLER RULE: Mufflers ARE REQUIRED at Santa Maria Speedway.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com.

Santa Maria Speedway has been a popular stop for non-winged sprint car racing since their opening night on May 31, 1964 when Hal Minyard took the checkered flags with the original California Racing Association. Since 2005, the 1/3-mile facility has held thirty-two (32) USAC/CRA Sprint Car events as Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Braden Chiaramonte, and R.J. Johnson added Santa Maria to their win list last season. Former champions, “The Demon” Damion Gardner and “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa are tied for the series lead with four victories at “The West’s Best Short Track” and “Bullet” Blake Miller set the 1-lap qualifying record of 13.230 on June 14, 2008. The complete Santa Maria USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

Ricky Lewis of Oxnard, California sits atop the point standings and leads the competition by thirty-one markers. Racing his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis has posted four feature wins, two heat race victories, six top-10 finishes, and 102 feature laps led in the campaign. With eight career USAC/CRA wins, Ricky primarily races in the Midwest and might miss Saturday’s return to Santa Maria.

Defending champion, R.J. Johnson of Laveen, Arizona ranks second in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Driving the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, Johnson has two Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 3 feature laps led on the year. Currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine wins, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion will have his sights on returning to victory circle this Saturday night.

“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. of Buckeye, Arizona sits third in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting his #47 MP Environmental Services / RSS Industries Triple X, Davis has one heat race victory, one Factory Wraps Semi-Main win, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 5 feature laps led on the season. With seven career USAC/CRA wins, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is expected to be heading to the Midwest to battle with the USAC National Series.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams of Yorba Linda, California is fourth in the point chase. Racing the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17W Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC, Williams has posted seven top-10 finishes on the season and is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven career USAC/CRA wins. This Saturday night, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year will be looking for his first victory of the season at Santa Maria.

David Gasper of Goleta, California ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Valley Precision Products DRC, Gasper has recorded two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Award, one Factory Wraps Semi-Main win, four top-10 finishes, and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2024 Rookie of the Year has four career victories and will have his sights on adding Santa Maria to his resume.

Brody Wake of Lake Havasu City, Arizona leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors over Connor Lundy, Cole Wakim, Lonnie Oliver, Connor Speir, Caleb Stelzig, Blake Hendricks, Colt Treharn, and Justin Kierce.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are A.J. Bender, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Logan Williams, Blake Bower, Logan Calderwood, Brody Roa, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, Elexa Herrera, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, and more.

TRIPLE PLAY!

GRANT’S WIN SETS USAC RECORD

AT KOKOMO MIDGET GP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (April 27, 2025)………Over the course of the past three weekends, Justin Grant has tallied a victory in every piece of machinery he’s operated in USAC competition.

Sunday’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship triumph during the second and final night of the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway was just the latest in a historic early season run for the Ione, California native.

Grant’s Kokomo win comes on the heels of an April 12 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car score at Lawrenceburg Speedway followed by a dominant USAC Silver Crown performance at Toledo Speedway seven days later on April 19.

In the process, Grant set an all-time USAC record by winning in all three national divisions in a season faster than any driver ever has before…by one single, solitary day.

For the past 23 years, Dave Steele had held the record for the earliest date any driver has accomplished the feat, doing so by April 28, 2002. Grant’s race-winning triumvirate was completed on April 27, 2025.

Grant was in command from start to finish at Kokomo in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – Mobil 1 – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota, leading all 30 laps in just his second start for CBI after joining the reigning championship winning team over the offseason.

As an aside, Grant’s winning ride provided the first USAC National Midget feature win for a car numbered 87 since Danny McKnight captured the Turkey Night Grand Prix aboard L.T. Caruthers No. 87 at Gardena, California’s Ascot Park a half century ago.

Grant’s 18th career USAC National Midget win moved him into a tie for 40th place all-time alongside Logan Seavey, and incidentally, Dave Steele. Overall, it’s Grants’ 90th career USAC main event win, moving him past Tom Bigelow for 9th all-time. Furthermore, his 82nd USAC national victory pushed him past Bryan Clauson for 7th place all-time.

But of most importance to Grant at the moment was the fact that Sunday’s tally was his first ever in a USAC National Midget at Kokomo, the same scene in which he’s the all-time record holder with 11 career USAC National Sprint Car wins. This one was truly an important one.

“It’s really special to win a midget race here,” Grant beamed. “It feels like it’s taken me forever to win one. I’ve been really close but I’ve never been able to get it done. (Car owner) Chad (Boat) had this car absolutely dialed tonight. I could move out to the middle. I could run the bottom. I could do whatever I wanted. It was a ton of fun to drive; an awesome racecar. Chad’s got a great team here with all the guys who work on this 87 and the other two cars as well.”

Grant’s wins across the USAC spectrum also have him in contention for a $500,000 reward posted for the driver who can capture the single season USAC Triple Crown by winning all three USAC national titles. It’s a feat which has only been achieved twice, first by Tony Stewart in 1995 and J.J. Yeley in 2003. It would be a quite lucrative payday for Grant, and although there’s a ton of season left on the plate, Grant feels he’s at the top of his game while currently sitting at the top of the Silver Crown and Midget points, and second in the Sprint standings.

“I’ve been trying for a long time,” Grant noted. “I feel like this is the year I’ve got everything lined up the way it needs to be lined up. If there’s a year to do it, this has got to be the one. I just have to take care of myself and keep myself excited and I’ve got a lot of people taking the load off my shoulders this year and letting me focus on driving racecars and doing my job. I’m working really hard at focusing on that and not so much on the other stuff.”

Granted started his race from the outside of the front row and immediately established the lead over pole sitter and series newcomer Steven Snyder Jr. Snyder, the leading series Rookie in points following the first weekend of the schedule, made his bid for the lead on lap five, sliding under Grant in turn one. However, as Snyder four-wheel-drifted up the racetrack, Grant slipped back under to retake the spot up front.

Throughout the goings, previous night’s winner Jacob Denney was matriculating his way up through the field from his eighth place starting spot, swapping slide jobs with Logan Seavey before taking over third in turns one and two just before midway. With six to go, Denney had tracked down Snyder and trekked his way into the second spot with a low line maneuver in turn four.

At that point, Grant’s lead held strong and had expanded to 2.7 seconds with three laps remaining. That is until contact in turn three between multiple cars resulted in the front end being knocked out on the car driven by 21st running Dan Bennett, resulting in Bennett slithering to a stop in the middle of turn three.

A caution on the ensuing restart for 11th running Cale Coons who stopped atop turn two required his car to be towed away back to the pits, ending his evening prematurely. As the field prepared to take the green for the lap 28 restart, second running Denney's left rear tire had deflated, leaving him to drive the final three laps on the rim as he free fell from a possible victory to a disappointing 12th place finish.

In turn, that left Grant all by his lonesome to finish off the victory by a 2.096 second margin. Snyder crossed the stripe a distant second over Seavey who nipped Cannon McIntosh at the line for third while Kale Drake rounded out the top-five.

For Snyder, the second place finish was the best of his USAC National Midget career so far through five starts. One night after earning his first career series top-10, Snyder grabbed both his first career top-five result and his first ever podium in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Vahlco Wheels – Rod End Supply – MPV Logistics/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

It was a bounce back night for Logan Seavey. After enduring a rough opening to his Kokomo Grand Prix the night before with an 11th place result, the two-time series champ returned to the podium with a third place run in his Abacus Racing/Indy Powersports – Prime 47 – CG CPAs – Mountain Mechanical/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

Kale Drake was a Rod End Supply Hard Charger on Saturday night. He repeated the feat on Sunday with an even deeper run from 15th to fifth.

The Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night was awarded to Kyle Jones, who experienced a bit of a frustration for the majority of Sunday night’s event. A nagging mechanical issue prevented him from hot lapping, qualifying and competing in his heat race. However, during the semi-feature, he advanced from last (seventh) to first, thus transferring his way in winning fashion into the main event.

Not only did CB Industries win the feature, they also swept both fast qualifying times over the weekend with Justin Grant taking top honors on Saturday and Drake Edwards topping the field on Sunday for his first career fast qualifying time with the USAC National Midgets. It marked the first time in which a single team opened the USAC National Midget season with two consecutive fast qualifying times since Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports did so in 2016 with drivers Christopher Bell and Rico Abreu.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 27, 2025 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Kokomo Grand Prix

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Drake Edwards, 83, CBI-13.013; 2. Karter Sarff, 21K, Sarff-13.066; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.073; 4. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-13.107; 5. Justin Grant, 87, CBI-13.143; 6. Steven Snyder Jr., 4, RMS-13.194; 7. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.212; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-13.214; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14, 4 Kings-13.242; 10. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.280; 11. Jacob Denney, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.293; 12. Frankie Guerrini, 63G, F & F-13.378; 13. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.393; 14. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.403; 15. Gunnar Setser, 43, Arnold-13.466; 16. Brecken Reese, 00, Chandler-13.472; 17. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.485; 18. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling/Curb-Agajanian-13.492; 19. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-13.531; 20. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-13.555; 21. Chelby Hinton, 4B, Klatt-13.579; 22. Chris Baue, 36, Baue-14.002; 23. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-14.048; 24. Dan Bennett, X, Bennett-14.639; 25. Michael Magic, 5m, Magic-14.697; 26. Jason Bennett, 29, Bennett-15.294; 27. Adam Taylor, 7T, ATM-15.573; 28. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-NT.

CAR IQ FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Justin Grant, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. Drake Edwards, 6. Michael Magic, 7. Chelby Hinton. NT

K1 RACEGEAR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cale Coons, 2. Karter Sarff, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Steven Snyder Jr., 5. Kale Drake, 6. Chris Baue, 7. Jason Bennett. 2:18.156

HOOSIER TIRE THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Gunnar Setser, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Sam Johnson, 6. Bryan Stanfill. 2:16.332

COOK OUT FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Steve Buckwalter, 4. Frankie Guerrini, 5. Brecken Reese, 6. Dan Bennett, 7. Kyle Jones. 2:18.656

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Jones, 2. Chris Baue, 3. Dan Bennett, 4. Jason Bennett, 5. Michael Magic, 6. Chelby Hinton, 7. Adam Taylor. 2:22.080

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Steven Snyder Jr. (1), 3. Logan Seavey (4), 4. Cannon McIntosh (10), 5. Kale Drake (15), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 7. Daison Pursley (3), 8. Karter Sarff (5), 9. Drake Edwards (6), 10. Gavin Miller (12), 11. Hayden Reinbold (14), 12. Jacob Denney (8), 13. Gunnar Setser (16), 14. Emerson Axsom (18), 15. Frankie Guerrini (13), 16. Sam Johnson (19), 17. Brecken Reese (17), 18. Cale Coons (9), 19. Thomas Meseraull (11), 20. Kyle Jones (24), 21. Dan Bennett (22), 22. Jason Bennett (23), 23. Chris Baue (21), 24. Steve Buckwalter (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Justin Grant.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-150, 2-Cannon McIntosh-144, 3-Daison Pursley-135, 4-Jacob Denney-128, 5-Steven Snyder Jr.-127, 6-Kale Drake-127, 7-Logan Seavey-119, 8-Karter Sarff-117, 9-Drake Edwards-115, 10-Gavin Miller-108.

USAC PARALLAX GROUP NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kale Drake-62, 2-C.J. Leary-48, 3-Briggs Danner-36, 4-Jadon Rogers-26, 5-Chase Stockon-24, 6-Kyle Cummins-19, 7-Robert Ballou-18, 8-Justin Grant-17, 9-Daison Pursley-17, 10-Jake Swanson-17.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: May 16-17, 2025 – Belleville Short Track – Belleville, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Karter Sarff (13.122)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Drake Edwards (13.013)

Car IQ First Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

K1 RaceGear Second Heat Winner: Cale Coons

Hoosier Tire Third Heat Winner: Jacob Denney

Cook Out Fourth Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kyle Jones

Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Kale Drake (15th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Kyle Jones

Bruno Bottom Feeds to A Thrilling Port Royal Win

It was a rainy, dreary morning in Port Royal Pa. However the track crew and officials stuck it out and trusted the forecast was true. Port Royal was rewarded with some amazing sprint car action, and possibly the USAC IMT East Coast Wingless Sprints presented by Baer Den Farms race of the season!

20 entries for competition with heat wins being awarded to Briggs Danner and Chris Allen.

Christian Bruno from Deptford Nj enjoys Port Royal, now he loves Port Royal. Bruno started in 11th and scored a shocking victory! It was his 2nd Port Royal victory of his career.

Dale Schweikart in his 305 sprint drew the pole and was flanked by Ed Aikin and Briggs Danner breathing down his neck at the start.

At the drop of the green the gloves were off, Schweikart slid hard breaking the momentum of Aikin leaving a wide open door for Danner to lead lap 1.

As the race roared on Kenny Miller started a charge taking the reigning champ of Steven Drevicki with him, lap 10 the caution was thrown for a slowing Tony Jackson.

15 to go and the race started to fall into the hands of Kenny Miller, the 23m worked over Danner and drew even several times, but all eyes started to watch the potent Bentley Truck Service Inc. 17B.

Bruno started to wrap the bottom of the Speed Palace keeping a smooth and steady pace reeling in the top 3. With 7 to go it was an all-out war for the win.

3 to go the leaders caught traffic and it was Danner and Bruno dualing, Bruno used the lapped car as a pick and ran away to hide. Danner attempted the hay-maker on the last lap but was denied.

Bruno took the popular victory, over Danner, Kenny Miller III, Drevicki and Ed Aikin.

Next week the series looks to the first state of Delaware. Showcasing a 25 lap war at the Delaware International Raceway.

Feature Finish:

Bruno, Danner, K.Miller,Drevicki, Aikin, Cherry, Haggenbottom(hard charger), Spence, Kunsman, Allen, Galloway, Gladfelter, D’augustino, Schweikart, Fulton, Chilmonik, B. Buckwalter, Jackson, Ney, Helmick (dns)

DENNEY DEBUTS WITH KKM,

RUNS AWAY WITH USAC MIDGET

OPENER AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (April 26, 2025)………Jacob Denney’s tenure as a driver for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports couldn’t have possibly gotten off to any better of a start than it did during Saturday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season opener at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

Denney tracked down leader Kevin Thomas Jr. on the 13th lap and led the remaining 18 circuits to earn his fourth career series victory. In fact, it was Denney’s first series victory since May 2023 at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway, a winless drought that had endured for 48 events and nearly two full calendar years!

Galloway, Ohio’s Denney migrated to the famed No. 67 during the offseason after his previous team owned by Tom Malloy scaled back its racing activities for the 2025 season. In his first run for KKM in a USAC event, Denney joined a legion of drivers who have, likewise, achieved the same feat.

Five drivers prior to Denney had actually won the feature in their first ever USAC National Midget start for the Columbus, Indiana KKM operation: Page Jones (1992 Kokomo Speedway), Jerry Coons Jr. (2000 Hartford Speedway Park), Davey Ray (2005 Gas City I-69 Speedway), Logan Seavey (2018 Southern Illinois Center) and Ryan Timms (Red Dirt Raceway).

Denney became the sixth individual to join the elite group. Additionally, he also provided Kunz his record-extending seventh season opening USAC National Midget win as a car entrant, and his third in a row. Kunz’s three consecutive opening night wins with the series are just one shy of equaling the record set by Steve Lewis’ “Nine Cars” between 1997-2000.

For Denney and his JBL Audio – TRD – Toyota – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota, it’s so far, so good, so fast.

“We’ve been super-fast every night we’ve hit the track,” Denney said. “I feel like we’ve had the car to win. Little things can go each way, and it’s just how racing goes, but we have a great piece. Hopefully, the year continues like this.”

Starting fifth, Denney quickly slotted into the second spot on lap one and promptly began his pursuit of race leader and third starting Kevin Thomas Jr. who grabbed the initial lead. Denney briefly slid his way into the lead past Thomas in turn two on lap six, but Thomas countered and roared his way back past Denney on the bottom of turn three to retake the spot a half lap later.

On the 13th go around, Denney recreated his turn two move from several laps earlier, but this time, he made it stick as he surpassed Thomas for the spot at the front of the pack. Denney led Thomas at the line by a wheel, then bounced along the cushion in turns three and four as he simultaneously held onto his saddle with one hand and his calf rope in the other as he went highwire through the back half of the field.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to get around him,” Denney explained of his pursuit of Thomas. “Every time I slid him, he’d either cross me over or I’d make a mistake and he’d get back by me. This car was on rails, so once I got to the front, I was hammer down the rest of the race.”

As a matter of fact, over the next several laps, Denney extended his advantage to more than 4.8 seconds over Cannon McIntosh who had moved into the runner-up position past Thomas after Denney overtook the lead. However, as Denney attempted to put 11th running Hayden Reinbold a lap down entering turn three on lap 29 of 30. A collision between Denney’s right rear wheel and Reinbold’s left front sent Reinbold streaming nose first into the outside wall before flipping over twice and coming to a rest. Reinbold walked away from his heavily damaged racecar while Denney maintained his footing and continued on.

“I would like to apologize to Hayden,” Denney admitted. “That was completely my fault. I thought he was going to the top because he was outside of a guy, then he peeled to the middle. By that time, I committed and it was too late.”

Though the contact didn’t end his race, in another way, Denney felt that he might have inadvertently cost himself dearly with an upcoming green-white-checkered restart on the horizon.

“I thought I lost the race,” Denney explained. “I was waiting for somebody to slide me on the restart, so I knew the restart was going to be critical. I was sitting there under the red flag on the front stretch and I saw everybody else on the back stretch. I was like, “dang I just blew a huge lead.”

Despite that fact, still nobody had anything to contend with the new zip code Denney was continuously establishing. As Denney crossed the finish line, his margin of victory stood at 1.555 seconds as he returned to Kokomo Speedway victory lane for the first time since capturing a USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget feature in 2020.

McIntosh, the 2024 USAC National Midget season opening winner, finished as the runner-up while Pursley took third on the final lap. Kale Drake passed under the flag stand in fourth while Justin Grant rounded out the top-five.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Oklahoma) equaled his best career Kokomo Grand Prix finish with a second place run right behind teammate Denney to make it a one-two finish for team KKM.

It’s safe to say, Kale Drake (Collinsville, Oklahoma) likes Kokomo Speedway. On this night, he advanced from 11th to 4th in the feature to earn Rod End Supply Hard Charger honors. In his only other USAC National Midget start at Kokomo in 2024, he finished fifth.

The Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night belongs to Cale Coons (Greencastle, Indiana) who raced to a top-10 finish in his first career USAC National Midget feature start at Kokomo. Similarly, his father, Jerry Coons Jr. finished with a top-10 in his first Kokomo Speedway USAC National Midget start, a seventh place result in 1991.

For the third consecutive year, Justin Grant set quick time in the USAC National Midget season opener. He topped the Kokomo field this time with a lap of 13.285 seconds in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. Furthermore, Grant is only the second driver ever to go three-straight as Kevin Thomas Jr. did the same in 2019-20-21. Overall, it’s the 10th fast time of Grant’s USAC National Midget career, tying him with George Amick, Pancho Carter and Allen Crowe for 64th all-time.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 26, 2025 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Kokomo Grand Prix

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 87, CBI-13.285; 2. Jacob Denney, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.320; 3. Drake Edwards, 83, CBI-13.330; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14, 4 Kings-13.355; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.403; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.451; 7. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-13.530; 8. Karter Sarff, 21K, Sarff-13.541; 9. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.556; 10. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.643; 11. Steven Snyder Jr., 4, RMS-13.677; 12. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.702; 13. Frankie Guerrini, 63G, F & F-13.706; 14. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-13.717; 15. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-13.757; 16. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling/Curb-Agajanian-13.826; 17. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-13.877; 18. Gunnar Setser, 43, Arnold-13.976; 19. Brecken Reese, 00, Chandler-14.038; 20. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-14.125; 21. Chelby Hinton, 4B, Klatt-14.360; 22. Chris Baue, 36, Baue-14.503; 23. Michael Magic, 5m, Magic-14.590; 24. Dan Bennett, X, Bennett-14.657; 25. Jason Bennett, 29, Bennett-14.684; 26. Adam Taylor, 7T, ATM-17.669.

CAR IQ FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Cale Coons, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Frankie Guerrini, 7. Brecken Reese, 8. Michael Magic. 2:15.808

K1 RACEGEAR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Steven Snyder Jr., 2. Kyle Jones, 3. Jacob Denney, 4. Steve Buckwalter, 5. Karter Sarff, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Dan Bennett, 8. Bryan Stanfill. 2:16.159

HOOSIER TIRE / COOK OUT THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Gunnar Setser, 3. Drake Edwards, 4. Sam Johnson, 5. Gavin Miller, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Chris Baue, 8. Jason Bennett. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jacob Denney (5), 2. Cannon McIntosh (1), 3. Daison Pursley (7), 4. Kale Drake (11), 5. Justin Grant (6), 6. Gavin Miller (10), 7. Karter Sarff (9), 8. Drake Edwards (4), 9. Steven Snyder Jr. (8), 10. Cale Coons (16), 11. Logan Seavey (2), 12. Kyle Jones (17), 13. Gunnar Setser (18), 14. Frankie Guerrini (13), 15. Sam Johnson (15), 16. Steve Buckwalter (14), 17. Bryan Stanfill (20), 18. Brecken Reese (19), 19. Dan Bennett (21), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 21. Hayden Reinbold (12), 22. Jason Bennett (22), 23. Michael Magic (23), 24. Chris Baue (24). NT

**Hayden Reinbold flipped on lap 29 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 13-30 Jacob Denney.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Jacob Denney-81, 2-Cannon McIntosh-76, 3-Daison Pursley-72, 4-Justin Grant-71, 5-Kale Drake-65, 6-Gavin Miller-59, 7-Drake Edwards-59, 8-Karter Sarff-56, 9-Steven Snyder Jr.-54, 10-Cale Coons-48.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 27, 2025 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Kokomo Grand Prix

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Drake Edwards (13.324)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (13.285)

Car IQ First Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

K1 RaceGear Second Heat Winner: Steven Snyder Jr.

Hoosier Tire / Cook Out Third Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh

Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Kale Drake (11th to 4th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Cale Coons

MEET THE 14 USAC MIDGET FULL-TIMERS FOR 2025!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (April 25, 2025)………It’s the time of the season! The 70th year of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing commences this Saturday-Sunday, April 26-27, 2025, at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

The list of those planning to compete on the full series trail this year consists of 14 cars and 13 different drivers indicating their intentions to contest the entire 29-race schedule.

The lineup consists of USAC national champions, many time feature winners, those on the cusp of a breakthrough, longtime veterans and a Rookie crop looking to ply their trade on the dirt tracks across the United States of America throughout the year.

Here’s the full list of the full-timers for 2025!

VETERANS ON THE HUNT

Logan Seavey (Sutter, California) returns to the seat of the Abacus No. 57 for a third-straight season. The USAC career Triple Crown champion is eying a third career USAC National Midget driving title following his 2018 and 2023 championships. Another title would put Seavey in rarified air as only five other drivers have won three or more USAC National Midget championships in their career: Mel Kenyon (7), Rich Vogler (5), Jimmy Davies (3), Jason Leffler (3) and Shorty Templeman (3).

Justin Grant (Ione, California) is amidst his own pursuit to join the USAC career Triple Crown Club after previously capturing the Silver Crown (2020) and National Sprint Car (2022 & 2023) titles. The missing prong of the crown is the midgets. This year, Grant has switched over from RMS Racing to CB Industries’ No. 87 for reigning series entrant champion Chad Boat.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Alabama) made several USAC National Midget starts for 4 Kings Racing toward the latter half of 2024, scoring his best finish of the year (2nd) during a BC39 prelim feature at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now, he’ll have the wheel of the 4 Kings No. 14 for the full season in pursuit of a first USAC national title.

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports will have a familiar look for the 2025 USAC National Midget season with four full-time drivers, all of whom have previously captured series wins, including Cannon McIntosh (#71K), Gavin Miller (#97), Kale Drake (#97K) and team newcomer Jacob Denney (#67).

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Oklahoma) is the most experienced and winningest of the bunch as the nine-time series winner is back for his fourth full season with KKM. Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pennsylvania) is ready for his fourth year at KKM after an eighth place finish in the 2024 points. Kale Drake (Collinsville, Oklahoma) is back for his second full campaign with KKM. Denney (Galloway, Ohio), a three-time series winner who has been with Tom Malloy’s team for the past two seasons, has transferred over to KKM for the new year.

RISING UP IN ‘25

Among the full-timers this year are a handful of drivers eying their first career USAC National Midget victories and hunger a move up the standings in the coming year.

Veteran racer Kyle Jones (Kennedale, Texas) and the Joyner Motorsports No. 27x have linked up once again to chase a full season of USAC National Midget racing for the second year in a row.

Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Arizona) had been a USAC National Midget full-timer in 2021-2022-2023, but after a partial schedule in 2024, he’s back on the trail in 2025 in his family owned Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19AZ.

Drake Edwards (Peoria, Arizona) finished 2024 as the USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Western States Midget points runner-up and Rookie of the Year while driving for Petty Performance Racing. This year, he’s moved over to the CBI No. 83 for the full national schedule. CB Industries will feature a three-car lineup consisting of the aforementioned Justin Grant along with Edwards and the No. 86, which will compete in all of this year’s USAC National Midget events, but will utilize a rotating cast of racers.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS

Three drivers will battle it out for Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year honors in 2025.

Cale Coons (Greencastle, Indiana), a standout performer with the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets and son of 2006 & 2007 USAC National Midget champion Jerry Coons Jr., will take his first run at the series circuit in the Dooling Autosports-Curb/Agajanian #63.

Steven Snyder Jr. (Rising Sun, Maryland) has taken over the RMS Racing seat previously occupied by Justin Grant for the past four seasons. Snyder, one of the top micro sprint drivers in the nation, will wheel the renumbered No. 4 as he partakes the circuit for the first time.

Adam Bolyard (Rushville, Indiana) comes to USAC National Midget racing out of the TQ Midget ranks. Bolyard made a handful of appearances throughout the 2024 USAC National Midget season during Indiana Midget Week. He’ll take on the 2025 season aboard his own Adam Bolyard Racing No. 4B.

2025 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Apr 26: Kokomo Speedway || Kokomo, Indiana

Apr 27: Kokomo Speedway || Kokomo, Indiana

May 16: Belleville Short Track || Belleville, Kansas

May 17: Belleville Short Track || Belleville, Kansas

May 18: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex || Sweet Springs, Missouri

Jun 3: Circle City Raceway || Indianapolis, Indiana

Jun 4: Paragon Speedway || Paragon, Indiana

Jun 5: Honest Abe Roofing Lincoln Park Speedway || Putnamville, Indiana

Jun 6: Bloomington Speedway || Bloomington, Indiana

Jun 7: Tri-State Speedway || Haubstadt, Indiana

Jun 8: Kokomo Speedway || Kokomo, Indiana

Jul 1: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway || Speedway, Indiana

Jul 2: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway || Speedway, Indiana

Jul 8: TBA || TBA

Jul 9: Mitchell County Fairgrounds || Beloit, Kansas

Jul 11: Jefferson County Speedway || Fairbury, Nebraska

Jul 12: Jefferson County Speedway || Fairbury, Nebraska

Aug 31: Angell Park Speedway || Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Sep 1: TBA || TBA

Sep 18: Eldora Speedway || Rossburg, Ohio

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway || Rossburg, Ohio

Nov 14: Placerville Speedway || Placerville, California

Nov 15: Placerville Speedway || Placerville, California

Nov 19: TBA || TBA

Nov 21: Thunderbowl Raceway || Tulare, California

Nov 22: Merced Speedway || Merced, California

Nov 23: Merced Speedway || Merced, California

Nov 25: Bakersfield Speedway at Kern Raceway || Bakersfield, California

Nov 29: Ventura Raceway || Ventura, California

USAC KOKOMO MIDGET GP SHIFTS

TO SATURDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 26-27

Kokomo, Indiana (April 24, 2024)………The dates for this weekend’s Kokomo Grand Prix have been shifted by one day and will now run on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27.

With forecasts calling for rain on the originally scheduled date of Friday, the decision has been made to contest the complete event with two consecutive nights of full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

The Kokomo Grand Prix will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and Kokomo Sprint Cars on each night at the 1/4-mile dirt oval. On both nights, the pits will open at 3pm Eastern with the grandstands opening at 3pm. The drivers meeting is set for 5:30pm with cars hitting the track at 6pm followed by hot laps, qualifying and racing.

Adult general admission tickets for each night of the Kokomo Grand Prix are $30 with kids age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $40 for all ages each night.

The field will feature the likes of 2019 Kokomo Grand Prix winner Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), plus 2022 Kokomo Indiana Midget Week winner Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and 2024 Kokomo Indiana Midget Week winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.).

Pursley, the reigning series champ will also be joined in the field by 2023 champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) as well as 2020 USAC Silver Crown and 2022-2023 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), just to name a few.

Past Kokomo Grand Prix feature winners include Rico Abreu (2014 twice), Darren Hagen (2015), Brady Bacon (2017 twice), Tyler Courtney (2018-19), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2019), Emerson Axsom (2021) and Chris Windom (2021).

Both nights of the event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

2025 USAC HALL OF FAME TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Speedway, Indiana (April 22, 2025)………Join us for the 2025 USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Wednesday, July 2!

The event will take place at USAC Headquarters located at 4910 W 16th St. Speedway, Indiana 46224.

A luncheon ticket is required to attend the event and must be reserved in advance at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2025-hof-ceremony-. Tickets will be available at will call.

The luncheon starts at noon Eastern. The hall of fame ceremony is slated to begin after the luncheon at 1:00pm and is open to the public at this time.

USAC’s 12th hall of fame class includes driver/car owner Jack Bowsher, driver Dave Darland, car owner/official Bob Estes, car owner/crew chief Bob Hampshire, promoters Roger & Linda Holdeman, official Tommy Hunt and driver Gordon Johncock.

The 2025 USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held between race days during the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. USAC headquarters are located just across the street from the racetrack.

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO ACTION SATURDAY AT PERRIS
By Lance Jennings

APRIL 21, 2025... The cars and stars of the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will head to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, April 26th. Promoted by Don Kazarian and presented by Heimark Distributors / Anheuser Busch, the eighth championship point race will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, and PASSCAR Street Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- MUFFLER RULE: Mufflers ARE REQUIRED at Perris Auto Speedway.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com.

Heading to Saturday’s action, Perris Auto Speedway has hosted 260 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events since March 6, 2004. In all, forty-seven drivers have claimed victory at their “home track,” led by ten-time champion, “The Demon” Damion Gardner with fifty-one triumphs. During the last two visits, point leader Ricky Lewis and last season’s rookie of the year, David Gasper took the checkered flags at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

Ricky Lewis of Oxnard, California sits atop the point standings and leads the competition by thirty-one markers. Racing his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis won the Casa Grande debut on April 11th and ran third the following night. To date, the young driver has posted four feature wins, two heat race victories, six top-10 finishes, and 102 feature laps led in the campaign. With eight career USAC/CRA wins, Ricky primarily races in the Midwest and might miss Saturday’s race at Perris Auto Speedway.

Defending champion, R.J. Johnson of Laveen, Arizona has climbed to second in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Driving the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, Johnson ran fifth and second at Central Arizona Raceway. At press time, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion has two Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 3 feature laps led on the year. Currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine wins, R.J. will have his sights on returning to victory circle this Saturday night.

After running eighth and fifth at Casa Grande, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. of Buckeye, Arizona has climbed to third in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting his #47 MP Environmental Services / RSS Industries Triple X, Davis has one heat race victory, one Factory Wraps Semi-Main win, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 5 feature laps led on the season. With seven career USAC/CRA wins, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is expected to race this Saturday at Perris before heading to the Midwest to battle with the USAC National Series.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams of Yorba Linda, California ranks fourth in the point chase. Racing the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17W Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC, Williams finished tenth and seventh at the Pinal County Fairgrounds. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has posted seven top-10 finishes on the season and is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven career USAC/CRA wins. “The Big Game Hunter” will be looking for his first victory of the season at Perris.

After racing sixth on April 11th and winning the following night, David Gasper of Goleta, California is fifth in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Valley Precision Products DRC, Gasper has recorded two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Access Systems Fast Time Award, one Factory Wraps Semi-Main win, four top-10 finishes, and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2024 Rookie of the Year has four career victories and will have his sights on another win at Perris Auto Speedway.

Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. General admission tickets (13 & over) are $35, Senior tickets (65 & over) are $30, Kids tickets (6 to 12) are $10, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. The Lake Perris Fairgrounds charges $20 for parking. Advance tickets are available online for an additional fee, and for more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks Factory Wraps, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr. & Wiley Miller II, Sexton Fire Protection, Silbermann Solar, WC Friend Company Access Systems, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car 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/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
-----------------------------------------------
AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2004-Rip Williams, 2005-Damion Gardner, 2006-Cory Kruseman, 2007-Tony Jones, 2008-Mike Spencer, 2009-Mike Spencer, 2010-Mike Spencer, 2011-Mike Spencer, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Damion Gardner, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Damion Gardner, 2016-Damion Gardner, 2017-Damion Gardner, 2018-Damion Gardner, 2019-Damion Gardner, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Damion Gardner, 2022-Damion Gardner, 2023-Brody Roa, 2024-R.J. Johnson.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Ricky Lewis, 2-David Gasper, 1-Jake Swanson.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-Charles Davis Jr., 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Tommy Malcolm, 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-David Gasper, 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Ricky Lewis, 1-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Cody Williams, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ricky Lewis-468, 2. R.J. Johnson-437, 3. Charles Davis Jr.-380, 4. Austin Williams-376, 5. David Gasper-371, 6. A.J. Bender-369, 7. Cody Williams-363, 8. Tommy Malcolm-304, 9. Jake Swanson-299, 10. Logan Williams-290, 11. Blake Bower-289, 12. Logan Calderwood-286, 13. Brody Wake (R)-262, 14. Brody Roa-247, 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-236, 16. Connor Lundy (R)-230, 17. Braden Chiaramonte-204, 18. Verne Sweeney-183, 19. Elexa Herrera-142, 20. Cole Wakim (R)-127.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Jake Swanson)
March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ Winner: Ricky Lewis)
April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Winner: David Gasper)
April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)
June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
---------------------------------------------

KOKOMO GRAND PRIXVIEW!

USAC MIDGET SEASON BEGINS APRIL 25-26

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (April 22, 2025)………Finally, it has arrived! The 70th season of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition gets underway this Friday-Saturday, April 25-26, at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

What better way to kick it off than with the Kokomo Grand Prix, featuring two-straight nights of full programs featuring the midgets alongside Kokomo Speedway’s sprint car division.

The anticipation brings new combinations for the season, new hopes, renewed dreams and a slew of up and comers looking to mix it up with veterans all vying for the ultimate accomplishment of a championship.

The quest begins now. So, here are six storylines that we're watching this weekend.

QUICK AT KOKOMO

Three past Kokomo Speedway USAC National Midget winners are expected in this weekend’s Grand Prix lineup. Among them, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Alabama) is the lone past Kokomo Grand Prix winner in the field, scoring a last lap thriller back in 2019. In fact, he’s a two-time Kokomo USAC Midget winner, also taking the Indiana Midget Week round in 2018.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Oklahoma) punctuated the Indiana Midget Week Kokomo round with a victory in 2022 while fellow Okie Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Oklahoma) performed likewise, making a late-race charge to score the win in the series’ most recent round at Kokomo in 2024 en route to the series championship.

CBI RELOADS

Pursley will return to the CB Industries team for this weekend’s Kokomo Grand Prix in his familiar no. 86 with which he captured seven USAC National Midget wins and the championship a year ago. While Pursley doesn’t currently plan to compete for a repeat USAC title at press time, the CBI no. 86 will contest the entire 2025 schedule with a rotating cast of drivers.

Joining CBI for a full-time USAC championship run in 2025 is Justin Grant (Ione, California), an 11-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Kokomo who is still on the hunt for his first USAC Midget win at the track. Upstart Drake Edwards (Peoria, Arizona), the 2024 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will go full-time nationally in a third CBI entry.

VETERAN LADEN KKM

Another perennial USAC National Midget championship contender, Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, will have a veteran, winning lineup in its full-time arsenal for 2025. All of which are pursuing a first career USAC National Midget driving title.

Cannon McIntosh is a previous USAC Midget winner at Kokomo in 2022. The nine-time series winner finished a career best runner-up in the standings a year ago. Meanwhile, three-time series winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) captured a USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget victory at Kokomo back in 2020 as he moves from Tom Malloy’s team to the KKM squad.

One-time USAC winners Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pennsylvania) and Kale Drake (Collinsville, Oklahoma) seek to have a breakout season in the upcoming campaign

It’s also worth noting that the first of Keith Kunz’s record 150 USAC National Midget victories as an entrant came at Kokomo with driver Page Jones during the 1992 season.

RETURN OF THE J-MAC

Jason McDougal’s most recent USAC National Midget start came three seasons ago during the 2022 Turkey Night Grand Prix at southern California’s Ventura Raceway.

But with Thomas Meseraull unavailable to drive the Engler Machine No. 7x this weekend, McDougal (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) has been tabbed for the ride at the Kokomo Grand Prix.

McDougal is a two-time USAC National Midget feature winner, having scored both back in 2019 at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway and Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway. His best Kokomo performance to date came during the 2019 Grand Prix where he finished second to Tyler Courtney.

A NEW COONS ON THE SCENE

A new Coons will step in as a full-time USAC National Midget driver in 2025 for Dooling Autosports/Curb-Agajanian.

The son of USAC career Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. has a quality pedigree of his own, having won three points-paying USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget features between 2023-2024, plus a special event score.

Jerry owns seven career Kokomo Grand Prix starts between 2014-2019, finishing a best of fifth in 2017. Now Cale will aim to become the first son of a former Kokomo Grand Prix starter to also make a start himself in the event.

Cale will be at the wheel of the famed black no. 63, which has twice won at Kokomo, first in 2014 with driver Bryan Clauson then again in 2018 with Kevin Thomas Jr.

SEASON OPENING HISTORY

The Kokomo Grand Prix marks the start of the 70th season of USAC National Midget competition. This is the third occasion in which Kokomo will open the season, having previously done so in 2014 and 2015, with Rico Abreu and Darren Hagen winning, respectively.

Overall, Steve Lotshaw, Tony Stewart and Rich Vogler share the record for the most USAC National Midget season opening wins with three apiece. Justin Grant can equal that record this Friday after previously scoring in 2017 at the Southern Illinois Center and in 2022 at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

In recent years, Cannon McIntosh (2024 at Belleville) and Logan Seavey (2018 at the Southern Illinois Center) have won season openers. Both aim to achieve a similar feat this Friday.

In nine instances, the season opening winner has gone on to win the USAC National Midget title later that same year: Mel Kenyon (1968), Rich Vogler (1978), Steve Lotshaw (1979), Jason Leffler (1999), Bryan Clauson (2011), Rico Abreu (2014), Logan Seavey (2018), Tyler Courtney (2019) and Buddy Kofoid (2021).

RACE DETAILS

Adult general admission tickets for each night of the Kokomo Grand Prix are $30 with kids age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $40 for all ages each night.

Both nights of the event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGETS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 4/5/2019 - Dillon Welch - 12.665 - 71.062 mph

8 Laps - 6/20/2010 - Steve Buckwalter - 1:51.62 - 64.505 mph

10 Laps - 4/5/2019 - Tanner Carrick - 2:10.06 - 69.199 mph

12 Laps - 4/13/2018 - Holly Shelton - 2:46.01 - 65.056 mph

KOKOMO GRAND PRIX WINNERS:

2014: Rico Abreu (4/11) & Rico Abreu (4/12)

2015: Darren Hagen (4/11)

2016: Rained Out

2017: Brady Bacon (4/8) & Brady Bacon (4/9)

2018: Tyler Courtney (4/13)

2019: Tyler Courtney (4/5) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/6)

2020: Not Held

2021: Emerson Axsom (4/30) & Chris Windom (5/1)

2022: Rained Out

2023: Rained Out

KOKOMO GRAND PRIX WINS:

2-Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon & Tyler Courtney

1-Emerson Axsom, Darren Hagen, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom

KOKOMO USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:

7-Rich Vogler

6-Mel Kenyon

3-Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Jimmy Davies, Bob Wente & Chris Windom

2-Chuck Arnold, Tyler Courtney, Bobby Grim, Page Jones, Mike McGreevy, Ken Schrader, Bob Tattersall & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Tommy Astone, Emerson Axsom, Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Bud Bogard, Frank Burany, Pancho Carter, Danny Caruthers, Jimmy Caruthers, Tommy Copp, Rex Easton, Tony Elliott, Billy Engelhart, Gene Force, Darren Hagen, Gene Hartley, Jack Hewitt, Tracy Hines, Brad Kuhn, Lee Kunzman, Kyle Larson, Critter Malone, Cannon McIntosh, Don Meacham, Jerry Nuckles, Forrest Parker, Michael Pickens, Daison Pursley, Ron Shuman, Graham Standring, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland, Len Sutton, Shorty Templeman, Tanner Thorson, Sleepy Tripp, Jerry Weeks & J.J. Yeley

KOKOMO USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

1956: Forrest Parker (7/28)

1957: Len Sutton (6/23) & Rex Easton (8/17)

1958: Frank Burany (5/24)

1959: Gene Force (5/29) & Shorty Templeman (7/12)

1960: Jimmy Davies (5/29), Bod Bogard (6/25), Gene Hartley (7/24) & Bob Wente (8/13)

1961: Jimmy Davies (5/29) & Jimmy Davies (7/30)

1962: Tommy Copp (6/30) & Bob Tattersall (7/29)

1964: Bob Wente (7/11)

1965: Mel Kenyon (5/30), Bobby Grim (6/26) & Bobby Grim (7/24)

1966: Chuck Arnold (5/29) & Bob Tattersall (8/27)

1967: Mike McGreevy (5/29), Chuck Arnold (6/17) & Mike McGreevy (7/22)

1968: Bob Wente (6/30) & Don Meacham (7/21)

1969: Lee Kunzman (5/31)

1970: Dave Strickland (5/30) & Tom Bigelow (8/1)

1971: Danny Caruthers (7/16) & Jimmy Caruthers (8/7)

1972: Pancho Carter (8/26)

1973: Billy Engelhart (7/14)

1975: Sleepy Tripp (7/9)

1976: Tommy Astone (7/7)

1977: Mel Kenyon (7/13)

1978: Ron Shuman (8/23) & Jerry Weeks (8/23)

1979: Mel Kenyon (6/14) & Mel Kenyon (7/11)

1980: Rich Vogler (6/11) & Rich Vogler (7/10)

1981: Rich Vogler (6/10) & Ken Schrader (7/8)

1982: Ken Schrader (6/10) & Mel Kenyon (7/7)

1983: Rich Vogler (6/8) & Rich Vogler (7/13)

1984: Jerry Nuckles (6/6)

1985: Rich Vogler (6/29)

1987: Mel Kenyon (6/24)

1988: Mike Streicher (6/22) & Rich Vogler (8/17)

1990: Graham Standring (8/8)

1991: Jack Hewitt (8/7)

1992: Page Jones (8/19)

1993: Critter Malone (8/11)

1994: Page Jones (7/27)

1995: Tony Elliott (8/23)

2000: Tracy Hines (8/27)

2003: J.J. Yeley (6/15)

2006: Brady Bacon (8/20)

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (8/12)

2008: Bryan Clauson (8/10)

2009: Bryan Clauson (6/14)

2010: Brad Kuhn (6/20)

2011: Michael Pickens (6/12)

2012: Kyle Larson (6/17)

2013: Christopher Bell (6/16)

2014: Rico Abreu (4/11), Rico Abreu (4/12) & Bryan Clauson (6/15)

2015: Darren Hagen (4/11)

2016: Rico Abreu (6/5)

2017: Brady Bacon (4/8), Brady Bacon (4/9) & Spencer Bayston (6/11)

2018: Tyler Courtney (4/13) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (6/3)

2019: Tyler Courtney (4/5) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/6)

2020: Tanner Thorson (6/21) & Chris Windom (9/26)

2021: Emerson Axsom (4/30), Chris Windom (5/1) & Chris Windom (6/12)

2022: Cannon McIntosh (6/11)

2024: Daison Pursley (6/9)

PAST KOKOMO GRAND PRIX RESULTS

2014 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Zach Daum, 9. Shane Hollingsworth, 10. Tanner Thorson, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Andrew Felker, 13. Parker Price-Miller, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Tyler Courtney, 16. Davey Ray, 17. Daniel Robinson, 18. Austin Brown, 19. Darren Hagen, 20. Shane Cottle, 21. Justin Peck, 22. Taylor Ferns, 23. Spencer Bayston, 24. Seth Motsinger, 25. Alex Bright, 26. Colten Cottle. NT

2014 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Tyler Thomas, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Andrew Felker, 8. Zach Daum, 9. Parker Price-Miller, 10. Shane Hollingsworth, 11. Colten Cottle, 12. Tyler Courtney, 13. Seth Motsinger, 14. Davey Ray, 15. Chris Windom, 16. Bryan Clauson, 17. Michael Pickens, 18. Darren Hagen, 19. Alex Bright, 20. Steve Buckwalter, 21. Jake Blackhurst, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Austin Brown, 24. Caleb Armstrong, 25. Brady Bacon, 26. Spencer Bayston. NT

2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Darren Hagen, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Steve Buckwalter, 5. Davey Ray, 6. Andrew Felker, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Tyler Thomas, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Tyler Courtney, 11. Shane Hollingsworth, 12. Gage Walker, 13. Zach Daum, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Spencer Bayston, 16. Justin Grant, 17. Jim Radney, 18. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 19. Ryan Greth, 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 21. Alex Bright, 22. Justin Peck. NT

2017 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Justin Grant, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Tyler Thomas, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Ryan Robinson, 11. Chad Boat, 12. Holly Shelton, 13. Gage Walker, 14. Alex Bright, 15. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 16. Jake Neuman, 17. Tanner Carrick, 18. Brayton Lynch, 19. Tyler Nelson, 20. Shane Golobic. NT

2017 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Shane Golobic, 9. Ryan Robinson, 10. Holly Shelton, 11. Davey Ray, 12. Jerry Coons Jr., 13. Alex Bright, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Tyler Nelson, 16. Jake Neuman, 17. Brayton Lynch, 18. Ryan Greth, 19. Chad Boat, 20. Justin Grant, 21. Chris Windom, 22. Chase Jones, 23. Tanner Carrick. NT

2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. Chad Boat (8), 3. Brady Bacon (7), 4. Spencer Bayston (3), 5. Justin Grant (6), 6. Zeb Wise (12), 7. Logan Seavey (2), 8. Thomas Meseraull (16), 9. Ryan Robinson (4), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 11. Holly Shelton (9), 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 13. Dave Darland (20), 14. Andrew Felker (17), 15. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 16. Brayton Lynch (15), 17. Tanner Carrick (10), 18. Kyle Craker (14), 19. Gage Walker (23). 20. Alex Bright (21), 21. Tyler Thomas (11), 22. Chase Jones (22), 23. Kyle Schuett (19), 24. Matt Moore (24). NT

2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Jason McDougal (3), Chris Windom (4), 4. Zeb Wise (12), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 6. Logan Seavey (8), 7. Thomas Meseraull (2), 8. Dillon Welch (7), 9. C.J. Leary (5), 10. Tanner Carrick (16), 11. Dave Darland (21), 12. Chad Boat (10), 13. Tyler Thomas (20), 14. Jesse Colwell (11), 15. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 16. Andrew Layser (15), 17. Holley Hollan (14), 18. Ethan Mitchell (24), 19. Cole Bodine (22), 20. Karsyn Elledge (23), 21. Zane Hendricks (18), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (17), 23. Justin Peck (19), 24. Tony DiMattia (9). NT

2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 2. Justin Grant (3), 3. Zeb Wise (6), 4. Jason McDougal (2), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Chris Windom (1), 7. Tucker Klaasmeyer (12), 8. Logan Seavey (13), 9. Tyler Courtney (5), 10. Thomas Meseraull (10), 11. Jesse Colwell (15), 12. Chad Boat (7), 13. Jake Neuman (16), 14. Ace McCarthy (14), 15. Dillon Welch (11), 16. Andrew Layser (22), 17. Holley Hollan (17), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 19. Zane Hendricks (19), 20. Cole Bodine (21), 21. Tanner Carrick (9), 22. Sterling Cling (24), 23. Dave Darland (18), 24. Ethan Mitchell (23). NT

2021 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Emerson Axsom (2), 2. Cannon McIntosh (3), 3. Chris Windom (1), 4. Justin Grant (9), 5. Buddy Kofoid (8), 6. Daison Pursley (4), 7. Tanner Thorson (17), 8. Ethan Mitchell (12), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 10. Thomas Meseraull (16), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (7), 12. Kyle Cummins (14), 13. Logan Seavey (10), 14. Clinton Boyles (15), 15. Hayden Reinbold (18), 16. Brandon Waelti (20), 17. Bryan Stanfill (19), 18. Chase Randall (5), 19. Brenham Crouch (6), 20. Jason McDougal (11). NT

2021 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (1), 2. Buddy Kofoid (8), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 4. Tanner Thorson (7), 5. Emerson Axsom (6), 6. Justin Grant (5), 7. Logan Seavey (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (11), 9. Brenham Crouch (16), 10. Kyle Cummins (4), 11. Cannon McIntosh (12), 12. Chase Randall (2), 13. Bryant Wiedeman (14), 14. Clinton Boyles (18), 15. Jason McDougal (15), 16. Ethan Mitchell (10), 17. Hayden Reinbold (17), 18. Brandon Waelti (20), 19. Daison Pursley (3), 20. Bryan Stanfill (19). NT

100TH START, 100 LAPS LED:

GRANT CONQUERS ALL

AT TOLEDO’S ROLLIE BEALE CLASSIC

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (April 19, 2025)………There can’t possibly be a better way to celebrate a 100th career USAC Silver Crown start the way Justin Grant did during Saturday afternoon’s Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

Grant (Ione, California) started from the outside of the front row, but he didn’t run second for very long. In fact, by turn one, Grant had taken a stranglehold of the lead and never relented as he led all 100 laps en route to a dominating 6.684 second margin of victory on the 1/2-mile paved oval in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/Beast/Speedway Ford.

In the process, Grant completed the 100 lap, 50 mile contest in caution free fashion. In fact, his time for the distance of 26:38.254 (112.623 mph average) set a brand new track record at Toledo, breaking the former mark of 27:07.40 by nearly half a minute, which was set by Jerry Coons Jr. in 2012.

But this particular one hit differently. Grant, who has driven for Toledo native Ron Hemelgarn’s team since 2017, had never finished better than third. However, on Saturday, in the very same event that Hemelgarn has supported as a sponsor for all these years, Ron’s day in the sun at his hometown track had finally arrived.

“It’s incredible to pick up a win here at Toledo Speedway for Ron Hemelgarn,” Grant exclaimed. “He’s been a great supporter of my career and he’s let me drive this number 91 for eight or nine years now. Ron said he’s never won at Toledo. It’s an honor for me to pull that off for him. It’s the least I can do to say thanks for all the years he’s let me try.”

Overall, it was Grant’s eighth victory of his USAC Silver Crown career, tying Chris Windom for 16th place all-time. Known primarily for his dirt success, Grant’s score was his second in USAC Silver Crown competition on pavement. Back in 2021, he captured a win at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway. It’s a persistence that has paid off. Over the winter, Grant put a laser focus on bettering his game on the blacktop.

“I really felt like I went to work this winter on the pavement stuff,” Grant explained. “I bet I’ve watched Kody run 5,000 laps around Toledo, in the dead of winter, and I really tried to study and get serious about this pavement stuff. I’m just super glad it paid off.”

To start the day, the question pondered among those on hand was, “who’ll stop the rain?” Early morning storms delayed the day’s activities by several hours. After Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, the question changed to, “who’ll stop the reign?”

That, of course, refers to Kody Swanson, winner of the past six USAC Silver Crown main events at Toledo dating back to 2018. In all, Swanson owns eight Silver Crown wins at Toledo, and in qualifying, he added his ninth pole position at Toledo, the 55th overall of his career.

However, Swanson, who had led 778 of the 1,200 total laps ever run in Silver Crown competition at Toledo (64.8%) never led a lap on Saturday. Instead, Grant got the advantage over him at the start and never looked back, an ideal situation for Grant which went exactly to his plan.

“I’ve watched a lot of laps around here and the one thing I’ve learned was that it’s tough to pass here, especially if they’re good,” Grant pointed out. “You’ve got to wait for their car to fall off and you can’t count on that with Kody. I knew it would make our life a heck of a lot easier if I could get the jump on him. It’s 100 laps but I’d rather spend 100 trying to keep him behind me than trying to get by him. He’s pretty good. He’s really good.”

Meanwhile, Tyler Roahrig moved forward to second from his fifth starting spot after dueling side-by-side with Swanson for several laps before emerging into the runner-up spot on lap 37. Seventh starting Dakoda Armstrong muscled past Swanson on the bottom of turns three and four to wrestle away the third spot on the 83rd lap.

All the while, Grant was setting a blistering pace, and shockingly, put Swanson a lap down with an outside pass in turn four on lap 95. That left only three cars on the lead lap at the finish line, a remarkable pace that placed Grant into “untouchable” mode from start to finish in the car set up to perfection by crew chief Dennis LaCava.

“Any advantage I could gain, that’s what I was looking for,” Grant admitted. “I knew on practice day that I could run between 15.6 to 15.8 (seconds) on really old tires. (Spotter Brian Karraker) kept me running 15.8s the whole race and it felt like a Sunday drive. When these pavement cars are good, they’re incredible. This might be one of the best racecars I’ve ever driven. This thing was on rails. It was incredible.”

Six days after taking second on the dirt in the USAC Silver Crown season opener at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track, Grant pummeled the Toledo field to raise his point lead to 24 after the first pair of events.

Roahrig equaled his best career USAC finish with a second, which was the best ever result for his Newman Racing team. The performance earned Roahrig the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Armstrong took third for his best performance yet at Toledo. Swanson crossed the line in fourth, which equaled his worst Silver Crown outing in 12 career series starts at Toledo after also garnering a fourth in 2012. C.J. Leary rounded out the top-five in the one-of-a-kind, first ever traditional pavement Silver Crown car built by DRC chassis.

In his first USAC Silver Crown start since 2023, Kyle O’Gara earned Rod End Supply Hard Charger honors. O'Gara started 13th and finished seventh in what was also the series debut for the #141 machine owned by Charles and Brandi Maxwell.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 19, 2025 – Toledo Speedway – Toledo, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran Binks-15.223; 2. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-15.244; 3. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-15.311; 4. Mario Clouser, 22, Rice/Abacus-15.393; 5. Tyler Roahrig, 41, Newman-15.409; 6. C.J. Leary, 21, Team AZ/Petty/Rossi-15.414; 7. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-15.425; 8. Colton Bettis, 126, Pierce-15.429; 9. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-15.481; 10. Jake Trainor, 6, Klatt-15.556; 11. Kyle Steffens, 8, Steffens-15.615; 12. Jackson Macenko, 124, Hayes-15.697; 13. Kyle O'Gara, 141, Maxwell-15.726; 14. Taylor Ferns, 55, Ferns-15.819; 15. Matt Westfall, 54, 4 Kings-15.831; 16. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-16.819; 17. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-19.155.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Tyler Roahrig (5), 3. Dakoda Armstrong (7), 4. Kody Swanson (1), 5. C.J. Leary (6), 6. Bobby Santos (9), 7. Kyle O’Gara (13), 8. Mario Clouser (4), 9. Kaylee Bryson (3), 10. Taylor Ferns (14), 11. Jackson Macenko (12), 12. Matt Westfall (15), 13. Kyle Steffens (11), 14. Gregg Cory (16), 15. Colton Bettis (8), 16. Jake Trainor (10), 17. Dave Berkheimer (17). 26:38.254 (New Track Record)

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Justin Grant.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-140, 2-C.J. Leary-116, 3-Kody Swanson-95, 4-Kaylee Bryson-95, 5-Matt Westfall-91, 6-Logan Seavey-70, 7-Tyler Roahrig-67, 8-Brady Bacon-64, 9-Dakoda Armstrong-64, 10-Dave Berkheimer-64.

USAC NATIONAL PARALLAX GROUP PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kale Drake-55, 2-C.J. Leary-48, 3-Briggs Danner-36, 4-Jadon Rogers-26, 5-Chase Stockon-24, 6-Kyle Cummins-19, 7-Robert Ballou-18, 8-Jake Swanson-17, 9-Justin Grant-16, 10-Kayla Roell-15.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 4, 2025 – Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Rich Vogler Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (15.223)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (15.223)

Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Kyle O’Gara (13th to 7th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Tyler Roahrig

TOLEDO SHUFFLE!

USAC SILVER CROWN GOES TO

TOLEDO’S PAVEMENT APRIL 19

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (April 16, 2025)………The USAC Silver Crown trail is a diverse one with an array of dirt and pavement tracks each taking turns hosting the behemoths of the USAC arsenal – the champ cars.

Just last Sunday, Terre Haute’s dirt 1/2-mile was the battlefield. Now, this Saturday, April 19, the stage is paved with asphalt as the series takes on Ohio’s Toledo Speedway for the 12th running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled by Marco’s Pizza.

The annual event remembers Toledo’s racing hero, 1973 USAC National Sprint Car champion Rollie Beale, who also later became a highly respected USAC official who served as the chief steward for both the Silver Crown and National Sprint Car series for many years.

Here’s seven storylines to watch coming up this Saturday at Toledo!

WHO’LL STOP THE REIGN?

Creedence Clearwater Revival once asked us “Who’ll stop the rain?” Race fans still wonder “Who’ll stop the reign…of Kody Swanson at Toledo?”

Swanson (Kingsburg, California) has raced to eight overall USAC Silver Crown victories at Toledo in 2011-15-18-19-21-22-23-24, including six consecutive. The eight victories are one shy of the record for most by any driver at a single track in USAC Silver Crown history, one that he himself owns with nine scores at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Kody’s current run of six consecutive Silver Crown wins at Toledo does have him at the top of another record for consecutive victories at one track. He set the record during the 2024 running of the event in which he led all 100 laps en route to the win after starting on the pole.

As the owner of eight poles and eight victories in Silver Crown competition at Toledo, Swanson is the winningest USAC driver in the history of the track. He’s also the only driver to have started all 11 previous USAC Silver Crown events contested at Toledo dating back to 2010 and has now led 778 of the 1,200 total laps ever run in Silver Crown competition at Toledo for a percentage of 64.8%.

The eight-time USAC Silver Crown champion, however, is buried deep in the points entering Toledo following a 16th place result in last Sunday’s opener at Terre Haute which has him 16th in the standings with a lot of ground to cover.

THE 100 CLUB

Twenty drivers have reached the 100 career start mark with the USAC Silver Crown series. Justin Grant (Ione, California) is poised to become the next this Saturday.

Grant currently stands at 99 starts dating back to his 2012 series debut. Other drivers in the 100 career start club include: Russ Gamester (218), Brian Tyler (212), Dave Darland (201), Jerry Coons Jr. (190), Tracy Hines (172), Jack Hewitt (163), Kody Swanson (154), Eric Gordon (153), Johnny Parsons (151), Tony Elliott (147), George Snider (129), Gary Hieber (125), Chuck Gurney (115), Bud Kaeding (113), Jimmy Sills (113), Dave Steele (111), John Heydenreich (110), Aaron Pierce (106), A.J. Fike (105) and Larry Rice (100).

Grant has finished each of his last three Toledo starts inside the top-five with a 3rd in 2022, 4th in 2023 and another 4th in 2024.

MARIO'S NEW SPEEDWAGON

This past Sunday, Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing captured the season opening victory of the USAC Silver Crown campaign on the dirt of the Terre Haute Action Track with Logan Seavey as the winning driver.

However, for the first time since 2019, the no. 22 will have a different driver in the seat. Mario Clouser has been selected as the wheelman of the car for Toledo. In the team’s four previous starts with Seavey, he collected a 10th, 4th, 5th and 7th.

Meanwhile, Clouser has progressively finished better in each of his three Toledo Silver Crown starts with a 9th in 2022, a 7th in 2023 and a 6th in 2024.

THE BOLT MAKES USAC HISTORY

At age 15, teenage sensation Colton Bettis will become the youngest driver to compete in a USAC Silver Crown event this Saturday at Toledo. The Lutz, Florida native will drive a second Sam Pierce Racing car at Toledo as a teammate to Kaylee Bryson.

Bettis has been on quite a roll as of late, winning the 2024 Auburndale Pro Late Model Championship and the 2024 BG Southern Sprint Car Series Championship. Thus far in 2025, he’s won five of the first seven winged pavement sprint car races in Florida in which he competed in.

Currently ranked second in the 2025 National Pavement Sprint Car rankings, Bettis is also the current BG Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series points leader.

BUSY IS THE WORD FOR BYRD

Perhaps no other driver will have a more diversified upcoming week of racing than Nathan Byrd.

On Thursday, Byrd (Goodyear, Arizona) will compete with the 500 Sprint Car Tour at Indiana’s Anderson Speedway. On Friday, he’s off to North Carolina’s Rockingham Speedway to race with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. To cap off his weekend on Saturday, he’ll wheel the Meyer Auto Research no. 40 Silver Crown car at Toledo.

The first of Byrd’s two Silver Crown starts at Toledo was his best, finishing sixth in 2021. His most recent appearance at the track netted a 16th in 2023.

LEARY DEBUTS NEW CAR

To kick off the week, C.J. Leary took his first ride in the Team AZ-Petty-Rossi Silver Crown car, which he took to a 5th place finish at Terre Haute’s dirt oval.

This weekend, the team will make a debut of another kind as they unveil the first ever DRC pavement Silver Crown chassis. In a series dominated by Beast chassis in the win column over the pavement for the past three decades, it will be interesting to see how the new DRC design performs in its first race day.

Leary also has a bit of a score to settle at Toledo after a magnificent 2023 run which saw him lead a race-high 77 laps before finishing second to Kody Swanson. Leary’s most recent USAC Silver Crown win actually came on the pavement of Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway in 2022.

FIRST THINGS FIRST FOR SANTOS

When it comes to USAC Silver Crown season openers on pavement, no driver has won more often than Bobby Santos. Santos has captured the pavement opener on six occasions in his career in 2012-13-17-18-22-23.

Back in 2017, Santos (Franklin, Mass.) raced around Kody Swanson just before the midway point to score one in the win column for himself and the DJ Racing team at Toledo Speedway. He’s also the only driver to win at Toledo in a USAC Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown car in his career in addition to collecting a King of the Wing Sprint Car victory there in 2017.

In six of his nine career Silver Crown starts at Toledo, Santos has placed on the podium, and he’s also taken the runner-up position four times in 2018-19-21-22.

RACE DETAILS

An open practice session will be held at Toledo Speedway on Friday, April 18. USAC Silver Crown practice will take place from 4:15-5pm Eastern and again from 6:15-8pm in an alternating fashion along with the other divisions.

On Saturday, April 19, at Toledo Speedway, the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus the CRA Jegs All Star Tour & Factory Stocks.

USAC pit gates open at 8am Eastern. Spectator grates open at 10:30am with practice set for 11:20am, followed by qualifying at 12:30pm, an autograph session from 1:50-2:30pm. Pre-race ceremonies begin at 2:45pm followed by the 100-lap USAC Silver Crown feature at 3pm.

General admission tickets are $30. Kids age 6-12 are $5. Ages 5 & under are free. Advance tickets are on sale now at http://www.toledospeedway.com/.

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

2025 ROLLIE BEALE CLASSIC ENTRY LIST: (19)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 JAKE TRAINOR/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

21 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Team AZ-Petty-Rossi Racing)

22 MARIO CLOUSER/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce Racing)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Meyer Auto Research)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (4 Kings Racing)

55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes Racing)

126 COLTON BETTIS/Lutz, FL (Sam Pierce Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 10/15/2011 - Kody Swanson - 14.809 - 121.548 mph

100 Laps - 6/29/2012 - Jerry Coons Jr. - 27:07.40 - 110.606 mph

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN WINS:

8-Kody Swanson

2-Jerry Coons Jr.

1-Bobby Santos

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS:

2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (10/16)

2011: Kody Swanson (10/15)

2012: Jerry Coons Jr. (6/29)

2015: Kody Swanson (5/1)

2017: Bobby Santos (7/28)

2018: Kody Swanson (5/4)

2019: Kody Swanson (4/28)

2021: Kody Swanson (10/10)

2022: Kody Swanson (8/6)

2023: Kody Swanson (8/5)

2024: Kody Swanson (4/20)

PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:

2010 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 2. Kody Swanson (5), 3. Bobby East (6), 4. Bryan Clauson (10), 5. A.J. Fike (8), 6. Brian Tyler (11), 7. Levi Jones (4), 8. Bud Kaeding (3), 9. Justin Carver (15), 10. Zach Daum (14), 11. Dave Darland (19), 12. Russ Gamester (12), 13. Derek Hagar (18), 14. Zach Martini (20), 15. Tanner Swanson (9), 16. Tracy Hines (7), 17. Shane Hollingsworth (13), 18. Jeff Swindell (16), 19. Troy DeCaire (17), 20. Jacob Wilson (2). NT

2011 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bryan Clauson (6), 3. Bobby East (3), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 5. Darren Hagen (7), 6. Brian Tyler (10), 7. Levi Jones (11), 8. Kyle Hamilton (12), 9. Shane Hollingsworth (13), 10. Eric Gordon (4), 11. Tracy Hines (9), 12. David Byrne (14), 13. Kyle Larson (15), 14. Derek Hagar (16), 15. A.J. Fike (18), 16. Russ Gamester (8), 17. Jimmy Kite (19), 18. Tanner Swanson (5), 19. Doug Berryman (17). 45:54.90

2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 2. Bobby East (1), 3. Bobby Santos (3), 4. Kody Swanson (2), 5. Tracy Hines (4), 6. Kyle Hamilton (5), 7. Tanner Swanson (6), 8. A.J. Fike (10), 9. Levi Jones (14), 10. Jacob Wilson (11), 11. Bud Kaeding (9), 12. Eric Gordon (13), 13. Brian Tyler (12), 14. Doug Berryman (15), 15. Taylor Ferns (7). 27:07.40

2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Jacob Wilson (3), 3. A.J. Fike (17), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Aaron Pierce (5), 6. David Byrne (16), 7. Austin Nemire (15), 8. Dave Baumgartner (11), 9. Tracy Hines (4), 10. Rex Norris III (10), 11. C.J. Leary (13), 12. Tim Barber (14), 13. Jarett Andretti (9), 14. Jimmy McCune (12), 15. Tanner Swanson (2), 16. Bobby Santos (8), 17. Kyle Hamilton (6), 18. Patrick Lawson (18). NT

2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (2), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 5. Joe Liguori (8), 6. Davey Hamilton (9), 7. Joe Axsom (11), 8. David Byrne (5), 9. Annie Breidinger (12), 10. Justin Grant (7), 11. Troy Thompson (14), 12. Aaron Pierce (3), 13. Joss Moffatt (15), 14. Damion Gardner (10), 15. Matt Goodnight (13). 28:48.17

2018 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Kody Swanson (9), 2. Bobby Santos (4), 3. David Byrne (7), 4. Eric Gordon (16), 5. Aaron Pierce (6), 6. Austin Nemire (8), 7. Cody Gerhardt (15), 8. Matt Goodnight (10), 9. Travis Welpott (11), 10. Justin Grant (1), 11. Kyle Robbins (12, 12. Toni Breidinger (14), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 14. Kyle Hamilton (3), 15. Chris Windom (5), 16. Dave Darland (13). NT

2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (11), 3. Aaron Pierce (3), 4. Justin Grant (6), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Kyle Hamilton (2), 7. Austin Nemire (20), 8. Derek Bischak (12), 9. Joey Schmidt (13), 10. Brian Gerster (19), 11. Russ Gamester (16), 12. Mike Haggenbottom (22), 13. Cody Gerhardt (21), 14. Kyle Robbins (17), 15. Cody Gallogly (18), 16. Chris Dyson (14), 17. Matt Goodnight (15), 18. Eric Gordon (4), 19. David Byrne (7), 20. Jason Conn (9), 21. C.J. Leary (5), 22. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (8). NT

2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (4), 3. Brian Tyler (7), 4. David Byrne (3), 5. Davey Hamilton Jr. (14), 6. Nathan Byrd (10), 7. Kyle O'Gara (6), 8. Austin Nemire (15), 9. Taylor Ferns (5), 10. Logan Seavey (12), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (19), 12. Jake Day (21), 13. Tyler Roahrig (8), 14. Annie Breidinger (20), 15. Russ Gamester (11), 16. Mike McVetta (17), 17. Justin Grant (2), 18. Jim Anderson (13), 19. Travis Welpott (18), 20. Aaron Pierce (16), 21. Kyle Robbins (9), 22. Dave Berkheimer (22). NT

2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (4), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Russ Gamester (7), 6. Derek Bischak (19), 7. Kyle Robbins (6), 8. Brian Tyler (10), 9. Mario Clouser (9), 10. Nick Hamilton (8), 11. C.J. Leary (20), 12. Mike McVetta (11), 13. Kaylee Bryson (15), 14. Kyle O’Gara (12), 15. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 16. Gregg Cory (16), 17. Taylor Ferns (2), 18. Travis Welpott (14), 19. Jake Day (21), 20. Austin Nemire (13), 21. Tom Paterson (18), 22. Dave Berkheimer (22). 1:05:57.617

2023 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Derek Bischak (5), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Kaylee Bryson (10), 7. Mario Clouser (9), 8. Taylor Ferns (17), 9. Russ Gamester (8), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (6), 11. Bobby Santos (20), 12. Billy Wease (11), 13. Kyle Robbins (14), 14. Kyle O'Gara (12), 15. Matt Westfall (15), 16. Nathan Byrd (13), 17. Trey Burke (18), 18. Mike McVetta (19), 19. Travis Welpott (16), 20. Davey Hamilton Jr. (4), 21. Tom Paterson (22), 22. Dave Berkheimer (21). 28:35.61

2024 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. C.J. Leary (3), 3. Tyler Roahrig (2), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Bobby Santos (4), 6. Mario Clouser (9), 7. Logan Seavey (6), 8. Taylor Ferns (11), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 10. Davey Hamilton Jr. (10), 11. Kaylee Bryson (18), 12. Kyle Steffens (15), 13. Gregg Cory (12), 14. Jackson Macenko (7), 15. Travis Welpott (16), 16. Trey Burke (13), 17. Dakoda Armstrong (8), 18. Dave Berkheimer (17), 19. Nathan Moore (19). 28:00.63

Grant Ties Burg USAC Record, Wins Justin Owen Memorial

Richie Murray
April 12, 2025

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (April 12, 2025)………When a jubilant Justin Grant hoisted his helmet out of the top of his roll cage following his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway in 2012, little did anyone know that it was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to what he would go on to accomplish at the 3/8-mile dirt oval in the years to come.

On Saturday night, nearly 13 years later, Grant once again raised his helmet skyward on the cooldown lap, this time after tying Dave Darland as the winningest driver in USAC National Sprint Car history at Lawrenceburg, matching The Peoples Champ with his seventh score at the venue.

Moments later, Grant paid homage to the driver in which Saturday night’s event was honoring – Justin Owen – by bringing his car to a complete stop atop turn three, the same spot in which Owen lost his life two years earlier during a 2023 USAC Sprint Car qualifying crash.

“It’s big. It’s really, really big,” Grant reflected upon winning the second annual Justin Owen Memorial. “To tie Dave (Darland) here for all-time wins is great, and that’s special to me, but it’s really special to win this race in Justin’s memory. Admittedly, I didn’t know him very well but I raced with him down here back when I was in the (Mark Hery) 40 car. He was clearly special with as many people who support this race and with as many people who turn out and everybody doing things in his honor. It shows how special of a person he was to so many people.”

Furthermore, Grant’s personal USAC National Sprint Car win tally now stands at 56, which has him just six back of Darland’s record of 62 on the list of all-time winners and just three behind Brady Bacon’s who stands second with 59.

Starting outside the front row in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – TOPP Industries – LA Poly/Maxim/Kistler Chevy, Grant gave way to pole sitter Chase Stockon for the initial pair of laps at the start until Australian Todd Hobson (17th) flipped in turn one and also collected Jadon Rogers (20th). Hobson climbed out and walked away from the wreckage, but after the car was towed to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area, repairs were made and Hobson rejoined the field at the tail before ultimately finishing 19th.

From then on, it was a duel at the front between Stockon and Grant, who worked the high line while Stockon operated on the lower half of the track. On lap nine, Grant zipped to the inside of Stockon off turn four, out-dragging him into turn one to take over up front.

Thereafter, Grant refused to relent on the path in which he used to strike the decisive pass, maintaining a residence on the high line while Stockon gave chase in second. But Grant was a man with a plan, stating that he felt as if he might’ve channeled his days of driving the Hery no. 40 at Lawrenceburg in the early 2010s, recalling that it had been quite some time since he had been above the cushion anywhere. But he knew that if he could stick with it it was going to pay off in a major way.

“I could just make up so much speed off of two,” Grant explained. “The backstretch was slick and I was afraid about coming across the bottom. I’d get tight in the center and then just not get that run down the back stretch. It seemed like it was pretty sketchy into one. But once you got clear of that, it was really nice and smooth up there. Honestly, I was just trying to stay up where it was smooth. It just had that one spot, then I could carry so much momentum. I knew if I could keep it out of the fence getting into one and not get choked up on a restart there, I’d be in good shape.”

Grant’s quest was soon put to the test following lap 11 when Luke Hall (17th) biked in turn three and flipped upside down, necessitating a red flag and restart. Hall was able to climb out and walk away.

Throughout the middle stages, Stockon was able to pose a challenge to Grant for the lead, briefly pulling ahead of Grant on the low side of turn two. Yet, each time, Grant promptly rocketed off the top to retake the lead from Stockon.

While Grant and Stockon were up front engaging in their own war, the tussle between the third and fourth place cars driven by Mitchel Moles (3rd) and Robert Ballou (4th) was raging. As Moles and Ballou crossed the stripe to complete lap 15, Moles’ car appeared to slow up ever so briefly, which was met by front bumper to rear bumper contact between the pair.

When the same two reached turn two side-by-side, it got even more messy when the two connected wheels with the end result being Ballou’s right rear tire ramping over Moles’ left front, which sent Moles spinning backward to a stop. Moles’ night ended on the spot after he had completed two-thirds of a sweep after setting his 17th career fast time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying followed by a triumphant first heat race victory. Ballou, meanwhile, continued onward, and ultimately, finished on the podium.

Over the course of the final 10 laps of the 30-lap main, Stockon managed to sneak a peek on multiple occasions down underneath Grant, edging ahead just slightly on both laps 21 and 22 before giving way to the high-riding Grant who had momentum on his side as he blitzed past Stockon each time, and gradually built up a full two second lead.

In the end, Grant pushed his advantage to 2.678 seconds as he passed under the checkered flag for the second time during the 2025 USAC National Sprint Car season over Stockon, Ballou, Briggs Danner and C.J. Leary who completed the top-five.

In addition to Grant’s $7400 top prize, several more drivers collected a myriad of bonuses courtesy of the late Justin Owen’s friends and family as well as from a variety of sponsors and donations, which totaled more than $6,000 in additions to the purse.

Nick Bilbee took home $1354.00 in special race bonuses alone, plus money from Rod End Supply for earning hard charger honors by advancing from his 20th place feature starting spot to finish 11th in the feature.

Also, Carson Garrett picked up $604 as the first non-transfer from the semi-feature. Chase Stockon recorded the second fastest time in hot laps while Logan Seavey was the second quickest in qualifying, with both drivers earning a $404 reward. Briggs Danner pocketed an extra $264 as the fourth place feature finisher. An extra $26 apiece went to the fourth place finishers from each heat race: Shawn Westerfeld, Jadon Rogers, Austin Nigh and Jake Swanson.

C.J. Leary made the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night. All in all, it was a bounce back night for the 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champ who finished his evening by winning his heat race, then racing to a top-five feature finish.

‍

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 12, 2025 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – Justin Owen Memorial

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.267; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.268; 3. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-14.307; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.326; 5. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-14.335; 6. Shawn Westerfeld, 4J, Fischesser/Owen-14.413; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.430; 8. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-14.520; 9. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-14.567; 10. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.660; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.678; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.685; 13. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-14.737; 14. Todd Hobson, 98H, Doran/Wedgewood-14.741; 15. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-14.754; 16. Austin Nigh, 97, Nigh-14.762; 17. Max Adams, 17GP, Dutcher-14.766; 18. Luke Hall, 23s, Simon-14.794; 19. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-14.821; 20. Nick Bilbee, 69, Bilbee/Hoffman-14.842; 21. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.848; 22. Carson Garrett, 2E, Epperson-14.883; 23. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-14.903; 24. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-15.027; 25. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-15.063; 26. Nate Carle, 14c, Carle-15.392; 27. Zach Lamb, 73, Lamb-15.491; 28. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Boyd-NT.

CAR IQ FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Todd Hobson, 4. Shawn Westerfeld, 5. Nate Carle, 6. Luke Hall, 7. Carson Garrett. NT

K1 RACEGEAR SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Zach Lamb. 2:01.73

HOOSIER TIRE THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Nick Bilbee, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Austin Nigh, 5. Gunnar Setser, 6. Ryan Barr, 7. Braydon Cromwell. 2:03.03

COOK OUT FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Kayla Roell, 6. Max Adams. 2:02.00

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Ryan Barr, 4. Luke Hall, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Zach Lamb, 7. Braydon Cromwell. 2:35:55

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Chase Stockon (1), 3. Robert Ballou (4), 4. Briggs Danner (11), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Logan Seavey (9), 7. Kyle Cummins (12), 8. Jake Swanson (10), 9. Daison Pursley (7), 10. Gunnar Setser (5), 11. Nick Bilbee (20), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 13. Kale Drake (19), 14. Hayden Reinbold (14), 15. Max Adams (17), 16. Ryan Barr (22), 17. Kayla Roell (23), 18. Shawn Westerfeld (3), 19. Todd Hobson (15), 20. Austin Nigh (16), 21. Mitchel Moles (6), 22. Luke Hall (18), 23. Nate Carle (24), 24. Jadon Rogers (21). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Chase Stockon, Laps 9-30 Justin Grant.

**Saban Bibent flipped during qualifying. Todd Hobson flipped on lap 3 of the feature. Luke Hall flipped on lap 11 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-587, 2-Justin Grant-577, 3-Daison Pursley-543, 4-Logan Seavey-457, 5-Jake Swanson-436, 6-C.J. Leary-425, 7-Briggs Danner-425, 8-Mitchel Moles-424, 9-Robert Ballou-400, 10-Kale Drake-398.

PARALLAX GROUP USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kale Drake-55, 2-C.J. Leary-44, 3-Briggs Danner-31, 4-Jadon Rogers-26, 5-Chase Stockon-24, 6-Kyle Cummins-19, 7-Robert Ballou-18, 8-Jake Swanson-17, 9-Kayla Roell-15, 10-Harley Burns-14.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: May 2-3, 2025 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – #LetsRaceTwo

‍

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

April 12, 2025 – Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, Arizona

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY ACCESS SYSTEMS QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 33P, Petty-15.730 (New Track Record); 2. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-15.758; 3. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-15.849; 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.866; 5. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-15.904; 6. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-15.985; 7. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-16.017; 8. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-16.094; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.098; 10. Matt Westfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-16.187; 11. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.234; 12. Brody Roa, 15, Bonneau-16.247; 13. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.268; 14. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.272; 15. Connor Speir, 57S, Speir-16.409; 16. Blake Bower, 17X, Dunkel-16.432; 17. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.471; 18. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-16.490; 19. Colt Treharn, 77, Seals-16.815; 20. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-16.949; 21. Eugene Thomas, 10, Tellas-17.163; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.306; 23. Lonnie Oliver, 22AZ, Oliver-17.542; 24. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-18.048; 25. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.216; 26. Lonnie Hochstetler, 31H, Hochstetler-18.362.

IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, All Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Brody Wake, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Colt Treharn, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Elexa Herrera, 9. Blake Bower. NT.

SILBERMANN SOLAR / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, All Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Austin Williams, 4. Ricky Lewis, 5. David Gasper, 6. Connor Lundy, 7. Andrew Sweeney, 8. Lonnie Oliver, 9. Lonnie Hochstetler. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY ACCESS SYSTEMS / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, All Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Brody Roa, 2. Dayton Shelton, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Connor Speir, 6. J.J. Yeley, 7. Eugene Thomas, 8. Brecken Guerrero. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. David Gasper (2), 2. R.J. Johnson (6), 3. Ricky Lewis (5), 4. J.J. Yeley (7), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 6. Brody Roa (12), 7. Austin Williams (11), 8. Connor Lundy (8), 9. A.J. Bender (17), 10. Dayton Shelton (18), 11. Blake Bower (16), 12. Logan Williams (13), 13. Verne Sweeney (22), 14. Eugene Thomas (21), 15. Lonnie Oliver (23), 16. Elexa Herrera (25), 17. Brecken Guerrero (24), 18. Brody Wake (1), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (3), 20. Matt Westfall (10), 21. Cody Williams (9), 22. Connor Speir (15), 23. Colt Treharn (19), 24. Tommy Malcolm (4), 25. Andrew Sweeney (20). NT.
----------------------------
**Cody Williams flipped during lap 18 of the feature. Brody Wake flipped during lap 23 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 David Gasper.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / TEAR-OFF HEAVEN FOTOS / RICH’S AUTO HARD CHARGER: Charles Davis Jr. (14 to 5)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: April 26 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

RICKY LEWIS ADDS CASA GRANDE USAC/CRA DEBUT TO WIN LIST

CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA – APRIL 11, 2025… Taking command from Brody Roa on the fifth circuit, Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, CA) sailed to his fourth Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the campaign. Piloting his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, the point leader ran at a torrid pace to escape from all challengers to win the USAC/CRA debut at Central Arizona Raceway. J.J. Yeley, A.J. Bender, Roa, and new track record holder R.J. Johnson rounded out the top-five.

Johnson opened the night by posting a new track record and earning the ninth Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award of his career. Driving the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, the defending champion topped the charts with a time of 15.810 seconds over the 30 cars at the Pinal County Fairgrounds.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Blake Bower, J.J. Yeley and Ricky Lewis raced to victory in their 10-lap heat races.

For his efforts, J.J. Yeley earned the $200 In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos / Rich’s Auto Hard Charger Award with a second place run from tenth. We appreciate their support.

For more information on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

Tomorrow, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will be back in action at Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Raceway.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: April 11, 2025 – Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, Arizona

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 33P, Petty-15.810 (New Track Record); 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.816; 3. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.977; 4. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.049; 5. Caleb Stelzig, 21X, Stelzig-16.146; 6. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.160; 7. Brody Roa, 15, Bonneau-16.196; 8. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.212; 9. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-16.223; 10. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-16.331; 11. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-16.354; 12. Matt Westfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-16.494; 13. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-16.515; 14. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.578; 15. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.599; 16. A.J. Hernandez, 72, Hernandez-16.738; 17. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.740; 18. Blake Bower, 17X, Dunkel-16.853; 19. Connor Speir, 57S, Speir-16.877; 20. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-16.893; 21. Lonnie Oliver, 22AZ, Oliver-16.955; 22. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-17.075; 23. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-17.151; 24. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-17.166; 25. Colt Treharn, 77, Seals-17.222; 26. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-17.435; 27. Lonnie Hochstetler, 31H, Hochstetler-17.570; 28. Justin Kierce, 43, Kierce-17.862; 29. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-17.958; 30. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.090.

IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Brody Wake, 4. David Gasper, 5. Colt Treharn, 6. Lonnie Oliver, 7. Brecken Guerrero, 8. Caleb Stelzig. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Blake Bower, 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 3. Shon Deskins, 4. Cody Williams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Connor Lundy, 7. Dayton Shelton, 8. Elexa Herrera. NT.

SILBERMANN SOLAR THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Logan Calderwood, 3. Connor Speir, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Logan Williams, 7. Lonnie Hochstetler. NT.

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Andrew Sweeney, 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Justin Kierce, 7. A.J. Hernandez. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, Top 6 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Connor Lundy, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Logan Williams, 5. Colt Treharn, 6. Dayton Shelton, 7. Lonnie Oliver, 8. Justin Kierce, 9. Verne Sweeney, 10. Lonnie Hochstetler, 11. Elexa Herrera, 12. Brecken Guerrero. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ricky Lewis (4), 2. J.J. Yeley (10), 3. A.J. Bender (1), 4. Brody Roa (2), 5. R.J. Johnson (6), 6. David Gasper (8), 7. Cody Williams (3), 8. Charles Davis Jr. (7), 9. Brody Wake (12), 10. Austin Williams (13), 11. Connor Lundy (9), 12. Tommy Malcolm (15), 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (5), 14. Logan Williams (14), 15. Blake Bower (16), 16. Dayton Shelton (22), 17. Connor Speir (17), 18. Andrew Sweeney (20), 19. Matt Westfall (11), 20. Shon Deskins (18), 21. Logan Calderwood (19), 22. Colt Treharn (21). NT. ---------------------------- **Shon Deskins flipped during lap 6 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Brody Roa, Laps 5-30 Ricky Lewis IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / TEAR-OFF HEAVEN FOTOS / RICH’S AUTO HARD CHARGER: J.J. Yeley (10 to 2)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: April 12 – Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, Arizona

BILL MARVEL WOMEN’S CHARITY GOLF OUTING

ON MAY 21 TO BENEFIT USAC RACEAID

Indianapolis, Indiana (April 9, 2025)………Tee up for the 29th annual Bill Marvel Women's Charity Golf Outing to benefit USAC RaceAid on Wednesday, May 21, at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Indianapolis, Ind.

Registration and breakfast for the golf scramble is set for 7:30am Eastern with a shotgun start at 8:30am and will be followed by a luncheon, raffle and silent auction at the course located at 8802 West 56th Street in Indy.

All skill levels are welcome. The price is $85 per player for the event. Sponsors and teams can register for the event now at https://usacracing.redpodium.com/raceaid. From there, click the button next to “Register For A RACEAID Event” then select “RaceAid Golf Outing.”

Thanks to sponsors, golfers and partners, the annual golf outing has raised more than $400,000 over the years. You can help make this year’s golf tournament another success by partnering in any of the following ways: playing in the tournament, sponsoring a hole or team, giving a financial donation, providing door prizes or by donating auction items.

For any questions, or you would rather register with a check or cash, please contact Nikki@usacnation.com or by calling the USAC office at 317-247-5151 (Extension 704).

Since 1959, the United States Auto Club Benevolent Foundation (now USAC RaceAid) has provided financial aid to the families of auto racing participants with ties to USAC who have been injured and/or need assistance. USAC RACEAID also provides support to surviving family members with immediate and ongoing expenses. Over the years, the foundation has provided millions of dollars to help members and their families in times of need. The needs, whether small or large, never cease.

To donate to USAC RaceAid, please visit www.RaceAid.Fund.

A New Era at Terre Haute Begins Sunday, Honest Abe Roofing Named Title Sponsor

April 9, 2025

Terre Haute, Indiana (April 9, 2025)………The legendary Terre Haute Action Track is set to roar back to life for the 2025 season with its first race of the year this Sunday, April 13, ushering in a new era under the direction of the Wabash Valley Fair Association (WVFA).

Indiana’s only 1/2-mile dirt oval will host three USAC national events in 2025, starting Sunday, April 13 with the 21st running of the Sumar Classic 100-lap Silver Crown race. The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship invades the Terre Haute dirt on Wednesday night, May 21, for the 55th annual Tony Hulman Classic. The USAC Sprint Cars return to Terre Haute on Thursday night, July 31, for the Don Smith Classic, part of the 38th annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing.

Advance tickets for all three events can be purchased now at www.ActionTrackTix.com.

After several years of inconsistent promotion, the WVFA – known for its dedication to community and motorsports – will now take the reins in promoting and managing the historic half-mile dirt oval.

Built in 1952 and nestled on the Vigo County Fairgrounds, the Terre Haute Action Track has been a cornerstone of Indiana dirt track racing for over 70 years. Throughout its storied history, it has played host to some of the sport’s greatest legends and unforgettable moments, earning its reputation as one of the most respected venues in the country.

This season marks a turning point for the track. In recent years, multiple promoters have struggled to maintain momentum and community trust. Now, the Wabash Valley Fair Association and its Board members, a not-for-profit organization, is stepping forward to manage the track directly. Their mission? To preserve and grow the legacy of Terre Haute Action Track while continuing to bring racing excitement—and economic investment—to the region.

“We believe in this track and what it means to our community,” said Brady Meadors, WVFA President. “It’s more than a race track; it’s a piece of Terre Haute’s identity. Though the financial challenges are real, we’re committed to keeping the lights on and the engines running.”

Supporting that mission is Honest Abe Roofing, the 2025 title sponsor. A proud Indiana-based company, Honest Abe Roofing brings both credibility and community spirit to the table. Their support underscores a shared commitment to local traditions, hard work, and lasting impact.

The first race of the season promises high-speed action, family fun, and a celebration of new beginnings. Fans can expect a full slate of events, talented drivers from across the country, and a refreshed sense of purpose at the track.

SUNDAY RACE DETAILS

The 21st running of the Sumar Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship this Sunday, April 13, at the Terre Haute Action Track’s 1/2-mile dirt track in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Pits open at 2pm Eastern and grandstands open at 4pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm and cars on track at 5pm, followed immediately by qualifications and racing.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.ActionTrackTix.com. Advance tickets are $30 for grandstand seating. Kids age 12 and under are free. General admission seats are not reserved and are on a first come basis. However, advance ticket holders will gain access through gates beginning 30 minutes prior to the published gate opening times.

Pit passes are $40. Grandstand seating is included as well as access to the controlled Pit Pass area. Signed waivers must be completed prior to access. Infield admission is $15, which allows for access to the grass infield of the Action Track through the tunnel at the far right (turn one side) of main grandstand.

Follow the Terre Haute Action Track on social media for updates, driver announcements, and more.

‍

2025 USAC SCHEDULE AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK

Sunday, April 13 | USAC Silver Crown National Championship | Sumar Classic

Wednesday, May 21 | USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship | Tony Hulman Classic

Thursday, July 31 | USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship | Don Smith Classic / NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

AN EVENING WITH JOHNNY RUTHERFORD

AT USAC ON MAY 8

Speedway, Indiana (April 8, 2025)………Save the date for Lone Star JR!

Enjoy an evening with Johnny Rutherford and special guest, author Bart Stevens, on Thursday night, May 8, 2025, from 7pm-9pm Eastern at USAC headquarters in Speedway, Indiana.

The special USAC RaceAid benefit will feature Rutherford, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 1965 USAC National Sprint Car champion, who will take part in a discussion and meet and greet.

Stevens will also be on hand to discuss everything from racing history to Johnny Rutherford to Sam Nunis and even Michael Jackson!

Rutherford has graciously joined this event in large part due to the fondness he has for USAC’s benevolent fund, and the assistance it has provided to his racing friends who have been injured and in need throughout the years.

Tickets are on sale for the event now and can be purchased at https://usacracing.redpodium.com/raceaid. From there, click the button next to “Register For A RACEAID Event” then select “An Evening with Johnny Rutherford.”

Light snacks and drinks are included in the ticket cost. Your ticket is a donation to RaceAid.

The event is a lead in to the Sonsio Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR Series event which takes place over the course of May 9-10 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located right across the street from USAC headquarters, which are located at 4910 W. 16th Street in Speedway, Indiana.

To donate to USAC RaceAid, please visit www.RaceAid.Fund.

32 ENTRIES FOR SUNDAY’S USAC SILVER CROWN

SUMAR CLASSIC AT TERRE HAUTE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (April 7, 2025)………Thirty-two USAC Silver Crown entries are set for this Sunday’s 21st running of the 100-lap Sumar Classic on April 7 at western Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

SUMAR PAST WINNERS

The event at the 1/2-mile dirt oval features five past winners: Kody Swanson (2014), Shane Cockrum (2015), C.J. Leary (2016), two-time victor Justin Grant (2018 & 2022) and defending winner Logan Seavey (2024).

SUMAR VETERANS

They’re among the 22 Sumar Classic veterans in the field along with first-time winning hopeful and past runner-up Daison Pursley who finished 2nd in the 2024 race. Fellow top-five Sumar Classic finishers in this Sunday’s lineup include Brady Bacon (3rd in 2022), Chase Stockon (4th in 2024) and Matt Westfall (5th in 2002-03). Meanwhile, Bill Rose (6th in 2022) and Briggs Danner (7th in 2024) also return to the Sumar Classic field.

Further returnees to the Sumar Classic lineup are Mario Clouser (12th in 2024), Travis Welpott (14th in 2022), Jimmy Light (16th in 2024), Kyle Steffens (18th in 2002), Gregg Cory (18th in 2024) and Nathan Moore (19th in 2024), plus Mitchel Moles (20th in 2024), Chase Dietz (22nd in 2024), Jake Swanson (24th in 2022), Trey Osborne (25th in 2024) and Kyle Wissmiller (26th in 2004), who is making his series comeback after a 21-year hiatus.

SUMAR ROOKIES

Nearly a third of this Sunday’s field belongs to Sumar Classic first-timers, including late model star Ricky Thornton Jr. who is making his USAC Silver Crown debut. USAC national winners Kaylee Bryson and Kyle Cummins also look to make their first Sumar Classic start.

Also looking to crack the Sumar Classic feature starting lineup for the first time are Dave Berkheimer, Saban Bibent, Rob Caho Jr., Aric Gentry, Kenny Gentry, John Tosti and Korey Weyant, whose great uncle, Chuck Weyant, scored a AAA Midget feature victory at the Terre Haute Action Track in 1955.

RACE DETAILS:

The 21st running of the Sumar Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship this Sunday, April 13, at the Terre Haute Action Track’s 1/2-mile dirt track in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Pits open at 2pm Eastern and grandstands open at 4pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm and cars on track at 5pm, followed immediately by qualifications and racing.

Sunday’s Sumar Classic can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

2025 SUMAR CLASSIC ENTRY LIST: (32 ENTRIES)

Car # / Driver / Hometown / Car Owner

07 (R) JOHN TOSTI/High Ridge, MO (John Tosti)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

09 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

3 (R) ARIC GENTRY/Robards, KY (Tim Simmons)

6 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (Klatt Enterprises)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Team AZ Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

33 KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Petty Performance Racing)

48 NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

66 BILL ROSE/Plainfield, IN (Bill Rose Racing)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

78 (R) ROB CAHO JR./Mound, MN (Caho Racing)

81 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

86 CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)

88 (R) SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

97 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

118 JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Wingo Brothers Racing)

121 (R) RICKY THORNTON JR./Chandler, AZ (Team AZ Racing)

144 (R) KYLE WISSMILLER/Saybrook, IL (Wissmiller Racing)

181 KENNY GENTRY/Henderson, KY (Gentry Motorsports)

USAC CRA SPRINT DOUBLE DEBUT

APRIL 11-12 AT CENTRAL ARIZONA

By: Lance Jennings

Casa Grande, Arizona (April 8, 2025)………After a torrid battle at Perris, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Cars will make their first ever visit to Central Arizona Raceway with two nights of action starting with the 525th event in series history on Friday-Saturday, April 11-12.

The special Friday and Saturday doubleheader at the fast 3/8-mile oval in Casa Grande, Arizona will also showcase Dirt Mini Late Models, IMCA Mod Lites, and Pure Stocks.

Located at the Pinal County Fairgrounds, the Pit Gates at Central Arizona Raceway will open at 2:00pm, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm, and racing is scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at www.centralazraceway.com or call 602.292.7607.

For those that cannot be at the races, a live stream will be broadcast by www.FloRacing.com.

NOTICE TO RACERS:

- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: MUFFLERS ARE REQUIRED at Central Arizona Raceway.

- FUEL WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.

- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT WWW.USACRACING.COM OR WWW.USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)

- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.

- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.

- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.

- TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.

- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.

- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.

- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.

- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at www.usacracing.com.

- 360 BONUS: Thanks to Sands Chevrolet and Central Arizona Raceway, a bonus will be given to the top three finishing 360 Sprint Cars. $500 for best, $300 for second best, and $200 for third best. Drivers must notify USAC CRA officials at pill pick.

-HARD CHARGER BONUS: Photographer, Steve Lafond has donated $100 cash each night for the hard charger in the main event.

While new to USAC CRA, Central Arizona Raceway was a regular stop for the Arizona based USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series. Between 2013 and 2019, the Pinal County Fairgrounds hosted that group seventeen times with seven different winners led by “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. with seven victories. While the track has a new configuration, Logan Seavey set the 410 series record of 14.948 on October 26, 2019 and R.J. Johnson established the 360 series record of 15.058 on October 29, 2016.

After five championship point races, Ricky Lewis of Oxnard, California has taken over the point lead. Racing his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis ran fifth last Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway and carries a 14-point advantage over the competition. To date, the young driver has posted three feature wins, one heat race victory, four top-10 finishes, and 76 feature laps led on the season. With seven career USAC CRA wins, Ricky primarily races in the Midwest and might miss the action at Central Arizona Raceway.

Anaheim, California’s Jake Swanson is second in the chase for the championship. The pilot of the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17X Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC skipped last Saturday’s event at Perris to prepare for a busy racing schedule in the Midwest. At press time, the 2012 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award, four top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led to his credit. With seven career USAC CRA wins, the 2022 Western World Champion might also skip the doubleheader at the Pinal County Fairgrounds.

After finishing fourth last Saturday night, R.J. Johnson of Laveen, Arizona has climbed to third in the USAC CRA point chase. Driving the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, the defending champion has posted two heat race victories, three top-10 finishes, and 3 feature laps led in the campaign. To date, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine career series wins. Starting this Friday, Johnson will have his sights on sweeping both races at Casa Grande.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams of Corona, California ranks fourth in the championship point standings. Piloting his #44 WC Friend Company / Get-Er Done Racing DRC, Williams scored the twenty-second Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award of his career before finishing ninth in the Perris main event. At press time, the former National Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has two fast time awards, one heat race victory, and three top-10 finishes to his credit. “The Cadillac” is tied with “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney, and Garrett Hansen with five career USAC CRA wins and he will be looking to earn his first triumph of the year.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams of Yorba Linda, California is fifth in the USAC CRA point standings. Racing the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17W Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC, Williams placed seventh last Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has recorded five top-10 finishes on the season and is currently tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven career wins. “The Big Game Hunter” will have his sights on adding Central Arizona Raceway to his win list.

After a driver membership audit, Connor Lundy of Peoria, Arizona leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors over Cole Wakim, Caleb Stelzig, Lonnie Oliver, Brecken Guerrero, Blake Hendricks, and Connor Speir.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Logan Calderwood, A.J. Bender, David Gasper, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Logan Williams, Blake Bower, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, Elexa Herrera, Austin Ervine, Grant Sexton, Brent Sexton, “The Rattlesnake” Andrew Sweeney, Matt Westfall, Brody Wake, Justin Kierce, A.J. Hernandez, and more.

Central Arizona Raceway is located on the Pinal County Fairgrounds at 512 S. Eleven Mile Corner Road in Casa Grande, Arizona. To get to the track, take Exit 194 from Interstate 10, then head east seven miles to the fairgrounds. Adult Tickets are $25, Senior/Military Tickets are $20, Young Adult Tickets (12-17) are $15, and Kids (11 and under) are FREE. For more event and ticket information, visit www.centralazraceway.com or call 602.292.7607.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series thanks Factory Wraps, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr. & Wiley Miller II, Sexton Fire Protection, Silbermann Solar, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at www.usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2004-Rip Williams, 2005-Damion Gardner, 2006-Cory Kruseman, 2007-Tony Jones, 2008-Mike Spencer, 2009-Mike Spencer, 2010-Mike Spencer, 2011-Mike Spencer, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Damion Gardner, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Damion Gardner, 2016-Damion Gardner, 2017-Damion Gardner, 2018-Damion Gardner, 2019-Damion Gardner, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Damion Gardner, 2022-Damion Gardner, 2023-Brody Roa, 2024-R.J. Johnson.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Ricky Lewis, 1-David Gasper, 1-Jake Swanson.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ricky Lewis-313, 2. Jake Swanson-299, 3. R.J. Johnson-285, 4. Cody Williams-276, 5. Austin Williams-273, 6. Charles Davis Jr.-258, 7. Logan Calderwood-256, 8. A.J. Bender-245, 9. David Gasper-235, 10. Tommy Malcolm-225, 11. Logan Williams-208, 12. Blake Bower-206, 13. Braden Chiaramonte-204, 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-154, 15. Connor Lundy (R)-134, ---. Verne Sweeney-134, 17. Cole Wakim (R)-127, 18. Brody Roa-118, 19. Kevin Thomas Jr.-103, 20. Elexa Herrera-100.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE

February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)

February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Jake Swanson)

March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)

March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)

March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)

April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)

April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ

April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ

April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA

May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)

June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA

July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)

August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)

September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ

October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)

October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)

November 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprint Cars.

This schedule is subject to change.

STARTING AGAIN AT LINCOLN PARK!

USAC SPRINT SEASON RESUMES APR 11

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Putnamville, Indiana (April 7, 2025)………Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana is set to host the resumption of the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship this Friday night, April 11.

After nearly two months away from the racetrack, it’s time to get back up to speed, on both the season at hand and this weekend’s upcoming action in the Hoosier state.

It’s race number 51 for the USAC National Sprint Cars at Lincoln Park, with a rare springtime date at the 5/16-mile Putnamville dirt oval to boot. In fact, the last winner to emerge as a springtime Lincoln Park USAC Sprint Car winner came 39 years ago!

Check it out and more in this edition of the storylines!

4-PEAT 4 SEAVEY

Defending series champion Logan Seavey has won each of the last three USAC National Sprint Car feature events at Lincoln Park Speedway, including a sweep of all three events in 2025 en route to a 14-win season.

Few drivers have ever reached the stratosphere of winning four or five consecutive USAC National Sprint Car races at one track. As a matter of fact, it’s just three. Jim Hurtubise (Terre Haute Action Track), Steve Chassey (Winchester Speedway) and Tyler Courtney (Eldora Speedway) are the only drivers to reach five-straight at one track.

Among those with four USAC National Sprint Car wins in a row at one track include Bryan Clauson (Bloomington Speedway), Mike Bliss (Indianapolis Raceway Park), Tracy Hines (Indianapolis Raceway Park), Robert Ballou (Perris Auto Speedway), Bubby Jones (Terre Haute Action Track), Dave Steele (Winchester Speedway) and Brady Bacon (Grandview Speedway).

CUMMINS ON A HOT STREAK

It’s been nearly two months since the most recent USAC National Sprint Car events in Florida, but you could certainly say that Kyle Cummins is on a roll heading into Lincoln Park.

Cummins (Princeton, Indiana) is the only two-time USAC National Sprint Car feature winner so far this season, and recorded finishes of 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 5th, 1st & 3rd in his six starts down in the Sunshine State in February.

He’s won at Lincoln Park Speedway already in his USAC Sprint Car career, taking top honors in July of 2019. In his most recent USAC Sprint start at the track, he finished second to Seavey in July 2024. To boot, he was also victorious in the only sprint car race held in Indiana thus far in 2025, the No Way Out 40 in March at Paragon Speedway.

DAISON’S BEEN AMAZIN’ TOO

Speaking of drivers off to strong starts, Daison Pursley fits that category to a T. Like Cummins, Pursley (Locust Grove, Oklahoma) has also finished all six of his USAC National Sprint Car starts this season inside the top-five, highlighted by a victory in the most recent round in February at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

It’s not entirely clear what Pursley and CB Industries plans are for the remainder of the USAC Sprint Car season, but right now, Pursley is currently tied atop the overall USAC National Sprint Car standings with Cummins, but Cummins holds the tiebreaker with his two wins.

Pursley knows his way around Lincoln Park. In his most recent USAC Sprint start at Lincoln Park last July, he finished sixth. Furthermore, he set quick time in qualifying at the track in both USAC Sprints and Midgets in 2024.

SPRINGTIME SPRINGS EARLY IN ‘25

A springtime USAC National Sprint Car show at Lincoln Park is a rarity. In fact, the last spring feature run at the track by the series came in May of 1986.

Overall, four Springtime USAC National Sprint Car races have been run at Lincoln Park, all in May, won by Kelly Kinser (1983), Chuck Amati (1984), Sheldon Kinser (1985) and Steve Butler (1986).

However, no USAC Sprint Car event has been run to completion at Lincoln Park as early in the season as this Friday’s affair. On April 28, 2012, the scheduled event was rained out. On April 27, 2013, another attempt was made with Bryan Clauson setting fast time and Landon Simon winning the first heat race before rain hit during the second heat, washing the remainder of the night out.

WINNERS ABOUND IN PUTNAMVILLE

Several past Lincoln Park Speedway USAC Sprint Car winners are expected to compete in Friday night’s event, with at least 10 drivers in that group taking part.

Among this group are three-time winners Robert Ballou and Logan Seavey, plus two-time victor C.J. Leary. One-time winners in the fold include Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, Mitchel Moles, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson and Kevin Thomas Jr. to be precise.

Dave Darland holds the all-time record for USAC National Sprint Car feature wins at Lincoln Park with six, ahead of five-time winner Sheldon Kinser and four-time winner Brady Bacon.

A NEW REGIME

During the offseason, a long term agreement between Lincoln Park Speedway track owner Dave Allison and USAC Promotions was put in place to assure long term stability for the 5/16-mile dirt oval and its competitors and race fans.

Tommie Estes, a longtime racer himself, was named as the General Manager of the track while his wife, Jen Estes, will serve as the track’s co-manager. On the track operational side of the sport, Tommie previously oversaw the racing operations at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas.

Furthermore, Tommie’s extensive background in motorsports management includes serving as the Competition Director for the ASCS National Sprint Tour, the Chili Bowl Nationals, and most recently, as the Competition Director for the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, a role he’ll continue in alongside his duties at Lincoln Park.

RACE DETAILS

Friday night’s April 11 event consists of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus 305 RaceSaver Sprint Cars. Pits open at 4pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5:30 and cars on track at 6pm.

Advance tickets are on sale now at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2025-lps-promotions. Advance tickets are $25 for grandstand seating. Kids age 12 and under are free. General admission seats are not reserved and are on a first come basis. However, advance ticket holders will gain access through gates beginning 30 minutes prior to the published gate opening times.

Pit passes are $40. Grandstand seating is included as well as access to the controlled Pit Pass area. Signed waivers must be completed prior to access. Family 4 Pack tickets for grandstand seating are $90. Individual suite passes are $50. A single night suite for 12 people is available for $500.

Both nights of the event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-449, 2-Daison Pursley-449, 3-Justin Grant-425, 4-Brady Bacon-366, 5-Mitchel Moles-344, 6-C.J. Leary-325, 7-Logan Seavey-324, 8-Jake Swanson-313, 9-Briggs Danner-309, 10-Robert Ballou-295.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/5/2024 - Logan Seavey - 11.959 - 94.071 mph

6 Laps - 8/23/1997 - Bill Rose - 1:22.90 - 81.423 mph

8 Laps - 7/29/2001 - Bryon Walters - 1:46.75 - 84.309 mph

10 Laps - 7/5/2024 - Justin Grant - 2:08.53 - 87.528 mph

12 Laps - 7/14/2014 - Jon Stanbrough - 2:40.15 - 84.296 mph

ALL-TIME LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS

6-Dave Darland

5-Sheldon Kinser

4-Brady Bacon

3-Robert Ballou & Logan Seavey

2-Steve Butler, Jerry Coons Jr., Jay Drake, Cory Kruseman C.J. Leary & Jon Stanbrough

1-Chuck Amati, Chad Boespflug, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt, Kelly Kinser, Mitchel Moles, Brady Short, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Tanner Thorson

ALL-TIME LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS

1981: Sheldon Kinser (9/16)

1983: Kelly Kinser (5/25) & Sheldon Kinser (8/24)

1984: Chuck Amati (5/23) & Sheldon Kinser (7/18)

1985: Sheldon Kinser (5/4) & Steve Butler (9/7)

1986: Steve Butler (5/17) & Sheldon Kinser (8/23)

1997: Jack Hewitt (7/27) & Dave Darland (8/23)

1998: Dave Darland (7/26) & Brad Fox (8/15)

1999: Dave Darland (7/24)

2000: Jay Drake (7/29)

2001: Jon Stanbrough (7/21)

2002: Cory Kruseman (7/20)

2003: Jay Drake (7/19)

2004: Cory Kruseman (7/17)

2005: Dave Darland (7/19)

2010: Dickie Gaines (7/24) & Jon Stanbrough (9/10)

2012: Dave Darland (7/22)

2013: Chad Boespflug (7/4) & Bryan Clauson (7/18)

2014: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Robert Ballou (7/17)

2015: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Brady Bacon (7/16)

2016: Robert Ballou (7/1) & Brady Short (7/14)

2017: Robert Ballou (7/16)

2018: Tyler Courtney (7/6) & Dave Darland (7/26)

2019: Kyle Cummins (7/25)

2020: Shane Cottle (7/3), Brady Bacon (7/4), Chase Stockon (9/12) & Brady Bacon (9/12)

2021: C.J. Leary (7/2), Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/3) & Tanner Thorson

2022: C.J. Leary (7/1), Justin Grant (7/2) & Mitchel Moles (7/28)

2023: Brady Bacon (7/3) & Jake Swanson (7/27)

2024: Logan Seavey (7/5), Logan Seavey (7/6) & Logan Seavey (7/26)

New Title and Presenting Sponsors for the 2025 USAC East Coast Sprint Cars

It has been a long off season for the Wingless Warriors, however, the USAC East Coast Staff has been hard at work looking to better the future of wingless sprint car racing in the northeast.

We are proud to announce our title sponsor for 2025, Innovative Machining Technology is on board and fully committed to the future of traditional sprint car racing in the northeast!

IMT is located in Boyertown Pa, its a family owned business since 1988. IMT also has a sister company in Summerville SC.
IMT is a machine and fabrication shop with several CNC machines. They specialize in producing OEM parts for power generation, such as turbines. The IMT team works and fabricates with a lot of alloy steel, they machine product and fabricate new and beautiful product to their consumer. IMT has been ISO certified for 14 years and has product world-wide.

USAC EC racer Blaine Emery has served this company for over 26 years and is now the production manager over looking operations on a daily basis, USAC EC racer Ronald Helmick is also specialized in the machine shop as well.

"Everyone involved in the tour this season has been working hard to make it a great 2025 season, having IMT and all of the contingency sponsors joing is very exciting for the racers" series president Ed Aiken emphasized

A little more vocal work for the series announcer on race nights, It will be the IMT USAC East Coast Sprint Cars presented by Baer Den Farms.
Baer Den Farms also joins the series at the presenting sponsor. Baer Den Farms is located in New Tripoli Pa, the farm is owned by Todd Baer and family, a former asphalt modified racer. Baer Den Farms takes pride in raising Angus beef. Non vaccinated, no added medicines and all natural beef. You can follow their Baer Den Farms Facebook page to learn more!

We now turn attention to the series opener at the Fabulous Lincoln Speedway on Saturday April 12th. Remember 305's, Crate Sprints, 358's and 360's are all welcome to lose the lid and join the IMT USAC East Coast Sprint Cars presented by Baer Den Farms on Saturday and all season long!

GOLOBIC GETS PLACERVILLE

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SCORE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Placerville, California (April 5, 2025)………At his self-described “favorite racetrack in the world,” Shane Golobic was proficient yet again at California’s Placerville Speedway.

The Fremont, California racer tracked down racelong leader T.J. Smith near the halfway point of Saturday night’s 25-lap USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Western States Midget feature. From there, the fourth place starting Golobic led the final 12 circuits to take the checkered flag in his Matt Wood Racing machine.

For Golobic, it was his eighth career USAC Western States Midget main event victory, tying him with Tracy Hines, Michael Lewis, Steve Paden, Alex Schutte and Danny Stratton for 27th place all-time. It was also Golobic’s first series triumph since the 2022 season.

Furthermore, Golobic became Placerville’s first three-time USAC Western States Midget winner after previously picking up series victories in 2013 and 2017.

Smith (Fresno, California) led the opening 13 laps of the feature before Golobic took over up front. Smith’s second place result has vaulted him into the series point lead.

The night’s fastest qualifier, Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, California), took third in the feature with Caden Sarale (Fresno, California) fourth and Jett Yantis (Bakersfield, California) rounding out the top-five.

Carrick’s fast lap of 11.810 in time trials bested the field of 24 entries around the 1/4-mile dirt oval. Heat race victories were collected by Sarale, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) and Golobic while the semi-feature win was scored by Yantis.

The event was part of the Nor-Cal Challenge, a co-sanctioned event between USAC’s Western States Midgets, the Bay Cities Racing Association and Western Midget Racing.

‍

USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: April 5, 2025 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – Co-Sanctioned by BCRA & Western Midget Racing

QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Carrick, 32T, Sarale-11.810; 2. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-11.886; 3. T.J. Smith, 68, Six8-11.926; 4. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.017; 5. Jett Yantis, 4, Carlile-12.077; 6. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.121; 7. Broedy Graham, 66, BGR-12.184; 8. Connor Speir, 14JR, Streeter/Graunstadt-12.383; 9. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-12.408; 10. Dale Johnston, 20J, Johnston-12.474; 11. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.525; 12. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.571; 13. Anthony Bruno, 9, Bruno-12.794; 14. Logan Mitchell, 96x, Mitchell-12.983; 15. Blaine Craft, 57, Craft-13.335; 16. Ryan Carter, 7A, Carter-13.369; 17. Adam Weisberg, 15, Weisberg-13.465; 18. Floyd Alvis, 18A, Champion-13.476; 19. Dave Stoltz, 77, Stoltz-13.504; 20. Kelly Nichols, 2ND, Nichols/Peckfelder-13.587; 21. Teddy Bivert, 35s, Bivert-13.671; 22. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-15.439; 23. Marvin Mitchell, 68m, Mitchell-15.930; 24. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-15.930.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Caden Sarale (5), 2. Broedy Graham (4), 3. Anthony Bruno (2), 4. Tanner Carrick (6), 5. Dale Johnston (3), 6. Dave Stoltz (7), 7. Ryan Carter (1), 8. Kyle Hawse. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brody Fuson (6), 2. Jett Yantis (5), 3. Logan Mitchell (2), 4. Connor Speir (4), 5. C.J. Sarna (3), 6. Adam Weisberg (1), 7. Kelly Nichols (7), 8. Marvin Mitchell (8). NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Golobic (5), 2. Dane Culver (3), 3. T.J. Smith (6), 4. Todd Hawse (4), 5. Jake Andreotti (8), 6. Teddy Bivert (7), 7. Blaine Craft (2), 8. Floyd Alvis (1). NT

SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kelly Nichols (2), 2. Adam Weisberg (3), 3. Blaine Craft (5), 4. Ryan Carter (6), 5. Marvin Mitchell (4), 6. Floyd Alvis (7), 7. C.J. Sarna (1). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Golobic (4), 2. T.J. Smith (2), 3. Tanner Carrick (8), 4. Caden Sarale (5), 5. Jett Yantis (3), 6. Jake Andreotti (9), 7. Connor Speir (12), 8. Dane Culver (7), 9. Anthony Bruno (10), 10. Todd Hawse (13), 11. Blaine Craft (19), 12. Ryan Carter (20), 13. Adam Weisberg (18), 14. Brody Fuson (6), 15. Kelly Nichols (17), 16. Dale Johnston (16), 17. Teddy Bivert (15), 18. Dave Stoltz (14), 19. Broedy Graham (1), 20. Logan Mitchell (11). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 T.J. Smith, Laps 14-25 Shane Golobic.

USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-T.J. Smith-153, 2-Caden Sarale-148, 3-Dane Culver-126, 4-Todd Hawse-96, 5-Broedy Graham-75, 6-Dalten Gabbard-59, 7-Randi Pankratz-57, 8-Kyle Hawse-53, 9-Bryan Drollinger-48, 10-Brody Fuson-48.

NEXT USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: April 26, 2025 – Plaza Park Raceway – Visalia, California

KODY SWANSON REVEALS

USAC SILVER CROWN PLANS FOR 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (April 6, 2025)………Kody Swanson will chase after his ninth career USAC Silver Crown national championship with a bit of a different team setup throughout the 2025 season.

Swanson will once again return to the Doran Binks Racing No. 77 on the pavement track portion of the schedule. On the dirt, the Kingsburg, California native will be the new driver of the John Haggenbottom No. 24.

After competing full-time in the USAC Silver Crown series in 2023-2024 on both the dirt and pavement for Doran Binks, the team has decided to focus its efforts on its pavement programs.

“I started with the team as a pavement only program in 2021, so I feel like we've come full circle again and will focus on the USAC Silver Crown pavement events and the Little 500, just like we did at the beginning,” Swanson stated. “I'm grateful that we were able to expand that effort the past two years to run the entire series, and to score the championship together last season. I definitely appreciate the chance we have to continue together on the pavement this year.”

Left momentarily without a dirt ride, Swanson and Haggenbottom have teamed up for the dirt races. While it is technically a new team for Swanson, in a way, it’s a reunion of sorts to Swanson’s five-year run as the driver of the DePalma Motorsports No. 63, a span which led to four Silver Crown titles and 21 victories.

Through Swanson and Haggenbottom’s mutual friendships with former DePalma Motorsports stalwarts Bob Hampshire and Clark Lamme, they’ve gotten to know each other and race against each other, and will now get the opportunity to race with each other.

“It’s a neat opportunity to race together, and we’ll have car that is very similar to the 63 that Hampshire and Lamme worked on together all those years ago,” Swanson explained. “I’m also reunited with an engine that helped me win a Silver Crown title a few years back and appreciate that Bob (Hampshire) and Jesse (Himes) are still looking after it and keeping it in great shape.”

Competing for a championship with split teams is rare, but not unprecedented. In fact, Swanson captured the 2021 USAC Silver Crown title while competing for Doran on pavement and Chris Dyson Racing on dirt. One aspect Swanson notes as a positive is that each team can come into an event fresh without having just been out on the road running on the other surface.

“Racing has challenges in every way, even for us in the short track world trying to run multiple divisions,” Swanson said. “You end up with different teams as you try to cover different divisions. Having a split schedule can be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to this. I’ve run on pavement with the Doran Binks team for a long time, and the good part for me is I’ve had relationships with a lot of these folks. Even if I haven’t raced the Haggenbottom no. 24, I’ve been around those guys. We’ve got mutual friends, and for being a new situation, I feel like there’s a lot of familiarity there.”

On dirt, Swanson will pilot the John Haggenbottom No. 24, utilizing a Maxim chassis with a Hampshire Chevy while carrying sponsorship from Radio Hospital, Belmont’s Garage, Kreider Manufacturing, John Venturella and TJ Forged Wheels.

On pavement, Swanson will be at the wheel of the Doran Binks No. 77, with a Lanci Ford engine underneath the hood of a Beast chassis. Team principles include Kevin Doran, Dan Binks and Ken Keilholz while sponsorship comes from Mission Foods, Wilke Orthodontics, Glenn Farms, RMT and TJ Forged Wheels.

Swanson will make his debut in Haggenbottom’s car on Sunday, April 13, on the dirt at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track. The following weekend, on Saturday, April 19, Swanson will return to the cockpit of the Doran Binks Racing ride on the pavement of Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

DAVID GASPER SPRINTS TO PERRIS VICTORY

PERRIS, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 5, 2025… Regaining the lead from R.J. Johnson on lap 26, David Gasper of Goleta, California sailed to his first Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the year at Perris Auto Speedway. Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Valley Precision DRC, Gasper started third and led the first twenty-two circuits until Johnson powered to the top spot. Gasper, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, found his rhythm and was able to take command four laps later. Ryan Bernal, hard charger A.J. Bender, Johnson, and Ricky Lewis followed Gasper to the checkered flags.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams began the night by posting the twenty-second Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award of his career. Driving his #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC, Williams placed on top of the charts with a time of 16.379 seconds over the 24 cars in attendance.

Logan Calderwood, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, and A.J. Bender took the checkered flags in their 10-lap heat races.

Bender also earned the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a third place run from twelfth.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will make their first ever visit at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona with two nights of action starting on Friday, April 11th.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: April 5, 2025 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.379; 2. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.531; 3. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.663; 4. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-16.673; 5. R.J. Johnson, 33P, Petty-16.720; 6. EddieTafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.755; 7. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.761; 8. Ryan Bernal, 17X, Dunkel-16.766; 9. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.827; 10. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.861; 11. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.882; 12. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.937; 13. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-17.091; 14. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-17.231; 15. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-17.263; 16. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-17.267; 17. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-17.421; 18. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-17.575; 19. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.741; 20. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-18.093; 21. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton-18.170; 22. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Marshall-18.276; 23. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-19.215; 24. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-19.479.

IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, All Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Logan Calderwood, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Cody Williams, 4. David Gasper, 5. Brody Roa, 6. Cole Wakim, 7. Gary Marshall Jr., 8. Verne Sweeney. 3:02.91.

SILBERMANN SOLAR / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, All Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Blake Bower, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Jeff Dyer, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Connor Lundy. 3:02.58.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, All Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Brody Wake, 5. Shane Sexton, 6. Brecken Guerrero, 7. Blake Hendricks, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. David Gasper (3), 2. Ryan Bernal (8), 3. A.J. Bender (12), 4. R.J. Johnson (2), 5. Ricky Lewis (4), 6. Brody Roa (10), 7. Austin Williams (5), 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (7), 9. Cody Williams (6), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (1), 11. Logan Williams (9), 12. Brody Wake (17), 13. Logan Calderwood (16), 14. Blake Bower (14), 15. Cole Wakim (13), 16. Blake Hendricks (15), 17. Gary Marshall Jr. (21), 18. Shane Sexton (20), 19. Verne Sweeney (18), 20. Elexa Herrera (22), 21. Brecken Guerrero (23), 22. Tommy Malcolm (11), 23. Jeff Dyer (19). NT.

----------------------------
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 David Gasper, Laps 23-25 R.J. Johnson, Laps 26-30 David Gasper.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: A.J. Bender (12 to 3)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: April 11&12 – Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, Arizona

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS TAKE ON

PLACERVILLE’S NOR-CAL CHALLENGE SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Placerville, California (April 3, 2025)………The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC Western States Midgets get back to work this Saturday, April 5, at California’s Placerville Speedway.

Round two of the season takes the series back to the 1/4-mile dirt oval for the 14th time dating back to 1996. Michael Faccinto and Cade Lewis captured victories in each of the series events at Placerville in 2024.

Jake Andreotti scored the series opening victory on March 8 at California’s Ventura Raceway. By virtue of his runner-up finish at Ventura, Caden Sarale leads the USAC Western States Midget point standings heading into Placerville.

Saturday’s event at Placerville presents the Nor-Cal Challenge, which brings USAC’s Western States Midgets, the Bay Cities Racing Association and Western Midget Racing all together this Saturday. Winged Sprint Cars are also on the card along with Pure Stocks and Lightning Sprints.

Past USAC Western States Midget winners at Placerville include Jimmy Sills (1996), Shane Golobic (2013 & 2017), Ronnie Gardner (2016), Gio Scelzi (2019), Kyle Larson (2019), Austin Liggett (2021), Jake Andreotti (2022), Michael Faccinto (2022 & 2024), Brody Fuson (2023) and Cade Lewis (2024).

Pit gates open at Noon Pacific. Grandstands open at 4:00pm. Cars on track at 5pm. Pit Passes are sold via Pit Pay or at the Pit Booth. Camping is available and space can be reserved by calling the El Dorado County Fairgrounds & Event Center at 530-621-5860. The El Dorado County Fairgrounds will charge $10 per vehicle to park.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://www.eventsprout.com/event/psr040525.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Caden Sarale-76, 2-T.J. Smith-76, 3-Dane Culver-70, 4-Dalten Gabbard-59, 5-Randi Pankratz-57, 6-Bryan Drollinger-48, 7-Todd Hawse-48, 8-Hailey Lambert-44, 9-Broedy Graham-43, 10-Brandt Twitty-43.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR

USAC SPRINT CAR RACE JULY 24 AT IMS

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, April 3, 2025) – Tickets are on sale for the first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the opener of the 38th annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing series Thursday night, July 24, 2025.

Visit www.IMS.com to purchase tickets. Reserved seats start at $45. Parking, camping and pit passes also are available.

The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 at IMS will feature an invitational field as determined by several different categories. The $10,000-to-win Indiana Sprint Week race at IMS will pay appearance points toward the season-long USAC National Sprint Car standings, but no points will be offered toward the 2025 Indiana Sprint Week standings.

C.J. Leary captured the only previous visit by the USAC National Sprint Cars to The Dirt Track at IMS in September 2024, making the winning pass with nine laps remaining to score a 20-lap, non-points exhibition race victory.

USAC Indiana Sprint Week, a cornerstone of sprint car racing in the Hoosier State since 1988, has captivated fans for decades with its thrilling action and rich legacy. Indiana Sprint Week’s 2025 schedule consists of eight events at eight different racetracks across a 10-night span between July 24-Aug. 2.

IMS INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FIELD STIPULATIONS

ANNOUNCED FOR JULY 24 OPENER

Speedway, Indiana (March 27, 2025)………The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s debut as the opener of the 38th annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing series on Thursday night, July 24, 2025, will feature an invitational field as determined by several different categories.

Those who will be eligible to compete in the event at the 1/5-mile dirt oval located inside of turn three at the world-famous IMS will have to fit in one of the following categories:

1) Finished inside the top 30 of the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point standings.

2) Finished inside the top 30 of the 2024 USAC Indiana Sprint Week point standings.

3) Ranks inside the top 30 of the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings as of July 7.

4) Ranks inside the top 10 of the 2025 Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car standings as of July 7.

5) Any currently active driver who has previously won an Indiana Sprint Week main event. Drivers must have competed in at least one USAC national event in either the 2024 or 2025 season.

6) Plus, two Indianapolis Motor Speedway promoters options.

Since its announcement, the event has instantly generated great anticipation and excitement among drivers, teams and fans alike, but with the confines of the event, parameters have been put into place to help ensure its success.

“We want to give this race the best opportunity to shine,” USAC series director Kirk Spridgeon said. “We have limited time, space and track to ensure the event can be efficient and of the highest quality. It’s great that this event garners so much interest, and we wish we could open the gates and allow everyone to compete, but that isn’t feasible at this time.”

The $10,000-to-win Indiana Sprint Week event at IMS will pay appearance points toward the season-long USAC National Sprint Car standings. However, no points will be offered toward the 2025 Indiana Sprint Week standings.

The remainder of Indiana Sprint Week will retain the traditional USAC format. Following the ISW kick off at The Dirt Track at IMS, the series continues at Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway on Friday, July 25, followed by Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 26; Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday, July 27; Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 30; the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, July 31; Bloomington Speedway on Friday, August 1, and Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August 2.

Additional information regarding tickets, the format, event times, etc. for the ISW opener at IMS will be shared soon at www.usacracing.com.

USAC FAN FEST ON TAP

FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 28 IN SPEEDWAY!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (March 27, 2024)………Meet USAC’s racing stars on Friday night, March 28, at USAC Fan Fest presented by Marc Dailey Racing with support from Greg Leffler of First Gear Engineering & Brad Kuhn Technology and Fish Window Cleaning.

The doors open at 6pm Eastern at USAC headquarters, located at 4910 W 16th St. in Speedway, Indiana, with the program running until 9pm.

The event is free to attend and also includes free food and refreshments. While attendance is free, donations to RaceAid are appreciated in order to assist members of the USAC racing community in need.

Meet USAC drivers such as champion Logan Seavey as well as Kale Drake, Gavin Miller, Trey Osborne, Tye Mihocko, just to name a few, and more.

Furthermore, mingle with fellow race fans and racetrack representatives, and win one of many raffle items, giveaways for the kids and silent auction pieces. Among the prizes are tickets to USAC events at Eldora Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Lincoln Park Speedway, Bloomington Speedway as well as racing shirts, memorabilia and more!

The USAC merchandise trailer will also be on hand for fans to purchase the latest and greatest in USAC gear.

For more info and to make a donation to USAC RaceAid, please visit www.RaceAid.fund.

IMS Indiana Sprint Week Field Stipulations Announced for July 24 Opener
Richie Murray
March 27, 2025

Those who will be eligible to compete in the event at the 1/5-mile dirt oval located inside of turn three at the world-famous IMS will have to fit in one of the following categories:

‍

1) Finished inside the top 30 of the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point standings.

‍

2) Finished inside the top 30 of the 2024 USAC Indiana Sprint Week point standings.

‍

3) Ranks inside the top 30 of the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings as of July 7.

‍

4) Ranks inside the top 10 of the 2025 Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car standings as of July 7.

‍

5) Any currently active driver who has previously won an Indiana Sprint Week main event. Drivers must have competed in at least one USAC national event in either the 2024 or 2025 season.

‍

6) Plus, two Indianapolis Motor Speedway promoters options.

‍

Additional information regarding tickets, the format, event times, etc. for the ISW opener at IMS will be shared soon at www.usacracing.com.

THREE’S A CHARM FOR RICKY LEWIS

WITH USAC CRA SPRINTS AT IMPERIAL

By: Lance Jennings

Imperial, California (March 15, 2025)………Starting third, Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, California) took command from Jake Swanson on the seventh lap and sailed to his third consecutive Avanti Windows and Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car win of the season on Saturday night at California’s Imperial Valley Raceway.

Driving his No. 41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis also claimed his third straight win at Imperial Valley Raceway and swept the historic California Mid-Winter Fair races over Braden Chiaramonte, Swanson, J.J. Yeley, and fast qualifier David Gasper.

Gasper began the night by setting the standard in Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Time Trials by posting a time of 12.577 seconds over the 26-car roster. Piloting the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Valley Precision Products DRC, last season’s Rookie of the Year now has two fast time awards in his career.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams, defending series champion R.J. Johnson, and “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. took the checkered flags in their respective 10-lap heat races.

Gasper was also victorious in the 12-lap semi-main. Caleb Stelzig, Brent Sexton, Dayton Shelton, Lonnie Oliver, Austin Ervine, and Verne Sweeney earned the final transfer spots into the 30-lap feature. Driving an unfamiliar car regularly driven by Grant Sexton, A.J. Bender used a provisional as well as Blake Bower to make the 24-car field for the main event.

Logan Calderwood earned the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a 17th to eighth place run in the feature. As a bonus, Logan will pocket an extra $100 cash from Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.

The non-winged USAC CRA Sprint Cars will take a short break in the schedule before returning to action at California’s Perris Auto Speedway on April 5.

For more information on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series, visit www.usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC CRA Facebook, X, and Instagram pages.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 15, 2025 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – California Mid-Winter Fair

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFYING: 1. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-12.577; 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-12.976; 3. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-13.010; 4. Jake Swanson, 17x, Dunkel-13.040; 5. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-13.108; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-13.151; 7. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-13.178; 8. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-13.214; 9. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-13.373; 10. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-13.386; 11. Brent Sexton, 44s, Sexton-13.389; 12. Caleb Stelzig, 21s, Stelzig-13.415; 13. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.443; 14. R.J. Johnson, 33p, Petty-13.513; 15. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.593; 16. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-13.669; 17. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-13.676; 18. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-13.717; 19. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-13.748; 20. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-13.806; 21. Lonnie Oliver, 22AZ, Oliver-13.936; 22. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-13.994; 23. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-14.042; 24. Austin Ervine, 21x, AJ-14.093; 25. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-14.136; 26. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-14.309.

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cody Williams, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Connor Lundy, 4. Brody Wake, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Logan Williams, 7. David Gasper, 8. Blake Bower, 9. A.J. Bender. NT

SILBERMANN SOLAR / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 3. Logan Calderwood, 4. Ricky Lewis, 5. J.J. Yeley, 6. Brent Sexton, 7. Brecken Guerrero, 8. Verne Sweeney, 9. Dayton Shelton. NT

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Tommy Malcolm, 4. Elexa Herrera, 5. Shon Deskins, 6. Caleb Stelzig, 7. Austin Ervine, 8. Lonnie Oliver. NT

SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. David Gasper, 2. Caleb Stelzig, 3. Brent Sexton, 4. Dayton Shelton, 5. Lonnie Oliver, 6. Austin Ervine, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Blake Bower, 9. A.J. Bender, 10. Logan Williams, 11. Brecken Guerrero. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ricky Lewis (3), 2. Braden Chiaramonte (6), 3. Jake Swanson (4), 4. J.J. Yeley (8), 5. David Gasper (7), 6. Shon Deskins (9), 7. Brody Wake (1), 8. Logan Calderwood (17), 9. Austin Williams (10), 10. Tye Mihocko (5), 11. Charles Davis Jr. (15), 12. Cody Williams (13), 13. Connor Lundy (16), 14. Brent Sexton (11), 15. Dayton Shelton (22), 16. Verne Sweeney (20), 17. Tommy Malcolm (2), 18. Lonnie Oliver (19), 19. Caleb Stelzig (12), 20. Austin Ervine (21), 21. Blake Bower (24), 22. A.J. Bender (23), 23. R.J. Johnson (14), 24. Elexa Herrera (18). NT

**Brecken Guerrero flipped on lap 1 of the semi. R.J. Johnson flipped on lap 3 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Jake Swanson, Laps 7-30 Ricky Lewis.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Logan Calderwood (17th to 8th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Jake Swanson-299, 2-Ricky Lewis-245, 3-Cody Williams-218, 4-R.J. Johnson-216, 5-Austin Williams-212, 6-Logan Calderwood-211, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-208, 8-Braden Chiaramonte-204, 9-Tommy Malcolm-194, 10-A.J. Bender-173.

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: April 5, 2025 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

TWO-IN-A ROW FOR RICKY LEWIS

WITH USAC CRA SPRINTS AT IMPERIAL

By: Lance Jennings

Imperial, California (March 14, 2025)………Regaining the lead from Braden Chiaramonte on lap 26, Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, California) earned his second Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car win of the season.

Piloting his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis was running away from the field and Chiaramonte chased down the leader. The pair sliced their way through heavy slower traffic and Braden grabbed the top spot on the 23rd circuit.

With Chiaramonte out front, heavy traffic became a factor once again and Lewis took the Friday night non-stop feature at Imperial Valley Raceway.

Chiaramonte, point leader Jake Swanson, Logan Calderwood, and “The Cadillac” Cody Williams rounded out the top-five.

Williams opened the program by posting the 21st Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company fast time award of his career. Driving his #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC, Williams earned the top spot on the charts with a time of 12.257 seconds over the 28-car roster.

Defending champion R.J. Johnson, A.J. Bender, “The Bull” Tye Mihocko, and Brody Wake claimed the checkered flags in their 10-lap heat races.

After flipping in time trials, Blake Bower sliced his way to victory in the 12-lap semi-main. Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Grant Sexton, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Connor Lundy, and Shon Deskins earned the final transfer spots to the 30-lap feature.

Bower also earned the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner hard charger award with a ninth place run from 22nd. As a bonus, Blake earned an extra $100 cash from Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.

On Saturday, March 15th, the USAC CRA Sprint cars are back at the historic Imperial Valley Raceway during the California Mid-Winter Fair. The event goes back to 1957 with the original California Racing Association (CRA).

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 14, 2025 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – California Mid-Winter Fair

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFYING: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-12.257; 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-12.373; 3. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-12.459; 4. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-12.550; 5. R.J. Johnson, 33p, Petty-12.567; 6. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-12.601; 7. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-12.646; 8. Jake Swanson, 17x, Dunkel-12.705; 9. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-12.786; 10. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-12.811; 11. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-12.811; 12. Caleb Stelzig, 21s, Stelzig-12.821; 13. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-12.976; 14. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-12.989; 15. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-13.047; 16. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.069; 17. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-13.102; 18. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-13.122; 19. Brent Sexton, 44s, Sexton-13.128; 20. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-13.131; 21. Lonnie Oliver, 22AZ, Oliver-13.384; 22. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-13.655; 23. Austin Ervine, 21x, AJ-13.656; 24. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-13.708; 25. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-13.823; 26. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-13.883; 27. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-14.119; 28. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-NT.

IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Cody Williams, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Connor Lundy, 6. Lonnie Oliver, 7. Elexa Herrera. NT

WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. David Gasper, 5. Shon Deskins, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Tommy Malcolm. NT

SILBERMANN SOLAR THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Dayton Shelton, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Austin Ervine, 5. Brecken Guerrero, 6. Grant Sexton, 7. Brent Sexton. NT

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brody Wake, 2. Caleb Stelzig, 3. Logan Calderwood, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Blake Bower, 7. Jeff Dyer. NT

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, top 6 transfer to the feature) 1. Blake Bower, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Grant Sexton, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Connor Lundy, 6. Shon Deskins, 7. Lonnie Oliver, 8. Verne Sweeney, 9. Elexa Herrera, 10. Brecken Guerrero. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ricky Lewis (4), 2. Braden Chiaramonte (5), 3. Jake Swanson (8), 4. Logan Calderwood (3), 5. Cody Williams (6), 6. R.J. Johnson (2), 7. Tye Mihocko (15), 8. A.J. Bender (14), 9. Blake Bower (22), 10. Austin Williams (9), 11. Charles Davis Jr. (16), 12. Caleb Stelzig (12), 13. David Gasper (18), 14. Brody Wake (19), 15. Connor Lundy (13), 16. Dayton Shelton (11), 17. Logan Williams (17), 18. Austin Ervine (21), 19. Grant Sexton (7), 20. Tommy Malcolm (10), 21. J.J. Yeley (1), 22. Shon Deskins (20). NT

**Blake Bower flipped during qualifying. Brent Sexton flipped during lap 1 of the third heat. Jeff Dyer flipped on lap 1 of the fourth heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 Ricky Lewis, Laps 23-25 Braden Chiaramonte, Laps 26-30 Ricky Lewis.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Blake Bower (22nd to 9th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Jake Swanson-228, 2-R.J. Johnson-185, 3-Cody Williams-171, 4-Ricky Lewis-168, 5-Charles Davis Jr.-159, 6-Austin Williams-159, 7-Tommy Malcolm-158, 8-Logan Calderwood-156, 9-Logan Williams-150, 10-A.J. Bender-150.

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: March 15, 2025 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – California Mid-Winter Fair

USAC CRA SPRINTS HEADLINE IMPERIAL’S

CALIFORNIA MID-WINTER FAIR MARCH 14-15

By: Lance Jennings

Imperial, California (March 11, 2025)………The chase for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Championship heads to the historic California’s Imperial Valley Raceway with two-straight nights of action on Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15.

Held during the famed “California Mid-Winter Fair,” the Friday and Saturday events will feature full racing programs each night. The SoCal Lightning Sprints will also be on the event card.

Located at the Imperial Valley Expo at 200 East 2nd Street in Imperial California, the pit gates at the fast 1/4-mile track below sea level will open at 2:00pm Pacific on Friday and 1:00pm on Saturday.

The spectator gates will open at 5:30pm on Friday and 4:00pm on Saturday. The Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for 7:00pm on Friday and 6:15pm on Saturday.

For more information, visit the Imperial Valley Raceway page on Facebook or www.ivfairgrounds.com/tickets.html.

General Admission tickets for the special events are $10 (18 Years & Up) and FREE to those 17 and younger. For those that cannot make it to the races, the event will be live streamed on www.FloRacing.com.

NOTICE TO RACERS:

- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at Imperial Valley Raceway.

- FUEL & TIRES WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.

- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)

- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.

- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.

- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.

- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.

- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.

- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.

- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Friday’s “California Mid-Winter Fair” race will be the third appearance for the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars at the Imperial Valley Fairgrounds. David Gasper won the October 18, 2024 debut and set the 1-lap track record of 11.770 the following night on his way to Rookie of the Year honors. Ricky Lewis topped the 30-lap main event on Saturday, October 19th.

While new to USAC/CRA, Imperial Valley Raceway (often called “Imperial” or “El Centro”) has been a historic stop dating back to 1957 for the original California Racing Association (CRA) and the Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA). While the track has changed configurations over the years, Nick Valenta drove the Lee Knox entry to victory at the first Imperial CRA race on March 9, 1957 and Jerry Meyer raced the family car to win the last CRA appearance on October 20, 1991. “The Flying Shoe” Ron Shuman won SCRA’s Imperial debut for Anne Wilkerson on February 26, 1994 and Mike Kirby topped the last SCRA visit on March 7, 1998 for Wilkerson.

Heading to the third point race, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, California) holds a twenty-seven point advantage over the competition. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17W Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC, the 2012 Rookie of the Year raced from sixth to second at Perris Auto Speedway on March 1st. As this writing goes to press, the 2022 Western World Champion has seven career USAC/CRA victories and will be looking to add an Imperial victory to his resume.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) is second in the championship points. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm placed eighth at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds on March 1st. Currently tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Jake Swanson, and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven career triumphs, Tommy will have his sights on his first win of the season at Imperial.

Defending USAC/CRA Champion, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) ranks third in the point standings. Piloting the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, Johnson ran twelfth in the March 1st main event. Currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine career wins, R.J. will be looking to sweep both nights at the “California Mid-Winter Fair.”

“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Arizona) has climbed to fourth in the chase for the crown. Driving his #47 MP Environmental Services / Central Arizona Raceway March 28 & 29 High Limit Race Triple X, Davis led five laps at Perris before scoring fifth at the checkered flags. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is tied with Robert Ballou, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, Jake Swanson, and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven career wins and will have his sights on celebrating a victory at Imperial.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits fifth in the championship point chase. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams charged from fourteenth to ninth at Perris Auto Speedway. The 2014 Rookie of the Year will have his sights on his first career win at Imperial Valley Raceway.

Cole Wakim (Simi Valley, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors over Connor Lundy, Connor Speir, Lonnie Oliver, Brody Wake, Blake Hendricks, Brecken Guerrero, and Dayton Shelton.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Blake Bower, A.J. Bender, Logan Calderwood, Verne Sweeney, Braden Chiaramonte, Elexa Herrera, Jeff Dyer, Grant Sexton, Austin Ervine, Brent Sexton, Caleb Stelzig, and more.

Imperial Valley Raceway is located at the Imperial Valley Expo at 200 East 2nd Street in Imperial California. For more event information, visit the Imperial Valley Raceway page on Facebook or ivfairgrounds.com/tickets.html. General Admission tickets are $10 (18 Years & Up) and FREE to those 17 and younger.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2004-Rip Williams, 2005-Damion Gardner, 2006-Cory Kruseman, 2007-Tony Jones, 2008-Mike Spencer, 2009-Mike Spencer, 2010-Mike Spencer, 2011-Mike Spencer, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Damion Gardner, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Damion Gardner, 2016-Damion Gardner, 2017-Damion Gardner, 2018-Damion Gardner, 2019-Damion Gardner, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Damion Gardner, 2022-Damion Gardner, 2023-Brody Roa, 2024-R.J. Johnson.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Jake Swanson.

IMPERIAL AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: David Gasper – 11.770 (10/19/24)

IMPERIAL AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-David Gasper, 1-Ricky Lewis.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS 1. Jake Swanson-159, 2. Tommy Malcolm-132, 3. R.J. Johnson-120, 4. Charles Davis Jr.-117, 5. Logan Williams-115, 6. Austin Williams-111, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-103, --. Kevin Thomas Jr.-103, 9. Cody Williams-100, 10. Blake Bower-93, ---. A.J. Bender-93, 12. Cole Wakim (R)-91, 13. Ricky Lewis-88, 14. Logan Calderwood-86, 15. Brody Fuson-71, 16. Verne Sweeney-67, 17. Brody Roa-59, 18. David Gasper-47, 19. Braden Chiaramonte-46, ---. Connor Lundy (R)-46, ---. Connor Speir (R)-46.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE

February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)

February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Jake Swanson)

March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)

March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (California Mid-Winter Fair)

March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (California Mid-Winter Fair)

April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ

April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ

April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA

May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)

June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA

July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)

August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)

September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ

October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)

October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)

November 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprint Cars.

This schedule is subject to change.

USAC NIGHT WITH THE INDY FUEL

FIRES OFF THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 14

Fishers, Indiana (March 11, 2025)………Ice hockey meets USAC racing as the Indy Fuel presents USAC Night at the Fishers Event Center on Friday night, March 14.

As the ECHL’s Indy Fuel takes the ice for their game against the Kalamazoo Wings that night, USAC drivers will be on hand to battle it out on the ice and meet and greet fans.

During the first intermission of the game, the stars of USAC will partake in a battle on the ice. The on-ice entertainment thus far is undetermined, but last year’s event was a trike relay race won by Kevin Thomas Jr. and Kaylee Bryson in dramatic, wheel-banging fashion.

Furthermore, fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet the drivers during a USAC autograph session and get an up-close look at real USAC racecars.

At press time, Thomas Jr. is confirmed to be on hand Friday as is Justin Grant with more expected.

Doors open to the Fishers Event Center at 6pm Eastern while the puck drops at 7pm.

Tickets for the game are on sale now at https://indyfuelhockey.com/.

SPRING FORWARD!

ANDREOTTI WINS USAC WS MIDGET OPENER AT VENTURA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (March 8, 2025)………When Jake Andreotti saw daylight, he didn’t waste any time saving his winning move for later during Saturday night’s USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Western States Midget season opener at southern California’s Ventura Raceway.

Instead, the fourth place starting Andreotti (Castro Valley, California) sprung forward with a lap six slider on Dane Culver in turns three and four, then led the final 25 laps en route to victory aboard his Six8 Motorsports machine.

For Andreotti, it was his fifth career USAC Western States Midget feature victory, tying him with Tommy Astone, Bob Davison, Ronnie Day, Robert Dolacki, Davey Hamilton, Tony Hunt, Robby Josett, Brad Kuhn and J.J. Yeley for 45th place all-time.

Saturday’s score was Andreotti’s first with the series at Ventura since his initial career series victory in October 2021. Furthermore, it’s his second career season opening win with the series after previously achieving the feat at California’s Placerville Speedway in March 2022.

It was a doubly good night for Andreotti as he followed up his 30-lap midget main event triumph with another win in the accompanying USCS Sprint Car feature about an hour later at the 1/5-mile dirt oval.

Andreotti was followed to the line in the midget feature by Caden Sarale (Stockton, California) and Six8 Motorsports teammate T.J. Smith (Fresno, California). Dane Culver (Riverside, California) led the first five laps before finishing fourth while Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Arizona) overcame early mechanical issues to round out the top-five after starting 15th.

Series Rookie Broedy Graham (Bakersfield, California) took fast qualifying honors for the first time in his career with a lap of 12.438 seconds. Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, California) and Culver captured heat race victories.

USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: March 8, 2025 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California

QUALIFYING: 1. Broedy Graham, 66, Graham-12.438; 2. T.J. Smith, 68, Six8-12.516; 3. Brandt Twitty, 4B, Twitty-12.589; 4. Jake Andreotti, 68w, Six8-12.630; 5. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.702; 6. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.855; 7. Robby Josett, 20, Sarna-12.957; 8. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.107; 9. Connor Speir, 14JR, Streeter/Graunstadt-13.236; 10. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.287; 11. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.458; 12. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.559; 13. Hailey Lambert, 55, Lambert-13.712; 14. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-13.766; 15. Dalten Gabbard, 77, Gabbard-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Randi Pankratz, 2. Caden Sarale, 3. Brandt Twitty, 4. Robby Josett, 5. Connor Speir, 6. Hailey Lambert, 7. Broedy Graham, 8. Dalten Gabbard. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Dane Culver, 2. T.J. Smith, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Bryan Drollinger, 5. Kyle Hawse, 6. Joey Bishop, 7. Todd Hawse. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jake Andreotti (4), 2. Caden Sarale (3), 3. T.J. Smith (6), 4. Dane Culver (2), 5. Dalten Gabbard (15), 6. Robby Josett (1), 7. Connor Speir (10), 8. Randi Pankratz (7), 9. Todd Hawse (11), 10. Bryan Drollinger (9), 11. Hailey Lambert (13), 12. Kyle Hawse (12), 13. Joey Bishop (14), 14. Broedy Graham (8), 15. Brandt Twitty (5). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Dane Culver, Laps 6-30 Jake Andreotti.

USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Jake Andreotti-79, 2-Caden Sarale-76, 3-T.J. Smith-76, 4-Dane Culver-70, 5-Robby Josett-60, 6-Dalten Gabbard-59, 7-Randi Pankratz-57, 8-Connor Speir-56, 9-Todd Hawse-48, 10-Bryan Drollinger-48.

NEXT USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: April 5, 2025 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California

VENTURA OPENS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SEASON

THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 8!

Ventura, California (March 6, 2025)………The 44th season of USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Western States Midget competition gets underway this Saturday, March 8, with the series season opener at California’s Ventura Raceway.

The event is the 163rd by the series since its debut at the 1/5-mile seaside dirt oval since 1986 and marks the earliest event in series history at Ventura. In fact, only three previous USAC Western States Midget races have been contested at Ventura in the month of March.

March Ventura races have been won by Sleepy Tripp (1987), Billy Boat (1995) and Cory Kruseman (2011), all of whom went on to win the USAC Western States Midget series championship that very same season.

Caden Sarale (Stockton, Calif.) was victorious last July at Ventura and intends to be among those chasing after victory this Saturday and hopes to parlay that into a championship in 2025 just like Tripp, Boat and Kruseman did in previous years.

Reigning series champion Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, California) and Jett Yantis (Bakersfield, California) also captured USAC Western States Midget wins at Ventura in 2025.Also on the card for the event are the USCS Sprint Cars, VRA Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sport Compacts and Motorcycles.

Gates open at 3pm Pacific with racing starting at 5:30pm. General admission tickets are $25 for adults and $22 for seniors age 60 and older, military (with ID) as well as students (with ID). Children age 12 and under are free.

FloRacing will have live coverage of the event at www.flosports.link/usac.

CORY KRUSEMAN APPOINTED DIRECTOR

OF USAC WEST COAST OPERATIONS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (March 6, 2025)……….Cory Kruseman has been named the Director of USAC West Coast operations, taking on a pivotal role in overseeing all of the United States Auto Club's racing endeavors throughout the western United States in addition to handling special projects.

Kruseman, a native of Ventura, California, brings decades of experience in the sport. As a driver, his decorated career resulted in him being a 2023 inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. As a car owner, he operates a sprint car driving school and his own team has won numerous events on the west coast.

With his wealth of experience in several facets of the sport, Kruseman is poised to bring his perspective to his new role and make a significant impact on the future of USAC on the west coast, emphasizing his desire to bridge the gap between racers, racetracks, sponsors and the sport itself.

“I just want to be somebody who can help bring everyone together and figure out what it’s going to take to help the sport thrive into the future,” Kruseman explained. “There’s a lot of competition out here on the west coast, and I think this is the right time to do everything we can to keep auto racing flourishing.”

Kruseman’s career behind the wheel includes such accolades as the 1999 Non-Wing World Sprint Car Champion, 2000 & 2004 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals victories, 2002 & 2005 USAC Indiana Sprint Week titles, the 2006 USAC CRA Sprint Car crown as well as the 2011 USAC Western States Midget championship, in addition to winning more than 100 sprint car features between SCRA, USAC CRA and USAC’s national series. For Kruseman, this new role feels like a natural next step.

“Growing up with a dream to make a living in racing by becoming a driver, and eventually a team owner for so many years and being able to fulfill that dream, I want the next generation to have the same opportunities I had,” Kruseman said.

Kruseman believes it’s critical to support those coming up through the ranks, especially as the economic landscape of racing continues to evolve.

“When people come through the driving school, there are a lot of new ideas and marketing strategies that I’ve seen and heard that I can hopefully help apply,” Kruseman stated. “I feel like if I don’t give it my all to help the sport that allowed me to live my life as well I was able to, it might not be here in 10-15 years for the next generation of racers to follow that same career path.”

Among Kruseman’s first priorities is to meet and connect with the people who make the sport what it is.

“I want to get in and meet the promoters and racers and just kind of get back on the front line,” Kruseman explained. “I want to see how I can help facilitate things, and I want them all to know that I’m here to help the sport.”

In addition to Kruseman’s appointment, Tony Jones will continue to lead the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car division while Malyssa Young will be at the helm of the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC Western States Midget series.

RICKY LEWIS SURGES TO PERRIS VICTORY

PERRIS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 1, 2025… Regaining the lead from “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. on lap eighteen, Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, CA) led the rest of the way to earn the Saturday night victory at Perris Auto Speedway. Racing his #41 Coyote Candle Company / Mesilla Valley Transportation DRC, Lewis shook free from late race challenges by Jake Swanson and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. to earn the fifth Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of his career. Swanson, Thomas, “The Cadillac” Cory Williams, and Davis rounded out the top-five.

Swanson began the night by posting the twenty-third Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award of his career. The pilot of the Tom and Christy Dunkel #17X DRC recorded a time of 16.271 seconds over the 25-car roster.

Logan Calderwood, Lewis, and Logan Williams took the checkered flags in their 10-lap heat races.

The 2023 Champion, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa returned to series action and earned the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a seventh place run from thirteenth.

On March 14th and 15th, the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will make their only appearances of the season at Imperial Valley Raceway. Held during the California Mid-Winter Fair, the historic weekend goes back to 1957 with the original California Racing Association (CRA).

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 1, 2025 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Jake Swanson, 17X, Dunkel-16.271; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-16.308; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.364; 4. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.581; 5. R.J. Johnson, 33P, Petty-16.607; 6. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-16.654; 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.688; 8. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.726; 9. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.764; 10. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.794; 11. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.806; 12. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-16.827; 13. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-16.922; 14. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.922; 15. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-17.090; 16. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.385; 17. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-17.478; 18. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.588; 19. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-17.601; 20. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-17.676; 21. Connor Speir, 57S, Speir-17.928; 22. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton-17.969; 23. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-18.275; 24. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.433; 25. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-NT.

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Logan Calderwood, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. A.J. Bender, 6. Connor Lundy, 7. Shane Sexton, 8. Jeff Dyer. 2:52.72.

SILBERMANN SOLAR / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Blake Bower, 6. R.J. Johnson, 7. Blake Hendricks, 8. Gary Marshall Jr. 2:50.98.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Logan Williams, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Cole Wakim, 4. Connor Speir, 5. Elexa Herrera, .6 Cody Williams, 7. David Gasper, 8. Verne Sweeney. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ricky Lewis (2), 2. Jake Swanson (6), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 4. Cody Williams (7), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 6. Austin Williams (10), 7. Brody Roa (13), 8. Tommy Malcolm (1), 9. Logan Williams (14), 10. Cole Wakim (11), 11. A.J. Bender (9), 12. R.J. Johnson (8), 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (3), 14. Blake Bower (16), 15. Connor Lundy (18), 16. Connor Speir (20), 17. Shane Sexton (21), 18. Blake Hendricks (19), 19. Verne Sweeney (17), 20. Gary Marshall Jr. (22), 21. Elexa Herrera (23), 22. Logan Calderwood (12), 23. Jeff Dyer (15). NT.
----------------------------
**Brecken Guerrero flipped during qualifications. David Gasper flipped during lap 6 of the third heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Ricky Lewis, Laps 13-17 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 18-30 Ricky Lewis.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Brody Roa (13 to 7)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: March 14&15 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California

TRIPLE CROWN PURSUIT!

GRANT JOINS CBI FOR 2025 USAC MIDGET SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 26, 2025)………Justin Grant has teamed up with CB Industries to chase after a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in 2025.

Grant (Ione, California) will pilot the CBI No. 87 Spike/Speedway Toyota sponsored by NOS Energy Drink, TRD, PristineAuction.com and Avanti Windows & Doors for the full tour, just one year after CBI collected the USAC National Midget title with driver Daison Pursley who has departed full-time status with the team.

Coming into a situation with a team that is fresh off a championship has Grant aiming to become the next to add his name to the list.

“I’m very excited to be stepping into a championship caliber seat and I’m hopeful that we can go win CB Industries another championship,” Grant exclaimed. “(Team owner) Chad (Boat) has won a couple of them now with different guys and I’m excited to go and try to add my name to that list and check off another box.”

What Grant is referring to is the USAC Triple Crown. Grant has previously checked off titles with the USAC Silver Crown series in 2020 and with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2022-2023. Only eight drivers belong to that club who have earned status as a career USAC Triple Crown champion: Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines, Chris Windom and Logan Seavey.

Furthermore, the dynamic of Grant’s rides across the board also frees him up to chase after the incomparable single season USAC Triple Crown in which a driver can win all three USAC national titles in a single season, a feat accomplished only twice before by Tony Stewart (1995) and J.J. Yeley (2003).

“I’ve been a lot more hands-on in the past with most all my rides,” Grant explained. “This will be the first time that I just show up and drive in quite a while. That’s something I’m excited about and it’s a big part of why I did this, and why I wanted to go run for Chad. Obviously, his cars have the speed, and the team has the capability to go and win a championship. But beyond that, it frees me up to focus on driving and frees up some bandwidth across the board as well. I feel like that will help me to continue to chase the Sprint Car and Silver Crown titles by just freeing up some things off my plate.”

Grant comes to CBI after competing with RMS Racing for the 2021-2024 USAC National Midget seasons, finishing as the runner-up in the standings in both 2022 and 2023, accumulating 12 feature wins, including the BC39, the Turkey Night Grand Prix and the Hangtown 100.

“I’m grateful for the time I spent with RMS Racing these past four years,” Grant reflected. “We were able to win some big races, accomplish many goals and made a lot of great memories.”

It’s a bit of an unusual situation Grant finds himself in for 2025. After all, he will also be entering his ninth consecutive year as the driver of the Hemelgarn Racing Silver Crown ride and his eighth straight season as the driver of the TOPP Motorsports sprint car. With that said, it also marks the first time he’s changing midget teams since 2020.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had to put my seat in a different car,” Grant revealed. “I’m not much of a bounce-arounder. I like to put my seat in and stay awhile if I can. It’s definitely a new experience going in and trying to mesh with a new team.”

However, Grant and CBI aren’t exactly starting from scratch. This past January, the pairing made its debut at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, finishing fifth in the preliminary feature before taking 18th in the Saturday night main. It was an experience to gain some knowledge, chemistry and get some forward momentum heading into the USAC season.

“I would’ve liked to have run a little better at the Chili Bowl, but I felt like we got along really well and had fun with Chad and the crew,” Grant said. “I think our personalities meshed well and I feel like we’ll be able to work well together to have a successful season.”

Grant enters the 2025 season with three career USAC national driving championships, while ranking ninth in career national victories with 79. Furthermore, his 86 career USAC victories (national and regional) have him just 14 shy of becoming just the eighth driver to reach 100 wins. Despite that, a midget championship has eluded him, but he intends to change that in the coming year.

“I want to win a USAC midget championship badly,” Grant stated. “But that’s not the only reason I’m doing it. I enjoy racing midgets. I think they’re fun and there’s a big part of me that really enjoys beating up and down the road going racing. I get to drive really good racecars for really good teams and that’s awesome. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. The goal is to go win a championship and try to win some big races and complete a triple crown for myself. This year, I feel like I’m in a good position to go try and chase some of the championship bonuses as well.”

Grant begins his pursuit of a USAC National Midget title and the USAC Triple Crown as well as the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship with the season opening USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events on April 25-26 at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for the Kokomo Grand Prix.

2025 USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS REVEALED!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 26, 2025)………The USAC Hall of Fame class of inductees for 2025 has been revealed.

The official 2025 USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at USAC headquarters in Speedway, Indiana on Wednesday afternoon, July 2, 2025, during the BC39 festivities for the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

MEET THE NEW USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS:

JACK BOWSHER

Although he never earned a championship in USAC Stock Car competition, Jack Bowsher was undoubtedly one of the preeminent figures of the sport.

Born in Harmony, Ohio on October 2, 1930, the U.S. Navy veteran’s USAC career spanned more than two decades. Prior to tackling USAC full-time, Bowsher found major success with three consecutive ARCA crowns in 1963-1964-1965.

His USAC resume ranks among the upper echelon. His 21 wins as a driver rank seventh; his 32 pole positions as a driver place him third; his 162 starts as a driver are eighth best; and his 38 car owner victories slot him third.

As a driver and car owner, Bowsher was equally proficient, finishing as the runner-up in USAC entrant points on three-straight occasions in 1968-1969-1970, while also placing two entries inside the top-five of the points in all three seasons. In 1971, he took second in the standings as a driver, boosted by a four-race winning streak.

Among those winning USAC Stock Car races in Jack Bowsher-owned cars are Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt, the latter of whom won four times in Bowsher’s ride en route to the 1968 driving title. Bowsher died on April 8, 2006, at age 75.

DAVE DARLAND

One of eight USAC career Triple Crown champions, by the time he hung up the helmet in 2023, Dave Darland had amassed more USAC National Sprint Car victories than any other driver.

Born on September 4, 1966, in Lincoln, Indiana, Darland earned his stripes by becoming a force on the local Indiana sprint car circuit. In time, he’d take the USAC world by storm, capturing four national driving titles: Silver Crown (1997), Sprint (1999) and Midget (2001-2002).

The first of his 62 USAC National Sprint car triumphs arrived in 1993, and proved to be the first of his 115 total USAC feature victories (nationally and regionally), which also includes 30 National Midget triumphs and 14 Silver Crown. He’s one of only seven drivers to surpass 100 career USAC wins.

His 1,334 USAC National starts rank number one all-time as do his 797 USAC Sprint Car starts between 1986-2023. One of Darland’s greatest attributes is his longevity of success. In fact, Darland scored at least one USAC national feature victory in a record 24 consecutive seasons between 1993-2016. All these years later, Darland has solidified his position as one of the all-time USAC greats, a status he will retain for eternity.

BOB ESTES

As one of USAC’s founding fathers, Bob Estes was monumental in the club’s formative years both on and off the track.

Born in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 1913, following a foray as a driver himself, Estes’ focus soon shifted toward business and race team ownership.

Following his service in World War II, Estes purchased a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Inglewood, California. With his dealership employee and car builder Jud Phillips as his sidekick, Estes’ team captured AAA Midwest Sprint Car championships in 1953-1954 with Pat O’Connor.

At USAC’s inception in 1955, Estes was elected as the national car owner representative, a role he helmed until 1960. Later, he’d also serve USAC as its western regional representative.

O’Connor and Estes earned the inaugural USAC Midwest Sprint Car title in 1956. With Don Branson in 1959, Estes’ team duplicated its USAC Midwest Sprint championship. Estes also fielded several Indianapolis 500 entries, finishing a best of third with Don Freeland in the 1956 race.

Aside from the ovals, Ken Miles captured victory during the 1959 USAC Road Racing opener in Pomona, California, driving a Porsche RS Spyder owned by Estes. Estes died on December 11, 2001, at the age of 88.

BOB HAMPSHIRE

Without question, Bob Hampshire was instrumental in two of the most dominant eras by any driver in USAC history.

Born on September 25, 1946, Hampshire’s initial success as a USAC car owner came with Jac Haudenschild, who corralled a pair of wins in 1982. Yet Hampshire’s most iconic seasons came in association with Jack Hewitt. In all, the pair teamed up for 22 USAC Sprint Car victories between 1985-1997.

That said, Hampshire and Hewitt’s success on the USAC Silver Crown trail was simply dominant. Armed with their Challenger Chevy nicknamed “Gussie,” they annihilated the competition, winning all six dirt races they entered in 1986. In 1987, they repeated as series champs.

Officially, Hampshire is credited with 14 USAC Silver Crown owner wins, which once ranked as the most in series history. However, as a crew chief, Hampshire has orchestrated a boatload of victories with Hewitt at 6R Racing and 21 more with Kody Swanson at DePalma Motorsports between 2014-2018, a run which included four series titles in a five-year span.

In 2014, Hampshire was named USAC’s Chief Mechanic of the Year, and in 2018, his “63” became the first number officially retired for use in the USAC Silver Crown series.

ROGER & LINDA HOLDEMAN

When Roger Holdeman purchased Indiana’s Winchester Speedway in 1970, the 1/2-mile, high-banked oval was already world famous for its breathtaking speed and incomparable competition.

But in the years to follow, Holdeman took the hallowed grounds to another level while hosting 123 races between USAC’s Sprint, Midget and Stock Car divisions, many of which featured unique double and tripleheader formats along with cornerstone events such as the Rich Vogler Classic, Sammy Sessions Memorial, Border Wars and Oldtimers Weekend.

It was also a perfect match. Born and raised in Winchester, Roger graduated in 1957 from Winchester High School where he served as class president. As caretaker of Winchester Speedway, he oversaw a complete reconstruction of the grandstands, multiple repaves, the creation of a tunnel and new track lights.

In 1988, Roger married Linda, who had served as the promoter at Oswego Speedway. By 1989, the two were managing the track’s day-to-day duties and even constructed their new home outside turn one. A year later, Roger and Linda were named USAC’s Race Organizers of the Year for 1990.

Roger passed away at age 58 in 1996. Later that year, Linda was the recipient of the Diana Fell Gilmore Woman Behind the Scenes award.

TOMMY HUNT

The Hunt family was born to be motorsports lifers, and Tommy Hunt certainly fits the mold to a T.

Tommy’s father, Joe Hunt, was a magneto magnate and a longtime champ car team owner, employing many of the greatest drivers of the era. Tommy’s son, Tony Hunt, is a 10-time USAC driving champion in both rear engine machinery and sprint car racing.

Tommy was entrenched in the sport from day one, serving on the crew for his dad’s team. Eventually, Tommy became a driver himself, most notably scoring three California Racing Association (CRA) Sprint Car feature wins, plus 1974 Most Improved Driver honors, while also running the family’s magneto business until 1986.

Those experiences prepared Tommy for his role of 28 years at USAC between 1986-2013 in which he served as Vice President and the head of the series’ west coast operations where he oversaw the Midget, Sprint Car, Supermodified divisions, and was instrumental in introducing both the F2000 and Russell Pro series to USAC as well as the introduction of the Ford Focus Midget series.

Serving the sport with integrity, professionalism and doing things the right way, Tommy was honored with the Dick Jordan Award of Excellence in 2024.

GORDON JOHNCOCK

Gordon Johncock was a natural behind the wheel and became one of the premier drivers of his era, and of any era.

Born on August 5, 1936, in Hastings, Michigan, Johncock initially made his mark in supermodifieds, winning throughout the Midwest and as far east as New York’s Oswego Speedway.

In sprint cars, Johncock scored the inaugural Williams Grove National Open in 1963. With USAC in 1964, he opened eyes by conquering Indiana’s daunting Winchester Speedway, while also setting a new world record in qualifying, doing so without brakes at an average speed of nearly 105 mph.

Finishing fifth as an Indianapolis 500 Rookie in 1965, Johncock carried onward to his first Indy Car win at Milwaukee that same year, the first of his 20 career USAC National Championship victories. His defining moments came at Indianapolis in the tragedy-marred 1973 race, and again in 1982, when his 0.16 second winning margin over Rick Mears proved to be the closest in race history at the time. In 1976, he earned the series championship.

Johncock was adept at adapting to any setting, even winning a pair of USAC Stock Car races in 1972 at Milwaukee and in 1973 at Texas World Speedway.

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

USAC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:

2012: J.C. Agajanian, Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Binford, Jimmy Bryan, Duane Carter, A.J. Foyt, Tony Hulman, Parnelli Jones, Mel Kenyon, Roger McCluskey & Rich Vogler

2013: Earl Baltes, Henry Banks, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Jack Hewitt, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, A.J. Watson, Don White & Bob Wilke

2014: Rollie Beale, George Bignotti, Don Branson, Larry Dickson, Gus Hoffman, Jud Larson, Norm Nelson, Eddie Sachs, Don Smith, Bob Stroud, Rodger Ward & Bob Wente

2015: Clint Brawner, Jimmy Caruthers, Butch Hartman, Lindsey Hopkins, Jim Hurtubise, Don Kenyon, Sheldon Kinser, Fred Lorenzen, Roger Penske, Larry Rice, Shorty Templeman & Sleepy Tripp

2016: Steve Butler, Russ Clendenen, Jimmy Davies, Willie Davis, Bob Higman, Tommy Hinnershitz, Dick King, Rick Mears, Pat O’Connor, Kevin Olson, Tony Stewart & Bob Tattersall

2017: Donald Davidson, Frankie DelRoy, Bob East, Chuck Gurney, Gene Hartley, Steve Lewis, Howard Linne, Lloyd Ruby, Ken Schrader, Robbie Stanley, Steve Stapp & Johnny Thomson

2018: Mike Devin, Tony Elliott, Paul Goldsmith, Jason Leffler, Bill Lipkey, Troy Ruttman, Bob/Gene Shannon & Jimmy Sills

2019: Bryan Clauson, Johnny Capels, Dick Jordan & Dave Steele

2020: None

2021: None

2022: Doug Caruthers, Jay Drake, Galen Fox, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, Ray Nichels, Johnny Vance & Joe Shaheen

2023: Bobby East, Ted Halibrand, Tracy Hines, Terry Lingner, Bill Marvel & The Wilke Family

2024: Gene Crucean, The Hoffman Family, Rickey Hood, Levi Jones, John Mahoney, Tom Marchese & Jud Phillips

2025: Jack Bowsher, Dave Darland, Bob Estes, Bob Hampshire, Roger & Linda Holdeman, Tommy Hunt & Gordon Johncock

Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

PERRIS HOSTS USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS THIS SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

FEBRUARY 24, 2025... After a successful opener at Mohave Valley, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will return to their “home track” this Saturday, March 1st, at Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the second championship point race will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Street Stocks, and PASSCAR American Factory Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 258 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-seven drivers have claimed victory. Ten-time champion, “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 51 “home track” series wins and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012. The complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After winning last Saturday night at Mohave Valley, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, California) holds a three point advantage over the competition. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17W Inland Rigging / Maxima Oil DRC, the 2012 Rookie of the Year qualified fifth overall, ran second in his heat race to teammate Blake Bower, and led 25 feature laps. At press time, the 2022 Western World Champion has seven career USAC/CRA victories and will be a favorite to watch at Perris.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) ranks second in the point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm was sixth quick in time trials, won the WC Friend Company Second Heat Race, and placed second in the main event. Currently tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Jake Swanson, and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven career triumphs, Tommy will have his sights on winning this Saturday night.

Defending USAC/CRA Champion, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) is tied for second in the point chase. Piloting the Petty Performance Racing #33P Avanti Windows & Doors / Apache Transport entry, Johnson qualified second, ran second to Tommy Malcolm in his heat race, and finished third in the feature after starting sixth. Currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine career wins, R.J. will be looking to top the main event at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.

Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) returned to USAC/CRA action and sits fourth in the championship standings. Driving the Bob & Toni Van Meter #51 Race Pa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson was the night’s Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Qualifier, scored eighth in his heat race, won the Factory Wraps Semi-Main, and took fourth in the main event. Running a limited schedule, the 2023 USAC Western States Midget Champion might miss the action at Perris.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) ranks fifth in the chase for the championship. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams was eighth fast in time trials, ran third in his heat race, and claimed sixth in the main event. The 2014 Rookie of the Year will have his sights on his first career win at Perris Auto Speedway.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Eddie Tafoya Jr., Logan Calderwood, Blake Bower, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, A.J. Bender, Braden Chiaramonte, Verne Sweeney, David Gasper, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Grant Sexton, Elexa Herrera, Jeff Dyer, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Brecken Guerrero, and more.

Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. General admission tickets (13 & over) are $35, Senior tickets (65 & over) are $30, Kids tickets (6 to 12) are $10, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. The Lake Perris Fairgrounds charges $20 for parking. Advance tickets are available and for more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-Jake Swanson.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-Charles Davis Jr., 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Tommy Malcolm, 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Cody Williams, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS
1. Jake Swanson-79, 2. Tommy Malcolm-76, --. R.J. Johnson-76, 4. Brody Fuson-71, 5. Logan Williams-61, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-60, 7. Logan Calderwood-55, 8. Blake Bower-54, 9. Charles Davis Jr.-51, 10. Austin Williams-50, 11. A.J. Bender-48, 12. Braden Chiaramonte-46, 13. Cole Wakim-42, 14. Verne Sweeney-41, 15. Andrew Sweeney-30, 16. David Gasper-34, ---. Lonnie Oliver-34, 18. Brody Wake-33, ---. Racin Silva-33, 20. Cody Williams-32.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Jake Swanson)
March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ
April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ
April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)
June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.

JAKE SWANSON WINS OPENING NIGHT AT MOHAVE VALLEY

MOHAVE VALLEY, ARIZONA – February 22, 2025… After problems forced early leader Kevin Thomas Jr. to the work area during a lap six caution, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA) led the rest of the way to claim victory at Mohave Valley Raceway. Piloting Tom and Christy Dunkel’s #17X Inland Rigging / Maxima Racing Oils DRC, Swanson fought off several challenges to earn his seventh career triumph with the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, R.J. Johnson, Brody Fuson, and Eddie Tafoya Jr. followed the former Western World Champion.

Fuson began the night by scoring the second Woodland Auto Display / WC Friend Company Fast Time Award of his career. The pilot of the Bob & Toni Van Meter #51 Spike recorded a time of 13.997 seconds over the 31-car roster.

Blake Bower, Malcolm, Brody Wake, and “The Rattlesnake” Andrew Sweeney took the checkered flags in their 10-lap heat races.

Fuson topped the 12-lap Factory Wraps Semi-Main as Logan Calderwood, Tafoya, Grant Sexton, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, and Lonnie Oliver earned the final transfer spots.

In his first USAC/CRA start, Lonnie Oliver earned the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a fifteenth place run from twenty-second.

Next Saturday, March 1st, the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will battle at Perris Auto Speedway. Track promoter Don Kazarian has recently announced the addition of November 1st as a make-up date for the February 15th rainout.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: February 22, 2025 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY / WC FRIEND COMPANY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Brody Fuson, 51, Van Meter-13.997; 2. R.J. Johnson, 33P, Petty-14.063; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.071; 4. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.075; 5. Jake Swanson, 17X, Dunkel-14.089; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.095; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-14.118; 8. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.290; 9. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-14.299; 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.303; 11. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-14.342; 12. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-14.342; 13. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-14.398; 14. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.418; 15. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.505; 16. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-14.542; 17. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-14.604; 18. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-14.679; 19. Austin Ervine, 2, Ervine-14.741; 20. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-14.746; 21. Racin Silva, 5S, Silva-14.785; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-14.788; 23. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-14.838; 24. Lonnie Oliver, 22AZ, Oliver-14.846; 25. Connor Speir, 57S, Speir-14.892; 26. Connor Lundy, 97, Lundy-14.892; 27. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-15.010; 28. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton-15.329; 29. Brecken Guerrero, 98B, Guerrero-15.775; 30. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-NT; 31. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-NT.

IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Blake Bower, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Racin Silva, 4. Cole Wakim, 5. Grant Sexton, 6. Connor Speir, 7. Brecken Guerrero, 8. Brody Fuson. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Verne Sweeney, 4. David Gasper, 5. Rcky Lewis, 6. Connor Lundy, 7. Jeff Dyer. NT.

SILBERMANN SOLAR THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Brody Wake, 2. A.J. Bender, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Cody Williams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Dayton Shelton, 7. Austin Ervine, 8. Elexa Herrera. NT.

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Cars Transfer To Feature) 1. Andrew Sweeney, 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Logan Calderwood, 6. Lonnie Oliver. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, Top 6 Cars Transfer to Feature) 1. Brody Fuson, 2. Logan Calderwood, 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Grant Sexton, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Lonnie Oliver, 7. Dayton Shelton, 8. Austin Ervine, 9. Elexa Herrera, 10. Ricky Lewis, 11. Connor Lundy, 12. Brecken Guerrero, 13. Connor Speir, 14. Jeff Dyer. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Jake Swanson (3), 2. Tommy Malcolm (2), 3. R.J. Johnson (6), 4. Brody Fuson (7), 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (10), 6. Logan Williams (8), 7. Logan Calderwood (12), 8. Austin Williams (11), 9. Blake Bower (9), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 11. A.J. Bender (15), 12. Braden Chiaramonte (16), 13. Cole Wakim (17), 14. Verne Sweeney (20), 15. Lonnie Oliver (22), 16. Andrew Sweeney (18), 17. David Gasper (14), 18. Racin Silva (19), 19. Brody Wake (21), 20. Grant Sexton (13), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 22. Cody Williams (5). NT.
----------------------------

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Kevin Thomas Jr., Lap 3 Jake Swanson, Laps 4-6 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 7-30 Jake Swanson.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Lonnie Oliver (22 to 15)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: March 1 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RUMBLE AT MOHAVE VALLEY SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

FEBRUARY 15, 2025... After rain washed out the event at Perris, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car season will open at Mohave Valley Raceway this Saturday, February 22nd. Promoted by Ron Meyer, the 520th event in series history will also feature the Avanti Windows & Doors POWRi Southwest Ecotech Midgets and Sport Compacts. Located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona, the Pit Gates will open at 1:00pm, the Spectator Gates will open at 3:30pm, with Racing scheduled for 5:30pm. For more information, visit mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at Mohave Valley Raceway.
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com.
- FUEL WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK. Text Randy at 928-530-1704 to place large orders or with any questions.
- TIRES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK. Arrangements can be made in advance for delivery with PRE 2.0 at 951.295.2997.

SPECIAL NOTICE AT MOHAVE VALLEY:
- CASH ONLY: Mohave Valley Raceway is a cash only facility.
- PIT AREA PARKING: Personal vehicles or side by sides, etc. are NOT allowed in the pits. If it is not towing the race car/truck, on the trailer with the car, or in the trailer with the car, then it will NOT be allowed. NO exceptions!

Since April 23, 2022, the fast 1/3-mile clay oval has held nine USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and five different drivers have claimed victory. 2023 champion, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr., and Ricky Lewis are tied with two Mohave Valley wins. “The Cadillac” Cody Williams established the 1-lap track record of 13.923 seconds on April 1, 2023 and the complete Mohave Valley win list is at the end of this release.

After posting strong finishes throughout the season, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) claimed the 2024 Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship. Starting the year in the Yeley Racing #2, R.J. switched to Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman and became the first driver to earn Rookie of the Year honors (2005) and the series championship. To his credit, the first Arizona racer to win the crown earned two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, one semi-main win, seventeen top-five finishes, twenty-one top-10 finishes, and 84 feature laps led on the season. The new pilot of the Petty Performance Racing #33P backed by Avanti Windows & Doors has nine career wins and will be looking start the season with his first Mohave Valley triumph.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) finished second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm led the series with four feature wins and also posted one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, six heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, seven top-five finishes, eighteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is currently tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven career wins and he will have his sights on winning at Mohave Valley.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) placed third in the USAC/CRA point chase. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams recorded six heat race victories, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, ten top-five finishes, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led on the year. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven wins and will be looking to start the season with the Saturday night victory.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ran fourth in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender earned his first series last April at Perris and posted seven heat race victories, one semi-main win, seven top-five finishes, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will have his sights on his first Arizona win.

David Gasper (Goleta, California) placed fifth in the championship points and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Starting the year in the Josh Ford Motorsports #73X, Gasper switched to the Kittle Motorsports & Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Martin Roofing DRC and posted two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, three Factory Wraps semi-main wins, five In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 59 feature laps led on the season. The two-time California Lightning Sprint Champion will be looking to score his third career victory at the season opener.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Logan Calderwood, Grant Sexton, Blake Bower, Jeff Dyer, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Stevie Rogers, “Flash” Jordan Hermansader, “The Rattlesnake” Andrew Sweeney, Blake Hendricks, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Tom Dunkel, 2024 PAS Young Gun Champion Brecken Guerrero, and more.

Mohave Valley Raceway is located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona. For more event information, visit the track’s website at mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000. Mohave Valley Raceway is a cash only facility and grandstand tickets are available online at the track’s website and at the track on race day. Adult General Admission tickets are $25, Kids General Admission Tickets are $15, and Children (5 & Under) are FREE. Outside food, beverages, and ice chests are not permitted.

MOHAVE VALLEY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Cody Williams – 13.923 (04/01/23)

MOHAVE VALLEY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ricky Lewis, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr., 1-Kyle Cummins, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-Chase Johnson.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ
April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ
April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)
June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.

A MATTER OF TIME!

PURSLEY BUSTS THROUGH TO WIN OCALA’S

WINTER DIRT GAMES FINALE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 15, 2025)………Seemingly, it was only a matter of time before Daison Pursley broke through the iron wall that had stood in his path to victory throughout Winter Dirt Games.

Following finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd and 2nd, and leading a total of 43 laps across the past five nights of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing in Florida, the Locust Grove, Oklahoma native finally hurdled the hump to land a long-awaited victory during Saturday night’s Winter Dirt Games XVI finale at Ocala Speedway.

Pursley collected $10,000 for his efforts in the 35-lap feature event at the 3/8-mile dirt oval as he picked his way to the lead past Mitchel Moles on the 21st circuit and led the remaining 15 trips in his CB Industries/Avanti Windows & Doors – Pristine Auction – NOS Energy Drink/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

For Pursley, it was his third career USAC National Sprint Car points-paying feature victory, and his first for the newly formed CB Industries team owned by former series winning driver Chad Boat. Now, in the team’s first six races together, they’ve yet to finish off the podium.

Although the team was so close to victory on each of the initial five nights, it didn’t get them down. All it did was prove that they were apt to put themselves in position to win at any given time they hit the racetrack, and that soon, their time was going to come.

“As the week went on, we wanted to win more and more,” Pursley admitted. “This is just a phenomenal racecar. It’s been a pleasure to drive, for sure, and I’m just the one lucky enough to get to be in the seat.”

Starting third in the 24-car field, Pursley used traffic to his advantage on lap 15 when second-running Brady Bacon became boxed in behind the 22nd place car of Kobe Simpson in turns three and four. Pursley dove to the bottom, then sliced between Bacon and Simpson on the front straightaway to become the new occupant of the runner-up spot.

“I just felt like I was the only one, at least among those ahead of me, who was moving around in one and two, and I knew that was going to be the place to try to do something down the back straightaway with how (Moles) and Brady were floating up,” Pursley explained. “I got lucky enough to where Brady decided to try to run the top in three and four, and with lapped traffic, I was the one actually getting to pounce on them.”

When the yellow flag was displayed for 14th place Hayden Reinbold’s flat right rear tire on the 19th lap, it removed traffic from the equation while also allowing Pursley free reign to discover which path fit to his liking.

On the first lap following the lap 19 restart, Pursley wound himself up on the high side and was able to pull even alongside Moles on the back straightaway. On the ensuing go around, Pursley modified his approach by diving under Moles in turn one to swipe the lead away, albeit briefly.

Moles cut back under Pursley at the exit of turn two to reassume the top spot as Pursley slipped back underneath Moles midway down the dogleg headed for turn three when Pursley ramped his right front tire over Moles’ left rear. Pursley landed on all fours to complete the pass on the inside of turn three to become the new leader with 15 laps remaining.

“I just started moving around a little bit, and when Mitchel and I got to racing, I knew his angle was so low in the middle of one and two that it was going to shoot him up the track,” Pursley pointed out. “I kind of anticipated it a little bit where I thought he was going to slide a little bit further, then I ended up getting into his left rear a bit as we drag raced into three.”

With 10 laps to go, Pursley had established a 1.6 second lead as Bacon worked on Moles for second. Ultimately, on lap 25, Bacon managed to charge around Moles to corral second for good just prior to Logan Seavey (9th) slowing with a flat right rear tire, which dropped the defending series champion to 18th in the final running order.

Although Pursley’s lead was subsequently erased multiple times down the stretch due to cautions, including for the final time with five laps to go, he was the class of the field, crossing the finish line 0.351 seconds ahead of Thursday Ocala winner Brady Bacon, Friday Ocala victor Kyle Cummins, Wednesday Ocala winner Justin Grant and Mitchel Moles, who led a race high 20 laps before falling back to fifth at the checkered.

It took a minute for everything to align the way Pursley hoped it would, and after five close calls, the 2023 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year was able to close out the week on top.

“It was once again a phenomenal car by Chad and his crew,” Pursley praised. “It’s been a pleasure to drive. This thing’s been really good and I’m excited for the future here. What an amazing racetrack too. You could move around in one and two and there was the typical, unique Bubba line in three and four that you had to be good at. It took me all week to figure it out, but nonetheless, we finally did.”

As a car owner, Chad Boat ranks 10th all-time in terms of USAC National Midget wins with 41, a run which includes two series championships in 2020 and again in 2024, the latter of which came with Pursley at the wheel. But it’s been a long time since he’s been in the USAC National Sprint Car win column, specifically July of 2009, when he raced to his second and final career triumph during Indiana Sprint Week at Kokomo Speedway. Nearly 16 full seasons later, it’s a welcome homecoming for the first-time USAC National Sprint Car winning car owner.

“It’s definitely special,” Boat exclaimed. “These are the best in the business in non-wing sprint car racing. To come out and race against Justin Grant, Kyle Cummins, Brady Bacon and guys like that, it’s tough and it’s a slugfest. These races are tough to win and I’m super proud of Daison. My guys did an amazing job. It’s a new group of guys working together this year and we came out of the box swinging, and I’m really proud of that.”

Kyle Cummins earned the 2025 Winter Dirt Games championship, earning an extra $5,000 for his efforts throughout the six-race series, which included six top-five finishes and two feature victories. In fact, he and Pursley both tied for the number one spot at 449 points for the week, but Cummins held the tiebreaker with his pair of victories at Volusia Speedway Park and Ocala. Afterward, Cummins promptly proclaimed that he’s “going to Disney World.”

Jadon Rogers passed 39 cars throughout the six races in Florida to score the Hughes Racing / Indiana Mafia / Flamingo Sandy Winter Dirt Games Passing Master title and an $800 reward. It's the second such award of his career as he also collected the same honor in 2022.

Sporting a Fu Manchu style “Moose-Stache” similar to his car owner, Tom Sertich, Chase Stockon transformed his night after suffering a flat right rear tire while leading his heat race, which required extensive repairs to the nerf bar and torque tube of the Moosemobile. He started at the tail of the semi-feature and transferred his way through, then earned hard charger honors by advancing from 23rd to 13th in the main event. For that, he earned Inferno Armor’s Fire Move of the Night.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 15, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

ROD END SUPPLY FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary (#21AZ Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Carson Garrett (#15 BGE), 3. Kale Drake (#2B 2B Racing), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#3R Rock Steady), 5. Harley Burns (#16 Britt Aero), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (#51T Tafoya), 7. Ricky Lewis (#74B Lewis) , 8. Dustin Burtron (#51 Holston). 2:26.794

CAR IQ SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou (#12 Ballou), 2. Jake Swanson (#5T Daming Swanson), 3. Tom Harris (#84 Harris), 4. Briggs Danner (#39 Hogue), 5. Joey Amantea (#88J JPA), 6. Matt Goodnight (#39G Goodnight), 7. Eddie Vancil (#7v Vancil), 8. Mark Smith (#M1 Smith). NT

K1 RACEGEAR THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey (Abacus #57), 2. Jadon Rogers (#66 Amati), 3. Hayden Reinbold (#19 Reinbold-Underwood), 4. Gunnar Setser (#5G KO), 5. Kayla Roell (#4K Roell), 6. Chase Stockon (#92 Sertich), 7. Troy Carey (#45N Carey), 8. Kobe Simpson (#21K Simpson). NT

FAST DASH: (6 laps) 1. Brady Bacon (#20 Dyson), 2. Mitchel Moles (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 3. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), 4. Kyle Cummins (#3p Petty), 5. Justin Grant (#4 TOPP), 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. C.J. Leary. 1:27.767 (New Track Record)

ALSO AT THE TRACK: Oliver Akard (#32 Rase)

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Mark Smith, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Kobe Simpson, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Eddie Vancil, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Dustin Burtron. NT

FEATURE: (35 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (3), 2. Brady Bacon (1), 3. Kyle Cummins (4), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Mitchel Moles (2), 6. Carson Garrett (9), 7. Robert Ballou (7), 8. C.J. Leary (8), 9. Kale Drake (12), 10. Jake Swanson (10), 11. Jadon Rogers (11), 12. Briggs Danner (16), 13. Chase Stockon (23), 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 15. Tom Harris (13), 16. Harley Burns (18), 17. Hayden Reinbold (14), 18. Logan Seavey (6), 19. Kayla Roell (20), 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (21), 21. Kobe Simpson (24), 22. Gunnar Setser (17), 23. Joey Amantea (19), 24. Mark Smith (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Mitchel Moles, Laps 21-35 Daison Pursley.

**Troy Carey flipped during the third qualifier.

USAC WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-449, 2-Daison Pursley-449, 3-Justin Grant-425, 4-Brady Bacon-366, 5-Mitchel Moles-344, 6-C.J. Leary-325, 7-Logan Seavey-324, 8-Jake Swanson-313, 9-Briggs Danner-309, 10-Robert Ballou-295.

USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-32, 2-Kale Drake-31, 3-Jadon Rogers-26, 4-Chase Stockon-20, 5-Briggs Danner-19, 6-Robert Ballou-17, 7-Harley Burns-14, 8-Daison Pursley-13, 9-Kyle Cummins-11, 10-Jake Swanson-11.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Jadon Rogers-39, 2-C.J. Leary-38, 3-Chase Stockon-35, 4-Kale Drake-34, 5-Briggs Danner-30, 6-Robert Ballou-30, 7-Kyle Cummins-29, 8-Daison Pursley-25, 9-Justin Grant-23, 10-Harley Burns-20.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 4, 2025 – Paragon Speedway – Paragon, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Winter Dirt Games XVI Champion: Kyle Cummins

Winter Dirt Games XVI Hughes Racing / Indiana Mafia / Flamingo Sandy Passing Master Champion: Jadon Rogers (39)

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (14.346)

Rod End Supply First Qualifier Winner: C.J. Leary

Car IQ Second Qualifier Winner: Robert Ballou

K1 RaceGear Third Qualifier Winner: Logan Seavey

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Eddie Tafoya Jr.

Hard Charger: Chase Stockon (23rd to 13th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Chase Stockon

PETTY THEFT!

CUMMINS STEALS WIN ON LATE RESTART AT OCALA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 14, 2025)………For 25 consecutive laps, Kyle Cummins stalked his prey in an attempt to reel his way toward victory through clean air, through the throes of traffic and through the last desperate moment.

When Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) saw a little light around the outside of C.J. Leary on a green-white-checker restart, he reached for it and came out the other side of the tunnel as the first multi-time winner of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season on Friday night at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

In fact, Cummins was so clutch, he actually turned the fastest lap of the race when he took over the lead on the very same lap 30 restart. It was not just his personal best lap of the race, it was the best lap of anybody in the 24-car field throughout the feature.

Cummins, who scored an opening night Winter Dirt Games XVI victory at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on Monday, mesmerized the crowd with his daring move aboard his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors - Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy, which provided him with his 22nd career USAC National Sprint Car win, tying him for 31st all-time alongside Rick Hood, Bubby Jones and Sammy Sessions.

“On that white flag, I was going to try to sneak, and we probably would’ve both crashed,” Cummins revealed. “I thought I was going sneak, but then they called yellow, and I was all over the brakes. If (Leary) just would’ve moved up, he would’ve won that. But he left me just enough room to get through.”

For Cummins, his third career series victory in Florida made him the first driver to win Winter Dirt Games main events at both Ocala and Volusia, where he also won at to begin the week.

Furthermore, Cummins’ Valentine’s Day victory made him the fourth driver ever to win a USAC Sprint Car feature on February 14 following Chris Windom in 2019 and Brady Bacon in 2020, both at Ocala, and Daison Pursley during a 2023 non-points special event at Volusia.

Cummins began his quest from the fifth starting position at the 3/8-mile egg-shaped dirt track, but before he could even really get going, the caution was displayed for 10th running Joey Amantea who slammed the turn four wall and rode along the top edge ala skateboarder Tony Hawk before coming to a rest on all four wheels, ending his night prematurely.

On the resumption, pole sitter Leary established a lead that he ultimately held for the majority of the race, a much-needed boost for him and his Team AZ / Curb-Agajanian Racing team after finishing no better than eighth in their first four starts together this week.

Quite quickly, however, Cummins had picked his way up to second by the fifth lap as he streamed under Jadon Rogers in turn two, thus beginning his nearly racelong pursuit of Leary up front.

By the halfway point, Leary began to work through traffic, first surpassing Mark Smith to put him a lap down, followed by a slew of others. Yet Cummins was able to match Leary each step of the way and finagled his way through the gridlock as well without losing sizable ground, staying put roughly eighth tenths of a second in arrears.

Cummins tried high and low as he inched forward toward Leary, cutting down the interval to a miniscule couple of car lengths. But when Leary bobbled in turn four on the 25th lap, Cummins was able to get right to Leary’s back bumper. Seemingly, Cummins found a boost each time at the exit of turn two, which enabled him to nearly pull even on the back straightaway on multiple occasions within the final five laps.

“I kept showing the bottom down there and I knew he wasn’t really sure where to go,” Cummins explained. “He had to be hearing that motor because, around the backside there, once I could get up into it, I could really go.”

On what was thought to be the 30th and deciding lap, Cummins got the same launch off turn two, which thrusted him right to the right rear of Leary midway down the back straight. At the same moment of uncertainty for the lead, the yellow flag was thrown for the stopped car of Kayla Roell (19th) who caught the turn three wall before sliding to a stop.

Traffic was of no factor at this point with the field bunched up for the final restart on lap 30. Cummins immediately went to the well again as he bolted down the back straightaway with about a car width of space available between Leary and the outside wall. Cummins made it through to the other side, and had free reign on the top through turns three and four, which allowed him to shoot past Leary off turn four to assume control with a single lap remaining.

One lap later, Cummins had finished off the most dramatic feature ending of the season by .659 of a second to pocket another victory in front of an appreciative and applauding crowd. Daison Pursley took second for his fifth consecutive podium finish to start the season. Leary fell to third at the end after leading 29 of the 31-lap distance. Wednesday night Ocala winner Justin Grant crossed the stripe in fourth while Thursday night Ocala winner Brady Bacon rounded out the top-five.

Cummins’ “worst” performance in his Winter Dirt Games stretch this past week was a fifth on Thursday after the team experimented with a different setup before soon rectifying that move when they found it not to be to their liking.

“We tried something new last night because we were too tight the first night, so we went back to the same exact stuff we’d been running the whole time,” Cummins stated. “We didn’t second guess ourselves and we had a pretty good car tonight.”

Cummins has led the points leaving Florida before in 2016. But this year feels different as he’s put his number 3p up front night-after-night for the first five races without a single blemish outside the top-five to date. As far as being a championship contender, although it’s certainly early in the journey, Cummins points to the fact that they have now conquered events on differing racetracks at venues they had struggled mightily at as recently as last year when the foundation of the team was being constructed.

“It’s two different tracks – a big track and a small track,” Cummins reflected after winning at Volusia’s 1/2-mile and Ocala’s 3/8-mile in the past week. “We’ve struggled down here really bad. This is a tricky track, but you could move around, and we were able to qualify good and go from fifth and pass some cars and do it a little bit of the hard way.”

To add to his accolades, Cummins also collected the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night for his winning pass.

Daison Pursley’s Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time to begin the night was his third of the season through five races. It was also the 10th fast time of his USAC National Sprint Car career, tying him with Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise, Thomas Meseraull and Jake Swanson for 52nd all-time.

Meanwhile, Robert Ballou and crew had to replace the rear end on their machine early in evening prior to the heat races. By the end of the night, Ballou was moving forward as he went plus-six in the feature from 15th to 9th. The performance earned him hard charger honors for the night.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 14, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-14.041; 2. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.097; 3. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.128; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.139; 5. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-14.193; 6. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.197; 7. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.226; 8. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-14.231; 9. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.282; 10. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-14.284; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.301; 12. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-14.355; 13. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.358; 14. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE-14.370; 15. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-14.411; 16. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-14.463; 17. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-14.508; 18. Ricky Lewis, 74B, Lewis-14.561; 19. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-14.571; 20. Mark Smith, M1, Smith-14.626; 21. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.646; 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.673; 23. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-14.695; 24. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-14.718; 25. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.855; 26. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-14.895; 27. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-14.922; 28. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-15.079; 29. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-15.244; 30. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-15.464; 31. Dustin Burtron, 51, Holston-16.216; 32. Stevie Sussex, 5, Baldwin/Fox-NT; 33. Oliver Akard, 32, Rase-NT.

ROD END SUPPLY FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Troy Carey. 1:59.224

CAR IQ SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Eddie Vancil. 1:57.253

K1 RACEGEAR THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Gunnar Setser, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. John Mollick, 8. Dustin Burtron. 1:58.297

HOOSIER TIRE FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Mark Smith, 5. Nic Harris, 6. Kayla Roell, 7. Tom Harris. 1:58.365

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Tom Harris, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Troy Carey, 9. Dustin Burtron, 10. John Mollick, 11. Eddie Vancil. NT

FEATURE: (31 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (5), 2. Daison Pursley (6), 3. C.J. Leary (1), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Brady Bacon (7), 6. Jadon Rogers (2), 7. Briggs Danner (4), 8. Chase Stockon (8), 9. Robert Ballou (15), 10. Jake Swanson (12), 11. Mitchel Moles (11), 12. Logan Seavey (13), 13. Kale Drake (9), 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 15. Carson Garrett (16), 16. Gunnar Setser (17), 17. Hayden Reinbold (19), 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (22), 19. Harley Burns (23), 20. Kayla Roell (24), 21. Mark Smith (21), 22. Ricky Lewis (20), 23. Nic Harris (18), 24. Joey Amantea (10). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-29 C.J. Leary, Laps 30-31 Kyle Cummins.

**John Mollick flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-385, 2-Daison Pursley-379, 3-Justin Grant-364, 4-Brady Bacon-299, 5-Logan Seavey-297, 6-Mitchel Moles-286, 7-C.J. Leary-276, 8-Briggs Danner-270, 9-Jake Swanson-270, 10-Kale Drake-248.

USAC WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-385, 2-Daison Pursley-379, 3-Justin Grant-364, 4-Brady Bacon-299, 5-Logan Seavey-297, 6-Mitchel Moles-286, 7-C.J. Leary-276, 8-Briggs Danner-270, 9-Jake Swanson-270, 10-Kale Drake-248.

USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-32, 2-Kale Drake-28, 3-Jadon Rogers-26, 4-Robert Ballou-17, 5-Briggs Danner-15, 6-Harley Burns-12, 7-Daison Pursley-11, 8-Jake Swanson-11, 9-Kyle Cummins-10, 10-Chase Stockon-10.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-38, 2-Jadon Rogers-37, 3-Kale Drake-31, 4-Robert Ballou-29, 5-Kyle Cummins-27, 6-Briggs Danner-26, 7-Justin Grant-22, 8-Daison Pursley-22, 9-Chase Stockon-20, 10-Ricky Lewis-20.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: February 15, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (14.202)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (14.041)

Rod End Supply First Heat Winner: Joey Amantea

Car IQ Second Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

K1 RaceGear Third Heat Winner: Kale Drake

Hoosier Tire Fourth Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Robert Ballou

Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (15th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Kyle Cummins

MACHO WIN!

BACON BAGS USAC SPRINT WIN #59 OCALA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 13, 2025)………It’s a somewhat unfamiliar sight seeing Brady Bacon wheel a car not adorned in the colors of the Dynamics, Inc. No. 69 in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition.

One thing that is a familiar sight, however, is witnessing the four-time USAC National Sprint Car champion from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma in victory lane.

Bacon, in just his fourth appearance with the series behind the wheel of the Chris Dyson Racing/Concord American Flagpole – Macri Concrete/Triple X/Rider Chevy No. 20, put it back in the circle at Florida’s Ocala Speedway for the sixth time in his career during Thursday night’s round four of Winter Dirt Games XVI.

For Chris Dyson Racing, the victory was their first USAC National Sprint Car triumph in six years, seven months and 25 days, since a June 2018 score with Thomas Meseraull at New York’s Weedsport Speedway.

One night after Justin Grant edged closer to Bacon for second place on the all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list, Bacon gained one back in the win column with his 59th career series victory. That puts Bacon just three wins behind Dave Darland (62) for the number one spot on the list, and four ahead of Grant (55) who ranks third.

Bacon is competing on a part-time USAC schedule this season, so there are limited opportunities for him to make some headway in closing the gap on Darland while maintaining his pace ahead of Grant. Nonetheless, Bacon took advantage of the opportunity on Thursday night at the 3/8-mile, racing by racelong leader Daison Pursley with 12 circuits remaining of the 30-lapper to earn his sixth career Winter Dirt Games win at Ocala, second all-time behind Grant’s eight.

“We’ve got two more nights here in Florida and the rest of our schedule is on tracks that we typically do pretty well on,” Bacon remarked regarding his pursuit of becoming the winningest USAC National Sprint Car driver of all-time. “It might be harder to keep Justin behind me than it is to catch Dave in front of me. He’s probably going to have a good year too.”

Bacon’s latest victory also extended his record to 15 consecutive years of winning at least one USAC National Sprint Car feature, a streak which dates back to 2011. Furthermore, it’s only his ninth career USAC National Sprint Car win not under the Dynamics, Inc. banner. Over the years, he’s picked off victories with Brady Bacon Racing (5), Dooling-Hayward Motorsports (2), Kasey Kahne/Curb Racing (1) and now Chris Dyson Racing (1).

An up-and-down week has been part and parcel for Bacon throughout Winter Dirt Games. Bacon opened with a third and a ninth at Volusia before his first night at Ocala was thwarted by a mag box issue while running third during the feature, then later, a flat right rear tire, which relegated him to a 21st place result.

For the second straight evening, Pursley bolted out to the early lead from his outside front row starting spot and remained there for the bulk of the distance. Pursley kept pole starter Bacon at bay to the tune of four or five car lengths throughout much of the first half of the event.

But on lap 19, while attempting to surge past the tail-end lead lap cars of Jadon Rogers and Gunnar Setser, Pursley chose the higher lane to do so. In turn, the bottom lane was left open for Bacon to get in a word edgewise. Bacon sprinted past Pursley, and within a few laps, disposed of Rogers, Setser and Stevie Sussex, to gain some valuable breathing room.

“(Daison) has been really fast all week but I knew we were really good; traffic is really tough here; and the track changes really fast,” Bacon explained. “The top of three and four was kind of going away to where you really couldn’t get around traffic that way, so I was trying to experiment with lines in one and two to get a better run down the back stretch.”

A slew of stoppages buffered Bacon’s vision of victory momentarily. The race was halted for the first time on lap 23 when Tom Harris (22nd) slowed to a stop atop turn four with a flat right rear tire. On lap 27, Ricky Lewis (17th) slowed with a flat right rear tire. Then, on the lap 27 restart, Kale Drake (14th) went for a wild ride, flipping over several times in turn three, but was able to walk away.

All the incidents did was delay Bacon’s path to victory, and with a clear track ahead of him for the final four laps, he never lost grip as he crossed the stripe 0.926 seconds ahead of Pursley for the win. For Pursley, it was his fourth consecutive podium finish to start off the USAC season. Justin Grant grabbed third with Mitchel Moles fourth and series point leader Kyle Cummins fifth.

“I’m just really happy for this new team, for me. We’ve raced a little bit together in Silver Crown, but we’re new to sprint cars this year,” Bacon said. “It hasn’t been the most fruitful week as of yet, but we’ve had a really fast car, and we finally got it done tonight. I think we’ve had a car capable of doing it for a few nights and we finally put all the pieces together.”

The event was held following a storm that rolled in just before hot laps, dousing the surface with even more moisture than was already added in the normal track preparation process. Bacon hit the sweet spot early on by qualifying well and transferring through his heat race, which set him up for a prime position come feature time.

“It’s a super tough field up front and qualifying is super tight,” Bacon mentioned. “I think maybe going out as the second car in the second group, this place gets a little grease on it for a couple cars. That hurt us but it was a blessing in disguise as we got to start on the pole for the feature. You’ve got to take them however you can get them with a lot of good cars, especially when the track is this heavy, you’ll take the track position any day.”

Briggs Danner was back in fine form after an early race tangle knocked him out of the previous night’s feature. After being buried 24th in the starting lineup for Thursday’s feature, Danner steadily worked his way forward, and in the end, his plus-13 performance to finish 11th led him to hard charger honors for the night.

.010 seconds is all that separated Gunnar Setser from C.J. Leary at the end of the semi-feature, which proved to be the closest finish of any race thus far throughout the USAC National Sprint Car season. For his narrow win, Setser was tabbed as the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 13, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.911, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.096, 3. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.138, 4. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.151, 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.211, 6. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-14.226, 7. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-14.245, 8. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-14.284, 9. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-14.308, 10. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE-14.340, 11. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-14.363, 12. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-14.364, 13. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-14.384, 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.472, 15. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.545, 16. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-14.567, 17. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.611, 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.631, 19. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.702, 20. Stevie Sussex, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.735, 21. Mark Smith, M1, Smith-14.737, 22. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-14.745, 23. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.756, 24. Ricky Lewis, 74B, Lewis-14.759, 25. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-14.809, 26. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-14.839, 27. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-15.065, 28. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-15.154, 29. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-15.228, 30. Kyle Jones, 79, Hall-15.695, 31. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-16.200, 32. Oliver Akard, 32, Rase-NT.

ROD END SUPPLY FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Mark Smith, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Troy Carey, 7. Nic Harris, 8. Chase Stockon. 1:56.629

CAR IQ SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Kyle Jones. 1:57.567

K1 RACEGEAR THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kobe Simpson, 2. Tom Harris, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Gunnar Setser, 7. Eddie Vancil, 8. Robert Ballou. 1:58.787

HOOSIER TIRE FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Kayla Roell. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Gunnar Setser, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Nic Harris, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Troy Carey, 9. Eddie Vancil, 10. Kyle Jones, 11. Oliver Akard. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Daison Pursley (2), 3. Justin Grant (6), 4. Mitchel Moles (4), 5. Kyle Cummins (5), 6. Jake Swanson (12), 7. Logan Seavey (3), 8. C.J. Leary (11), 9. Carson Garrett (7), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 11. Briggs Danner (24), 12. Robert Ballou (17), 13. Joey Amantea (8), 14. Hayden Reinbold (14), 15. Jadon Rogers (23), 16. Stevie Sussex (10), 17. Harley Burns (18), 18. Gunnar Setser (13), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 20. Tom Harris (21), 21. Kobe Simpson (9), 22. Kale Drake (15), 23. Ricky Lewis (22), 24. Mark Smith (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Daison Pursley, Laps 19-30 Brady Bacon.

**Kayla Roell flipped during the fourth heat. Kyle Jones flipped during the semi. Kale Drake flipped on lap 27 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-303, 2-Daison Pursley-301, 3-Justin Grant-293, 4-Logan Seavey-252, 5-Mitchel Moles-238, 6-Brady Bacon-233, 7-Jake Swanson-221, 8-Briggs Danner-210, 9-C.J. Leary-207, 10-Kale Drake-203.

USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-32, 2-Kale Drake-28, 3-Jadon Rogers-26, 4-Briggs Danner-15, 5-Robert Ballou-11, 6-Chase Stockon-10, 7-Justin Grant-9, 8-Jake Swanson-9, 9-Ricky Lewis-9, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-8.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-38, 2-Jadon Rogers-37, 3-Kale Drake-30, 4-Briggs Danner-25, 5-Robert Ballou-22, 6-Ricky Lewis-20, 7-Kyle Cummins-19, 8-Justin Grant-18, 9-Chase Stockon-17, 10-Daison Pursley-16.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 14-15, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kyle Cummins (14.715)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (13.911)

Rod End Supply First Heat Winner: Joey Amantea

Car IQ Second Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

K1 RaceGear Third Heat Winner: Kobe Simpson

Hoosier Tire Fourth Heat Winner: Stevie Sussex

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Gunnar Setser

Hard Charger: Briggs Danner (24th to 11th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Gunnar Setser

MR. OCALA!

GRANT GETS 8TH CAREER

WINTER DIRT GAMES SCORE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 12, 2025)………No driver has been more prolific and successful around Florida’s Ocala Speedway in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition than Justin Grant.

He’s the only driver to start all 38 USAC National Sprint Car features at the 3/8-mile dirt track dating back to 2011, and his record-extending eighth series victory there during Winter Dirt Games XVI round three on Wednesday night solidified that fact once more.

With five laps remaining in the 30-lap main, the sixth place starting Grant utilized lapped traffic as a pick to sneak past racelong leader Daison Pursley and collect his first USAC National Sprint Car feature victory of the season and the 55th of his career, three wins shy of Brady Bacon for second on the all-time list and just seven behind all-time leader Dave Darland at 62.

Grant chalked up his winning maneuver to his extensive Ocala experience, which has seen him win three more features at the track than any other driver, thus earning himself the unofficial moniker of Mr. Ocala.

“As the track slicked up, we got a little better,” Grant explained. “Some of that in lapped traffic was just about having a little bit of knowledge of Ocala Speedway, which paid off. I’ve got a lot of laps around here and I’ve been coming here for a lot of years. There are some things you can get away with in lapped traffic, and I was able to use some of that. Sometimes getting to be the old guy pays off every once in a while.”

Grant and his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – TOPP Industries – LA Poly/Maxim/Kistler Chevy began the evening by making some history. Grant (Ione, Calif.) recorded his 35th career USAC National Sprint Car Fast Qualifying time, tying the great Rich Vogler for 10th place on the all-time list.

Pursley was the force to reckon with for the majority of the distance as he sought to provide his CB Industries team its first ever USAC Sprint Car triumph with Chase Stockon and Brady Bacon in tow, both of whom would ultimately suffer heartbreaking fates during their pursuit of victory.

However, the race quickly slowed to a halt on lap four when Mark Smith (13th) and Briggs Danner (14th) tangled wheels off turn four, sending Danner spinning into the front straightaway wall before sliding backwards to a stop. Danner’s race ended on the spot while Smith was able to continue on.

By lap 13, the front runners had reached lapped traffic. Stockon took advantage of the sudden onslaught of obstacles, and poked his nose under Pursley off turn two to take over the race lead. However, at the same exact moment, Bacon began to suddenly slow to a stop in between turns one and two to bring out a yellow flag, the victim of a mag box gone rogue. The stoppage proved unfortunate for Stockon, who was forced to relinquish his race lead over to Pursley when the race reverted to the most recently scored lap. With that said, Stockon’s misfortune wasn’t quite finished yet.

After eighth running Kobe Simpson drastically slowed before rolling to a stop in turn one to necessitate a caution on lap 19, second place running Stockon darted into the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area with a flat left rear tire. Stockon returned in time to restart at the tail but managed only to finish 12th.

Following the caution, Grant went on the attack. On the lap 19 restart, Grant pulled even with Pursley for the lead in turn two. Pursley stayed strong, however, and fended off Grant for the moment as the remaining laps dwindled down.

Yet, on lap 26, as Pursley and Grant approached the tail end lead lap car of Simpson in turn two, Grant scooted underneath Pursley, then drifted to the topside to shoot around the outside of Simpson. Pursley attempted to counterpunch by sliding underneath Simpson at the entry of turn three, but Pursley and Simpson touched tires, sending Pursley veering high into turn four, thus allowing Cummins to shoot underneath and take over occupancy of the second spot behind Grant.

A yellow flag tightened the field up once more with five laps remaining when a lap 26 yellow flag was brought about after Bacon (15th) shredded a right rear tire before coming to a stop along with Smith (14th) on the back straight.

Despite Grant possessing the lead in such a late stage of the race, his pressure was intensified with the fact that Cummins was now right on his bumper. Early on, it was imperative for Grant to get out in front of the third place starting Cummins and remain put.

“I was most worried about Kyle, honestly,” Grant revealed. “I was able to get him put away really early. He kind of got bottled up in some traffic there and I was able to pounce and pocket him. I felt like that was what really won us the race there. I was thinking that if I could get Kyle put away, I could go to work on the other guys and drive by them if things worked into our favor.”

As it turned out, it did. Grant was able to close out the final four laps to secure a commanding 1.482 second victory over Cummins with Pursley a distant third. Both Cummins and Pursley have been stalwarts of the podium after having finished inside the top-three in all three 2025 USAC National Sprint Car features to date. Meanwhile, Mitchel Moles and Jake Swanson rounded out the top-five in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Starting dead last on the grid didn't daunt Jadon Rogers one bit as he got up on the horse and drove his Amati Racing number 66 to a 13th place finish. His plus-11 was enough to earn himself hard charger honors for the night.

It was a career best USAC night for Englishman Tom Harris who tied his top USAC National Sprint Car result. His seventh place run equaled the seventh he achieved at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway back in 2019. That got him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 12, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.347; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.373; 3. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-14.534; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.608; 5. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-14.610; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.635; 7. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-14.688; 8. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.700; 9. Ricky Lewis, 74B, Lewis-14.717; 10. Mark Smith, M1, Smith-14.776; 11. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.812; 12. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.893; 13. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-14.923; 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.939; 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.947; 16. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-14.965; 17. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-15.014; 18. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-15.034; 19. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-15.078; 20. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-15.095; 21. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-15.131; 22. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-15.189; 23. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-15.237; 24. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE-15.251; 25. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-15.387; 26. Stevie Sussex, 5, Baldwin/Fox-15.403; 27. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-15.451; 28. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-15.460; 29. Kyle Jones, 79, Hall-15.543; 30. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-15.556; 31. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-15.970; 32. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-16.189; 33. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-16.551; 34. Oliver Akard, 32, Rase-18.717.

ROD END SUPPLY FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tom Harris, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kale Drake, 4. Nic Harris, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Trey Osborne, 8. Kyle Jones, 9. Eddie Vancil. 2:03.783

CAR IQ SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Harley Burns, 3. Mark Smith, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Kayla Roell. 1:58.602

K1 RACEGEAR THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kobe Simpson, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Matt Goodnight, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. John Mollick. 2:02.354

HOOSIER TIRE FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Hayden Reinbold, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Gunnar Setser, 7. Joey Amantea, 8. Troy Carey. 1:59.911

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Gunnar Setser, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Kyle Jones, 8. Kayla Roell, 9. Stevie Sussex, 10. John Mollick, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Eddie Vancil. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (6), 2. Kyle Cummins (3), 3. Daison Pursley (2), 4. Mitchel Moles (5), 5. Jake Swanson (7), 6. Robert Ballou (12), 7. Tom Harris (10), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. C.J. Leary (15), 10. Kale Drake (17), 11. Hayden Reinbold (9), 12. Chase Stockon (1), 13. Jadon Rogers (24), 14. Harley Burns (21), 15. Gunnar Setser (19), 16. Matt Goodnight (22), 17. Nic Harris (20), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (18), 19. Kobe Simpson (8), 20. Mark Smith (14), 21. Brady Bacon (4), 22. Carson Garrett (23), 23. Ricky Lewis (13), 24. Briggs Danner (16). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Daison Pursley, Laps 26-30 Justin Grant.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-233, 2-Daison Pursley-227, 3-Justin Grant-218, 4-Logan Seavey-194, 5-Kale Drake-173, 6-Mitchel Moles-168, 7-Briggs Danner-165, 8-Jake Swanson-162, 9-Brady Bacon-157, 10-Robert Ballou-154.

USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-29, 2-Kale Drake-28, 3-Jadon Rogers-18, 4-Chase Stockon-10, 5-Ricky Lewis-9, 6-Daison Pursley-7, 7-Harley Burns-7, 8-Kyle Cummins-6, 9-Justin Grant-6, 10-Robert Ballou-6.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-35, 2-Kale Drake-29, 3-Jadon Rogers-28, 4-Ricky Lewis-20, 5-Kyle Cummins-15, 6-Daison Pursley-14, 7-Justin Grant-13, 8-Harley Burns-13, 9-Robert Ballou-12, 10-Chase Stockon-12.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 13-14-15, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Briggs Danner (15.004)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (14.347)

Rod End Supply First Heat Winner: Tom Harris

Car IQ Second Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

K1 RaceGear Third Heat Winner: Kobe Simpson

Hoosier Tire Fourth Heat Winner: Hayden Reinbold

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Ricky Lewis

Hard Charger: Jadon Rogers (24th to 13th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Tom Harris

GATOR CHOMP!

SEAVEY SERVES NOTICE WITH VOLUSIA VICTORY

Barberville, Florida (February 11, 2025)………The night before at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, Logan Seavey did something most unusual of late in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition. After starting on the front row of the feature, Seavey backed up to a sixth-place result.

After earning a front row starting spot once again on Tuesday night, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) didn’t let the opportunity escape from his clutch as he led all 30 laps while dodging racelong challenges from Kyle Cummins and a bevy of cautions/restarts down the stretch to win night two of Winter Dirt Games XVI, part of the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals festivities.

Coming off a season in which he collected a record-tying 14 USAC National Sprint Car victories, plus the season championship, Seavey became the first driver to win three USAC feature events at Volusia. No other driver has won more than one.

Meanwhile, by virtue of a victory on Monday and a runner-up result on Tuesday, Cummins earned the Big Gator as the overall USAC champion of the 2025 DIRTcar Nationals. In fact, he and Tuesday’s third-place finisher Daison Pursley both tallied 157 points across the two nights. However, due to his Monday night win, Cummins held the tiebreaker over Pursley.

For Seavey, the victory was the 25th of his USAC National Sprint Car career, equaling him with Steve Butler, Jay Drake and Parnelli Jones for 25th place on the all-time series win list.

The 25-car feature field was greeted by a juiced up 1/2-mile dirt track courtesy of a brief rainstorm that moisturized the surface just prior to the feature, which was scheduled for 30 laps, five circuits more than Monday’s 25-lap affair.

Starting from the pole position, Seavey jetted out to the early lead on the opening lap in his Abacus Racing/Mountain Mechanical Contractors – Indy Power Sports/DRC/Stanton Chevy. The fourth starting Cummins slotted into second after racing past Jake Swanson on the opening lap, then zipped underneath Briggs Danner on the low side of turns three and four on lap two.

Seavey maintained a five car length lead over Cummins by the time the two reached the halfway mark at lap 15, leading a two-car breakaway into lapped traffic in the process. Through it all, Seavey managed to sprout his lead to 1.5 seconds over Cummins but still had a long line of tail-end lead lap cars to fight through on the battle front.

Nevertheless, the yellow flag was soon displayed for sixth running Robert Ballou who slowed to a stop atop turns one and two with a shredded right rear tire with 10 to go on lap 21. Ballou managed to restart at the tail and work his way through half the field to finish 13th. However, Seavey's 1.476 second lead had been erased with the field now bunched up following the caution.

Seavey kept the field at bay by nearly nine tenths of a second during the ensuing five laps until 20th running John Mollick slowed to a stop on the front straightaway on lap 26, necessitating another restart opportunity for Cummins to pounce on Seavey and another task for Seavey to face during the waning laps while tire wear weighed heavily on his mind.

“It's just chess,” Seavey admitted. “I’m trying different stuff, and he knows I’m going to do something different. He’s guessing and anticipating what I’m going to do. That’s just about going against a good racecar driver who is tough to defend on restarts. None of the cautions I really wanted to see. I was just nervous about the tires. I could feel how hard we were running on them. When you’re running on a big track like that, it’s super hard on them. Then to have a yellow where they cool off, shrink a bunch and move all the air, cautions make it even worse for tires for sure.”

Seavey successfully nailed the lap 26 restart along with the next 4.5 laps of action before the rug got yanked out from underneath his feet on the 30th, and seemingly, final go around. In turn, Joey Amantea (15th) stopped in the middle of the back straightaway to bring out the caution, thus setting up a second green-white-checker finish in as many nights to begin the 2025 campaign.

This time was different, however. Cummins was able to get in a word edgewise by pulling even with Seavey for the lead through turn two and turn four on the first lap of the restart. Despite that, Seavey counterpunched by entering turns one and three a lane higher on the final lap to ward off any last chance heroics from Cummins.

“I felt like, if I could get away from him down the back stretch, it would be okay as the runs were going on,” Seavey explained. “I just really had to protect going into one, but I didn’t want him to go up, get a big run and go by me too. It was kind of a sitting duck situation. I kept sliding myself as hard as I could, but he just kept getting better at sticking the middle. I just kept thinking that I could do my job better at getting across and he kept doing a better job and about passed me. So, I’d throw a big block into three and I’d get back going as fast as I could because he’s so good at racing and his car is obviously really good.”

Seavey successfully defeated the challenge, and Cummins, to the tune of 0.700 seconds as they crossed under the finish line. Daison Pursley took third for his second consecutive podium finish to open the season while Briggs Danner once again finished inside the top-five at Volusia with a fourth.

Kale Drake started 19th before working his way up to finish fifth in the feature. Not only was it his best career USAC National Sprint Car finish to date, his result also earned him hard charger honors for his plus-14 performance.

Harley Burns got the bottom line rolling in the semi-feature, and in doing so, he advanced his way from a ninth place starting spot to finish third and transfer his way into his first Volusia feature starting field. That alone earned him Inferno Armor’s Fire Move of the Night honors.

Early in the night, Pursley became the 12th USAC National Sprint Car driver ever to set fast time during the first two events of a season: Jud Larson (1965), Larry Dickson (1969), Bill Puterbaugh (1970), Lee Kunzman (1973), Tom Bigelow (1978), Eddie Leavitt (1981), Kelly Kinser (1983), Bubby Jones (1985), Max McGhee (2016), Carson Short (2019), Timmy Buckwalter (2021) and now Daison Pursley (2025).

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 11, 2025 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI / Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-16.275; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.304; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.442; 4. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-16.457; 5. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.552; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.573; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.585; 8. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.594; 9. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-16.603; 10. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-16.622; 11. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE-16.685; 12. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.711; 13. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-16.776; 14. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-16.786; 15. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.870; 16. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-16.882; 17. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-16.896; 18. Mark Smith, M1, Smith-16.899; 19. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-16.917; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-16.949; 21. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-16.959; 22. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.053; 23. Stevie Sussex, 5, Baldwin/Fox-17.061; 24. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-17.088; 25. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-17.192; 26. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-17.336; 27. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.352; 28. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-17.392; 29. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-17.407; 30. Mike Haggenbottom, 51, Hoagie-17.749; 31. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-17.969; 32. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-18.033; 33. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-NT.

ROD END SUPPLY FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Tom Harris, 7. Trey Osborne, 8. Harley Burns, 9. Jadon Rogers

CAR IQ SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mark Smith, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Brian Ruhlman, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Mike Haggenbottom.

K1 RACEGEAR THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Eddie Vancil.

HOOSIER TIRE FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Gunnar Setser, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. John Mollick, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Troy Carey.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tom Harris, 2. Brian Ruhlman, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Kayla Roell, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Mike Haggenbottom, 10. Eddie Vancil, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Trey Osborne, 13. Kobe Simpson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Kyle Cummins (4), 3. Daison Pursley (6), 4. Briggs Danner (2), 5. Kale Drake (19), 6. Justin Grant (5), 7. Chase Stockon (17), 8. Jake Swanson (3), 9. Brady Bacon (13), 10. C.J. Leary (24), 11. Mitchel Moles (11), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 13. Robert Ballou (7), 14. Carson Garrett (14), 15. Gunnar Setser (9), 16. Kayla Roell (25-P), 17. Mark Smith (8), 18. Hayden Reinbold (12), 19. Stevie Sussex (22), 20. Tom Harris (16), 21. Brian Ruhlman (21), 22. Joey Amantea (20), 23. John Mollick (18), 24. Harley Burns (23), 25. Ricky Lewis (15). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Logan Seavey.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-157, 2-Daison Pursley-157, 3-Logan Seavey-142, 4-Briggs Danner-135, 5-Justin Grant-135, 6-Brady Bacon-124, 7-Kale Drake-124, 8-Chase Stockon-104, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-100, 10-C.J. Leary-100.

USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-23, 2-Kale Drake-21, 3-Chase Stockon-10, 4-Ricky Lewis-9, 5-Daison Pursley-7, 6-Jadon Rogers-7, 7-Kyle Cummins-5, 8-Joey Amantea-5, 9-Brady Bacon-4, 10-Kayla Roell-4.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-27, 2-Kale Drake-22, 3-Ricky Lewis-19, 4-Daison Pursley-14, 5-Jadon Rogers-14, 6-Kyle Cummins-11, 7-Chase Stockon-11, 8-Kayla Roell-9, 9-Brady Bacon-8, 10-Briggs Danner-8.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 12-13-14-15, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

DIRTcar Nationals USAC Sprint Car Champion: Kyle Cummins

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (16.807)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (16.275)

Rod End Supply First Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Car IQ Second Heat Winner: Mark Smith

K1 RaceGear Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Hoosier Tire Fourth Heat Winner: Gunnar Setser

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tom Harris

Hard Charger: Kale Drake (19th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Harley Burns

OPEN SEASON!

CUMMINS COMMANDS VOLUSIA USAC SPRINT OPENER

Barberville, Florida (February 10, 2025)………Of Kyle Cummins’ now 18 career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victories, none had ever come on a 1/2-mile dirt track, nor in a season opener, nor at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.

Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) checked off all those boxes in one fell swoop in a dominant romp to win Monday night’s Winter Dirt Games XVI round at Volusia, part of the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals festivities.

Starting fourth, Cummins made quick work of the field as he split between Logan Seavey and Mitchel Moles on the back straightway on the first lap, then chased down and swept around the outside of pole sitter Brady Bacon in turns three and four to occupy the lead, once and for all.

Cummins was never headed for the remainder of the 25-lap event, only losing ground due to a pair of late-race cautions which bunched up the field and evaporated his lead momentarily. Yet, when all was said and done, nobody was in the same stratosphere as Cummins and his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors - Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

“There at the beginning, the car was just great,” Cummins noted. “I felt like I was struggling there at the end and I didn’t know where to go. A caution when you’re coming to the checkered is like the most terrible thing ever, but we got it done and we’re pretty excited to chalk this one up. I’ve never won here before and it’s a big 1/2-mile. People say I can’t run 1/2-miles. I think we proved them wrong a little bit tonight.”

The victory was the second for Cummins in his Winter Dirt Games career following his triumph in February of 2023 at Ocala Speedway, and his second in the Sunshine State of Florida. Overall, it was his 18th career USAC National Sprint Car win, tying him with Parnelli Jones for 27th on the all-time list.

Furthermore, the win was the third in USAC National Sprint Car competition for the Petty team with Cummins as the driver after the two competed together on the full season tour in 2024. Whereas their first win together came in their 28th try in 2024, this one came right off the bat, swiftly and decisively, in the first opportunity they faced.

Among the items Cummins was eying redemption for was the first of two 2024 USAC National Sprint Car events at Volusia. In the first of those, Cummins led a race-high 14 laps before being surpassed by Seavey with 11 laps remaining. Seavey went on to celebrate the victory, and ultimately, the series championship at season’s end.

“Last year was rough,” Cummins admitted. “The team that we’ve got is like family. We’re jelling really well, and I knew after the first practice yesterday at Ocala, the car was as good as I’ve had down here in Florida. I’ve just got to give it up to (team owner) Jerry Petty for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. It took a year, and it was a lot of work. We’ve finally found a good balance and all the guys are working great together.”

Just prior to halfway, on lap 10, Cummins had upped his lead to more than two seconds with Bacon and Daison Pursley both in tow several car lengths behind. Cummins julienned, mashed and pureed his way in, out and between the rash of sudden traffic in order to keep Bacon and Pursley at bay, and successfully, he did just that.

“I ran that thing the first 10 laps, and I think I never lifted off the floor,” Cummins stated. “It was hooked up good.”

By lap 15, Cummins had pushed his lead to four seconds as Justin Grant rushed his way into third past Pursley in traffic. However, on the 20th lap, 17th running Kobe Simpson’s ride slowed to a halt in turn three surrounded in smoke with an apparent engine issue. Thus, Cummins' 4.235 second lead was stricken from the record, and now he had to firm up his grip on the steering wheel with the field on his rear bumper with just five laps remaining.

That was of no issue to Cummins who immediately separated himself from Bacon et al. to the tune of 1.096 seconds over the next four-plus laps and had a checkered flag just within his reach. However, moments after taking the white flag, the yellow flag was displayed for Jake Swanson (12th), who slowed dramatically on the final lap in the middle of turn four. His car limped to the pits, but he was able to refire and rejoin the field.

The stoppage necessitated a green-white-checker restart/finish. Once again, it proved to be no big thing for Cummins who once more stomped his competition by thumping them on the restart, stretching his advantage to 0.840 seconds by the time he crossed the line as the winner.

Meanwhile, coming to the white flag, Pursley stuck the bottom between turns three and four to zip past both Grant and Bacon in succession to climb from fourth to second, where he ultimately wound up in the final order. Bacon took third with Grant fourth and Briggs Danner rounding out the top-five.

Nic Harris of Atlanta, Illinois made his Winter Dirt Games debut a memorable one on this night at Volusia. He went seventh to fifth on the final lap of his heat race to gain the final transfer spot into the feature. That performance earned him the evening's Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

In CB Industries’ first outing as a USAC National Sprint Car team, Daison Pursley drove the team’s car to quick during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. For Pursley, it was his eighth career fast time in USAC Sprint competition, tying Shane Cottle, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O’Connor and Hunter Schuerenberg for 59th all-time. For Boat, it was his first participation with the USAC National Sprint Cars since competing as a driver in February of 2010 at California’s Perris Auto Speedway 15 years ago.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 10, 2025 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI / Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-16.156; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.228; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.304; 4. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.342; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.379; 6. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-16.413; 7. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.440; 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.531; 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.643; 10. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-16.667; 11. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-16.708; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.718; 13. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-16.719; 14. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-16.720; 15. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-16.725; 16. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-16.751; 17. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-16.763; 18. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-16.773; 19. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-16.779; 20. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-16.825; 21. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE-16.914; 22. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-16.958; 23. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-16.988; 24. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-16.991; 25. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-17.013; 26. Mark Smith, M1, Smith-17.063; 27. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-17.090; 28. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-17.155; 29. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-17.554; 30. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-17.942; 31. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-18.276; 32. Mike Haggenbottom, 51, Hoagie-18.579; 33. Kyle Jones, 79, Hall-NT; 34. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-NT.

ROD END SUPPLY FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Kobe Simpson, 5. Kayla Roell, 6. John Mollick, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr. 2:23.752

CAR IQ SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Mark Smith, 8. Brian Ruhlman, 9. Eddie Vancil. NT

K1 RACEGEAR THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Briggs Danner, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Tom Harris, 7. Harley Burns, 8. Troy Carey. 2:22.162

HOOSIER TIRE FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Nic Harris, 6. Gunnar Setser, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Mike Haggenbottom. 2:20.744

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Gunnar Setser, 3. Tom Harris, 4. Brian Ruhlman, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Mark Smith, 7. John Mollick, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Harley Burns, 10. Mike Haggenbottom, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Eddie Vancil. NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (4), 2. Daison Pursley (6), 3. Brady Bacon (1), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Briggs Danner (7), 6. Logan Seavey (2), 7. Kale Drake (14), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 9. C.J. Leary (18), 10. Mitchel Moles (3), 11. Robert Ballou (8), 12. Chase Stockon (9), 13. Jadon Rogers (20), 14. Jake Swanson (15), 15. Ricky Lewis (24), 16. Joey Amantea (21), 17. Hayden Reinbold (12), 18. Carson Garrett (19), 19. Kayla Roell (23), 20. Brian Ruhlman (11), 21. Gunnar Setser (22), 22. Nic Harris (16), 23. Tom Harris (17), 24. Kobe Simpson (13). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Brady Bacon, Laps 2-25 Kyle Cummins.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-81, 2-Daison Pursley-79, 3-Brady Bacon-71, 4-Justin Grant-71, 5-Briggs Danner-66, 6-Logan Seavey-65, 7-Kale Drake-59, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54, 9-C.J. Leary-53, 10-Mitchel Moles-52.

USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-9, 2-Ricky Lewis-9, 3-Kale Drake-7, 4-Jadon Rogers-7, 5-Joey Amantea-5, 6-Daison Pursley-4, 7-Kayla Roell-4, 8-Kyle Cummins-3, 9-Briggs Danner-2, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Ricky Lewis-17, 2-C.J. Leary-9, 3-Kale Drake-8, 4-Kyle Cummins-7, 5-Jadon Rogers-7, 6-Daison Pursley-6, 7-Briggs Danner-6, 8-Kayla Roell-6, 9-Joey Amantea-5, 10-Gunnar Setser-5.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: February 11, 2025 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI / Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (16.556)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (16.156)

Rod End Supply First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Car IQ Second Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

K1 RaceGear Third Heat Winner: Briggs Danner

Hoosier Tire Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Ricky Lewis

Hard Charger: C.J. Leary (18th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Nic Harris

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS HEADLINE PERRIS SEASON OPENER ON FEBRUARY 15
By Lance Jennings

FEBRUARY 8, 2025... The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are ready to take their first green flag of the season on Saturday, February 15th, at Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the opening night will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, PASSCAR Street Stocks, and PASSCAR American Factory Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start 30 minutes earlier than usual at 6:30pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- TIRE RULE: Hoosier tires ARE REQUIRED ON ALL FOUR CORNERS of the car.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ran fourth in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender earned his first series win on April 27th at Perris and posted seven heat race victories, one semi-main win, seven top-five finishes, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will have his sights on another win at Perris Auto Speedway.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Logan Calderwood, Grant Sexton, Blake Bower, Matt Mitchell, Jeff Dyer, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Stevie Rogers, Blake Hendricks, Gary Marshall Jr., “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Tom Dunkel, 2024 PAS Young Gun Champion Brecken Guerrero, and more.

Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. General admission tickets (13 & over) are $35, Senior tickets (65 & over) are $30, Kids tickets (6 to 12) are $10, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. The Lake Perris Fairgrounds charges $20 for parking. Advance tickets are available and for more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-Charles Davis Jr., 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Tommy Malcolm, 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Cody Williams, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ
April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ
April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)
June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA
July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World)
October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.

SUNDAY’S BEST:

LEARY OPENS SEASON WITH NEW RIDE,

TOP SPEED IN PRACTICE AT OCALA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 9, 2025)………C.J. Leary timed in quickest overall in Sunday’s USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship practice day at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) turned the top time of 15.347 seconds during the afternoon session on the 3/8-mile dirt track, all of which is in preparation for the start of the 2025 season and Winter Dirt Games XVI, which begins on February 10-11 at Volusia Speedway Park and February 12-15 at Ocala Speedway.

For Leary, it was his first outing of the season for the Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian Racing team, which he joined late last year and competed in a pair of USAC CRA Sprint Car events during the Western World Championships. Leary was victorious in the most recent USAC National Sprint Car event at Ocala held in February 2024 for BGE Dougherty Motorsports.

Overall, 30 cars and 29 drivers took part in the practice. Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), also making his first run for the new CB Industries sprint car team, was second overall at 15.389. Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) was third at 15.428 for Petty Performance Racing.

Meanwhile, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) put two cars inside the top-five of the final practice result. He took fourth in the primary Tom & Laurie Sertich ride at 15.492, then rounded out the top-five at 15.621.

The USAC National Sprint Car season begins Monday, February 10, at Volusia. The pits and grandstands open at 3pm Eastern. The drivers meeting commences at 4:30pm followed by engine heat at 5pm and hot laps at 5:30pm followed by qualifying and racing.

Advance tickets are available at https://dirtcarnationals.com/tickets/. The event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: February 9, 2025 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XVI – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

PRACTICE: 1. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-15.347; 2. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-15.389; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-15.428; 4. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-15.492; 5. Chase Stockon, 92m, Sertich-15.621; 6. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming Swanson-15.695; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.715; 8. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-15.728; 9. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-15.975; 10. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-16.072; 11. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-16.103; 12. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-16.149; 13. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.180; 14. Kale Drake 2B, 2B Racing-16.183; 15. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.190; 16. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-16.205; 17. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.228; 18. Oliver Akard, 32, Akard-16.256; 19. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-16.291; 20. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-16.313; 21. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.362; 22. Kyle Jones, 79, Hall-16.391; 23. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.602; 24. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-16.612; 25. Mike Haggenbottom, 51, Haggenbottom-16.681; 26. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-16.876; 27. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-17.187; 28. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE-20.265; 29. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-23.293; 30. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-NT.

BC39 RETURNS TO THE DIRT TRACK AT IMS

ON JULY 1-2, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS (February 6, 2025) – One of the most prestigious events in dirt racing is set to return this summer as the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors heads back to The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for its seventh running on a new date, July 1-2, 2025.

The United States Auto Club (USAC) NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will once again take center stage as drivers race for victory on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of IMS. This is the first time the BC39 has taken place in early July, as four of the previous events occurred in September and the other two in August.

Action among the top Midget racers in the country will open with a full program on Tuesday, July 1, which concludes with a feature. Wednesday night's July 2 finale will culminate in a 39-lap feature. The event honors the memory of Bryan Clauson, a three-time Indianapolis 500 starter and four-time USAC national driving champion.

Ticket renewals and applications will be open from Feb. 11-21, with tickets going on sale to the general public Wednesday, Feb. 26. Visit IMS.com for complete details and to renew, apply for or buy tickets.

Cannon McIntosh took the lead with slightly more than one lap remaining to win the BC39 last September in an unforgettable finish. He joins a list of BC39 winners that includes NASCAR Cup Series champion and Brickyard 400 presented by PPG winner Kyle Larson and short-track stars Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Zeb Wise and Brady Bacon. No driver has ever won this coveted race more than once.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

2025 USAC WINTER DIRT GAMES PREVIEW

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 6, 2025)………The time has come to exit hibernation and enter excitation with anticipation of USAC Winter Dirt Games XVI, the official kick off of the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season.

New rides, car combinations, an increased car count and the excitement of a new season fill the air with six consecutive nights of racing action on the docket in the state of Florida.

The 16th annual edition of Winter Dirt Games presents practice night at the 3/8-mile Ocala Speedway on Sunday, February 9, followed by the first two rounds of racing at Barberville’s 1/2-mile Volusia Speedway Park on Monday-Tuesday, February 10-11, while Ocala Speedway finishes out the week with four-straight evenings of racing on Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday, February 12-13-14-15.

Let’s get after it! Here are a few of the top-of-mind storylines entering the new year starting this week in the Sunshine State.

SIX APPEAL

With six races in six nights, Winter Dirt Games is, for all intents and purposes, a Florida Sprint Week. It’s a fairly significant chunk of the schedule that greets competitors right off the bat, and there’s not much time to be sluggish.

Setting the tone is imperative, and the 2024 edition produced in that department. Logan Seavey, in his brand new sprint car ride with Abacus Racing, took over the point lead during Winter Dirt Games at Volusia, and never relented the remainder of the way en route to the USAC National Sprint Car championship.

He was just the latest in a long succession of drivers who’ve won in Florida to start off the year, then go on to capture that season’s USAC National Sprint Car title: Bryan Clauson (2013), Brady Bacon (2014), Robert Ballou (2015), Tyler Courtney (2018), C.J. Leary (2019), Brady Bacon (2020), Justin Grant (2022) and Logan Seavey (2024).

SEAVEY’S CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE

Speaking of Logan Seavey, his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship defense begins at the very same track where he and his Abacus Racing team began its journey to becoming the juggernaut they were in 2024.

Last February at Volusia, Seavey became the first driver in 23 years to win multiple USAC National Sprint Car features on the same day (Bud Kaeding at the Terre Haute Action Track in 2001). It was a doubly incredible feat considering the fact it was the first week of the team’s existence as a sprint car operation.

Seavey and Abacus went on to score 14 USAC National Sprint Car wins in 2024, equaling the all-time record set by Tom Bigelow in 1977. The goal is within reach for Seavey if their prowess can be duplicated in 2025 as they aim for the record books while attempting to become the third consecutive back-to-back series champion of the decade following Brady Bacon (2020-2021) and Justin Grant (2022-2023).

OPEN SESAME

There’s no better way to begin a season for a driver and team than winning right out of the box on opening night. One driver, Brady Bacon, could set a new all-time USAC record if he were to capture the Monday, February 10, round at Volusia.

Bacon currently owns three career USAC National Sprint Car season opening victories, which is tied for the best all-time mark alongside Don Branson, Larry Dickson, Rich Vogler and Damion Gardner. Bacon accomplished the feat in 2014, 2020 and 2023, all at Ocala.

Other drivers in this year’s Winter Dirt Games field who’ve won season opening USAC Sprint Car features at Ocala include Robert Ballou (2015), Chase Stockon (2018), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2021) and Justin Grant (2017 & 2024).

Another opening night win for Grant this year would tie him for the all-time record. Furthermore, only five drivers have won back-to-back season openers: Don Branson (1959-60), Jud Larson (1965-66), Sammy Sessions (1971-72), Rich Vogler (1986-87) and Damion Gardner (2010-11-12).

FIRST IN FLORIDA

This year’s Florida field is chockfull of Winter Dirt Games winners, eight of them in fact!

Justin Grant is the all-time Winter Dirt Games winner with seven career victories, three of which came a year ago in Ocala. Brady Bacon has won five, Robert Ballou three, C.J. Leary two, Logan Seavey two and Kevin Thomas Jr. two while Kyle Cummins and Chase Stockon have each garnered one.

USAC racing and the Sunshine State have a history that dates back to the decade of the 1950s. In fact, the first three USAC Sprint Car races ever held took place in Florida in February of 1956. Bob Sweikert won the first such event at Southland Speedway in West Palm Beach, followed by Chuck Weyant at Jacksonville Speedway and Pat O’Connor at Medley Speedway in Miami.

Overall, 52 USAC National Sprint Car races have taken place in the state of Florida while 43 of them have been under the Winter Dirt Games banner dating back to its inaugural edition in 2010.

NEW COMBOS & ADDRESSES

In addition to the previously mentioned teams who are taking on the full USAC National Sprint Car tour in 2025, among them are several new combinations to keep an eye on throughout Winter Dirt Games.

Among the full-timers, 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champion C.J. Leary has taken over the wheel of the Team AZ /Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 21AZ, which won a non-points special event at Volusia in 2023 with driver Jake Swanson. Swanson, meanwhile, has transferred over to the new Daming Swanson Motorsports No. 5T, which appeared in a handful of USAC events a year ago.

Jadon Rogers appeared in several late season USAC Sprint Car events in 2024 with Amati Racing, with whom he returns to drive for throughout this season. Amati’s No. 66 scored a Winter Dirt Games victory in 2016 with Thomas Meseraull. Kale Drake is in a similar boat, picking up a ride with 2B Racing’s number 2B last summer and will man the ride for the 2025 USAC season.

Gunnar Setser is the new wheelman of the KO Motorsports No. 5G, which was formerly the No. 5s driven by Chase Stockon. Stockon will now strap into Tom & Laurie Sertich’s Moose Racing No. 92 for the 2025 season. Stockon was a Winter Dirt Games victor at Ocala in 2018.

Brady Bacon, a five-time Winter Dirt Games winner and four-time USAC National Sprint Car champion, will run a scaled back USAC schedule this year aboard Chris Dyson Racing’s No. 20.

Furthermore, Hayden Reinbold made his first seven USAC National Sprint Car starts in the latter half of the 2024 campaign, but will now be competing for series Rookie of the Year in 2025 at the controls of the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19 as a teammate to Mitchel Moles.

QUALITY RETURNS

The dawn of a new USAC National Sprint Car season also presents many questions and the anticipation of how the young crop of talent will develop across the season.

Briggs Danner is one to keep an eye on following a three-win USAC National Sprint Car season in 2024 which netted him USAC Most Improved Driver honors.

It's the same for Ricky Lewis as well as he too faces the full USAC schedule for the first time in his career after a 25-win season made him the winningest sprint car driver in the United States for 2024. But a first career USAC national victory remains in his crosshairs.

“Tall” Trey Osborne returns to Florida for the first time since an out-of-the-ballpark ride at Ocala in 2024 resulted in a back injury that derailed his early season notions. Carson Garrett has been close to a first career USAC victory, and is eager to take his shot while Joey Amantea led his first laps with USAC at Ocala a year ago, and hopes to make a big showing in the year to come.

RACE DETAILS:

FEB. 9 OCALA

Practice begins the return to Winter Dirt Games festivities on Sunday, February 9, from 1-4pm Eastern at Ocala Speedway. Grandstand admission is free while pit admission is $25.

FEB. 10-11 VOLUSIA

On both nights, the pits open at 3pmEastern with grandstands opening at 3pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm, engine heat at 5pm and hot laps at 5:30 followed by qualifying and racing. Advance tickets are available at https://dirtcarnationals.com/tickets/.

Monday’s show will pay $6,000-to-win followed by Tuesday’s $10,000-to-win tilt.

FEB. 12-15 OCALA

For the first two nights of racing on Wednesday, February 12 and Thursday, February 13 at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $30 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 &under are free.

For Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15, at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $35 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $45 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are free.

On all four nights at Ocala, pits open at 2pm Eastern, front gates open at 5pm and cars hit the track at 6pm.

Wednesday and Thursday night’s programs will pay $6,000-to-win while Friday’s event will pay $7,500 before culminating in Saturday’s $10,000-to-win grand finale.

The Winter Dirt Games overall champion will earn a $5,000 reward.

COVERAGE

All six USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship events from Florida will be streamed live and on-demand at https://flosports.link/usac.

2025 USAC WINTER DIRT GAMES XVI ENTRY LIST:

M1 Mark Smith/Sunbury, Pennsylvania

2B Kale Drake/Collinsville, Oklahoma

N2 Nic Harris/Atlanta, Illinois

3p Kyle Cummins/Princeton, Indiana

3R Kevin Thomas Jr./Cullman, Alabama

4 Justin Grant/Ione, California

4J John Mollick/Toronto, Ohio

4K Kayla Roell/Dillsboro, Indiana

5 Stevie Sussex/Tempe, Arizona

5G Gunnar Setser/Columbus, Indiana

5T Jake Swanson/Anaheim, California

6T Trey Osborne/Columbus, Ohio

7v Eddie Vancil/Olney, Illinois

12 Robert Ballou/Rocklin, California

15 Carson Garrett/Littleton, Colorado

16 Harley Burns/Brazil, Indiana

19 Hayden Reinbold/Gilbert, Arizona

19AZ Mitchel Moles/Raisin City, California

20 Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

21AZ C.J. Leary/Greenfield, Indiana

21K Kobe Simpson/Bonham, Texas

32 Oliver Akard/Fort Myers, Florida

39 Briggs Danner/Allentown, Pennsylvania

39G Matt Goodnight/Winchester, Indiana

41 Ricky Lewis/Camarillo, California

45N Troy Carey/Tullamore, New South Wales

49 Brian Ruhlman/Clarklake, Michigan (Volusia Only)

51 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, Pennsylvania (Volusia Only)

51T Eddie Tafoya Jr./Chino Hills, California

57 Logan Seavey/Sutter, California

66 Jadon Rogers/Worthington, Indiana

79 Kyle Jones/Kennedale, Texas

84 Tom Harris/Banbury, Oxfordshire

88J Joey Amantea/Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania

92 Chase Stockon/Fort Branch, Indiana

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT OCALA:

7-Justin Grant

5-Brady Bacon

4-Bryan Clauson

3-Damion Gardner

2-Emerson Axsom, Robert Ballou, Tyler Courtney, Tracy Hines & C.J. Leary

1-Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, Darren Hagen, Thomas Meseraull, Hunter Schuerenberg, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom

USAC SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT OCALA SPEEDWAY:

2011: Damion Gardner (2/17), Bryan Clauson (2/18) & Damion Gardner (2/19)

2012: Damion Gardner (2/9) & Darren Hagen (2/11)

2013: Bryan Clauson (2/21), Tracy Hines (2/22) & Tracy Hines (2/23)

2014: Brady Bacon (2/20) & Bryan Clauson (2/22)

2015: Robert Ballou (2/19), Brady Bacon (2/20) & Dave Darland (2/21)

2016: Bryan Clauson (2/18), Robert Ballou (2/19) & Thomas Meseraull (2/20)

2017: Justin Grant (2/24) & Hunter Schuerenberg (2/25)

2018: Chase Stockon (2/15), Tyler Courtney (2/16) & Tyler Courtney (2/17)

2019: Chris Windom (2/14), Justin Grant (2/15) & C.J. Leary (2/16)

2020: Brady Bacon (2/14) & Brady Bacon (2/15)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (2/11) & Justin Grant (2/12)

2022: Emerson Axsom (2/17), Justin Grant (2/18) & Emerson Axsom (2/19)

2023: Brady Bacon (2/16) & Kyle Cummins (2/18)

2024: Justin Grant (2/9), Justin Grant (2/10), Justin Grant (2/15) & C.J. Leary (2/16)

‍

USAC SPRINT CAR WINS AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK:

Points Events:

2-Logan Seavey

Non-Points Special Events:

1-Daison Pursley & Jake Swanson

USAC SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK:

Points Events:

2024: Logan Seavey (2/13) & Logan Seavey (2/13)

Non-Points Special Events:

2023: Jake Swanson (2/13) & Daison Pursley (2/14)

‍

WINTER DIRT GAMES USAC SPRINT WINS:

7-Justin Grant

5-Brady Bacon & Damion Gardner

4-Bryan Clauson

3-Robert Ballou

2-Emerson Axsom, Tyler Courtney, Tracy Hines, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, Darren Hagen, Thomas Meseraull, Hunter Schuerenberg, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom‍

‍

FLORIDA USAC NATIONAL SPRINT POINTS WINS:

7-Justin Grant

5-Brady Bacon & Damion Gardner

4-Bryan Clauson

3-Robert Ballou

2-Emerson Axsom, Tyler Courtney, Larry Dickson, Tracy Hines, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, Darren Hagen, Thomas Meseraull, Pat O’Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg, Chase Stockon, Bob Sweikert, Rich Vogler, Chuck Weyant & Chris Windom

FLORIDA USAC SPRINT NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT WINS:

1-Daison Pursley, Dave Steele & Jake Swanson

‍

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORDS AT OCALA SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 2/15/2019 - Carson Short- 13.398

6 Laps - 2/19/2022 - Kyle Cummins- 1:32.62

8 Laps - 2/14/2019 - Robert Ballou - 1:50.920

10 Laps - 2/10/2024 - C.J. Leary- 2:31.170

12 Laps - 2/23/2013 - Robert Ballou - 2:52.770

30 Laps - 2/11/2021 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 7:45.762

‍

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORDS AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK:

1 Lap - 2/13/2024 - C.J. Leary - 16.151

8 Laps - 2/12/2024 - Justin Grant- 2:16.61

10 Laps - 2/14/2023 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 2:57.95

12 Laps - 2/13/2023 - Daison Pursley - 3:34.33

30 Laps - 2/14/2023 - Daison Pursley - 9:00.65

MEET THE 14 USAC SPRINT CAR

FULL-TIMERS FOR 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 3, 2025)………It’s time to go racing in 2025 with a large and talented contingent of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship full-time competitors.

The field of 14 full-time drivers and teams is stacked and ready to hit the road for the 53-race tour which hits the road for the first time in 2025 with six February dates in Florida starting at Barberville’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 10-11 followed by Ocala Speedway on February 12-13-14-15.

Here’s the full list of the 14 USAC National Sprint Car full-timers for 2025!

LOGAN SEAVEY | ABACUS RACING #57

In their first season together on the USAC National Sprint Car trail, Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing made 2024 one of the finest seasons in series history en route to the championship. A 14-win season a year ago tied Tom Bigelow for the winningest single season in series history. Seavey’s goals include breaking that record while also shooting to become the third back-to-back series champ of the 2020s following Brady Bacon (2020-21) and Justin Grant (2022-23).

KEVIN THOMAS JR. | ROCK STEADY RACING #3R

Year one with Rock Steady Racing was an undisputed success for Kevin Thomas Jr. on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour in 2024. A five-win campaign translated into KTJ’s best overall season with the series in three years. When all was tallied up, KTJ finished fourth in the standings and rose up into the top-10 all-time in terms of career USAC National Sprint Car victories. Year two is on its way, and this combo will be a prime contender.

C.J. LEARY | TEAM AZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN RACING #21AZ

It’s an all-new formula for C.J. Leary on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship circuit in 2025. After competing the last two seasons for BGE-Dougherty Motorsports, the Greenfield, Indiana racer has swapped over to Team Arizona / Curb-Agajanian Racing for a full run at the title. Leary, the 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champ takes over the helm of the 21AZ, which won twice a year ago in USAC competition with Daison Pursley in the seat.

MITCHEL MOLES | REINBOLD-UNDERWOOD MOTORSPORTS #19AZ

For Mitchel Moles and Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, it was all about constructing a foundation throughout last year’s USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship slate. It was a process that rewarded Moles with his finest and most successful season yet with the series as he recorded career highs across the board in several categories along with an Eastern Storm title. The rise of the Raisin City, California native was punctuated with his most consistent season yet.

ROBERT BALLOU | BALLOU MOTORSPORTS #12

For nearly two decades, Robert Ballou has been a driving force in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition. In May of 2024, he was on the winning side of the most electrifying finish of the year when he erased a half-straightaway deficit on the last lap to win at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. As a privateer, he remains the winningest combined driver/entrant in series history, an accolade he aims to add to in 2025.

KYLE CUMMINS | PETTY PERFORMANCE RACING #3P

With a brand new team starting from scratch, it’s quite normal to endure the growing pains, the learning curve and the trial and error that naturally comes along with it. Kyle Cummins and Petty Performance Racing’s 2024 season ran the gamut of emotions, but by the end of the year, they were among the elite in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition. This year, they look to build upon it in their sophomore season.

JUSTIN GRANT | TOPP MOTORSPORTS #4

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) experienced perhaps the strangest stat line in the USAC National Sprint Car history by finishing ninth in points and winning nine races! Inconsistency dogged him in 2024, but when the 2022-23 series champ was on, he was on. He enters his eighth season as TOPP Motorsports’ driver at 54 career USAC National Sprint Car victories. Another nine-win campaign would surpass Dave Darland’s 62 to make him the winningest driver in series history.

JAKE SWANSON | DAMING SWANSON MOTORSPORTS #5T

Jake Swanson, a seasoned driver with a proven track record of success, will pilot a new entry during the 2025 USAC National Sprint Car season with Daming Swanson Motorsports. It’s long been a dream for the Anaheim, California driver to build a program capable of competing at the top level with USAC, and now that dream is a reality. Additionally, the team is supported by a key partnership with car owner and mechanic Doug Dougherty.

BRIGGS DANNER | HOGUE RACING ENTERPRISES #39

It was a breakout year in 2024 in which he won his initial three USAC National Sprint Car features before going on to capture USAC National Most Improved Driver honors. But now, the Allentown, Pennsylvania racer and his Hogue Racing Enterprises team have stepped up to compete for a championship as a full-time team on the circuit in 2025 following years of a partial national schedule and a run at the USAC East Coast Sprint Car title.

JADON ROGERS | AMATI RACING #66

Jadon Rogers joined Amati Racing during the latter half of the 2024 season, and quickly hit their stride, winning three times on the local Indiana level while also garnering the inaugural Midwest Thunder Sprint Car championship. In fact, Rogers is the winningest sprint car driver in Indiana during the decade between 2020-2024 with 24 scores. Now, the team is back on the tour and hungry for more.

JOEY AMANTEA | JPA RACING #88J

Joey Amantea showed flashes of brilliance on his debut run as a USAC National Sprint Car full-timer in 2024. He led his first series laps down in Ocala, Florida at the start of the year before going on to earn six top-10 results in his family-owned ride. To add onto that, he also forged forward in several of his starts, picking up hard charger honors on four occasions. This year, he eyes becoming a consistent top-five runner as he vies for his first series win.

RICKY LEWIS | Ricky Lewis #41

No other sprint car driver in America can lay claim to the sheer amount of success Ricky Lewis has accrued over the past couple of seasons. His 25 feature victories led the nation in that category as he captured his second consecutive Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series title. Now, he’s out on the USAC tour full-time for the first time in his burgeoning career in his own ride, looking to translate that success to his first career USAC triumph.

KALE DRAKE | 2B RACING #2B

Kale Drake’s first foray into sprint car racing of any kind came in USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week during the summer of 2024. From there on, he was a regular on the tour in Scott Benic’s 2B Racing machine, finishing out the season with 15 feature starts and a boatload of experiences to go along with it. The Oklahoman has shown speed, and plenty of it, as he plans to translate that speed to success for the team that captured a USAC National Sprint Car championship back in 2005.

HAYDEN REINBOLD | REINBOLD-UNDERWOOD MOTORSPORTS #19

Hayden Reinbold is gunning for Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC National Sprint Cars in 2025. The veteran of five seasons of USAC Midget racing will wheel his family-owned Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19 as one-half of the only multi-car full-time team on the circuit alongside Mitchel Moles. The Gilbert, Arizona driver was able to get his feet wet with his first seven career starts with the season late last year. Now, he’s ready to take on the challenge.

MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

ADDS $15K TO 2025 SEASON’S BEST

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 3, 2025)………The Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship returns for 2025 with an increased $15,000 reward going to the driver who accrues the most combined points throughout the USAC national season.

The honor encompasses attaining points throughout each and every points-paying USAC Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget series event during the 2025 campaign. USAC’s 2025 national schedule encompasses 95 events from coast-to-coast.

Over the past four seasons since 2021, the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship top prize has tripled from $5,000 to $15,000.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) punctuated his record-setting 2024 season by earning the USAC National Drivers Championship a year ago. In all, he collected a total of 5,130 combined points between the three USAC National series, most of any driver.

The Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship celebrates its 27th consecutive year in 2025. Previous champions include many of the greatest names in USAC’s illustrious history, including five drivers who’ve won the award on at least three different occasions.

Tracy Hines and Justin Grant have won the award more times than anybody else, on four occasions. Hines collected top honors in 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2014 while Grant accomplished the feat in 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The new Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Champion will be honored at USAC’s Night of Champions in December of 2025.

MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONS:

1999: Dave Darland

2000: Tracy Hines

2001: J.J. Yeley

2002: J.J. Yeley

2003: J.J. Yeley

2004: Jay Drake

2005: Josh Wise

2006: Josh Wise

2007: Jerry Coons Jr.

2008: Tracy Hines

2009: Cole Whitt

2010: Bryan Clauson

2011: Bryan Clauson

2012: Bryan Clauson

2013: Tracy Hines

2014: Tracy Hines

2015: Dave Darland

2016: Brady Bacon

2017: Justin Grant

2018: Tyler Courtney

2019: Tyler Courtney

2020: Chris Windom

2021: Justin Grant

2022: Justin Grant

2023: Justin Grant

2024: Logan Seavey

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS’

2025 SCHEDULE REVEALED

Speedway, Indiana (January 30, 2024)………The 44th season of Avanti Windows & Doors USAC Western States Midget competition prepares for the 2025 campaign with 12 race dates at six different dirt ovals throughout the Golden State of California.

The season opens and closes at the southern California seaside oval of Ventura. The slate kicks off on March 8 at Ventura Raceway and closes out the series season at the same 1/5-mile dirt venue on October 25. Sandwiched between the bookmarks are another pair of Ventura events on June 14 and July 12.

Thereafter, Placerville Speedway hosts a duo of series rounds on April 5 and again on July 5 at the northern California 1/4-mile dirt oval.

Two dates await the series at Nipomo, California’s Santa Maria Speedway as competitors return to the 1/3-mile clay oval on both May 17 and August 9.

Visalia, California’s Plaza Park Raceway is back on the slate for the first time since the series’ 2013 trip to the Central Valley 1/5-mile dirt track. The Plaza Park return will take place on April 26 for its one and only series date of the year.

The newly-rechristened Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway welcomes the series on June 13. Also making single appearances on the tour in the coming year are the fairgrounds of Merced Speedway on September 13 while Antioch Speedway hosts the series on October 11.

Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, Calif.) enters 2025 as the reigning USAC Western States Midget champion, a series which also boasts as its champions the likes of Jeff Heywood, Sleepy Tripp, Robby Flock, Billy Boat, Jay Drake, Wally Pankratz, Cory Kruseman, Ronnie Gardner and Michael Faccinto, just to name a few.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SCHEDULE:

Mar 8: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, California

Apr 5: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, California

Apr 26: Plaza Park Raceway | Visalia, California

May 17: Santa Maria Speedway | Nipomo, California

Jun 13: Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway | Bakersfield, California

Jun 14: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, California

Jul 5: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, California

Jul 12: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, California

Aug 9: Santa Maria Speedway | Nipomo, California

Sep 13: Merced Speedway | Merced, California

Oct 11: Antioch Speedway | Antioch, California

Oct 25: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, California

2025 LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE SET,

ESTES NAMED GENERAL MANAGER

Putnamville, Indiana (January 30, 2025)………Tommie Estes has been named the new General Manager of Putnamville, Indiana’s Honest Abe Roofing Lincoln Park Speedway, effective at the start of the 2025 racing season, which features 26 racing nights between April and September.

With a wealth of experience in the racing industry, Tommie brings over two decades of leadership and hands-on knowledge to the role, positioning him to continue the legacy of excellence at one of Indiana’s most beloved dirt racing venues. Furthermore, Jen Estes will serve as the track’s co-manager.

Honest Abe Roofing will serve as the title sponsor of the 5/16-mile dirt oval. Furthermore, a long term agreement between the track owner, Dave Allison, and USAC Promotions is in place to assure long term stability for Lincoln Park Speedway competitors and race fans.

“We are greatly appreciative to all the phenomenal groups that showed interest in promoting Lincoln Park Speedway,” track owner Dave Allison said. “After an extensive evaluation of all interested parties, we decided that the best choice for the long-term stability, continued growth, expansion and exposure for Lincoln Park Speedway would be to allow USAC to promote the LPS facility. They will continue the tradition of local Saturday night racing at LPS, and I’m confident in USAC’s ability to take the facility to the next level of entertainment for our fans and race teams.”

Tommie’s extensive background in motorsports management and racing includes serving as the Competition Director for the ASCS National Sprint Tour, the Chili Bowl Nationals, and most recently, as the Competition Director for the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, a role he’ll continue in alongside his duties at Lincoln Park.

Furthermore, Tommie previously oversaw the racing operations at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, where he built a reputation for fostering competitive environments and creating fan-friendly events. His work at Dodge City was marked by strong organizational growth, the development of innovative racing programs, and his ability to engage both drivers and spectators alike.

Tommie also served as a longtime American Sprint Car Series Director, where he oversaw race operations, ensured compliance with sanctioning body rules, and worked closely with teams to maintain fair competition.

A former driver himself, Tommie understands the sport from the perspective of both competitors and fans, giving him a unique ability to create a balanced and exciting racing environment. His passion for sprint car racing and his deep connection to the dirt racing community are at the heart of his vision for Lincoln Park Speedway.

“I’m honored to take on this role at Lincoln Park Speedway,” Tommie said. “This is an iconic venue, and I’m excited to work with the great team here to build upon the track’s rich history. My goal is to continue growing the track’s reputation for thrilling racing while ensuring we deliver the best experience for drivers, fans, and the local community. I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

Lincoln Park Speedway, located about 50 miles southeast from downtown Indianapolis, has been a staple in Indiana racing since its inception, hosting a wide variety of events, including weekly racing series, special events, and major regional sprint car races. The addition of Tommie as General Manager signals a continued commitment to high-quality racing and fan engagement at the track.

Tommie’s leadership is expected to usher in an exciting new chapter for Lincoln Park Speedway, enhancing both the driver experience and fan experience. His dedication to the sport, coupled with his vast industry knowledge, makes him the ideal person to take the helm of this legendary track.

Tommie will begin his tenure immediately and is eager to meet with fans, drivers, and staff as he works to further elevate Lincoln Park Speedway’s standing as a premier destination for dirt track racing in the region.

Lincoln Park is set to host five USAC national events in 2025, including four USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car shows starting on April 11 followed by the Bill Gardner Sprintacular on July 4-5, plus NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing on July 25. The track welcomes the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship’s Indiana Midget Week on June 5.

Lincoln Park Speedway is located at 1051 U.S. Hwy 40, Putnamville, Indiana 46135. The track can be reached by phone at (765) 653-3485. For more info, please visit www.LincolnParkSpeedway.com or via social media on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LincolnParkSpeedwayUSAC and on X at @RaceLincolnPark.

2025 HONEST ABE ROOFING LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE

APRIL

Saturday, April 5 | Open Practice

Friday, April 11 | Opening Night (USAC Sprints & IMCA Racesaver Sprints Plus Fireworks)

Saturday, April 12 | Weekly Racing (UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, April 19 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, April 26 | Buckeye Bob 33 (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks)

MAY

Saturday, May 3 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, IMCA Racesaver Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, May 10 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, May 17 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, May 24 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

JUNE

Thursday, June 5 | USAC Indiana Midget Week (USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets & 410 Non-Wing Sprints)

Saturday, June 7 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, June 14 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks, Bombers & MMSA Mini Sprints)

Friday, June 20 | (POWRi 410 Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, June 28 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

JULY

Friday, July 4 | Bill Gardner Sprintacular (USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars, UMP Modifieds & Bombers Plus Fireworks)

Saturday, July 5 | Bill Gardner Sprintacular (USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars, Indiana Super Stocks & IMCA Racesaver Sprints)

Saturday, July 12 | Weekly Racing & Kids Bike Night (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks, Bombers & MMSA Mini Sprints)

Saturday, July 19 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Friday, July 25 | USAC Indiana Sprint Week (USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars)

AUGUST

Saturday, August 9 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, August 16 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, August 23 | Weekly Racing (UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, August 30 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

SEPTEMBER

Saturday, September 6 | Red Hayden Memorial (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

Saturday, September 13 | IMCA Racesaver Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers

Saturday, September 20 | Weekly Racing (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks, Bombers & USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets)

Saturday, September 27 | Championship Night (410 Non-Wing Sprints, UMP Modifieds, Indiana Super Stocks & Bombers)

USAC RACING ANNOUNCES DON HAWK

AS NEW SILVER CROWN SERIES DIRECTOR

Indianapolis, IN – January 6, 2025 — The United States Auto Club (USAC) Racing is pleased to announce that Don Hawk has been appointed as the new Series Director for the USAC Silver Crown Division, effective immediately.

Hawk brings a wealth of experience, leadership, and a deep passion for motorsports that aligns perfectly with USAC’s mission of fostering competitive and exciting racing while upholding the traditions of this prestigious series.

With over 33 years of experience in motorsports management and event operations, Hawk has earned a reputation for building strong relationships with teams, drivers, and partners, while driving innovation and operational excellence.

His extensive background includes a role as President of Dale Earnhardt Inc., Director of Regional Racing Development for NASCAR, Chief Racing Development Officer and Executive Vice President for Speedway Motorsports Inc., and most recently, the CEO of SRX, which positions him well to lead the Silver Crown Division into its next chapter of growth and success.

“I am honored to join USAC Racing as the Series Director for the Silver Crown Division,” said Hawk. “This series has a rich heritage, incredible talent and dedicated fans. I look forward to working alongside the teams, officials, Technical Director Tommie Estes and everyone in the USAC family to enhance the competition and continue to build the excitement that makes Silver Crown racing so special.”

Kevin Miller, President and CEO of USAC Racing, expressed confidence in Hawk’s ability to lead the division. “Don’s experience, integrity, and forward-thinking approach make him an excellent fit for this role. We are thrilled to have him on board and are excited about the leadership he will bring to one of the most iconic divisions in motorsports.”

The USAC Silver Crown Series remains a cornerstone of American open-wheel racing, known for its long-distance events on both paved and dirt tracks. As Series Director, Hawk will oversee all aspects of the division’s operations, working closely with competitors, promoters, and sponsors to ensure continued growth and success.

The 2025 Silver Crown season promises to deliver more action, more stories, and more unforgettable moments as the series continues its proud tradition of thrilling motorsports fans across the country.

For more information about USAC Racing and the Silver Crown Division, visit www.usacracing.com.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS

USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE RELEASED

By: Lance Jennings

Speedway, Indiana (December 21, 2024)………Series Director Tony Jones has announced the upcoming schedule for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. The traditional 410s will feature twenty-four (24) events at six (6) different racetracks in 2025. The highly anticipated season will open at Perris Auto Speedway on February 15th and the champion will be crowned at the Perris finale on November 8th.

Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, Perris Auto Speedway will host twelve races on the schedule. Promoted by Don Kazarian, “America’s Premier Dirt Track” will showcase the USAC/CRA Sprints on February 15th, March 1st, April 5th, April 26th, May 24th “Salute to Indy,” June 21st, July 19th, August 16th, September 6th, September 27th, October 18th, and November 8th. Ten-time champion and newly announced inductee to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all series drivers with 51 “home track wins” on the 1/2-mile oval and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 seconds on February 25, 2012. Perris Auto Speedway is located at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California and for more information, visit www.perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

Promoted by Ron Meyer, Mohave Valley Raceway has two races on the calendar. The non-winged 410s will headline the action at the 1/3-mile oval on February 22nd and October 4th. Ricky Lewis and 2023 Champion, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa lead all drivers with two Mohave Valley wins and “The Cadillac” Cody Williams set the 1-lap track record of 13.923 seconds on April 1, 2023. Mohave Valley Raceway is located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona and for more details, visit www.mohavevalleyraceway.com or call 928.346.3000.

Located at the Imperial Valley Expo, Imperial Valley Raceway will feature two events during the campaign. The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will tackle the 1/4-mile oval for a special return on March 14th and 15th. Newly crowned Rookie of the Year, David Gasper and Ricky Lewis topped last season’s shows at the historic facility and Gasper established the 1-lap track record of 11.770 seconds on October 19th. Imperial Valley Raceway is located at 200 East 2nd Street in Imperial, California and for more information, visit the track’s social media at www.facebook.com/IVRaceway.

Located at the Pinal County Fairgrounds, Central Arizona Raceway has four dates on the schedule. After rain cancelled events in 2023, the USAC/CRA sprints will make their debut on the high-banked 3/8-mile oval on April 11th. The series will also be showcased on April 12th, and the “58th Western World Championships” on October 24th and 25th with the USAC National Sprint Cars. Central Arizona Raceway is located at 512 South Eleven Mile Corner Road in Casa Grande, Arizona and for more details, visit the track’s website at www.centralaazraceway.com or call 602.292.7607.

The popular Santa Maria Speedway will host two nights of action on the 2025 calendar. The series will headline the card at the 1/3-mile oval on May 3rd and July 5th. Former champions, “The Demon” Damion Gardner and “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa lead all USAC/CRA drivers with four wins at “The West’s Best Short Track” and “Bullet” Blake Miller set the 1-lap track record of 13.230 seconds on June 14, 2008. Santa Maria Speedway is located at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California and for more information, visit the track’s website at www.santamariaspeedway.net or call 310.493.4900.

Located on the Napa County Fairgrounds, the scenic Calistoga Speedway will reopen and has returned to the USAC/CRA schedule in 2025. Promoted by Tommy Hunt and HMC Promotions, the “Louie Vermeil Classic” will feature the non-winged USAC/CRA and winged King of the West NARC Sprint Cars on October 30th and 31st. Rico Abreu, Ryan Bernal, and “The Demon” Damion Gardner are tied with three wins at the big 1/2-mile oval and Bernal set the track record of 18.869 on September 3, 2017. Calistoga Speedway is located at 1435 North Oak Street in Calistoga, California and for more details, call 916.773.7225.

The 2024 Awards Banquet for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will be held on Saturday, February 1st at Indian Hills Golf Club in Riverside, California. For information on the Awards Banquet and the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at www.usacracing.com and the USAC/CRA social media on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram pages.

2025 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE

February 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

February 22: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ

March 1: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

March 14: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA

March 15: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA

April 5: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

April 11: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ

April 12: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ

April 26: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

May 3: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA

May 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)

June 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

July 5: Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, CA

July 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

August 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

August 30: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)

August 31: Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)

September 6: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

September 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

October 4: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ

October 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

October 24: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World)

October 25: *Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World)

November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

* = Co-Sanctioned event with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship

This schedule is subject to change.

REINBOLD A FULL-TIMER

IN USAC SPRINTS & MIDGETS FOR 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 19, 2024)………Hayden Reinbold is doubling up during the 2025 season by going full-time with both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

In both divisions, Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) will be at the wheel of his family-owned Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports machine as a Rookie of the Year contender on the 50-race sprint car tour and returns for his fifth year on the 29-race midget campaign.

With the midgets, Reinbold will be facing stiff competition where he has tallied 84 career feature starts. In sprint cars, he’s a relative newcomer, having debuted in 2024 with seven USAC national starts among a handful of local shows in Indiana.

“I’m super excited,” Reinbold exclaimed when looking ahead to his 2025 plans. “I’ve been driving midgets for the last five years, learned a ton and had a blast. Getting to add sprint cars next year is exciting and I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

While the high majority of today’s competitors began their racing careers in quarter midgets, micros, etc., etc., the now 20-year-old Reinbold began racing three months after his 16th birthday in a USAC National Midget event at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway. That’s not just midgets. That was his first race of any kind!

Jumping right into top-flight competition is no easy chore, but Reinbold has done it before, time and time again. But his trial by fire has led to this point in his career, and now he anticipates his yearly racing schedule to nearly triple with full slates of midget and sprint car racing on his plate.

“The talent level,” Reinbold noted regarding the biggest challenge he believes he’ll face in the coming season. “Racing against veterans is going to be super challenging. The guys who’ve been doing it for a long time are really good.”

On the sprint car side, he’ll have a veteran presence alongside him in a two-car team effort. Mitchel Moles has been with Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports since 2022 and is coming off his best year on the trail aboard the team’s AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation sponsored machines.

“It helps a ton to race with a super talented racecar driver like Mitchel Moles,” Reinbold praised. “He’s super-fast and I’m always learning from him. He’s really helpful, lets me know his thoughts and what I can do better.”

Now that Reinbold has gotten to experience both spectrums of the USAC Sprint Car and Midget world, he’ll now get his cup full of it. Bouncing back and forth between the two disciplines often throughout the year requires versatility and the ability to adapt to a variety of situations. Ready for the challenge, Reinbold noted the primary differences in experiences.

“In a midget, I feel like you’re turning left a lot more, and it’s more tighter of a racecar,” Reinbold noted. “In the sprint car, it’s like you’re always turning right and it’s freer. A midget, you can drive pretty hard, and a sprint car definitely has a lot more horsepower and a lot more speed, so you just have to be very careful and thoughtful with your throttle foot. The sprint car has been a lot of fun and it’s fun to learn a new car. I’ve been having a blast running it.”

Reinbold has emerged as the leading contender to pick up USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors for 2025. His top midget accolades include a 2023 Xtreme Outlaw/POWRi victory at Oklahoma City’s I-44 Riverside Speedway, plus a fifth place run during the 2024 USAC Indiana Midget Week opener at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

LEARY DOUBLES UP WITH TEAM AZ

FOR 2025 USAC SPRINT & SILVER CROWN SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 19, 2024)………C.J. Leary is set to pull double, full-season duty for Team AZ Racing on multiple USAC trails throughout 2025.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), the 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champion, will compete on the 50-race USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship docket with Team AZ in partnership with Curb-Agajanian. Furthermore, Leary will take on the 13-race USAC Silver Crown slate with Team AZ in association with Jerry Petty of Avanti Windows & Doors.

“It just makes sense having everything under one roof,” Leary stated. “When (car owner) Mike (Burkhart) originally called me, he just wanted to do the Silver Crown thing, and I was calling him to want to do the sprint car. I think we found a way to make both work, but he was worried about being good at both and not taking away from either program. It’s a lot of work doing both series with one group of guys. I think it’s really good to get that chemistry once they figure out what I like.”

Toward the end of the 2024 campaign, Leary had an opportunity to make his first two USAC CRA Sprint Car starts for Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian Racing during the Western World Championships at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway, finishing fourth and third across the two nights.

“Getting our feet wet was super beneficial to get those trial runs out of the way before we roll into Florida where it’s a national points race,” Leary explained. “I don’t feel like we’d have any time to learn each other (in Florida). In Arizona, it was low pressure, and I’ve been friends with the 21AZ guys for four or five years, but we’ve never raced together. There’s a little bit of a learning curve there, and I think it went really smoothly those two nights out there.”

The process of it was discovering what works and what doesn’t work between the driver’s seat and the wrenches, all while figuring out how to work together, communicate and become a team.

“We learned that I don’t like the same things Daison likes,” Leary revealed. “But we have the same engine builder I’ve been using and the same cars. It should be an easy jell coming together. The big thing is having a full circle and surrounding myself with good people is really important. We’ve got good guys working on the cars and good guys sponsoring the car, so hopefully, it’s going to be a powerhouse team.”

Team AZ Racing, meanwhile, has captured six career USAC National Sprint Car wins, four with Jake Swanson between 2021-2023, and two more in 2024 with Daison Pursley at the wheel. Pursley’s late-race heroics also provided Team AZ its first ever Silver Crown victory in June of 2024 at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

Leary is one of the sport’s premier drivers, amassing 23 career USAC National Sprint Car feature wins and 55 fast qualifying times. With the Silver Crown series, Leary has compiled three career wins and seven pole positions. Now Leary is ready get rolling into it, back to championship form.

“When we start racing, I think it’s going to be really good,” Leary foretold. “I’ve driven for some good guys, but I haven’t had a full team where we have a tire guy and a crew chief besides myself and where I don’t drive the truck and trailer. Now I get to focus a little bit more on driving. That’s going to be super helpful to me, where I can take some of the weight off my shoulders and just drive.”

The quest for a USAC National Sprint Car championship begins in February 2025 with six consecutive events in Florida during Winter Dirt Games. Both Leary and Team AZ have enjoyed victory in recent years during the Sunshine State tour. Leary won in both 2019 and 2024 at Ocala Speedway while Team AZ scored at Volusia Speedway Park with Jake Swanson in 2023.

The 2025 USAC Silver Crown season begins at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track for the 21st running of the Sumar Classic. Leary’s first career USAC national victory of any kind came during the 2016 edition of the Sumar.

Leary will be behind the wheel of the Curb Records/Apache Transport OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry No. 21AZ Sprint Car powered by 1 Way Technologies between the frame rails of a DRC Chassis on both dirt, as well as the first ever DRC pavement chassis.

The Avanti Windows & Doors, Apache Transport, OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry No. 21 Silver Crown car driven by Leary will feature Stanton Racing Engines power under the hood of their DRC Chassis.

DANNER TIME!

BRIGGS SET TO RUN

THE FULL USAC SPRINT TOUR IN 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 16, 2024)………Briggs Danner, the burgeoning racer from Pennsylvania, is set to take on the full USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule for the first time in his career aboard the Hogue Racing Enterprises No. 39 in 2025.

Danner (Allentown, Pa.) comes into the new season following a dominating run with the USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car series where he won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 while accumulating a series-record 29 feature victories.

However, after dabbling with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars sporadically since 2021, Danner expanded his national horizons this past season and was superb. He posted his first three career victories with the series in 2024. In June at Grandview, he became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car feature since Frankie Kerr 25 years earlier in 1999 and the first Pennsylvanian to win a series race in his home state since Paul Pitzer at Reading in 1979.

Now a threat to win anywhere and everywhere they go on the USAC National Sprint Car tour, the feeling was mutual between Danner and the Hogues that the time was right to chase after a national title.

“We have the opportunity to do it, and Tim and Fran (Hogue) are really interested in making it happen,” Danner explained. “Right now is the perfect time. We’ve been showing speed and the whole sprint car program is coming together. I feel like we’re still learning, so we’re only going to get better. We’re going to give it a shot and see what we can make happen.”

Danner and Hogue teamed up at the beginning of the 2023 season. Team owner Fran Hogue and his younger brother, Tim Hogue, are veteran racers who’ve fielded a team for many years on the east coast, first competing with USAC during Eastern Storm 2015. Over the past couple of seasons, both Danner and the Hogues have developed into contenders on the national scene. Now they’re prepared to face the next challenge of visiting several new tracks and hitting the road regularly away from the team’s Westampton, New Jersey base.

“We’ve definitely learned a lot,” Danner stated. “There were some nights where we’re really good and then there were some nights we weren’t as good, and we learned together while just trying to get each other figured out. Nine times out 10, we’re on the same page now, and that’s usually when we’re good. I’m looking forward to doing even more racing and trying to build on that and get even better. You don’t get better by sitting on the couch.”

Not only did Danner win his first three USAC National Sprint Car races in 2024, but he easily could also have won six or seven in all if it hadn’t been for such heartbreaking misfortune in races that he led. Danner went on to cement his status as a winner outside the confines of the Keystone State as well by capturing the Indiana Sprint Week finale in August at Bloomington and the inaugural Greg Staab Memorial at Lawrenceburg in October.

In all, despite starting only 29 of the 44 series features, Danner ranked inside the top-10 in laps led (113), top-fives (11) and top-tens (19), earning him USAC’s National Most Improved Driver Award for 2024. While the first victory was difficult to come by, it seemed as if he would begin to rack several up in the win column. He eventually did, but nothing is handed to you when the competition is so close and so tough, but Danner is up for the challenge.

“To get that first one out of the way, and for it to be at Grandview on the first night of Eastern Storm, was awesome,” Danner reflected. “They always say the first one is the hardest one to get. After the race at Kutztown, I think I said it seems like the second one is the hardest to get. (This past year) boosted my confidence a lot. We’ve always showed speed with the sprint car, but I feel like we’re so much more consistent now, and that makes it a lot easier. When you’re fast all the time. It makes a lot easier to pick off races because not everything all goes your way.”

Danner began his career in quarter midgets at the age of five, and eventually became a three-time champion in USAC’s .25 Midget series between 2013-14. Over the years, the versatile Briggs has raced in, and won with, a wide variety of racecars, including 600cc Micro Sprints, SpeedSTRs, Modifieds, TQ Midgets (on pavement), ARDC Midgets, 360 Sprint Cars and 410 Sprint Cars.

The 23-year-old Danner was actually born on a day that no living person will forget if they lived through that moment – September 11, 2001. The third generation racer is the son of Roy Danner Jr., who competed frequently in quarter midgets, karts and legend cars. Briggs grandfather, Roy Danner Sr., raced stock cars throughout Pennsylvania at venues such as Nazareth and Dorney Park.

Danner also revealed that he’ll return to the seat of the DMW Motorsports No. 10 for all the dirt USAC Silver Crown events in 2025. He also plans to compete in a handful of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races as well.

SWANSON, SEAVEY & PURSLEY SHARE SPOTLIGHT

AT 2024 USAC NIGHT OF CHAMPIONSHIPS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (December 13, 2024).........USAC national driving champions Kody Swanson, Logan Seavey and Daison Pursley shared the spotlight along with other 2024 USAC champions and special award recipients at Friday night’s 69th USAC Night of Champions celebration at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.

USAC NATIONAL SERIES AWARDS

SILVER CROWN 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Kody Swanson

SILVER CROWN 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Doran Binks Racing

Kody Swanson is accustomed to winning USAC Silver Crown championships. But 2024 may very well have been both his most challenging and most rewarding. An offseason accident resulted in a broken left foot and left his season in doubt. But the Kingsburg, Calif. native defied the odds to make his way back into the cockpit in time for the season opener.

Despite a slight limp in his gait, Swanson showed all the signs of the same ol’ Kody as he won five times in all at Toledo, Winchester, the Hoosier Hundred at IRP, the series debut at Jennerstown and he capped off the year with a victory and a championship in one fell swoop at IRP. Swanson also set a new single season series mark with seven pole position en route to becoming an eight-time USAC Silver Crown titlist, the most championships earned by any one driver in a USAC national series ever while also providing Doran Binks Racing the entrant title.

He’s the GOAT of all USAC Silver Crown drivers, and once again in 2024, he proved that even in the most challenging of circumstances, he can still overcome.

AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Logan Seavey

RICHARD HOFFMAN AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Abacus Racing

In a span of two seasons, Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing went from being among the newest driver/team combinations in the sport to become USAC Triple Crown champions.

After Seavey and Abacus teamed up to capture the 2023 USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship titles, they added a sprint car to the arsenal and showed no signs of letting up in a historic USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season from start to finish in 2024. Seavey led the series standings for an all-time record eight months and 13 days between February and October, amassing 14 victories along the way to tie Tom Bigelow’s single season win record of 14 in 1977.

In February at Volusia, Seavey became the first driver since Bud Kaeding at Terre Haute in 2001 to win two USAC National Sprint Car features in one night, and in July, he became the first driver since Rick Hood in 1985 to record four consecutive USAC National Sprint Car victories while also grabbing the Indiana Sprint Week crown and Lawrenceburg’s Fall Nationals.

Now the missing piece of the career Triple Crown belongs to Abacus Racing and Logan Seavey, the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car champs.

NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Daison Pursley

NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: CB Industries

A team of Disney writers couldn’t have produced a better script than the reality of Daison Pursley’s storybook USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in 2024. After suffering a major spinal cord injury in a 2021 racing accident, the 20-year-old Pursley endured a journey that so few could even comprehend.

Pursley and his CB Industries team compiled a series high seven USAC National Midget victories at Belleville, plus wins at Bloomington and Kokomo, which helped him notch an Indiana Midget Week title. He even ran his winning streak to three during the summer months at Red Dirt and Beloit, Kansas. In September, Pursley swept his way to back-to-back scores at Eldora.

All told, he led all drivers by leading 87 laps, capturing 11 heat race wins and producing 17 top-five finishes in 23 starts. In the process, Pursley provided CB Industries its first USAC National Midget entrant title and the second for team principal Chad Boat who scored a series championship as part of Tucker-Boat Motorsports in 2020.

It’s the comeback of all comeback seasons, and Daison Pursley is now a USAC national champion.

SILVER CROWN 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant

SILVER CROWN 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: Hemelgarn Racing

When it came to dirt mile season, he had the field covered. At both Springfield and Du Quoin, he was picture perfect by setting the fastest pace in practice, scoring the pole position and going on to become the first driver to sweep to victories on both Illinois miles in a single season since Chris Windom in 2018. In the process, he completed his ninth consecutive season of finishing inside the top-five of the standings and his fourth time inside the top-two. They’re the runners-up for the USAC Silver Crown series in 2024 – the entrant is Hemelgarn Racing and the driver is Ione, California’s Justin Grant.

AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Brady Bacon

AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: Dynamics Inc.

For the third consecutive year, he finished as the runner-up in the USAC National Sprint Car standings, adding five wins to his credit, the 14th consecutive season he’s won a series feature, breaking the mark of 13-straight years set by Sheldon Kinser between 1974 and 1986. At Bridgeport, he became the winningest Eastern Storm driver of all-time, and at Texarkana, he earned his 50th series win as the driver of the legendary number 69. They’re the winningest combo in USAC National Sprint Car racing history. Your second place USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car entrant is Dynamics, Inc. and your second place driver is Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon.

NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Cannon McIntosh

NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports

This Okie added three victories on his way to a career best second place finish in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget standings, including May’s season opener at the Belleville Short Track which ended a 616 day dry spell since his last series win. He also added wins at the the Firemen’s Nationals at Angell Park Speedway and the $20,039-to-win Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while leading all drivers with 20 top-ten finishes in 23 starts. This year’s 2nd place entrant is Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports and the driver is Bixby, Oklahoma’s Cannon McIntosh.

SILVER CROWN 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Logan Seavey

SILVER CROWN 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing

Amid a season in which he won a total of 17 times across USAC’s national divisions, this driver had to wait patiently until he could taste victory once again with the USAC Silver Crown series. In October’s Sumar Classic at Terre Haute, he did just that to win a main event with the series for the fourth consecutive season while also continuing his streak of top-three points finishes to four years running. Additionally, he was the only driver to record a top-10 result in all 14 events on his 2024 campaign. Your 3rd place USAC Silver Crown entrant is Rice Motorsports/Abacus Racing and the 3rd place driver is Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey.

AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Daison Pursley

AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: Team Arizona/Curb-Agajanian Racing

He became a first-time USAC National Sprint Car points-paying feature winner after taking the checkered at Knoxville. Late in the season, he scored at another legendary dirt half-mile during the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway. He also notched five fast qualifying times while making the greatest charge in series history when he started 23rd and finished 2nd, passing a series record 21 cars at Bloomington Speedway. At the conclusion of the year, this combo finished third in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car standings. The entrant is Team Arizona/Curb-Agajanian Racing and the driver, Locust Grove, Oklahoma’s Daison Pursley.

NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Logan Seavey

NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: Abacus Racing

Continuing the theme, this two-time series champ tallied a pair of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget wins at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex and another during Indiana Midget Week at Tri-State Speedway. His four fast qualifying times made him the leader in the clubhouse with the series for 2024. His 8th place finish in the opener at Belleville set a new all-time USAC National Midget record with his 23rd consecutive top-10 finish dating back to last season, breaking the former mark held by Jason Leffler since 1997. Your 3rd place USAC National Midget entrant is Abacus Racing and the driver is once again Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey.

USAC INDIVIDUAL & SPECIAL AWARDS

MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Logan Seavey

After finishing second in each of the past two seasons, he finally shot to the top of the charts in 2024. He was one of three drivers to win in all three of USAC’s national divisions this season alongside Justin Grant and Daison Pursley, and he was the one and only driver to finish inside the top-3 of all three USAC national series’ point standings. The newest member of USAC’s Career Triple Crown club captured a $10,000 bonus by amassing the most total points across the three USAC national divisions in 2024. For the first time in his career, the Mike Curb USAC National Driver Champion for 2024 is Logan Seavey.

JOHNNY CAPELS “GOLDEN GREEK” USAC CHIEF MECHANIC OF THE YEAR: Kirk Simpson

Not only does his driver, Logan Seavey, get all the accolades. So too does the team manager for Abacus Racing who has successfully overseen and wrenched on three USAC national championship winning teams over the past two seasons. In 2023, the team captured both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget titles. This year, they completed the USAC career Triple Crown as AMSOIL National Sprint Car champs. The Johnny Capels “Golden Greek” award is reserved for a special individual in the trenches. At the forefront of this unprecedented success is USAC’s 2024 Chief Mechanic of the Year, Kirk Simpson.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOING FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT CHAMPION: Brady Bacon

But wait, there’s more! In 2024, Brady Bacon added another highlight to his impressive reel during the special 10-race miniseries known as the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster series Presented By Spire Sports & Entertainment. Throughout it, he never had an “off night” by any measure, recording a victory at Port Royal, plus eight top-fives and a perfect 10 for 10 on top-tens. His performance netted him $10,000 and a custom trophy provided by Potter Metal Art for himself and $2500 for his crew chief, Matt Hummel. He’s now the first two-time Master of Going Faster champ.

PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER: Daison Pursley

Early this season, car owners Chad Boat and Michael Burkhart told this this driver that they predicted he would not repeat as USAC ProSource Passing Master in 2024. Not because they doubted him, but because he was making huge strides in becoming a better qualifier, thus earning better starting spots. Nonetheless, he was able to accomplish both! For the second straight season, no driver passed more cars throughout the USAC national season than this man right here, advancing a total of 209 positions in 72 feature starts. He’s back here again to take Buck’s money. For the second year in a row, your USAC ProSource Passing Master is Daison Pursley.

JASON LEFFLER AWARD: Patty Bateman

The Jason Leffler award goes to recognize an individual who exhibits the same standards upheld by the late Jason Leffler throughout his career, one who has a true appreciation, dedicational and passion for competing with USAC.

For as long as we can remember, the “Bateman” name has been a stalwart of the USAC Silver Crown series. For more than 40 years, the Batemans fielded an entry with the series whether it was dirt or pavement, a half-mile or one mile, the number 55 was always there to support the series through thick and thin, truly for the pure love of the sport. When driver Randy Bateman passed away from ALS in 2017, instead of folding the team, this strong woman carried on, racing in memory of her late husband and accruing much success, most recently with Jerry Coons Jr. before announcing the team’s retirement following the end of this past season.

Her team was so well respected, and their success in recent years was celebrated by all those in the sport. But right now, we get the chance to celebrate her. This year’s recipient of the Jason Leffler Award is Patty Bateman.

MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS SILVER CROWN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Trey Osborne

Continuing the trend of Ohio’s finest, this racer is USAC Silver Crown racing’s first top Rookie to hail from the Buckeye State since Matt Westfall in 2002. Despite missing a pair of events and suffering fractures to his vertebra in a crash early in the season, he still finished an impressive sixth in the standings, highlighted by a fourth on the pavement of Madison and a third on the dirt in Hutchinson. At 6 foot 8 inches tall, he’s undoubtedly the tallest MPI Rookie of the Year in USAC Silver Crown history. So, it seems fitting that he quickly became acclimated to USAC’s big cars. From Columbus, Ohio, he is Trey Osborne.

MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS NATIONAL SPRINT CAR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Hunter Maddox

Whether it’s on two wheels or four, he’s apt to give it a whirl! For more than a decade, this driver’s racing exploits consisted of the dirt bike variety, specializing in Hare Scramble off-road events which vary in distance and time, and wind through wooded or other rugged natural terrain. In recent years, he turned his focus toward sprint car racing, and in 2024, he made 25 feature starts, finishing 18th in the overall standings, tops among all Rookies aboard his self-owned car. From Bedford, Indiana, your Max Papis Innovations USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year is Hunter Maddox.

MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS BOB STROUD NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Zach Wigal

It’s been 20 years since a Buckeye earned top Rookie honors with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. This driver is proud to wear that badge in 2024, following Teddy and Todd Beach as the latest Ohioan to earn the award. He checked off a pair of fast qualifying times at Lawrenceburg and Mitchell County while also gaining his initial feature victory with the series at Angell Park. Last year, he stood on the stage as USAC’s Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champ, and he’s back again as the Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year. From Belpre, Ohio, this is Zach Wigal.

NATIONAL MOST IMPROVED DRIVER: Briggs Danner

In recent years, he introduced himself to the USAC scene as a back-to-back USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion in 2022 and 2023. He competed more regularly on the USAC national scene in 2024 and was phenomenal, winning his first three career USAC National Sprint Car features at Grandview, Bloomington and Lawrenceburg while becoming the first Keystone State native to win a series event in a quarter century. He also added his first top-10 run with the USAC National Midgets and corralled back-to-back podiums with the USAC Silver Crown series. He’s the first Pennsylvanian to earn USAC Most Improved Driver since John Heydenreich in 2000. From Allentown, Pa., he’s Briggs Danner.

RACE ORGANIZER OF THE YEAR: Jerry Gappens

This man served in several facets of the sport, as a sprint car driver, then as an Advertising Specialist and Operations Manager at National Speed Sport News and even an ABC pit reporter at the Indianapolis 500, before heading south as Senior VP of Events and Marketing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, then to the northeast as the General Manager of New Hampshire International Speedway.

In recent years, he became re-integrated with his dirt track racing roots as the General Manager of Gas City I-69 Speedway, and most recently, as the GM at Eldora Speedway since 2022.

Those are his stats, but this man was so much more. His passion for motorsports was only topped by his passion for the people in the sport. It was a common sight to see him greet a racer on his way into the track one minute, then follow up a minute later by welcoming a race fan into the campground before grabbing a broom and sweeping the entry way of the racetrack.

He made you feel special, and what a special gift he was to all of us before his unexpected passing this past May following a medical procedure, leaving a void that is all too difficult to fill, and to comprehend.

Though he is no longer with us, his legacy in the sport lives on. Our 2024 USAC Race Organizer of the Year is the one and only Jerry Gappens.

USAC SPECIAL APPRECIATION (INDIVIDUAL): Jack Calabrase

Racing and racing people have forever been an integral part of Jack Calabrase’s life. As a longtime driver in the USAC National Midget ranks between 1967-1994, he experienced the joy of winning a pair of feature events with the series in 1988, including the prestigious Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Later on, he was the head honcho of both NAMARS and the Auto Value Super Sprints. He’s put his heart and soul into the sport and has given back so much to it too. In recent years, he’s been the most steady and consistent contributor to USAC RaceAid events, which aids members of the racing community who are injured and/or in need of financial assistance. He understands the importance of family, and we’re incredibly grateful for his benefaction to the sport.

DICK JORDAN AWARD: Tommy Hunt

Tommy Hunt is a racing lifer. His father, Joe Hunt, was a magneto magnate and a longtime champ car team owner, employing many of the greatest drivers of their era. Tommy was there in those days, serving on the crew for his dad’s team. In time, Hunt became a driver himself, most notably scoring three CRA Sprint Car wins, plus 1974 Most Improved Driver honors. Those experiences prepared him for his role of 28 years at USAC in which he served as Vice President and the head of the series’ west coast operations. Fittingly, Hunt was among Dick Jordan’s closest friends, and both were in complete synchronization when it came to serving the sport with integrity, professionalism and doing things the right way. Furthermore, it was also announced that Hunt will be among the newest class of inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame in 2025.

ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL FAST PASS WINNER: Gregg Cory

Off track, he’s a high school Engineering & Technology instructor. On track, he has a resume of success in TQ Midgets, full-size midgets, thunder roadsters, sprints and modifieds throughout his 3-decade career. Among the contingency awards introduced to the USAC Silver Crown series over the past two seasons is one which rewards the driver who is first in the running order a lap down. This man grabbed 5 of those throughout the year, getting himself back on to the lead lap while earning a $5,000 prize – $2,500 to himself as the driver and $2,500 to his Williams-Cory Racing team. He’s your Engler Machine & Tool Fast Pass award winner. He’s Gregg Cory.

DIRT DRAFT MOST POPULAR DRIVER AWARDS: Kyle Steffens, Matt Westfall & Kale Drake

The Dirt Draft Most Popular Driver award winners this year were chosen based on who was selected most often by Dirt Draft contest participants in each USAC national division throughout the season. Drivers who were picked most often earned a bit of bonus money. Those winners are Kyle Steffens for the Silver Crown series, Matt Westfall for the Sprint Cars and Kale Drake in the Midgets.

REGIONAL SPRINT & MIDGET SERIES

USAC’s regional sprint car and midget divisions span from coast-to-coast with a 12 different states hosting a total of 79 events in 2024. The theme this season witnessed a handful of drivers break through after several previous close calls in the championship race, while elsewhere, series dominators once again flexed their muscles.

AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CHAMPION DRIVER: R.J. Johnson

AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CHAMPION ENTRANT: Ricky & Michele Johnson

His mantle is chockfull of USAC championship trophies, and between 2013-2017, he collected five-straight USAC Southwest Sprint Car crowns. But after 21 years of Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car racing, he finally broke through to the top on the strength of a duo of victories at Kern Raceway and Santa Maria. He’s the first Arizonian USAC CRA champion and is also the first former series Rookie of the Year to later claim the title. Overall, he’s now a six-time USAC driving titlist, but a first-time USAC CRA champ. Your driving champion is Laveen, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson, and the entrant champs are Ricky and Michele Johnson.

RAPID TIRE SERVICE EAST COAST SPRINT CHAMPION: Steven Drevicki

Six years ago, this racer became the first ever USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion. Since that time, he’s gone on to become the first two-time champ, the first three-time titlist, and now the first four-time king. In 2024, he prevailed once with a victory at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park, and throughout the course of the 12-race series, never once did he finish worse than fifth. Now, for the fourth time in his career, he stands tall as the 2024 USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars Presented By Capitol Custom Trailers champion. It’s Reading, Pennsylvania’s Steven Drevicki.

WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CHAMPION: Wyatt Burks

In 2020, 2022, 2023 and now 2024, this driver was the best of the bunch when it came to USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association competition in his native Kansas and neighboring Missouri. While his 2024 campaign resulted in only a single victory at Missouri’s Electric City Speedway, consistency was the key as he led all drivers with 10 top-fives, 11 top-tens and 5 heat race wins en route to the title. For those keeping score, that’s three-in-a-row for the plumber by trade, and he’s now a four-time USAC MWRA champ. From Topeka, Kansas, it’s Wyatt Burks.

WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPION DRIVER: Cade Lewis

WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPION ENTRANT: Dean Alexander

One year ago, he felt a major letdown after coming just 41 points shy of the title. This year, he made the climb to the next step from second to first. His father was a longtime Major League Baseball starting pitcher, and this teenage sensation also knows how to make a “quality start,” winning at Ventura and at Placerville while leading the standings from start to finish. At 17 years of age, he’s the youngest ever Avanti Windows & Doors USAC Western States Midget champion. The entrant champ is Dean Alexander, and the driver champ is! From Bakersfield, California, he’s Cade Lewis.

MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET CHAMPION: Bryce Massingill

After coming just three points shy of the title a year ago, all this driver needed was some good fortune. After getting an opportunity of a lifetime to race in the BC39 on the same weekend as the USAC Midwest Thunder Midgets’ final two races, he resigned himself to the fact that his championship quest was over. But Mother Nature intervened and washed out the final two shows! That said, he more than earned his keep on the track by scoring top-10s in all 12 starts and winning two points races. He’s the new USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champ for 2024. From Troy, Ohio, it’s Bryce Massingill.

SNOWMOBILE RACING

INTERNATIONAL SNOWMOBILE RACING DRIVER OF THE YEAR: Matt Goede

This man is no stranger to the open wheel side, having started his career in quarter midgets. But soon enough, he established himself as a premier talent in snowmobile racing. However, his journey has been defined by resilience, overcoming severe injuries early in his career to become one of the sport’s most decorated athletes. He earned five Vintage World Championships, and this year, secured his second consecutive World Championship at Eagle River, setting a new track record with his dominant performance. He’s your 2024 International Snowmobile Racing Driver of the Year, from New Germany, Minnesota, Matt Goede.

INTERNATIONAL SNOWMOBILE RACING RECORD BREAKER: Chris Baynes

In March of this year in International Falls, Minnesota, he set a brand new International Snowmobile Racing world record top speed for the 1000 foot distance. His first run of 201.70 miles per hours was the first snowmobile to ever post a legal run in excess of 200 miles per hour. On his second pass, he was even faster, resetting the record books with a staggering speed of 202.33 miles per hour at the controls of his new, Baynes Brothers Racing custom designed Speed Needle 2.0. The International Snowmobile Record Breaker for 2024 and for all-time, Chris Baynes.

NASCAR YOUTH SERIES .25 MIDGET CHAMPIONS

PAVEMENT CHAMPIONS

HEAVY WORLD FORMULA: Zeke Bergenty

UNRESTRICTED ANIMAL: Gavin Gardner

LIGHT WORLD FORMULA: Easton Loomis

HEAVY 160 PAVEMENT: Kaeston McNeill

HEAVY HONDA: Jase Murray

.25 MIDGET DIRT CHAMPIONS

LIGHT 160: Liam Ballard

JUNIOR 160: Blake Crooms

JUNIOR HONDA: Grayson Graham

JUNIOR ANIMAL: Carter Green

.25 MIDGET MULTIPLE CHAMPIONS

HEAVY HONDA DIRT & HEAVY WORLD FORMULA DIRT: Avery McMellen

JUNIOR HONDA PAVEMENT, JUNIOR 160 PAVEMENT & JUNIOR ANIMAL PAVEMENT: Frank Jirik

HEAVY 160 DIRT, UNRESTRICTED ANIMAL DIRT & MOD WORLD FORUMULA DIRT: Kaden Wenger

SENIOR HONDA DIRT, SENIOR ANIMAL DIRT & LIGHT WORLD FORMULA DIRT: Larry Kelleher

SENIOR HONDA PAVEMENT, LIGHT 160 PAVEMENT, SENIOR ANIMAL PAVEMENT & MOD WORLD FORMULA PAVEMENT: Case James

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Chris Jockish and Jockish Flowers provided the floral decorations for the USAC Night of Champions. Bob Baker, president of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, provided a Hall of Fame membership to each of USAC’s 2024 champion drivers. Dave Olson served as the photographer for the evening’s event and Kristy Bemmes handled all on-stage interviews.

Among the awards each national driver and entrant champion received are championship rings as well as canvas artwork designed by Rich Forman and a free one-year subscription to FloRacing, the official media provider for USAC. Each USAC driving champion also received a jacket courtesy of Hoosier Racing Tire, the official tire of the United States Auto Club.

KYLE CUMMINS JOINS PETTY

FOR 2025 USAC SILVER CROWN RUN

Princeton, Indiana (December 13, 2024)………Petty Performance Racing is excited to announce the addition of a USAC Silver Crown car to their stable for the 2025 season.

This expansion marks a significant step forward for the team as they continue to diversify their presence in the racing world. The car will be driven by none other than Kyle Cummins, a proven force in dirt track racing.

Kyle Cummins, a highly accomplished driver with 20 career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victories and the recent title of 2024 Western World Champion, brings his proven talent and determination to this new challenge.

Although his experience in the Silver Crown Series is limited to just five career starts, his exceptional skill on dirt tracks positions him as a formidable contender ready to make a significant impact.

“We are incredibly excited to venture into the USAC Silver Crown Series and even more thrilled to have Kyle Cummins leading us in this new direction,” said Jerry Petty, owner of Petty Performance Racing. “This expansion reflects our commitment to growth, and we’re confident that Kyle’s talent, combined with our team’s dedication, will position us as strong competitors from the start.”

Cummins shared his excitement about the new venture.

“While my experience in the Silver Crown Series has been limited, I enjoyed my time competing and am excited to have the opportunity to return,” Cummins stated. “I look forward to the challenge ahead and am eager to leverage my previous experience with the full support of the Petty Performance Racing team.”

The team’s new venture into the Silver Crown Series aligns with their mission to push boundaries and embrace new challenges in the racing arena. The Silver Crown car will make its debut during the 2024 season, with specific race dates and additional details to be announced soon.

For updates and announcements, follow Petty Performance Racing on social media and visit their website at www.pettyperformanceracing.com.

WESTFALL & 4 KINGS GO FULL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN RACING IN 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Pleasant Hill, Ohio (December 13, 2024)………Matt Westfall and 4 Kings Racing will compete full-time on the USAC Silver Crown National Championship tour in 2025.

4 Kings Racing, which debuted as USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship team in 2024, will field Pleasant Hill, Ohio’s Westfall for all 13 USAC Silver Crown events in the coming year.

The 48-year-old Westfall earned 2002 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year honors, and over the course of his career, has amassed 55 career series starts with a best finish of second on four different occasions.

Most recently, in 2024, Westfall made five USAC Silver Crown starts, compiling top-10 finishes in each and every one of his appearances, all of which came on dirt for his family-owned team. His top result of the season came with a fourth place run at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

Westfall began his racing career in karts at the age of five and has had a very successful career ever since, winning championships in midgets, sprint cars, late models and modifieds. His most recent victory came in October with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

Westfall is one of the founders of 4 Kings Racing. Fellow team founder Rex Turner is thrilled to add another full-time entry to the champ car series with Westfall at the wheel.

“We are excited to see Matt’s expertise translate to Silver Crown and can’t wait to watch his success,” Turner stated.

The 2025 USAC Silver Crown season begins on Sunday, April 13, at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track for the 21st running of the Sumar Classic.

KTJ SIGNS WITH 4 KINGS

FOR 2025 USAC MIDGET TITLE CHASE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Pleasant Hill, Ohio (December 13, 2024)………Kevin Thomas Jr. returns full-time with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in 2025 for 4 Kings Racing.

The pairing of KTJ and 4 Kings made six series starts during the latter part of the 2024 season. Their season together showed success as they finished inside the top-five in each of their three most recent starts.

At Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, this combo took 4th in the feature followed by a runner-up result during a BC39 prelim at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before closing with a 5th at IMS during the BC39 finale.

Thomas Jr. will compete in all the events aboard 4 Kings Racing’s No. 14, sponsored by AccroSeal and Metalloid1 sponsored LynK chassis powered by a Stanton engine.

“KJT felt like a missing puzzle piece when he joined the team,” team owner Rex Tuner shared. “We know he can continue to expand on his success from 2024 and we are excited to see what he does in 2025.”

Thomas has established himself as a formidable force on the track. The Cullman, Alabama native owns six career USAC National Midget feature victories and 166 career feature starts. He finished a best of 3rd in the 2015 USAC National Midget point standings. Back in 2014, he was named USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year.

The 2025 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season begins on Friday-Saturday, April 25-26, with the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK 2025

OPENS AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Speedway, Indiana (December 13, 2024)………For the first time ever, the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) will host the opening night of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing during the summer of 2025.

The Dirt Track at IMS will feature the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship during the 38th annual ISW opener on Thursday night, July 24.

USAC Indiana Sprint Week, a cornerstone of sprint car racing in the Hoosier State since 1988, has captivated fans for decades with its thrilling action and rich legacy. Now, the addition of IMS as a host venue elevates the series to new heights, bringing grassroots motorsports to the Racing Capital of the World and its 1/5-mile dirt oval.

“Sprint car racing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway share a deeply intertwined history, and this event symbolizes the unification of two racing traditions,” USAC President Kevin Miller shared. “USAC Sprint Cars at IMS will be an unforgettable experience for fans and competitors alike.”

The event promises a unique spectacle, as the 900 horsepower USAC Sprint Cars take to a specially designed dirt track within turn three of the IMS infield. The evening will feature an exceptional lineup of drivers battling for glory at one of the most revered venues in motorsports.

“We are thrilled to welcome USAC Racing to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles added. “The addition of sprint cars to our calendar highlights our commitment to showcasing the diversity of motorsports. This is more than just a race; it’s a celebration of Indiana’s racing heritage.”

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) captured victory in a September 2024 invite only, special event race at IMS, the only previous occasion of USAC Sprint Cars competing at IMS.

USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week schedule for 2025 consists of eight events at eight different racetracks across a 10-night span between July 24-August 2. Following the ISW kick off at The Dirt Track at IMS, the series continues at Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway on Friday, July 25, followed by Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 26; Lawrenceburg Speedway on July 27; Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 30; the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, July 31; Bloomington Speedway on Friday, August 1, and Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August 2.

Information regarding the debut of USAC Indiana Sprint Week at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including event format, tickets, starting times and more, will be made available soon at www.usacracing.com and www.IMS.com.

Don’t miss this historic moment as USAC Racing breaks new ground at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – where legends are made and history is written.

EDWARDS, AVANTI & CBI TO CHASE

FULL USAC MIDGET SEASON IN 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 12, 2024)………Drake Edwards made a splash in his debut season of midget racing in 2024 with success on the west coast along with a smattering of solid appearances on the national scene.

Now for 2025, Edwards (Peoria, Ariz.) will have the opportunity to compete full-time on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail for this past season’s championship team, CB Industries.

The 21-year-old Edwards earned USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Western States Midget Rookie of the Year in 2024 on the strength of a pair of victories at California’s Santa Maria Speedway and The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway while coming up just 11 points shy of the series title in a car owned by Jerry Petty’s team, Petty Performance Racing,

“It definitely exceeded our goals,” Edwards admitted. “At the beginning of the year, my goal and Jerry’s goal was to just get top-10 in the points and make laps. We had no idea that it would be as great as it was. Luckily, we were able to click off a couple of wins there, and the championship ended up being way closer than I ever thought it was going to be. It would’ve been really cool to get the championship, but all and all, it surpassed what I thought we could do.”

In just a handful of USAC National Midget starts in 2024 at tracks he’d never laid eyes on before, Edwards was rock solid and proved to be a quick study. The only new track he got a second crack at was Ohio’s Eldora Speedway during the 4-Crown Nationals where he proceeded to finish ninth.

What began as an impromptu, unplanned excursion to compete with the national series turned out to pay major dividends when he came back “home” to race afterward.

“The week before Indiana Midget Week, we ran at Ventura (Calif.) that Saturday,” Edwards remembered. “Kyle Cummins was planning to take his cars to Midget Week, so I called Jerry that night after we were done racing and I told him that I’d love to go learn some stuff and be around those guys to see if we can figure some things out to bring home with us setup-wise. I’m glad we did because I ended up coming back from Midget Week, and the next weekend after, we picked up our first win at Santa Maria. After that, Jerry saw how much that improved me as a driver and with our setups after being around competition like that. We were able to come back later in the season to race at Eldora, the BC39 and the western swing. So, I think that was a very good call with us to go back east a little bit.”

Edwards wasn’t completely immune to the growing pains associated with a Rookie season. There were plenty of ups, but also their fair share of downs which led Edwards and his car owner, Jerry Petty, down a path to get an extra set of eyes and wrenches on his ride to keep him consistent. In a roundabout way, that led them to CB Industries car owner Chad Boat, and a new pairing was born.

“I hadn’t formally met Chad until this recent western swing,” Edwards revealed. “This whole deal came about just because we were struggling. It was just my family and I maintaining our midgets on the west coast. I was trying to figure out all the setup stuff and doing that on my own. I’d have really good races and really bad races, and I couldn’t find a balance. Jerry really wanted to find a crew chief to be able to run our own cars on the national deal, but he couldn’t find anyone. So, he talked to Chad about getting me in a car. Our main goal with this is to learn as much as I can about driving the car while also learning what they do to make their cars fast under Chad, who is very knowledgeable.”

Edwards’ full-time job during the day is maintaining and wrenching on the Petty Performance Racing midgets and sprint cars, the latter of which is driven full-time on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship circuit by Kyle Cummins, a role Edwards will continue to perform at the track and in the shop when not behind the wheel of the CBI Midget throughout 2025.

Edwards’ father and uncle both raced frequently on the west coast, and if you dig deep into the USAC archives, you’ll find his uncle, Chris Edwards, as a top-10 finisher of a USAC Western States Midget feature in 2004 at California’s Perris Auto Speedway.

Drake himself got bitten by the racing bug early on and was equipped with a quarter midget by the time he was five, competing at that stage until he was age 12 or 13, he estimated. After taking a couple years off from the sport, by 2019, Edwards was back in the cockpit, this time in a micro sprint owned by his father. Ultimately, he’d eventually claim the title in the Class A and Outlaw divisions at Central Arizona Raceway in what was practically the first time he’d ever chased yearlong points.

Although his first actual competitive laps in a midget came years later, Edwards’ first such experience in a midget didn’t go quite as well, but it did end up making a connection with Jerry Petty, and a story to tell.

“I was helping Jack Yeley for a while, going to his house and helping him work on midget and sprint car stuff,” Edwards explained. “Jack gave me the opportunity to practice one of his midgets before they took it to Chili Bowl because he didn’t have enough drivers to practice in all of the cars he wanted to take! So, at our local track of Adobe Mountain Speedway (in Phoenix, Ariz.), it was the first time I ever ran a midget, and when I came off the track, it wouldn’t get out of gear and I almost ran Jerry over. He loves telling that story of how we met. Since then, he’s helped me out with the micro and at the Tulsa Shootout. After that, I pursued him for a midget deal for this past year with the Western States series. He was all for it, and here we are now.”

Edwards and Avanti will remain teamed together as they join CB Industries for 2025. In fact, Boat hints that there is more to come in his new association with Petty/Avanti with their role expanding to more than just the midget.

The 2025 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season begins with two-straight dates at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway on April 25-26 for the Kokomo Grand Prix.

TRAINOR TABBED BY KLATT FOR ALL

6 PAVEMENT USAC SILVER CROWN SHOWS IN 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 12, 2024)………Over the past handful of years, perhaps no short track driver’s stock has risen more quickly on the national level than Jake Trainor.

The 19-year-old Medway, Massachusetts native will now go USAC Silver Crown racing in 2025 for all six pavement events as the driver of venerable Klatt Enterprises No. 6.

The opportunity is a dream for Trainor who burst onto the national scene in 2023 with a victory in the 500-lap Little 500 Sprint Car race at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway to go along with four midget victories at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park over the past couple of seasons.

“It’s awesome to get to drive the 6 car for Bob (East), Terry (Klatt), Dave (Brzozowski) and everyone involved,” Trainor stated. “With all the history there, it’s really to cool to be able to get this opportunity, and I’m super excited to get going with it.”

Trainor’s midget and sprint car victories have come in cars owned by the Seymour family, who have been a longtime mainstays in USAC racing for over a half-century dating back to Boston Louie Seymour who fielded winning racecars for the likes of Rich Vogler, Billy Cassella and Ken Schrader, just to name a few.

Trainor joins the Klatt team after the ride was vacated by C.J. Leary who had driven the car to a top-four points finish with the USAC Silver Crown series in each of the past three seasons.

Attempting to make his USAC Silver Crown debut in the 2024 season finale at IRP for the Pierce operation, Trainor took to the challenge quite successfully, recording a top-six lap in practice before engine problems sidelined him for the night before he ever really get going. The brief taste of USAC Silver Crown competition has only whetted his appetite even more.

“We got a little taste of it and got teased a little bit there last October at IRP,” Trainor recalled. “It was a great opportunity to run for Aaron (Pierce), and I thought we were really good in practice and we would’ve timed in pretty good in qualifying. I felt like after testing, we could have raced pretty good with those guys. I don’t feel like we were far off. After running the sprint car at IRP, and how many laps I have there now, it was pretty much the perfect storm for a debut. I was super comfortable there, and I think we could’ve been good.”

Trainor’s prowess at IRP has already been well established, but now he’ll get the opportunity to travel a bit more and tackle a wider array of venues for the first time in his career such as Toledo, Winchester, Salem and World Wide Technology Raceway on the 2025 slate.

“I’m excited just to be able to get out more, especially with the prestigious USAC Silver Crown series,” Trainor exclaimed. “It’s an honor and it’s really neat to go to tracks like Winchester, Salem, WWT and Toledo. They’re just really cool places with a lot of history behind them. The names that have been through this series and have won at these places are incredible and it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Trainor is a first generation racer, with his introduction to the sport coming from sitting in the stands with his dad as a six-year-old. Trainor remembers a chance meeting at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway’s World Series event in which a promotional booth for the Little T Quarter Midget Club was set up in the midway. One thing led to another, and Jake’s father soon sold his prized Corvette, and with the money, purchased a quarter midget, starting him on the path toward a racing career.

After quarter midgets, Trainor steeped into Eastern Midget Association competition by the time he was 11 at tracks based around the North Carolina area, then began with the northeast United States based NEMA Lites series where he eventually became a two-time series champion in 2021 and 2022.

Aside from his on-track duties, Trainor’s full-time job from day-to-day is working on and building race cars out of the Matt Seymour Racing shop for whom he also drives midgets and sprint cars for.

While Trainor will serve as the pavement specialist for the Klatt entry, the dirt driver for the 2019 USAC Silver Crown championship winning team has yet to be named.

The first USAC Silver Crown event for Klatt and Trainor on pavement will take place on Saturday, April 19, during the running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

THE DIRT & PAVED ROAD TO A CHAMPIONSHIP!

13 USAC SILVER CROWN RACES SET FOR 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 11, 2024)………A docket featuring 13 events is on the agenda in 2025 for the 55th season of the most diverse oval racing series on the planet – the USAC Silver Crown National Championship!

Seven dirt and six pavement events await at venues ranging from half-miles to 1.25 miles and on tracks varying from semi-banked to high-banked across the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

BACK TO SALEM IN ‘25

The high banks of Indiana’s super-fast Salem Speedway welcome the USAC Silver Crown series back to the .555-mile paved oval on Saturday, August 9.

Salem has previously hosted the series on six occasions, first in 1988 won by Bob Frey, and again each year from 2016 through 2020, all of which were won by Kody Swanson.

The southern Indiana speed plant is one of USAC’s most tradition-rich tracks, hosting a total of 135 USAC national events dating back to 1956.

GETTING DIRTY EARLY

Dirt tracks open and close the 2025 USAC Silver Crown schedule with seven dates spread between the months and April and September. Indiana’s lone half-mile dirt oval, the Terre Haute Action Track, opens it up on Sunday, April 13, with the 21st installment of the Sumar Classic.

Mid-May brings the series to the thrill-a-second 1/2-mile Belleville (Kan.) High Banks on Friday, May 16, for practice and Saturday, May 17, for race day in a USAC doubleheader alongside the NOS Energy Drink National Midgets, who’ll compete both nights on Belleville’s short track during the Huncovsky Classic.

Speaking of USAC doubleheaders, Eastern Storm delivers a mammoth one on Saturday, June 15, at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway for a smorgasbord full of star-studded action featuring both the USAC Silver Crown and AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship divisions at one venue on one night on the 1/2-mile.

It’s back to the Sunflower State on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19, for the second running of the Salt City 100 at the Kansas State Fairgrounds’ Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson. Friday presents practice for all teams leading into Saturday’s 100-lapper on the 1/2-mile.

PAVED INTENTIONS

Six pavement events dot the 2025 USAC Silver Crown slate with the season launching on the asphalt with the annual Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic on Saturday, April 19, at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

A trip to the hallowed banks of Indiana’s Winchester Speedway follows with the running of the 34th Rich Vogler Classic on Sunday, May 4. The Hoosier Hundred brings the series once again to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, May 23, for the 68th edition of the Hoosier Hundred.

Meanwhile, the largest and fastest track on the circuit, the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, moves to a new, earlier date on Saturday, June 14, during NTT IndyCar Series weekend. For the first time since 2017, a July date awaits the USAC Silver Crown division on Wednesday night, July 23. Salem closes out the pavement portion of the schedule on Sunday, August 9.

3 ON DIRT TO DECIDE A CHAMP

The championship race will come down to a trio of the most tradition rich USAC Silver Crown events, all of which will serve as the final three races of the season in August and September.

The 62nd running of the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield provides the first of two dirt-mile adventures this season on Saturday, August 16. Fair season in the Land of Lincoln continues two weeks later with the 71st running of the Ted Horn 100 at the Magic Mile of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.

The final dirt run of the new year is set for Friday-Saturday, September 19-20, as, for the 43rd time, the champ cars will compete in the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. The event provides the only opportunity of the year to witness all three USAC national divisions in one night, plus the High Limit winged sprint cars.

2025 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE

Apr 13 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Sumar Classic | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Apr 19 | Toledo Speedway | Toledo, OH | Rollie Beale Classic | 1/2 Mile Pavement

May 4 | Winchester Speedway | Winchester, IN | Rich Vogler Classic | 1/2 Mile Pavement

May 16-17 | Belleville High Banks | Belleville, KS | Huncovsky Classic | 1/2 Mile Dirt

May 23 | Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Hoosier Hundred | .686 Mile Pavement

Jun 14 | World Wide Technology Raceway | Madison, IL | 1.25 Mile Pavement

Jun 21 | Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Jul 18-19 | Salt City Speedway | Hutchinson, KS | Salt City 100 | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Jul 23 | Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | .686 Mile Pavement

Aug 9 | Salem Speedway | Salem, IN | .555 Mile Pavement

Aug 16 | Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, IL | Bettenhausen 100 | 1 Mile Dirt

Aug 30 | Du Quoin State Fairgrounds | Du Quoin, IL | Ted Horn 100 | 1 Mile Dirt

Sep 19-20 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | 1/2 Mile Dirt

GETTIN’ DIRTY!

2025 USAC MIDGET SCHEDULE REVEALS 28+ DATES

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 11, 2024)………The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship enters the 2025 season armed with 28 events on the calendar from April through November at dirt tracks in California, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

PARAGON BACK IN FOR USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK

Paragon Speedway returns to the USAC Indiana Midget Week slate for the first time since 2021 as part of the 21st annual edition of the series across the Hoosier State on Wednesday, June 4.

The IMW docket consists of six events in all, with the frenzied and action packed week beginning at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis on Tuesday, June 3, before the aforementioned Paragon showdown on Wednesday, June 4.

From there, the series follows a path of familiar favorites at Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday, June 5; Bloomington Speedway on Friday, June 6; Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, June 7; with the finale set for Kokomo Speedway on

Sunday, June 8.

SEASON OPENERS IN KOKOMO

Opening the year are two consecutive nights of the Kokomo Grand Prix on Friday-Saturday, April 25-26, at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway, the lone track on the 2025 schedule that was also on the calendar during USAC’s inaugural year of 1956.

TO MID-AMERICA & BEYOND!

USAC National Midget racing will also make its fair share of voyages to Mid-America throughout the spring and summer months.

An early season weekend in Kansas and Missouri greets the series in mid-May. The Belleville (Kan.) Short Track hosts the series on back-to-back nights on Friday-Saturday, May 16-17. The event will be run in conjunction with the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, which will contest its 50-lap main event on Saturday evening. Rounding out the sensational weekend is a trip east to Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex on Sunday, May 18.

Mid-America Midget Week goes full send in mid-July with four events during a five-night span in three different states. First up is Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for Tuesday Night Thunder on July 8. One night later, it’s northbound to Kansas for the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, July 9.

The great state of Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway presents two nights of racing to close out Mid-America Midget Week for the Midwest Midget Championship on Friday-Saturday, July 11-12.

BADGERS & BUCKEYES

As summer comes to a close, way up north lies Wisconsin’s legendary Angell Park Speedway which will hold the milestone 40th running of the Firemen’s Nationals on Labor Day weekend, Sunday, August 31.

A changeup in the order of events now places the midgets on the opening night of a three-day 4-Crown Nationals weekend at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway on Thursday, September 18, in a USAC double with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars. The midgets return for a second showing at the Big E on Saturday, September 20, in the only event of the year featuring all three of USAC’s national divisions – Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget, plus High Limit’s winged sprint cars on the same night at the same track.

THE WESTERN SWING

Placerville Speedway’s Hangtown 100 kicks off USAC’s annual end-of-year voyage to the Golden State of California on Friday, November 14, and wraps up the following night with the season’s only 100-lap event on Saturday, November 15.

Meanwhile, Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway returns with a new Friday date on November 21, followed by two consecutive nights of Midget Madness at Merced Speedway on November 22-23.

Bakersfield Speedway’s November Classic will serve as the penultimate round of the Golden State tour on Tuesday, November 25 before closing out with the granddaddy of them all, the 84th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on Saturday, November 29.

TO BE ANNOUNCED / DETERMINED

Three notable TBA designations can be found on the 2025 USAC National Midget schedule. The seventh running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 is a certainty for 2025 and will take place at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on yet-to-be-determined dates. Furthermore, the Monday, September 1, and Wednesday, November 19, slots remain TBA at press time.

2025 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Apr 25 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Apr 26 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix | 1/4 Mile Dirt

May 16 | Belleville Short Track | Belleville, KS | 1/4 Mile Dirt

May 17 | Belleville Short Track | Belleville, KS | 1/4 Mile Dirt

May 18 | Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex | Sweet Springs, MO | 1/6 Mile Dirt

Jun 3 | Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Midget Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jun 4 | Paragon Speedway | Paragon, IN | Indiana Midget Week | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Jun 5 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Midget Week | 5/16 Mile Dirt

Jun 6 | Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Midget Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jun 7 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Midget Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jun 8 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Midget Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jul 8 | Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | Tuesday Night Thunder | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jul 9 | Mitchell County Fairgrounds | Beloit, KS | Chad McDaniel Memorial | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jul 11 | Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship | 1/5

Mile Dirt

Jul 12 | Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship | 1/5 Mile Dirt

Aug 31 | Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | Firemen's Nationals | 1/3 Mile Dirt

Sep 1 | TBA

Sep 18 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Sep 20 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Nov 14 | Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100 | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Nov 15 | Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100 | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Nov 19 | TBA

Nov 21 | Thunderbowl Raceway | Tulare, CA | 1/3 Mile Dirt

Nov 22 | Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Nov 23 | Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Nov 25 | Bakersfield Speedway | Bakersfield, CA | November Classic | 1/3 Mile Dirt

Nov 29 | Ventura Raceway | Ventura, CA | Turkey Night Grand Prix | 1/5 Mile Dirt

TBA | The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, IN | BC39 | 1/5 Mile Dirt

NIFTY 50!

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SLATE ARRIVES

WITH 50 SHOWS IN 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 11, 2024)………Several new schedule additions coupled with a myriad of traditional favorites line the 50-race calendar for the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season.

NEW YEAR, NEW ADDITIONS

Seven new tracks appear on the 2025 slate after taking a sabbatical from the schedule for a number of years while one venue in particular will make its debut appearance.

Indiana’s Paragon Speedway will host its first USAC Sprint event since 2021 when the series converges on Friday, April 4. The following night, Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, Ill. will welcome the series for the first time since 1998 during the Saturday, April 5, Salute to Levi Jones.

It’s been a long, long time since USAC has visited Ohio’s Fremont Speedway and Millstream Speedway. Fremont’s Saturday, June 28, date marks the series’ first visit since the 2003 season. Meanwhile, the next night’s show at Findlay’s Millstream Speedway on Sunday, June 29, brings USAC back after a 37-year absence. Brad Doty was the most recent USAC Sprint Car victor at Millstream in 1988 with a wing!

Two tracks with long, storied histories have emerged on USAC’s setlist for 2025. For the first time since 2019, Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. has a date set with the series on Friday, September 5. The following night, the wagons go west across the Mississippi River to Odessa, Missouri’s I-70 Motorsports Park, last treated to a USAC show in 2022.

For the first time ever, Central Arizona Raceway will be a stop on the USAC National Sprint Car tour where it will host the 58th annual Western World Championships on Friday-Saturday, October 24-25. The two season-closing events are the first for the series in the Grand Canyon State since 2022.

BREAKING THE ICE AT WINTER DIRT GAMES

For the 16th consecutive season, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship campaign will launch in the state of Florida during the month of February. For the first time ever, the Sunshine State tour will feature six events across six consecutive nights – the first two at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park On February 10-11, and the final four at Ocala Speedway on February 12-13-14-15.

BREWING UP AN EASTERN STORM

Levan Machine & Truck Equipment Eastern Storm, a fixture on the USAC Sprint Car schedule since 2007, celebrates its 18th year of competition in 2025 with six shows in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The east coast adventure starts on Tuesday, June 17, at Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania’s 1/3-mile Grandview Speedway, followed by a Wednesday, June 18, date across the border at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park. Then it’s back to the Keystone State on Thursday, June 19, at Pottsville, Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway.

Two historic 1/2-miles are on tap afterward with Williams Grove taking center stage on Friday, June 20, while the second of the two 1/2-mile tracks on the docket is slated for Saturday, June 21, at Port Royal Speedway. The diverse schedule then takes the series to the Eastern Storm finale at the racy bullring of Kutztown, Pennsylvania’s Action Track USA, which, at 1/6-mile in length, is the smallest track on the 2025 schedule

SPRINT WEEK IN THE HOOSIER STATE

The 38th annual edition of USAC Indiana Sprint Week presents one of the most intense weeks of racing of the season during the late July and early August period.

Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway is pegged as the opener of the series on Friday, July 25. From there, the schedule travels to Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 26; Lawrenceburg Speedway on July 27; Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 30; the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, July 31; Bloomington Speedway on Friday, August 1, and Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August .

STAPLES OF THE SERIES

Longtime, traditional USAC National Sprint car staples are prevalent on the playlist for 2025. In addition to its Indiana Sprint Week date, Lawrenceburg Speedway hosts three more, including the April 12 Justin Owen Memorial as well as the October 10 Greg Staab Memorial and the $20,000-to-win October 11 Fall Nationals.

Eldora Speedway has been a piece on USAC’s schedule each year since 1962, and this year provides four more events starting with the May 2-3 #LetsRaceTwo Weekend, plus two nights at the 4-Crown Nationals on September 18 and 20.

May’s crop of races is busy as all get out with an Indiana double weekend on May 9 at Bloomington Speedway’s Larry Rice Classic and on May 10 at Tri-State Speedway’s Spring Showdown. The series returns to Tri-State for the $20,000-to-win Haubstadt Hustler on Saturday, September 13.

The 55th annual Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute is the most tradition-rich USAC Sprint Car race of them all, and it once again returns to its Wednesday date on May 21, with the Week of Indy resuming 24 hours later with the Circle City Salute at Circle City Raceway on Thursday, May 22, where the series also returns later in the year on Friday, September 12.

Iowa’s spectacular Knoxville Raceway is ready to go once again on National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend during the Corn Belt Clash on May 30-31. Lincoln Park Speedway’s back-to-back nights during the Bill Gardner Sprintacular showcases the series on July 4-5.

The richest series event of the season, Sprint Car Smackdown, is a veritable feast of the most intoxicating racing action you’ll witness all year long, for three-straight nights at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway on August 21-22-23, with the final night culminating in a $30,000-to-win prize.

2025 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Feb 10 | Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL | Winter Dirt Games | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Feb 11 | Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL | Winter Dirt Games | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Feb 12 | Ocala Speedway | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Feb 13 | Ocala Speedway | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Feb 14 | Ocala Speedway | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Feb 15 | Ocala Speedway | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Apr 4 | Paragon Speedway | Paragon, IN | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Apr 5 | Red Hill Raceway | Sumner, IL | Salute to Levi Jones | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Apr 12 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Justin Owen Memorial | 3/8 Mile Dirt

May 2 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo | 1/2 Mile Dirt

May 3 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo | 1/2 Mile Dirt

May 9 | Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Larry Rice Classic | 1/4 Mile Dirt

May 10 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Spring Showdown | 1/4 Mile Dirt

May 21 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Tony Hulman Classic | 1/2 Mile Dirt

May 22 | Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Circle City Salute | 1/4 Mile Dirt

May 30 | Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA | Corn Belt Clash | 1/2 Mile Dirt

May 31 | Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA | Corn Belt Clash | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Jun 17 | Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA | Eastern Storm / Jesse Hockett Classic | 1/3 Mile Dirt

Jun 18 | Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ | Eastern Storm | $6,000-to-Win 4/10 Mile Dirt

Jun 19 | Big Diamond Speedway | Pottsville, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000-to-Win 3/8 Mile Dirt

Jun 20 | Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA | Eastern Storm | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Jun 21 | Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | Eastern Storm | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Jun 22 | Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA | Eastern Storm | 1/6 Mile Dirt

Jun 28 | Fremont Speedway | Fremont, OH | 1/3 Mile Dirt

Jun 29 | Millstream Speedway | Findlay, OH | 4/10 Mile Dirt

Jul 4 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular | 5/16 Mile Dirt

Jul 5 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular | 5/16 Mile Dirt

Jul 24 | TBA

Jul 25 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | 5/16 Mile Dirt

Jul 26 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jul 27 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Jul 30 | Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Jul 31 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Don Smith Classic | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Aug 1 | Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Kinser Memorial | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Aug 2 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Aug 21 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Aug 22 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Aug 23 | Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Sep 5 | Tri-City Speedway | Granite City, IL | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Sep 6 | I-70 Motorsports Park | Odessa, MO | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Sep 12 | Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Sep 13 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Haubstadt Hustler | 1/4 Mile Dirt

Sep 18 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Sep 20 | Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | 1/2 Mile Dirt

Oct 10 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Greg Staab Memorial | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Oct 11 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Fall Nationals | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Oct 17 | TBA

Oct 18 | TBA

Oct 24 | Central Arizona Raceway | Casa Grande, AZ | Western World Championships | 3/8 Mile Dirt

Oct 25 | Central Arizona Raceway | Casa Grande, AZ | Western World Championships | 3/8 Mile Dirt

LEVAN MACHINE & TRUCK EQUIPMENT

PRESENTS 2025 USAC EASTERN STORM,

WITH $10,000 POINT FUND

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 9, 2024)………Levan Machine & Truck Equipment will serve as the presenting sponsor of the 18th edition of USAC Eastern Storm in June of 2025.

Six dates at six different dirt tracks will greet the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship when the series travels east for the annual tour of Pennsylvania and New Jersey with each event paying $6,000-to-win and featuring a point fund totaling $10,000.

Eastern Storm 2025 begins on Tuesday, June 17, at Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania’s 1/3-mile Grandview Speedway, which has hosted the opener each year since the induction of the series.

On Wednesday, June 18, Eastern Storm travels across the boarder to New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park for the sixth time at the speedy 4/10-mile.

It’s back to the Keystone State on Thursday, June 19, as the series competitors take on Pottsville, Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway for the eighth time.

As the series hits the weekend, two historic 1/2-miles are on tap with Williams Grove taking center stage on Friday, June 20. The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania venue is one of the USAC originals, having hosted its first series event in USAC’s inaugural season of 1956.

The second of the two 1/2-mile tracks on the docket is slated for Saturday, June 21, at Port Royal Speedway in the penultimate round of Eastern Storm. The event will also feature USAC’s Silver Crown National Championship.

Kutztown, Pennsylvania’s Action Track USA caps off a busy week of racing on Sunday, June 22. The smallest track on the entire USAC National Sprint Car schedule at 1/6-mile produces big excitement as evidenced by 2024’s photo finish between Logan Seavey and Briggs Danner.

The Action Track USA event will pay full points toward the Eastern Storm standings but will pay appearance points only toward the USAC National Sprint Car tally.

USAC Eastern Storm began in 2007 and consisted of three events, all of which were swept by Tony Stewart Racing team drivers Levi Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jones was the winner of the very first Eastern Storm feature event held on June 6, 2007, at Grandview, and was also the first Eastern Storm champion.

In 2024, Mitchel Moles became a first-time Eastern Storm champion on the strength of consistency. Ten different drivers have captured an Eastern Storm title: Levi Jones (2007-2010-2011), Bryan Clauson (2012-2013-2016), Cole Whitt (2008 & 2009), Robert Ballou (2015 & 2021), Chris Windom (2017 & 2018), Brady Bacon (2014), C.J. Leary (2019), Logan Seavey (2022), Emerson Axsom (2023) and Mitchel Moles (2024).

Feature events at Eastern Storm in 2024 were won by Briggs Danner (Grandview), who became the first Pennsylvania native to win an Eastern Storm feature. Brady Bacon (Bridgeport & Port Royal was the lone two-time winner of the series.

Meanwhile, Logan Seavey (Big Diamond) became the latest driver to win both Eastern Storm and the USAC National Sprint Car season, which has occurred on nine previous occasions in the 17-year history of the series. Seavey (Action Track USA) corralled the finale in perhaps the closest finish in Eastern Storm history. Meanwhile, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Williams Grove) scored a dramatic last lap, last turn victory on his birthday.

Sixty-nine (69) Eastern Storm events have been contested over the years with Brady Bacon holding the all-time record with eight career series victories. Twenty-eight (28) different drivers have won an Eastern Storm feature event: Brady Bacon with eight. Bryan Clauson, Levi Jones and Chris Windom have each won six. Robert Ballou owns five scores. Justin Grant, Logan Seavey and Kevin Thomas Jr. have each tallied four. Cole Whitt has grabbed three. Emerson Axsom, Tyler Courtney and Thomas Meseraull each have achieved two wins apiece.

The list of one-time Eastern Storm winners includes Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, Daron Clayton, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Dave Darland, Bobby East, Damion Gardner, Jesse Hockett, Jason McDougal, Hunter Schuerenberg, Jon Stanbrough, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Stockon and Jake Swanson

About Levan Machine & Truck Equipment

Levan Machine and Truck Equipment is a full-service CNC machine shop and work truck upfitter located just outside Reading, Pennsylvania. Since 1936, Levan Machine and Truck Equipment has been your one-stop-shop for custom repair and production machining, and driveline services, and they are known throughout the East Coast for servicing commercial and fleet customers with custom work truck builds. They are also your go-to for all your CTech needs! Additionally, Levan Machine and Truck Equipment offers general truck repair and maintenance to help you keep your commercial fleet in top condition throughout your busy work schedule. You can find their website at https://www.levanmachine.com/.

2025 USAC EASTERN STORM SCHEDULE

Tuesday, June 17: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania

Wednesday, June 18: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, New Jersey

Thursday, June 19: Big Diamond Speedway | Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Friday, June 20: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Saturday, June 21: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, Pennsylvania

Sunday, June 22: Action Track USA | Kutztown, Pennsylvania

BUCKEYE BEAST!

WIGAL IS OHIO’S FIRST

USAC MIDGET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR IN 20 YEARS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 5, 2024)………It’s been 20 years since an Ohioan earned top Rookie honors with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

Zach Wigal is proud to wear that badge in 2024 after being named the Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year.

The 17-year-old Wigal resides in Belpre, Ohio, but actually attends high school across the border in Parkersburg, West Virginia. This year, Wigal became the third USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year hailing from the Buckeye State following Donnelsville, Ohio brothers Teddy Beach (2002) and Todd Beach (2004).

Prior to the season, Wigal estimated that his biggest challenge would be visiting almost an entirely new slate of tracks he had never competed on before. His expectations came to fruition during the opening three-race weekend in May when he qualified in the back half of the field and failed to finish any of the three features better than 13th.

However, during the fourth round of the campaign in June during the USAC Indiana Midget Week opener at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Wigal turned the corner. He set fast qualifying time and crossed under the checkered flag eighth in the feature. In July, he repeated his qualifying feat with another quick time in his first ever trip to Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds aboard his CB Industries/Dave Knost Auto Outlet/Spike/Speedway Toyota No. 89.

Qualifying was among the chief concerns and priorities for Wigal entering the 2024 season, but ultimately, he passed his initial tests with flying colors when facing off with the stopwatch.

“This year, I learned how to qualify a lot better,” Wigal admitted. “Where I had been used to racing, it’s not a big deal. You start your night with a heat race. That was biggest thing, going out there and putting down one really good lap.”

By June’s Indiana Midget Week event at Tri-State Speedway, Wigal had reached the top-five for the first time in his young USAC National Midget career. However, Labor Day weekend in September at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway during the opening night of the 39th Firemen’s Nationals produced the dream weekend he was longing for.

Within the first five laps, Wigal climbed from third to first, passing series veterans Kevin Thomas Jr. and Zach Daum to take the lead. For the final 25 laps, it was all Wigal who became USAC’s newest first-time winner, and afterward, uttered one of the most memorable quotes of the season, stating, ”Some kids dream of winning the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals, but my dream is to be standing here.”

As Wigal reflects on the moment today, a flood of thoughts come to mind.

“I thought (a lot of money) was what you needed to have to get there, so I never thought I’d even be able to race with these guys, let alone win a race,” Wigal stated. “It’s just a surreal feeling to have gotten here and to have success at this level.”

By Wigal’s side throughout the season were the helpful hands and watchful eyes of car owner Chad Boat and teammate Daison Pursley. Boat owned cars captured the 2020 USAC National Midget championship with Chris Windom as the team’s driver while Pursley, of course, went on to score this year’s series driving title.

As Wigal puts it, the more laps you get on different racetracks, the better it makes you as a driver and even makes the car better. But having a duo like Boat and Pursley there to help guide you along the way was a godsend for a Rookie like Wigal out on the trail.

“They were the main reason for my progress this year,” Wigal revealed. “Chad’s a master on the wrenches, and he’s proven that with the best cars at the racetrack, while Daison helped me out a lot with the driving, which helped my confidence. It was something different at every track; I’d go out there in hot laps and run 25th, then they’d tell me something I could do to find a tenth or two tenths and we’d go 10th quick. Being able to recognize what I did in just a few laps, then telling me what to do and being able to change it and fix it to go faster was such a huge help.”

Wigal is also a graduate of the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget series, having won its 2023 series championship. In his spare time from the USAC National Midget schedule 2024, he still found time to participate with the series in the family owned No. 18, starting 10 events and winning a series-high three features.

Like Jacob Denney, a 2020 and 2021 USAC Midwest Thunder champion himself, Wigal is beginning to make his mark on the USAC national circuit. Wigal credits the series with honing his craft and preparing him for the next level of USAC Midget competition.

“In my opinion, it’s the best developmental series there is,” Wigal proclaimed. “It’s the same as a midget, just less power, plus it’s a lot cheaper and there’s great quality drivers. I think Denney and I have proven that. He and I won a lot, but it’s not like we absolutely dominated everybody. They’re really affordable racecars, the racing’s great and it teaches you a lot.”

MPI BOB STROUD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1969: Billy Engelhart, Madison, Wisconsin

1970: Danny Brown, Rossville, Illinois

1971: Danny Caruthers, Anaheim, California

1972: Tommy Astone, Fresno, California

1973: Mike Gregg, Fort Collins, Colorado

1974: Richard Powell, Enid, Oklahoma

1975: Larry Patton, Anaheim, California

1976: James McElreath, Arlington, Texas

1977: Lonnie Caruthers, Corona Del Mar, California

1978: Tommy Thomas, Dana Point, California

1979: Barry Butterworth, Auckland, New Zealand

1980: Trevor Boys, Calgary, Alberta

1981: Sherman Armstrong Jr., Winchester, Indiana

1982: Chris Maxson, McHenry, Illinois

1983: John Andretti, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

1984: Russ Gamester, Peru, Indiana

1985: Bobby Allen, Carmel, Indiana

1986: Steve Enlow, Tulsa, Oklahoma

1987: John Meyers, Oak Brook, Illinois

1988: Jim Keeker, Cicero, Indiana

1989: Jeff Gordon, Vallejo, California

1990: Dan Ford, Saint Peters, Missouri

1991: Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Michigan

1992: Brian Gerster, Indianapolis, Indiana

1993: Chuck Leary, Greenfield, Indiana

1994: David Bridges, Indianapolis, Indiana

1995: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Indiana

1996: Carl Olsen, Auckland, New Zealand

1997: Nick Lundgreen, Franklin, Wisconsin

1998: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Indiana

1999: A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Illinois

2000: Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Illinois

2001: Bobby East, Brownsburg, Indiana

2002: Teddy Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio

2002: Ron Gregory, Noblesville, Indiana

2003: Ryan Durst, Lincoln, Nebraska

2004: Todd Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio

2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, California

2006: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Mississippi

2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Arizona

2009: Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Illinois

2010: Daniel Bedford, Brentwood, California

2011: Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, California

2012: Rico Abreu, Saint Helena, California

2013: Christopher Bell, Norman, Oklahoma

2014: Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama

2015: Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, Indiana

2016: Carson Macedo, Lemoore, California

2017: Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, California

2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California

2019: Andrew Layser, Collegeville, Pennsylvania

2020: Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, California

2021: Chase Randall, Waco, Texas

2022: Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, California

2023: Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pennsylvania

2024: Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio

REPEAT!

PURSLEY GRABS 2024

USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 5, 2024)………For the second consecutive season, no driver passed more cars throughout the USAC national season than Daison Pursley en route to the 2024 USAC ProSource Passing Master title.

Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) advanced a total of 209 positions in 72 feature starts across USAC’s Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget divisions throughout the 2024 campaign, which earned him a $2,500 reward. He will be honored during the Friday night, December 13, 2024, USAC Night of Champions at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.

He becomes the second back-to-back winner of the season-long Passing Master award which rewards the USAC nationally licensed driver who advanced the most positions during feature events throughout the entirety of USAC’s 2024 national season between Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midgets. Justin Grant also won the award consecutively in 2021 and 2022.

Early on in the season, both of Pursley’s USAC car owners, Chad Boat (Midget) and Michael Burkhart (Sprint & Silver Crown), made a prediction that Pursley wouldn’t repeat the award in 2024. Not because they doubted him, but because Pursley was expected to be a front runner in qualifying, which would set him up with a quality starting spot come feature time. Instead, Pursley was able to accomplish both.

“At the beginning of the year, both Chad and Michael told me, ‘you aren’t going to win passing master this year.’” Pursley recalled. “We want to qualify well and start up front, but I was like, ‘if I qualify that good, I’d still start in the third row and would still have a chance at passing a lot of cars.’”

That he did, passing 10 more cars than he did a year ago during his first passing master crown in addition to capturing the 2024 USAC National Midget driving championship.

“Usually, if you win passing master, it means you started pretty far back, which also means you didn’t qualify well,” Pursley explained. “But I thought I did a good job this year at upping my qualifying game. I felt that had been one of my weakest points. There’s times we started 15th or 18th or 20th on back, but we were still able to finish inside the top-three. That allowed us to have a big jump in the passing master points, and that’s what helps make those championship runs when you can start that far back and still get a good result.”

Unquestionably, Pursley’s standout passing performance of the 2024 USAC season came during May’s Larry Rice Classic for sprint cars at Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway where he started 23rd on the grid before passing 21 cars, cutting right through the middle of the 1/4-mile of red clay to finish second. The performance set an all-time USAC National Sprint Car record for the biggest advancement by a driver from start to finish in the series’ 68-year history.

“Bloomington’s small and sprint cars are tight at that place to begin with,” Pursley noted. “There were a couple of people who made jokes to me, like ‘how do you go from 23rd to 2nd and not win the race if the car was that good?’ That’s exactly how I felt too. Everything went perfect, but when we got to second, it was like, ‘what the heck? Why can’t I get to the lead?’ Nonetheless, it was a special night. It felt like they were sitting still and my car was just hitting on all cylinders.”

Pursley was one of three drivers to win in all three of USAC’s national divisions in 2024, racking up a total of 10 wins across the board in Midgets (7), Sprints (2) and Silver Crown (1). Furthermore, he routinely made up ground by advancing forward from his original starting spot in 42 of the 72 features he started during the year.

“I find a lot of enjoyment in passing cars and creating different lines and developing stuff,” Pursley explained. “It’s something I felt like I’ve worked on a lot in my career, maneuvering past cars whether that’s in lapped traffic or whether I have to start in the back on a restart or anything like that. I felt like I’ve done a pretty dang good job and studied to get better in some areas. It’s something I enjoy, and I can make up a lot of time on restarts and by passing those cars in the slowest parts of the racetrack, and that’s what I was able to accomplish this year.”

Since 2020, longtime USAC supporter Buck Rice has offered the ProSource Passing Master reward with past winners including Chris Windom (2020), Justin Grant (2021 & 2022) and now Pursley (2023 & 2024). Pursley is deeply proud to wear that badge of honor once again and is grateful for the man who posts the reward year after year.

“Buck spends his hard earned money for us to do what we do,” Pursley praised. “Buck likes a lot of passing just as we do and it’s super special for him to allow us to chase our dreams and give us a little extra money to get up and down the road. If it wasn’t for people like him, drivers wouldn’t be able to do what we do. I’m forever thankful for people like Buck, and hopefully, I can continue to pass a lot of cars and maybe get some more of his money down the road.”

USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER CHAMPIONS:

2020: Chris Windom, Canton, Illinois

2021: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2022: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2023: Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Oklahoma

2024: Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Oklahoma

2024 USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER STANDINGS:

209-Daison Pursley

204-Logan Seavey

164-Justin Grant

149-Robert Ballou

134-C.J. Leary

131-Kyle Cummins

126-Chase Stockon

121-Matt Westfall

120-Brady Bacon

107-Kevin Thomas Jr.

101-Jadon Rogers

98-Joey Amantea

97-Mitchel Moles

87-Ryan Timms

85-Carson Garrett

83-Zach Daum

82-Briggs Danner

75-Shane Cottle & Cannon McIntosh

73-Jake Swanson

68-Kale Drake

65-Ricky Lewis

64-Chance Crum

61-Gavin Miller

57-Jacob Denney

48-Jerry Coons Jr. & Zach Wigal

44-Kyle Jones

42-Alex Bright & Gregg Cory

41-Trey Osborne

38-Tye Mihocko

37-Hayden Reinbold

35-Jade Avedisian

28-Tom Harris

26-Hunter Maddox & Curtis Spicer

23-Carmen Perigo

22-Matt Goodnight, Danny Jennings & Brandon Mattox

21-Kaylee Bryson & Kyle Steffens

20-Max Adams & Nathan Moore

19-Kayla Roell

17-Chris Fetter & Russ Gamester

16-Todd Hobson & Bobby Santos

14-Nathan Byrd

13-Dave Berkheimer & Kendall Ruble

12-Mario Clouser & Ethan Mitchell

11-Jake Andreotti, Aric Gentry, Broedy Graham, Rylan Gray, Kip Hughes & Mark Smith

10-Jackson Macenko, Kody Swanson & Joe Trenca

9-Mark Bitner, Trey Burke, Taylor Ferns & Wesley Smith

8-Don Droud Jr., Kyle Robbins & Korey Weyant

7-Davey Hamilton Jr.

6-Dakoda Armstrong, Gunnar Setser & Chris Urish

5-Xavier Doney & Adam Taylor

4-Danny Long

3-Brent Beauchamp, Saban Bibent, Blake Brannon, Shane Cockrum, Chase Dietz & Mike Haggenbottom

2-Bryan Gossel, Thomas Meseraull & Brian Ruhlman

1-Tanner Berryhill, Chase Howard, Kenney Johnson, Jimmy Light, Kevin Newton, Travis Welpott & Daniel Whitley

SEAVEY HITS #1,

RECORDS 2024 MIKE CURB

USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 5, 2024)………After finishing second in each of the past two seasons, Logan Seavey finally popped to the top of the charts to earn the 2024 Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship.

The newest member of USAC’s Career Triple Crown club captured the $10,000 reward by amassing more total points than any other driver across the three USAC national divisions throughout the duration of the 2024 campaign.

Since his USAC Rookie season of 2018, Seavey has never strayed outside of the top-10 in the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship standings. However, he’s never taken a step backwards in his pursuit, steadily climbing from 10th in 2018 to 9th in 2019 to 6th in 2020 and to 5th in 2021 before finishing as the runner-up to Justin Grant in both 2022 and 2023.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) earned a total of 5130 points during the 2024 campaign, 602 better than runner-up Daison Pursley with Justin Grant finishing just behind in third after capturing the Mike Curb title in each of the past three years in 2021-2022-2023.

“I knew, coming into it, that I had to beat Justin (Grant) for the most part, and that’s a tough guy to beat,” Seavey stated. “Ever since I’ve started racing with USAC, the guys who’ve won it are the best of the best, and then you look further back in history, it’s the same. It’s all the best guys of their eras. I’ve been close the last few years, but I’m fortunate to be running three great racecars and be close in all of them.”

In fact, Seavey pulled off the ultra-rare feat by achieving the Mike Curb title with the same team across the board. Abacus Racing fields sprint cars and midgets for Seavey while the Silver Crown car is a conjoined effort between Abacus and Rice Motorsports.

After notching USAC’s National Midget and Silver Crown titles in 2023 with Abacus, Seavey felt that if he could pick up the pace in sprint cars, he would put himself right into contention across all three series. The addition of the sprint car was a rousing success, netting Seavey 14 USAC national victories in 2024 to tie Tom Bigelow’s all-time record mark set in 1977.

“I figured over the last few years that if I could pick up my sprint car program a little bit, I’d be a little closer and able to race Justin for this championship,” Seavey said. “I knew I’d be close, but it finally came together this year. It’s a cool award that I’ve always looked at and never really knew if I’d even be able to do all the classes or how it would work out in my career. But to be here now is pretty awesome.”

To go along with a pair of USAC National Midget wins and a Silver Crown victory to boot, Seavey’s 17 USAC national feature scores in 2024 rank among the all-time greatest seasons, and also ranked inside the top-three of the standings in sprints (1st), midgets (3rd) and Silver Crown (3rd).

In fact, Seavey was one of three drivers to win across all three USAC national divisions this past season alongside Daison Pursley and Justin Grant. Along with Grant, Seavey was also one of only two drivers to start all 81 possible feature events during the 2024 season.

“It would’ve been even cooler to win the single season USAC Triple Crown and back up what we did last year with the sprint car, but to do it with the same group of guys is incredible,” Seavey praised. “These guys work well together and have a lot of fun.”

Seavey and Abacus’ 2024 performance became the sixth occasion in which a driver and entrant have regularly competed across all three USAC national divisions en route to the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship: Josh Wise & Tony Stewart Racing (2005 & 2006), Tracy Hines & Tony Stewart Racing (2008), as well as Bryan Clauson & Curb-Agajanian (2011 & 2012).

This year marked the 26th year of the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship. Curb has offered the reward annually since the 1999 USAC season to honor USAC’s top overall points champion. Once known as the USAC Super License, the title was rechristened as the National Drivers Championship in recent years to more properly represent the accomplishment of achieving the feat, which so few have done. Now Seavey will accept the honor during USAC’s Night of Champions at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis on Friday night, December 13, 2024.

MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONS:

1999: Dave Darland, Lincoln, Indiana

2000: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Indiana

2001: J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Arizona

2002: J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Arizona

2003: J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Arizona

2004: Jay Drake, Val Verde, California

2005: Josh Wise, Riverside, California

2006: Josh Wise, Riverside, California

2007: Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Arizona

2008: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Indiana

2009: Cole Whitt, Alpine, California

2010: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana

2011: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana

2012: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana

2013: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Indiana

2014: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Indiana

2015: Dave Darland, Lincoln, Indiana

2016: Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

2017: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2018: Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Indiana

2019: Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Indiana

2020: Chris Windom, Canton, Illinois

2021: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2022: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2023: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2024: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California

2024 MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS:

PTS/DRIVER

5130-Logan Seavey

4528-Daison Pursley

4523-Justin Grant

3429-C.J. Leary

3365-Kevin Thomas Jr.

3142-Brady Bacon

2784-Mitchel Moles

2734-Kyle Cummins

2625-Robert Ballou

2105-Matt Westfall

2074-Chase Stockon

1801-Briggs Danner

1800-Carson Garrett

1616-Kale Drake

1559-Jake Swanson

1446-Cannon McIntosh

1432-Jadon Rogers

1401-Zach Daum

1322-Joey Amantea

1311-Ryan Timms

1285-Ricky Lewis

1283-Jacob Denney

1176-Gavin Miller

1085-Zach Wigal

1010-Shane Cottle

949-Hunter Maddox

904-Kody Swanson

796-Trey Osborne

718-Jade Avedisian

716-Jerry Coons Jr.

664-Kyle Jones

619-Alex Bright

594-Kaylee Bryson

593-Brandon Mattox

575-Jake Andreotti

528-Kyle Steffens

494-Chance Crum

476-Hayden Reinbold

475-Mario Clouser

452-Gregg Cory

433-Bobby Santos

429-Max Adams

420-Ethan Mitchell

402-Tom Harris

397-Thomas Meseraull

396-Nathan Moore

367-Kayla Roell

366-Dakoda Armstrong

360-Rylan Gray

353-Tye Mihocko

329-Dave Berkheimer

314-Wesley Smith

296-Saban Bibent & Taylor Ferns

275-Todd Hobson

243-Trey Burke & Nathan Byrd

231-Xavier Doney

227-Russ Gamester

200-Tyler Roahrig

192-Timmy Buckwalter

191-Curtis Spicer

184-Chris Fetter

180-Carmen Perigo

176-Daniel Whitley

168-Hank Davis

159-Adam Taylor

158-Ashton Torgerson

138-Matt Goodnight

132-Gunnar Setser

130-Davey Hamilton Jr.

127-Chase Howard & Jackson Macenko

126-Brian Ruhlman

123-Brent Beauchamp

108-Danny Jennings

105-Steven Snyder Jr.

98-Mark Smith

95-Kyle Robbins

93-Chase Dietz

88-Patrick Lawson

82-Bryan Gossel

78-Kip Hughes & Jimmy Light

76-Danny Long

68-Shane Butler & Nic Harris

63-Chris Urish

62-Mark Bitner

59-Blake Brannon

58-Travis Welpott

57-Korey Weyant

54-Broedy Graham

53-Shane Cockrum & Dave Peperak

51-Aric Gentry

46-Tom Savage

44-Adam Bolyard & Steve Gennetten

41-Derek Bischak & Mike Haggenbottom

39-Casey Buckman

35-Joe Trenca

33-Tanner Berryhill & Cody Gerhardt

24-Sterling Cling

23-Kenney Johnson & Brent Yarnal

20-Jason Cherry

19-Kevin Newton

16-Don Droud Jr.

10-Kenny Gentry, Will Hull, Joey Moughan, Ken Schrader & Jake Trainor

THE COMEBACK OF ALL COMEBACKS:

PURSLEY’S REMARKABLE 2024 SEASON NETS USAC MIDGET TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 4, 2024)………A team of Disney writers couldn’t have produced a better script than the reality of Daison Pursley’s storybook USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in 2024.

From the depths of despair after suffering a major spinal cord injury during a 2021 USAC Midget crash at Arizona Speedway to the highest mountaintop with his championship clinching moment in 2024 at California’s Ventura Raceway, the now 20-year-old Pursley endured a journey that so few could even comprehend.

Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was diagnosed as an incomplete quadriplegic in the immediate aftermath of his accident with paralysis from the neck down. Throughout 2021-2022, he endured a rigorous rehabilitation program to aid his recovery from his severely damaged C4-C5 vertebrae.

“I’m definitely sure there was doubt,” Pursley explained when asked if he thought this day would come after what he had been through. “I would be lying if I didn’t say that. There were always goals. At first, I just wanted to be quote/unquote a normal person again and just live a normal life, which was just walking, eating on my own and breathing on my own. Just all the little things that we wake up and take for granted.”

Literally and figuratively, it was all about taking one step at a time. Soon enough, steadily and surely, the thoughts of returning to the seat of a racecar came creeping back into Pursley’s daily thoughts.

“It started out with accomplishing those little, but big things,” Pursley noted. “Once I checked off all those goals, it was going to the rehab center to run and ride a bike, then once those were checked off, I wanted to race again. It was a big step not only to want to race, but to also race at the level I wanted to. Once I got back in a micro sprint, after about five laps, I was saying to myself, ‘this feels right. This feels like exactly what I want to do.’ I knew it was just going to take some time to get back to where I once was, but I knew it was definitely something I wanted to pursue.”

By late 2022, Pursley was back behind the wheel. By 2023, he was regaining his footing at the wheel. By the end of 2024, he was a champion, something that was almost hard to imagine just three years ago. Three years definitely seems like a long time in the world of a young racer, but as he reflects now, a USAC national championship is something that happened a lot faster than he ever could’ve imagined. It’s a feat he’ll forever be proud of and thankful for. It’s a feeling of accomplishment that, after all the pain and emotional he’s been through, he can proudly proclaim that’s he’s back.

“I don’t think it’s ever really going to sink in that I’m a USAC champion,” the humbly confident Pursley stated. “It’s something that people dream of but never get to accomplish. It’s something that I’m going to cherish forever and always remember.”

In 2024, Pursley and his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota compiled a series high seven USAC National Midget victories, while leading 87 laps, capturing 11 heat race wins and producing 16 top-five finishes in 23 feature starts. In the process, Pursley provided CB Industries its first USAC National Midget entrant title, and the second for team principal Chad Boat who scored a series championship as part of Tucker-Boat Motorsports in 2020 with driver Chris Windom.

After a runner-up finish in the season opener, Pursley celebrated his 100th career USAC National Midget start in style by winning the following night’s feature at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track, his first series victory since August of 2021, three months prior to his injury. Before the end of spring, he added two more scores at Bloomington Speedway and Kokomo Speedway, plus top-three finishes in five successive starts to earn his first USAC Indiana Midget Week crown by a record 74-point margin.

By midsummer, Pursley was still rolling, winning in his home state of Oklahoma at Red Dirt Raceway, the location of his first career USAC National Midget win in 2021. He followed up the next evening with a triumph during the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds That put Pursley’s win streak at three, which coincidentally, all came after he started seventh on the grid.

In September, Pursley put together one of the most incredible runs in USAC history by winning USAC National Midget features on back-to-back nights at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, followed by a USAC National Sprint Car victory before leading the first 12 laps and finishing fourth in the USAC Silver Crown race, all within a 27-hour span during the 4-Crown Nationals.

From the beginning, Pursley could tell his partnership with CB Industries was going to be promising. After a slight setback buried Pursley in the Saturday D-Main of his first ride with the team at the January 2024 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, Pursley proceeded to advance through the alphabet soup, passing 45 cars along the way en route to a fourth place finish in the A-Main. Furthermore, when time allowed, Pursley stepped foot into CBI’s micro and proceeded to win there as well.

As it turns out, this whole championship pursuit may not have even been possible without Pursley’s friendship with Jesse Love, who was his teammate with the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports USAC Midget team during the 2020 season. Toward the end of the 2023 season’s California swing for the series, Love, who was driving for CBI at the time, chatted with Pursley in the pit area, which led to a conversation with Boat regarding 2024 plans. One thing led to another and Pursley had his plans set for 2024.

When Pursley clinched the USAC title with a third-place run in the season-ending Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura, eyes were drawn to the embrace between Daison and his father, a moment which represented so much more than just a congratulatory bear hug. It meant the entire world.

“I absolutely owe everything to my mom and dad,” Pursley said of his parents, Shawnda of Klint Pursley. “They’ve sacrificed so much for me and I can’t even begin to imagine everything that they’ve done for me. I don’t quite understand it because I’m not a parent by any means but I can’t imagine what they felt when their kid was at his absolute lowest and now he’s at the absolute highest, all within a three-year span. They are the best parents I could ever ask for and they’ve taught me how to be the person that I am today.”

If there’s anybody who can attest to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in both motorsports and life, it’s Daison.

“Cherish all these moments and don’t get too high on yourself or too low when things get rough and stay level-headed,” Pursley shared. “My parents have done a great job in teaching me that. I’ve just been able to ride the wave – the good and the bad – and definitely wouldn’t change anything that my parents have done for me, and I’m forever grateful for them to travel up and down the road with me, with my dad driving all the miles to get me to all these racetracks while I sat in the passenger seat and slept. It’s just a very cool moment that I get to share with my mom and dad, and even more special with all of them getting to be there as well.”

Meanwhile, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) added three victories on his way to a career best second place finish in the standings, including May’s season opener at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track which ended a 616 day dry spell since his last series win. He also added September’s Firemen’s Nationals at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway and the $20,039-to-win Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors later that month at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, utilizing a pass on the white flag lap to secure the big payday. He also led all drivers with 20 top-ten finishes in 23 starts.

Reigning series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished third in points after notching a pair of wins at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in May before picking up another in June during Indiana Midget Week at Tri-State Speedway. His four fast qualifying times during the season made him the leader in the clubhouse with the series. His eighth place finish in the opener at Belleville set a new all-time USAC record. The result marked his 23rd consecutive top-10 USAC National Midget feature finish dating back to last season, breaking the record held by Jason Leffler since 1997.

Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) followed likewise with a couple of wins during the Indiana Midget Week opener in June at Lawrenceburg Speedway which provided Mike Curb his milestone 200th USAC national victory as a car entrant. Timms picked up another in July at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway, boosting him to his second consecutive fourth place finish in the standings. His 20th to 2nd run at Eldora in September resulted in the biggest charge of the year with the series.

The Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud Rookie of the Year battle was tight all year long with Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) edging Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.) for the award. Wigal became the first Ohioan to win top Rookie honors with the series since Todd Beach in 2004. Both were also feature winners during their initial 2024 campaign as well with Wigal pocketing Angell Park in early September and Drake hoisting the trophy during a BC39 prelim in late September at IMS.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) checked off a USAC National Midget win for the eighth consecutive season in July when he prevailed at Jefferson County. The night also marked his 80th overall USAC feature win, one of just 12 drivers to reach the mark along with Rich Vogler (171), A.J. Foyt (162), Sleepy Tripp (161), Mel Kenyon (131), Dave Darland (115), Bryan Clauson (112), Damion Gardner (106), Tracy Hines (98), Tom Bigelow (89), Gary Bettenhausen (82) and Brady Bacon (80).

Meanwhile, a number of non-series-regulars arrived on the scene and raced their way into victory lane: Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) in June at Lincoln Park Speedway and Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) in September for his first career USAC National Midget win during a BC39 prelim.

The end-of-year five-race November California swing produced four different winners with Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.) tallying a win at Merced Speedway in which he utilized a 20-year-old Wirth Mopar engine that was older than Day himself who turned 19 between his two victories. Furthermore, it was the first USAC National Midget win of any kind for a Mopar powerplant since Brad Sweet 14 years earlier in 2010 Angell Park Speedway. Day capped the year by becoming the youngest ever winner of the Turkey Night Grand Prix in the 83rd running at Ventura Raceway.

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) got his win in the series’ return to Thunderbowl Raceway after a 14-year hiatus, while Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) was spectacular in winning at Merced. Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) wired all 30 laps at Bakersfield Speedway to become just the 14th driver to reach 30 career USAC National Midget feature victories.

Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) finished his season a career best fifth in the standings while Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) started feature events for six different teams on the path to a sixth place result in the points, his best placing since grabbing fifth a decade ago in 2014. Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.), fresh off Rookie of the Year accolades in 2023, followed up in his sophomore season with the series with his second straight eighth place points finish.

An all-time series record 10 drivers started all 23 feature events during the 2024 season. The previous record for the number of drivers starting all USAC National Midget features in a season was eight in 2021. Drivers starting them all in 2024 were Zach Daum, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Ryan Timms and Zach Wigal.

Overall, 110 drivers started a USAC National Midget feature in 2024, the most in a single season since 119 competed eight years ago in 2016.

2024 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS

Driver Champion: Daison Pursley

Entrant Champion: CB Industries #86

Most Wins: 7-Daison Pursley

Rookie of the Year: Zach Wigal (9th)

Most Laps Led: 87-Daison Pursley

Most Top-Fives: 16-Daison Pursley

Most Top-Tens: 20-Cannon McIntosh

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Logan Seavey

Most Heat Race Wins: 11-Daison Pursley

Most Feature Starts: 23-Zach Daum, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Ryan Timms & Zach Wigal

Biggest Charge of the Year: Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Ryan Timms (20th to 2nd)

2024 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

May 17: Belleville Short Track - Belleville, KS

WINNER: Cannon McIntosh (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)

May 18: Belleville Short Track - Belleville, KS

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

May 19: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - Sweet Springs, MO

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

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

Jun 6: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)

Jun 7: (I) Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

Jun 8: (I) Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jun 9: (I) Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

Jul 9: (M) Red Dirt Raceway - Meeker, OK

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

Jul 10: (M) Mitchell County Fairgrounds - Beloit, KS

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

Jul 12: (M) Jefferson County Speedway - Fairbury, NE

WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2)

Jul 13: (M) Jefferson County Speedway - Fairbury, NE

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

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway - Sun Prairie, WI

WINNER: Zach Wigal (CB Industries #89)

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway - Sun Prairie, WI

WINNER: Cannon McIntosh (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Daison Pursley (CB Industries #86)

Sep 26: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, IN

WINNER: Chase McDermand (Chase McDermand #40)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, IN

WINNER: Kale Drake (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97K)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, IN

WINNER: Cannon McIntosh (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA

WINNER: Carson Macedo (Dyson Motorsport #99AU)

Nov 24: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA

WINNER: Corey Day (Willie Kahne #4)

Nov 24: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA

WINNER: Kyle Larson (Silva Motorsports #1K)

Nov 27: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA

WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Tom Malloy #25m)

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA

WINNER: Corey Day (Willie Kahne #4)

------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------

(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event

(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event

2024 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 1505 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Oklahoma

2. 1446 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Oklahoma

3. 1355 Logan Seavey, Sutter, California

4. 1311 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

5. 1283 Jacob Denney, Galloway, Ohio

6. 1256 Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Illinois

7. 1210 Justin Grant, Ione, California

8. 1176 Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pennsylvania

9. 1085 (R) Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio

10. 1063 (R) Kale Drake, Collinsville, Oklahoma

11. 718 Jade Avedisian, Clovis, California

12. 664 Kyle Jones, Kennedale, Texas

13. 595 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama

14. 575 Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, California

15. 476 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Arizona

16. 420 Ethan Mitchell, Mooresville, North Carolina

17. 412 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Arizona

18. 397 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, California

19. 277 (R) Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, California

20. 253 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Indiana

21. 191 (R) Curtis Spicer, Marysville, Kansas

22. 176 Daniel Whitley, Ferndale, California

23. 168 (R) Hank Davis, Sand Springs, Oklahoma

24. 159 (R) Adam Taylor, Wheatfield, Indiana

25. 158 (R) Ashton Torgerson, Glendale, Arizona

26. 140 Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Oklahoma

27. 114 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Indiana

28. 105 (R) Steven Snyder Jr., Rising Sun, Maryland

29. 100 (R) Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Indiana

30. 60 (R) Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Indiana

31. 59 (R) Blake Brannon, Morgan Hill, California

32. 54 (R) Broedy Graham, Bakersfield, California

33. 44 (R) Adam Bolyard, Rushville, Indiana

34. 41 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

35. 23 (R) Kenney Johnson, Bethany, Connecticut

(R) = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender

2024 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1. 1505 CB Industries, Mooresville, North Carolina (#86)

2. 1446 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports , Columbus, Indiana (#71K)

3. 1355 Abacus Racing, Indianapolis, Indiana (#57)

4. 1311 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports , Columbus, Indiana (#67)

5. 1283 Tom Malloy, Corona, California (#25)

6. 1210 RMS Racing, New Lenox, Illinois (#2)

7. 1176 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports , Columbus, Indiana (#97)

8. 1085 CB Industries, Mooresville, North Carolina (#89)

9. 1063 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports , Columbus, Indiana (#97K)

10. 1018 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports , Columbus, Indiana (#71)

11. 782 4 Kings Racing, Battle Creek, Michigan (#14)

12. 723 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports , Columbus, Indiana (#67K)

13. 664 Joyner Motorsports, Concordia, Kansas (#27x)

14. 661 RAMCO Speed Group, Fort Worth, Texas (#5d)

15. 476 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Arizona (#19AZ)

16. 420 Bundy Built Motorsports, Mooresville, North Carolina (#19m)

17. 412 Central Motorsports, Edmond, Oklahoma (#85)

18. 403 4 Kings Racing, Battle Creek, Michigan (#54)

19. 397 Tim Engler, Princeton, Indiana (#7x)

20. 288 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Oklahoma (#54)

21. 271 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Oklahoma (#9)

22. 253 Glenn Styres Racing, Ohsweken, Ontario (#3G)

23. 233 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Indiana (#25K)

24. 191 Spicer RaceCraft, Marysville, Kansas (#4s)

25. 187 RAMCO Speed Group, Fort Worth, Texas (#7m)

26. 177 Cornell Racing Stables, Monee, Illinois (#8)

27. 159 Adam Taylor Racing, Wheatfield, Indiana (#7T)

28. 59 Blake Brannon Racing, Morgan Hill, California (#40)

29. 44 Joyner Motorsports, Concordia, Kansas (#27)

30. 44 Adam Bolyard Racing, Arlington, Indiana (#4B)

31. 23 Jeff Johnson, Bethany, Connecticut (#46)

2024 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 1085 Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio

2. 1063 Kale Drake, Collinsville, Oklahoma

3. 277 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, California

4. 191 Curtis Spicer, Marysville, Kansas

5. 168 Hank Davis, Sand Springs, Oklahoma

6. 159 Adam Taylor, Wheatfield, Indiana

7. 158 Ashton Torgerson, Glendale, Arizona

8. 105 Steven Snyder Jr., Rising Sun, Maryland

9. 100 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Indiana

10. 60 Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Indiana

11. 59 Blake Brannon, Morgan Hill, California

12. 54 Broedy Graham, Bakersfield, California

13. 44 Adam Bolyard, Rushville, Indiana

14. 23 Kenney Johnson, Bethany, Connecticut

2024 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

7-Daison Pursley (May 18 at the Belleville Short Track, Jun 7 at Bloomington Speedway, Jun 9 at Kokomo Speedway, Jul 9 at Red Dirt Raceway, Jul 10 at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds, Sep 20 at Eldora Speedway & Sep 21 at Eldora Speedway)

3-Cannon McIntosh (May 17 at the Belleville Short Track, Sep 2 at Angell Park Speedway & Sep 29 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

2-Corey Day (Nov 24 at Merced Speedway & Nov 30 at Ventura Raceway)

2-Logan Seavey (May 19 at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex & Jun 8 at Tri-State Speedway)

2-Ryan Timms (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & Jul 13 at Jefferson County Speedway)

1-Emerson Axsom (Jun 6 at Lincoln Park Speedway)

1-Kale Drake (Sep 29 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

1-Justin Grant (Jul 12 at Jefferson County Speedway)

1-Kyle Larson (Nov 24 at Merced Speedway)

1-Carson Macedo (Nov 20 at Thunderbowl Raceway)

1-Chase McDermand (Sep 26 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

1-Tanner Thorson (Nov 27 at Bakersfield Speedway)

1-Zach Wigal (Sep 1 at Angell Park Speedway)

FEATURE LAPS LED

87-Daison Pursley

70-Ryan Timms

69-Cannon McIntosh

64-Jacob Denney

58-Kale Drake

54-Carson Macedo

53-Justin Grant

51-Chase McDermand

45-Zach Wigal

40-Logan Seavey

30-Emerson Axsom & Tanner Thorson

24-Buddy Kofoid & Michael Pickens

22-Thomas Meseraull

21-Corey Day

18-Kyle Cummins

17-Kyle Larson

15-Jade Avedisian

7-Jake Andreotti & Zach Daum

6-Gavin Miller

3-Ashton Torgerson

1-Kyle Jones & Kevin Thomas Jr.

TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES

16-Daison Pursley

15-Cannon McIntosh

11-Logan Seavey

10-Ryan Timms

8-Zach Daum & Jacob Denney

6-Justin Grant

5-Gavin Miller

4-Jade Avedisian

3-Corey Day, Kale Drake, Buddy Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Zach Wigal

2-Emerson Axsom, Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Larson, Chase McDermand, Thomas Meseraull & Tanner Thorson

1-Kyle Cummins, Kyle Jones, Michael Pickens, Taylor Reimer, Hayden Reinbold, Karter Sarff & Chris Windom

TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES

20-Cannon McIntosh

18-Daison Pursley & Logan Seavey

17-Jacob Denney & Ryan Timms

16-Zach Daum & Justin Grant

15-Gavin Miller

11-Kale Drake

9-Zach Wigal

8-Jade Avedisian

6-Chase McDermand & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Kyle Jones

4-Jerry Coons Jr., Buddy Kofoid & Tanner Thorson

3-Jake Andreotti, Kyle Cummins, Corey Day, Carson Macedo, Thomas Meseraull & Ethan Mitchell

2-Emerson Axsom, Tanner Carrick, Kyle Larson, Taylor Reimer, Hayden Reinbold, Karter Sarff, Ashton Torgerson & Chris Windom

1-Kaylee Bryson, Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Mitchell Davis, Drake Edwards, Tyler Edwards, Kameron Key, Cade Lewis, Michael Pickens, Jadon Rogers, Jake Swanson & Gary Taylor

HONEST ABE ROOFING FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

4-Logan Seavey

3-Daison Pursley

2-Zach Wigal

1-Tanner Carrick, Jacob Denney, Justin Grant, Kyle Jones, Carson Macedo, Chase McDermand, Ethan Mitchell, Karter Sarff & Ryan Timms

2024 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FAST QUALIFIERS

May 17: Belleville Short Track – Justin Grant (12.018)

May 18: Belleville Short Track – Ethan Mitchell (12.462)

May 19: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Logan Seavey (11.474)

Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Zach Wigal (14.578)

Jun 6: Lincoln Park Speedway - Daison Pursley (12.705)

Jun 7: Bloomington Speedway - Chase McDermand (12.143)

Jun 8: Tri-State Speedway - Daison Pursley (13.551)

Jun 9: Kokomo Speedway - Logan Seavey (13.318)

Jul 9: Red Dirt Raceway – Ryan Timms (13.032)

Jul 10: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Zach Wigal (12.311)

Jul 11: Jefferson County Speedway – Kyle Jones (10.899)

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway – Logan Seavey (14.427)

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.617)

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (16.708)

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tanner Carrick (15.344)

Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Karter Sarff (11.993)

Nov 27: Bakersfield Speedway – Carson Macedo (12.380)

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway – Jacob Denney (12.072)

HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

11-Daison Pursley

7-Logan Seavey

6-Zach Daum & Ryan Timms

4-Jake Andreotti, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh & Gavin Miller

3-Kevin Thomas Jr. & Zach Wigal

2-Jade Avedisian, Emerson Axsom, Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Jones & Chase McDermand

1-Brady Bacon, Kaylee Bryson, Trevor Cline, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Alex Karpowicz, Buddy Kofoid, Cade Lewis, Kaiden Manders, Caden Sarale, Tanner Thorson, Daniel Whitley & J.J. Yeley

SEMI WINS: (Presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts)

2-Chase McDermand

1-Jake Bubak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Jacob Denney, Tyler Edwards, Drake Edwards, Justin Grant, Frankie Guerrini, Kaiden Manders, Hayden Reinbold, Adam Taylor, Zach Wigal & Trey Zorn

FEATURE STARTS

23-Zach Daum, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Ryan Timms & Zach Wigal

16-Kyle Jones

15-Jake Andreotti & Jade Avedisian

13-Kevin Thomas Jr.

12-Chase McDermand, Ethan Mitchell & Hayden Reinbold

11-Drake Edwards

10-Thomas Meseraull

9-Emerson Axsom & Ricky Lewis

8-Jerry Coons Jr.

7-Curtis Spicer

6-Daniel Whitley

5-Kyle Cummins, Hank Davis, Corey Day, Buddy Kofoid, Michael Pickens, Taylor Reimer, Tanner Thorson & Austin Torgerson

4-Kaylee Bryson, Tyler Courtney, Frankie Guerrini, Kyle Larson, Carson Macedo, Karter Sarff & Trey Zorn

3-Lance Bennett, Steve Buckwalter, Briggs Danner, Ronnie Gardner, C.J. Leary, Zack Merritt, Kayla Roell, Steven Snyder Jr., Adam Taylor & Ashton Torgerson

2-Will Armitage, Jakeb Boxell, Jake Bubak, Tanner Carrick, Shane Cottle, Dane Culver, Mitchell Davis, Don Droud Jr., Mariah Ede, Tyler Edwards, Broedy Graham, Rylan Gray, Luke Hall, Sam Johnson, Alex Karpowicz, Kameron Key, Cade Lewis, Kaiden Manders, Mitchel Moles, Ashley Oerter, Caden Sarale, Brian Schwabauer, Michael Smith, Jeff Stasa, Gary Taylor, Cameron Weishoff & Chris Windom

1-Brady Bacon, Chris Baue, Cody Beard, Adam Bolyard, Blake Brannon, Trevor Cline, Andrew Deal, Travis DeGaton, Broc Elliott, Bradley Fezard, Brody Fuson, Dalten Gabbard, Matt Goodnight, Kenney Johnson, Bryce Massingill, Jacob McFarlin, Joel Myers Jr., Darin Naida, Kevin Newton, Keith Rauch, Davey Ray, Branigan Roark, Jadon Rogers, Jeff Schindler, Gunnar Setser, Shaun Shapel, Bryan Stanfill, Glenn Styres, Jake Swanson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandt Twitty, Brandon Waelti, Matt Westfall & J.J. Yeley

HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

May 17: Belleville Short Track – Logan Seavey (23rd to 8th)

May 18: Belleville Short Track – Zach Wigal (23rd to 13th)

May 19: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Ryan Timms (11th to 2nd)

Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Justin Grant (18th to 6th)

Jun 6: Lincoln Park Speedway - Gavin Miller (16th to 10th)

Jun 7: Bloomington Speedway - Cannon McIntosh (13th to 6th)

Jun 8: Tri-State Speedway - Cannon McIntosh (23rd to 11th)

Jun 9: Kokomo Speedway - Gavin Miller (23rd to 7th)

Jul 9: Red Dirt Raceway – Jerry Coons Jr. (21st to 8th)

Jul 10: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Gavin Miller (16th to 7th)

Jul 11: Jefferson County Speedway – Jade Avedisian (20th to 5th)

Jul 12: Jefferson County Speedway – Zach Daum (13th to 2nd)

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway – Frankie Guerrini (22nd to 14th)

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway – Daison Pursley (7th to 1st)

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Ryan Timms (20th to 2nd)

Sep 26: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (8th to 2nd)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Ethan Mitchell (18th to 7th)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kameron Key (24th to 9th)

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Dane Culver (24th to 15th)

Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Kyle Larson (14th to 4th)

Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Zach Wigal (16th to 8th)

Nov 27: Bakersfield Speedway – Jacob Denney (14th to 7th)

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway – Tanner Carrick (19th to 10th)

DIRT DRAFT FASTEST HOT LAPS DRIVER

May 17: Belleville Short Track – Kale Drake (11.983)

May 18: Belleville Short Track – Ethan Mitchell (12.731)

May 19: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Kevin Thomas Jr. (11.755)

Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Zach Daum (14.661)

Jun 6: Lincoln Park Speedway - Daison Pursley (12.666)

Jun 7: Bloomington Speedway - Kyle Cummins (12.093)

Jun 8: Tri-State Speedway - Jake Andreotti (13.502)

Jun 9: Kokomo Speedway - Daison Pursley (13.083)

Jul 9: Red Dirt Raceway – Ryan Timms (12.775)

Jul 10: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Daison Pursley (12.253)

Jul 11: Jefferson County Speedway – Jerry Coons Jr. (11.113)

Jul 12: Jefferson County Speedway – Ryan Timms (11.290)

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway – Zach Wigal (14.604)

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway – Daniel Whitley (14.925)

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway – Gavin Miller (16.764)

Sep 26: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Daison Pursley (11.930)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Zach Wigal (12.035)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Jacob Denney (12.302)

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Daison Pursley (15.589)

Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Ryan Timms (12.130)

Nov 27: Bakersfield Speedway – Carson Macedo (12.669)

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway – Jacob Denney (12.204)

2024 USAC INFERNO ARMOR FIRE MOVE OF THE NIGHT

Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Hayden Reinbold

Jun 6: Lincoln Park Speedway - Jade Avedisian

Jun 7: Bloomington Speedway - Logan Seavey

Jun 8: Tri-State Speedway - Adam Taylor

Jun 9: Kokomo Speedway - Michael Pickens

Jul 9: Red Dirt Raceway – Zach Daum

Jul 10: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Thomas Meseraull

Jul 11: Jefferson County Speedway – Jade Avedisian

Jul 12: Jefferson County Speedway – Zach Daum

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway – Zach Wigal

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway – Logan Seavey

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway – Zach Daum

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Chris Windom

Sep 26: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Daison Pursley

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Alex Karpowicz

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Jade Avedisian

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Corey Day

Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Karter Sarff

Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Buddy Kofoid

Nov 27: Bakersfield Speedway – Zach Daum

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway – Dalten Gabbard

ALL-TIME USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS (1956-2024)

1. [111 wins] Mel Kenyon

2. [95 wins] Rich Vogler

3. [78 wins] Bob Wente

4. [63 wins] Bob Tattersall

5. [59 wins] Sleepy Tripp

6. [48 wins] Jimmy Davies

7. [38 wins] Bryan Clauson

8. [35 wins] Tracy Hines

9. [31 wins] Gene Hartley & Chuck Rodee

11. [30 wins] Dave Darland, Mike McGreevy, Johnny Parsons & Tanner Thorson

15. [29 wins] Kyle Larson

16. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Tony Stewart

18. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland

21. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Buddy Kofoid

23. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich

28. [22 wins] Tom Bigelow, Bobby East & Shorty Templeman

31. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader

35. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt

36. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Stan Fox & Jason Leffler

40. [18 wins] Logan Seavey & Dave Steele

42. [17 wins] Jay Drake, Justin Grant & J.J. Yeley

45. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens

51. [15 wins] Don Branson, Larry Rice & Chris Windom

54. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner

57. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves

61. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim & Ron Shuman

67. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet

73. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung, Thomas Meseraull & Chuck Weyant

80. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott, Chuck Gurney, Cannon McIntosh & Daison Pursley

86. [8 wins] Brady Bacon, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr., Eddie Johnson, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner & Josh Wise

99. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton, Ryan Timms & Johnnie Tolan

109. [6 wins] Spencer Bayston, Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West

122. [5 wins] Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks

132. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, Zach Daum, Ray Elliott, Aaron Fike, Danny Frye, Billy Garrett, Mike Gregg, Jim Hettinger, John Heydenreich, Bubby Jones, Levi Jones, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Roger McCluskey, Bill Mehner, Ken Nichols, Jeff Nuckles, Jan Opperman, Michael Pickens, Gary Ponzini, Davey Ray, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Sammy Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise

165. [3 wins] Emerson Axsom, John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Corey Day, Jacob Denney, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Drew Fornoro, Gene Gennetten, Rick Goudy, Bob Hare, Bob Hauck, Jeff Heywood, Bill Homeier, Sam Isenhower, Jim Keeker, Jim McClean, Warren Mockler, Mitchel Moles, Dave Moses, Earl Motter, Jerry Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Johnnie Parsons, Porky Rachwitz, Johnny Riva, Johnny Roberts, Lowell Sachs, Billy Shuman, Tom Steiner, Bobby Unser & Billy Wease

199. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, Tanner Carrick, Johnny Cofer, Mel Cornett, Cotton Farmer, Terry Farrar, Joe Garson, Chuck Gurney Jr., Kyle Hamilton, Bob Hogle, Rick Hood, P.J. Jones, Carson Macedo, Critter Malone, Jimmy McCune, Jason McDougal, Aaron Pollock, Barry Reed, Lloyd Ruby, Joe Saldana, Tom Sellberg, Tony Simon, Danny Stratton, Kody Swanson, Steve Troxell, Don Vogler, Bruce Walkup, Terry Wente, Johnny White, Tommy White & Cole Whitt

236. [1 win] John Andretti, Mario Andretti, Mike Appio, Dick Atkins, Paul Bates, Harry Beck, Bud Bogard, Tony Bonadies, Dan Boorse, Don Boorse, Dwight Brown, Steve Buckwalter, Barry Butterworth, Gary Byers, Larry Cannon, Tyce Carlson, Ed Carpenter, Dane Carter, Billy Cassella, Bill Chennault, Bill Clemons, Roy Cook Jr., Kyle Cummins, Kale Drake, Ryan Durst, Edgar Elder, Todd Forbes, Joe Gaerte, Bradley Galedrige, Steve Gennetten, Elmer George, Potsy Goacher, Shane Golobic, David Gough, Ron Gregory, Norm Hall, Bob Harkey, Vern Harriman, Scott Hatton, Al Herman, Jordan Hermansader, Mike Hess, Jim Hines, Ted Hines, Shane Hmiel, Dean Holden, Blake Hollingsworth, Chuck Hulse, Buddy Irwin, Eddie Jackson, Van Johnson, Brent Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Jimmy Kirk, Kevin Koch, Randy Koch, Bill Kollman, Cory Kruseman, Michael Lang, Greg Leffler, Larry McCloskey, Chase McDermand, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, Gavin Miller, J.R. Miller, Travis Miniea, Russ Moynagh, Richard Myhre, Dick Northam, Hank Nykaza, Brian Olson, Danny O'Neill, Jim Packard, Wally Pankratz, Forrest Parker, Gene Pastor, Gary Patterson, Danny Pens, Jiggs Peters, Dick Pole, Richard Powell, Buddy Rackley, Keith Rauch, Dave Ray, Jimmy Reece, Bob Richards, Bruce Robey, Johnny Rodriguez, Gene Roehl, Jack Runyon, Sammy Sauer, Gio Scelzi, Dutch Schaefer, Ryan Scott, Frank Secrist, Jimmy Sills, Jigger Sirois, Lee Smith, Ron Smoker, Ned Spath, J.P. Standley, Graham Standring, Jerry Stone, Tanner Swanson, Buddy Taylor, Tyler Thomas, Randy Tolsma, Leo Tucker, Bob Veith, Joe Walter, Bryant Wiedeman, Zach Wigal, Eric Wilkins, Mauri Wilson, Doug Wolfgang & Billy Wood

ALL-TIME USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-2024)

1. (94) Mel Kenyon

2. (84) Rich Vogler

3. (77) Jimmy Davies

4. (74) Bob Wente

5. (45) Mike McGreevy

6. (38) Tracy Hines & Bob Tattersall

8. (37) Dave Strickland

9. (36) Johnny Parsons

10. (33) Chuck Rodee

11. (29) Tommy Astone & Jimmy Caruthers

13. (28) Kevin Olson

14. (27) Parnelli Jones

15. (26) Jason Leffler & Tanner Thorson

17. (25) Gary Bettenhausen

18. (24) Gene Hartley

19. (22) Don Branson, Stan Fox & Shorty Templeman

22. (21) Tony Stewart

23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East, Bobby Grim & Kyle Larson

28. (19) Jay Drake & Logan Seavey

30. (17) Dave Steele & Mike Streicher

32. (16) Rico Abreu, Billy Engelhart, Darren Hagen, Steve Lotshaw & Bobby Olivero

37. (15) George Benson, Tom Bigelow, Billy Cantrell, Tyler Courtney & Les Scott

42. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon, Kenny Irwin Jr. & Bob McLean

47. (13) Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley

49. (12) Don Meacham, Larry Rice & Josh Wise

52. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet, Sleepy Tripp & Billy Vukovich

64. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter & Allen Crowe

67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Justin Grant, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Jerry Weeks

75. (8) Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Rex Easton, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner

86. (7) Jade Avedisian, Mike Bliss, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs & Kody Swanson

94. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Buddy Kofoid, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Bill Mehner, Daison Pursley, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood

109. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Gary Byers, Steve Cannon, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Shane Golobic, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Ethan Mitchell, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson

129. (4) Johnny W. Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Tanner Carrick, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Ray Crawford, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Joe Garson, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Danny McKnight, Mitchel Moles, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Taylor Reimer, Eddie Sachs, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West & Zeb Wise

159. (3) Don "Spyder" Anderson, Harry Beck, Donnie Beechler, Tony Bettenhausen, Dwight Brown, Steve Buckwalter, Hank Butcher, Jack Calabrase, Cole Carter, Bob Cicconi, Mario Clouser, Larry Dickson, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Danny Frye, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Carson Macedo, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Don Schilling, Dale Swaim, Ryan Timms, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch

198. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Kaylee Bryson, Bill Chennault, Paul Clark, Bob Cortner, Chris Cumberworth, Bob Davison, Corey Day, Jacob Denney, Edgar Elder, Todd Forbes, Nick Fornoro Jr., Gene Gennetten, Elmer George, Joe Giba, Ron Gregory, Ted Hartley, Mike Hess, Jim Hines, Shane Hmiel, Eddie Jackson, Bubby Jones, Dick Jones, Page Jones, Ronnie Kaplan, Johnny Kay, Walt Kennedy, Michael Lewis, Brad Loyet, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Lloyd Ruby, Joe Saldana, Sammy Sauer, Ryan Scott, Tom Sellberg, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt, Zach Wigal & Carl Williams

263. (1) Bobby Allen, Al Alpern, Chuck Amati, John Andretti, Cap Arnold, Chuck Arnold, Dick Atkins, Tony Ave, Emerson Axsom, Steve Barth, Dave Bartlett, Todd Barton, John Batts, Jim Beckley, Daniel Bedford, Dick Betts, Jim Bob Luebbert, Nick Bohanon, Tony Bonadies, Johnny Boyd, Alex Bright, Bob Burbridge, Buddy Cagle, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bill Cheesbourg, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Maria Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, Chance Crum, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, Gene Gurney, Chuck Gurney Jr., Butch Haisman, Davey Hamilton, Garrett Hansen, Bob Harkey, Alex Harris, Scott Hatton, Jac Haudenschild, Al Henderson, Jordan Hermansader, Mike Hill, Larry Hillerud, Bob Hogle, Shane Hollingsworth, Bill Homeier, Rick Hood, Wally Hostettler, Billy Hughes, Jeff Hunt, Tony Hunt, Gary Irvin, Bob Jesser, Ronnie Johncox, Kyle Jones, Paul Jones, Jack Jordan, Brent Kaeding, Gary Kanawyer, Jim Keeker, Harry Kern, Jimmy Kirk, Danny Kladis, George Kladis, Clay Klepper, Kevin Koch, Randy Koch, Bill Kojis, Bill Kollman, Jim Lauri IV, Buddy Lee, Donnie Lehmann, Bob Lithgow, Ed Loomis, Jesse Love, Dave Lundy, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Chase McDermand, Jason McDougal, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Davey Moses, Mike Mosley, Brad Noffsinger, Danny O'Neill, Ralph Parkinson, Gary Patterson, Dick Pole, Bill Puterbaugh, Jon Rahe, Bill Randall, Chase Randall, Norm Rapp, Keith Rauch, Dickie Reese, Bill Renshaw, Bob Richards, Bruce Robey, Jack Runyon, Karter Sarff, John Sarna, Gio Scelzi, Chase Scott, Shane Scully, Roy Seidenstricker, Holly Shelton, Dean Shirley, Tony Simon, C.L. Smith, Bob Spoo, J.P. Standley, Gig Stephens, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Swindell, Kevin Thomas, Al Unser, Don Weaver, Terry Wente, Gene Weyant, Johnny White, Newt White, Bryant Wiedeman, Eric Wilkins & Don Wilson

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET DRIVER CHAMPIONS

1956: Shorty Templeman, 1957: Shorty Templeman, 1958: Shorty Templeman, 1959: Gene Hartley, 1960: Jimmy Davies, 1961: Jimmy Davies, 1962: Jimmy Davies, 1963: Bob Wente, 1964: Mel Kenyon, 1965: Mike McGreevy, 1966: Mike McGreevy, 1967: Mel Kenyon, 1968: Mel Kenyon, 1969: Bob Tattersall, 1970: Jimmy Caruthers, 1971: Danny Caruthers, 1972: Pancho Carter, 1973: Larry Rice, 1974: Mel Kenyon, 1975: Sleepy Tripp, 1976: Sleepy Tripp, 1977: Mel Kenyon, 1978: Rich Vogler, 1979: Steve Lotshaw, 1980: Rich Vogler, 1981: Mel Kenyon, 1982: Kevin Olson, 1983: Rich Vogler, 1984: Tom Bigelow, 1985: Mel Kenyon, 1986: Rich Vogler, 1987: Kevin Olson, 1988: Rich Vogler, 1989: Russ Gamester, 1990: Jeff Gordon, 1991: Mike Streicher, 1992: Stevie Reeves, 1993: Stevie Reeves, 1994: Tony Stewart, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1997: Jason Leffler, 1998: Jason Leffler, 1999: Jason Leffler, 2000: Kasey Kahne, 2001: Dave Darland, 2002: Dave Darland, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Bobby East, 2005: Josh Wise, 2006: Jerry Coons Jr., 2007: Jerry Coons Jr., 2008: Cole Whitt, 2009: Brad Kuhn, 2010: Bryan Clauson, 2011: Bryan Clauson, 2012: Darren Hagen, 2013: Christopher Bell, 2014: Rico Abreu, 2015: Tracy Hines, 2016: Tanner Thorson, 2017: Spencer Bayston, 2018: Logan Seavey, 2019: Tyler Courtney, 2020: Chris Windom, 2021: Buddy Kofoid, 2022: Buddy Kofoid, 2023: Logan Seavey, 2024: Daison Pursley

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ENTRANT CHAMPIONS

1956: Ashley Wright, 1957: Lloyd Rahn, 1958: Lloyd Rahn, 1959: Ray Bolander, 1960: Jimmy Davies, 1961: Howard Linne, 1962: Jimmy Davies, 1963: Robert Shadday, 1964: Willard Coil, 1965: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1966: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Brothers, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1975: Sleepy Tripp, 1976: Sleepy Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1981: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1982: Nick Gojmeric, 1983: Streicher Racing, 1984: Wilke Racing, 1985: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1986: Jonathan Byrd, 1987: Jonathan Byrd, 1988: Wilke Racers, 1989: George & Gary Gamester, 1990: Streicher Racing, 1991: Streicher Racing, 1992: Ralph Potter, 1993: Steve Lewis, 1994: Ralph Potter, 1995: Steve Lewis, 1996: Steve Lewis, 1997: Pete Willoughby, 1998: Steve Lewis, 1999: Steve Lewis, 2000: Steve Lewis, 2001: Steve Lewis, 2002: Steve Lewis, 2003: Steve Lewis, 2004: Steve Lewis, 2005: Wilke-Pak Racers, 2006: Keith Kunz Motorsports, 2007: Wilke-Pak Racers, 2008: Keith Kunz Motorsports, 2009: RW Motorsports, 2010: Corey Tucker Racing/Keith Kunz Motorsports/BCI, 2011: Corey Tucker Racing/BCI/Curb-Agajanian, 2012: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2013: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2014: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2015: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2016: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2017: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2018: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2019: Clauson Marshall Racing, 2020: Tucker-Boat Motorsports, 2021: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2022: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2023: Abacus Racing, 2024: CB Industries

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

1969: Billy Engelhart, 1970: Danny Brown, 1971: Danny Caruthers, 1972: Tommy Astone, 1973: Mike Gregg, 1974: Richard Powell, 1975: Larry Patton, 1976: James McElreath, 1977: Lonnie Caruthers, 1978: Tommy Thomas, 1979: Barry Butterworth, 1980: Trevor Boys, 1981: Sherman Armstrong, 1982: Chris Maxson, 1983: John Andretti, 1984: Russ Gamester, 1985: Bobby Allen, 1986: Steve Enlow, 1987: John Meyers, 1988: Jim Keeker, 1989: Jeff Gordon, 1990: Dan Ford, 1991: Doug Kalitta, 1992: Brian Gerster, 1993: Chuck Leary, 1994: David Bridges, 1995: Ryan Newman, 1996: Carl Olsen, 1997: Nick Lundgreen, 1998: Michael Lewis, 1999: A.J. Fike, 2000: Aaron Fike, 2001: Bobby East, 2002: Teddy Beach & Ron Gregory, 2003: Ryan Durst, 2004: Todd Beach, 2005: Darren Hagen, 2006: Bryan Clauson, 2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2008: Chad Boat, 2009: Zach Daum, 2010: Daniel Bedford, 2011: Kyle Larson, 2012: Rico Abreu, 2013: Christopher Bell, 2014: Kevin Thomas Jr., 2015: Spencer Bayston, 2016: Carson Macedo, 2017: Tanner Carrick, 2018: Logan Seavey. 2019: Andrew Layser, 2020: Buddy Kofoid, 2021: Chase Randall, 2022: Mitchel Moles, 2023: Gavin Miller, 2024: Zach Wigal

2024 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER

JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis #00) & (4 Kings Racing #14)

WILL ARMITAGE/Athens, IL (Fatt Right Foot Racing #83)

JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71)

EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)

BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports #21H)

CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Bill Baue #36)

CODY BEARD/Huntingburg, IN (Beard Racing #7B)

LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Cappy Mason #91)

ADAM BOLYARD/Rushville, IN (Adam Bolyard Racing #4)

JAKEB BOXELL/Zanesville, IN (4 Kings Racing #44)

BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon Motorsports #40)

KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Joyner Motorsports #27) & (Abacus Racing #58)

JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Bourke Motorsports #27B)

STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Brian Buckwalter #0) & (Brian Buckwalter #25B)

KYLE BUSCH/Las Vegas, NV (Kyle Busch Motorsports #51B)

TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #98)

ROBERT CARSON/Concord, CA (LOK Enterprises #99K)

TREVOR CLINE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline #55)

KEVIN COOK/Winchester, IN (Kevin Cook #77)

CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling #63)

JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motorsports #85)

SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (4 Kings Racing #44)

TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports #23c)

DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing #50)

KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)

BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (John Schneider #98)

ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (RAMCO Speed Group-Daum Motorsports #5d), (RAMCO Speed Group #7m), (RAMCO Speed Group #7p), (Trifecta Motorsports #7u), (Royal Power Sports #16), (Pat O'Dell #17) & (Beilman Motorsports #31B)

HANK DAVIS/Sand Springs, OK (Bob Chandler #00), (Cornell Racing Stables #8) & (John LeVecque #60x)

MITCHELL DAVIS/Auburn, IL (Pat O'Dell #56)

COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne #4)

ANDREW DEAL/Caney, KS (Mike Deal #15D)

TRAVIS DeGATON/Sacramento, CA (Troy DeGaton #39T)

TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton #39T)

JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy #25)

JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson #21D)

DEVON DOBIE/Wapakoneta, OH (Dennis Dobie #23)

KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97K)

NICK DRAKE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline #55D)

BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros. Racing #71D)

DON DROUD JR./Lincoln, NE (Mark Burch #22T)

TOM DUNKEL/Menifee, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #17A)

MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K) & (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71E)

DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing #3p)

TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #14s)

BROC ELLIOTT/California, MO (Broc Elliott #0)

MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing #14)

ANDREW FELKER/Carl Junction, MO (Cooper & Hudson Felker #11A)

BRADLEY FEZARD/Bonnerdale, AR (V & H Racing #938)

BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile #51)

DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard #77)

RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports #68)

TY GIBBS/Charlotte, NC (CB Industries #81)

MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Kyle Simon #23)

WESTON GORHAM/Colleyville, TX (Mike Dickerson #18N)

BROEDY GRAHAM/Bakersfield, CA (BGR Racing #66)

JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing #2)

RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (RMS Racing #87)

FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (Cornell Racing Stables #8) & (F & F Racing #63)

LUKE HALL/Ludlow Falls, OH (Kyle Heitmeyer #74)

KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing #20x)

TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse #18)

TODD HOBSON/Clyde, VIC (Griffiths Motorsports #75) & (Griffiths Motorsport #75AU)

ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Joyner Motorsports #27) & (Lambert Motorsports #55)

KENNEY JOHNSON/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson #46)

SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Joe Johnson #72J)

KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Joyner Motorsports #27x)

ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #19)

KAMERON KEY/Warrensburg, MO (TKH Motorsports #21J)

JOHN KLABUNDE/Fort Calhoun, NE (John Klabunde #77)

BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71)

CAMERON LA ROSE/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing #3J)

KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports #1K)

C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Dennis Hart #15) & (4 Kings Racing #54)

CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander #101)

RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (4 Kings Racing #4) & (4 Kings Racing #54)

CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport #99AU)

KAIDEN MANDERS/Perth, WAU (RAMCO Speed Group #7m)

BRYCE MASSINGILL/Troy, OH (Chase McDermand #40x)

CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports #8w) & (Chase McDermand #40)

JACOB McFARLIN/Sedalia, MO (Branigan Roark Racing #33)

CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)

ZACK MERRITT/Greeley, CO (Ryan Oerter #43)

THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (Tim Engler #7x)

GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97)

ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports #19m)

MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19A)

JOEL MYERS JR./Santa Rosa, CA (Leighton Crouch #1)

DARIN NAIDA/Adrian, MI (Dan Binks #3R)

KEVIN NEWTON/Farmersburg, IN (Second Law Motorsports #16TH)

TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports #1p)

ASHLEY OERTER/Ellicott, CO (Ryan Oerter #44)

RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz #8)

DEAN PARKER/Newburgh, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin #11p)

PETER PAULSON/Woodland, CA (El Toro Racing #Q32)

MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #54NZ) & (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)

LOGAN PRICKETT/Shelbyville, IN (MKP Racing #37)

DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries #86)

MATHEW RADISICH/Auckland, NZ (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing #14T)

KEITH RAUCH/Denver, CO (Bourke Motorsports #27K)

DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Jeff Wimmenauer #15J)

TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #25K)

HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ ( Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

BRANIGAN ROARK/Lincoln, MO (Branigan Roark Racing #44)

KAYLA ROELL/Dillsboro, IN (Kayla Roell Racing #4K)

JADON ROGERS/Worthington, IN (RAMCO Speed Group #7m)

CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale #32)

KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Karter Sarff #21K) & (Beilman Motorsports #31)

C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (Sarna Motorsports #20)

JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Giddy Up Racing #8x)

STEPHEN SCHNAPF/Newburgh, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin #11) & (Brian & Deidre Martin #11s)

BRIAN SCHWABAUER/Hastings, NE (Murphy Racing #9B)

LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing #57)

GUNNAR SETSER/Columbus, IN (Kevin Arnold #43)

SHAUN SHAPEL/Wichita, KS (Phil Shapel #84s)

MICHAEL SMITH/Delta, PA (Tom Savage #76)

T.J. SMITH/Fresno, CA (Caden Sarale #32) & (Caden Sarale #32x)

STEVEN SNYDER JR./Rising Sun, MD (Royal Power Sports #16)

CURTIS SPICER/Marysville, KS (Spicer RaceCraft #4s)

BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsport #75AU)

JEFF STASA/Kingman, KS (Mark Stasa #91)

GLENN STYRES/Ohsweken, ON (Glenn Styres Racing #0G)

STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Crown Jewel Racing #20AZ)

JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (Beilman Motorsports #31)

ADAM TAYLOR/Wheatfield, IN (Adam Taylor Motorsports #7T)

GARY TAYLOR/Snohomish, WA (Mike & Brian Dunlap #32)

KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #9), (4 Kings Racing #14), (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #14s) & (Abacus Racing #57KT)

RICKY THORNTON JR./Chandler, AZ (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)

TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy #25m)

RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)

ASHTON TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)

AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #88A)

BRANDT TWITTY/Bakersfield, CA (Kevin Twitty #4B)

BARRIE VALENTINO/Brisbane, AU (El Toro Racing #Q23)

JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant #3v)

BRANDON WAELTI/Sun Prairie, WI (Martin Family Racing #3w)

COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #73)

CAMERON WEISHOFF/Sun Prairie, WI (Weishoff Motorsports #55)

MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (4 Kings Racing #54)

DANIEL WHITLEY/Ferndale, CA (RAMCO Speed Group #7m), (RAB Racing #57A) & (John LeVecque #60x)

ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries #89)

CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries #89x)

J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing #3J)

TREY ZORN/Russell, KS (Bob Chandler #00z)

ONE SPOT BETTER!

DAY BECOMES TURKEY NIGHT’S YOUNGEST WINNER,

PURSLEY IS USAC MIDGET CHAMP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 30, 2024)………Corey Day’s first try at the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2023 marked a grand entrance to the event for the Clovis, Calif. native.

In his encore performance on Saturday night at California’s Ventura Raceway, Day rose to the occasion quite literally and figuratively as he made the winning move 17 laps from the finish line to earn $15,000 and become a first-time winner of the 83rd running of the prestigious event.

In doing so, Day became the youngest winner in the history of the Turkey Night Grand Prix after celebrating his 19th birthday just two days earlier. Caleb Armstrong was the previous record holder, having won the 2011 event at the age of 19 years, 3 months and 8 days.

Furthermore, Day secured the fifth consecutive Turkey Night USAC Midget feature victory for a driver from the state of California, following in the footsteps of Kyle Larson (2019), Logan Seavey (2021), Justin Grant (2022) and Kyle Larson (2023).

Meanwhile, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) finished off a remarkable personal comeback from injury to capture the 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship for himself and his CB Industries team with a third-place showing in the season finale.

Less than a week after supplying car owner Willie Kahne his first career USAC National Midget triumph at California’s Merced Speedway, Day delivered once more in the 98-lap event at Ventura’s 1/5-mile dirt oval with a 20-year-old powerplant – a full year older than Day himself – at the wheel of his Durst – Four CCCC’s Construction – Sander Engineering/Triple X/Wirth Mopar.

“Hats off to Willie Kahne, Will Durst and Bob Wirth for giving me a good motor that no one thought would work, and it does,” Day praised.

Day also admitted that he’d never before capped off a season with a victory. To do it in one of the most prestigious motorsports events on the calendar, that’s icing on the cake for the driver who was a regular with the Kubota High Limit Series throughout the year and also made a handful of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series starts.

“This was my last race of the year, and I’ve never ended the year with a win in all my years racing,” Day remarked. “To do that feels really, really good. I look forward to this swing so much, and to just be able to come race and almost relax. It’s not as high pressure as the normal stuff I’m doing and I’m just really glad Willie and I could get a couple wins down here, and I’m glad to be one spot better here this year.”

Starting eighth, Day steadily moved forward and had worked himself into the top-five by the midway point on the 49th lap. Jacob Denney flexed his muscles early by leading the initial 25 laps as he exchanged the low and high lines with constant pursuer Pursley.

As the front runners worked a gauntlet of traffic, Buddy Kofoid advanced his way to the head of the herd as he worked under Pursley for second on lap 23, and shortly thereafter, went to the high side to travel around Denney for the race lead on the 26th circuit.

Suddenly, four-time Turkey Night winner Kyle Larson appeared in the frame as he slotted into fifth by lap 44 after starting in the 10th position. However, just three trips later on lap 47, Larson’s reign, for all intents and purposes, ended when a chain reaction starting from Pursley to Larson to Day resulted in rear bumper contact from Day to Larson. That chrome to chrome contact sent Larson into a 360 degree spin in turn two. By rule, Larson had to restart the race from the tail where he managed only to get back to the 20th spot after dropping out with 21 laps remaining, his first Turkey Night finish outside the top-five in 12 starts.

Following the restart, Tanner Thorson emerged as a contender and was able to slide Kofoid the lead, albeit briefly, in turns three and four on the 49th lap before Kofoid cut back under to reassume the lead. While those two duked it out up top, Denney was constantly crawling the infield berm. After Thorson slammed the turn two cushion with his right rear tire on lap 50 and dropped back to fourth, Denney disposed of Thorson, then surpassed Kofoid to retake the number one spot.

When Kofoid bounced off the back straightaway wall on lap 55, Day took advantage of his fellow competitor’s white wall misfortune to grab second, then set his sights on Denney who patrolled the low line as the leader with 43 to go. As the rubber began to become a prominent streak around the inner perimeter, Day stalked Denney from a mere single car length behind.

“I knew that the rubber was going to come in, unfortunately,” Day explained. “With so many laps on this place, you just really can’t keep it off it. I knew it was going to come in; it was just a matter of when it was. I tried the bottom and then I’d move up, then I kept trying the bottom just to see. I saw Denney down there get by a couple of cars, so I knew it was in. I knew I needed to get down there and get my tires worked in for it.”

On lap 82, Denney drifted ever so slightly off the bottom line and opened the door for Day to pounce. Pulling even with Denney exiting turn two and down the back straightaway, Day slipped past for the lead entering turn three before crossing the line, with Denney just behind, to complete the lap just as seventh running Cannon McIntosh slowed with a flat right rear tire, which necessitated a yellow flag, ending any sliver of title hopes he held on to.

From the lap 83 restart onward, Day was untouchable as he pulled out to a full second lead almost instantaneously. At that moment, Denney began to fade as Kofoid (lap 84) and Pursley (lap 87) followed suit past him into second and third, respectively. Yet, the field bunched one final time on lap 90 after Rookie Broedy Graham (18th) spun to a stop in turn one. During the caution period, Thorson (5th) slowed with a shredded right rear tire.

Despite seeing his one second lead evaporate with the yellow, Day got back on the horse and rode it to the finish line over the final nine laps to score a 1.009 second margin of victory over Buddy Kofoid and Daison Pursley with Jacob Denney fourth and Logan Seavey rounding out the top-five.

After finishing second in the 2021 Turkey Night Grand Prix, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) collected his second career runner-up result in the event after leading 24 laps in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.

Daison Pursley capped his championship season with a third-place finish, far outlasting his best previous Turkey Night results of 19th and 14th in 2019 and 2023, respectively, in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

It was a big night for Pursley’s CBI teammate Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) who doubled up the honors on Saturday night. His 11th place result made him the 2024 Don Basile Rookie of the Race. Adding to the accolades, Wigal also finished the year by locking up the Max Papis Innovations USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year award.

Tanner Carrick’s (Lincoln, Calif.) return to Turkey Night after a three-year hiatus was a solid one. After starting 19th, Carrick advanced +9 to finish 10th, which earned him hard charger honors for the evening.

On Friday, Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Ariz.) found himself upside down on the track’s exit ramp following a flip during practice. After thrashing to get the car repaired overnight, he transferred his way into his first career USAC National Midget start on Saturday night at Ventura. That earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 30, 2024 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-10 locked into the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.072; 2. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.206; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.238; 4. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.254; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 57KT, Abacus-12.286; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.295; 7. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.299; 8. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.313; 9. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.345; 10. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.364; 11. Jake Swanson, 31, Beilman-12.369; 12. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.382; 13. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.385; 14. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.480; 15. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.484; 16. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.498; 17. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.505; 18. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.507; 19. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.513; 20. Dalten Gabbard, 77, Gabbard-12.601; 21. Kaylee Bryson, 58, Abacus-12.606; 22. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.615; 23. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.624; 24. C.J. Leary, 15, Hart-12.628; 25. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.630; 26. Cade Lewis, 101, Alexander-12.659; 27. T.J. Smith, 32x, Sarale-12.673; 28. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.675; 29. Kyle Busch, 51B, Busch-12.676; 30. Broedy Graham, 66, BGR-12.704; 31. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.715; 32. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.722; 33. Ty Gibbs, 81, CBI-12.750; 34. Michael Faccinto, 14, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.780; 35. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-12.829; 36. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.830; 37. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-12.846; 38. Stevie Sussex, 20AZ, Crown Jewel-12.904; 39. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.935; 40. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling-12.982; 41. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.990; 42. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-13.051; 43. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-13.054; 44. Abby Hohlbein, 55, Lambert-13.151; 45. Mathew Radisich, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-13.174; 46. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.380; 47. Peter Paulson, Q32, El Toro-13.387; 48. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.530; 49. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.670; 50. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.719; 51. Barrie Valentino, Q23, El Toro-13.741; 52. J.J. Yeley, 3J, Petty-16.766.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Dalten Gabbard, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Cade Lewis, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Austin Torgerson, 8. Kyle Busch, 9. Randi Pankratz, 10. Stevie Sussex, 11. Drake Edwards, 12. Abby Hohlbein, 13. Bryan Drollinger, 14. Peter Paulson. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Chase McDermand, 6. Caden Sarale, 7. Broedy Graham, 8. T.J. Smith, 9. C.J. Sarna, 10. Dane Culver, 11. Ty Gibbs, 12. Mathew Radisch, 13. Todd Hawse, 14. Barrie Valentino. 2:35.259

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Brody Fuson, 8. Alex Karpowicz, 9. Cale Coons, 10. Michael Faccinto, 11. J.J. Yeley, 12. Kyle Hawse, 13. Jim Vanzant. 2:40.057

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Cade Lewis, 3. Ronnie Gardner, 4. Broedy Graham, 5. Caden Sarale, 6. Austin Torgerson, 7. Dane Culver, 8. T.J. Smith, 9. Brody Fuson, 10. Michael Faccinto, 11. C.J. Sarna, 12. Randi Pankratz, 13. Stevie Sussex, 14. Cale Coons, 15. Alex Karpowicz, 16. Kyle Busch, 17. Jake Andreotti. NT

FEATURE: (98 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Corey Day (8), 2. Buddy Kofoid (3), 3. Daison Pursley (2), 4. Jacob Denney (1), 5. Logan Seavey (13), 6. Gavin Miller (9), 7. Justin Grant (15), 8. Kale Drake (7), 9. Jake Swanson (14), 10. Tanner Carrick (19), 11. Zach Wigal (11), 12. Cannon McIntosh (6), 13. Tyler Courtney (12), 14. Tanner Thorson (4), 15. Zach Daum (21), 16. Cade Lewis (23), 17. C.J. Leary (20), 18. Dalten Gabbard (17), 19. Broedy Graham (25), 20. Kyle Larson (10), 21. Emerson Axsom (26), 22. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 23. Ronnie Gardner (24), 24. Chase McDermand (22), 25. Kaylee Bryson (18), 26. Ryan Timms (16). NT

**Jake Andreotti flipped during the semi.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Jacob Denney, Laps 26-49 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 50-81 Jacob Denney, Laps 82-98 Corey Day.

FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1505, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1446, 3-Logan Seavey-1355, 4-Ryan Timms-1311, 5-Jacob Denney-1283, 6-Zach Daum-1256, 7-Justin Grant-1210, 8-Gavin Miller-1176, 9-Zach Wigal-1085, 10-Kale Drake-1063.

FINAL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-209, 2-Logan Seavey-204, 3-Justin Grant-164, 4-Robert Ballou-149, 5-C.J. Leary-134, 6-Kyle Cummins-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jacob Denney (12.204)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jacob Denney (12.072)

Simpson Race Products First Qualifying Race Winner: Zach Wigal

Rod End Supply Second Qualifying Race Winner: Tyler Courtney

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Qualifying Race Winner: Logan Seavey

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase McDermand

Hard Charger: Tanner Carrick (19th to 10th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Dalten Gabbard

Don Basile Rookie of the Race: Zach Wigal (11th)

DENNEY DASHES TO FASTEST TIME

IN FRIDAY’S USAC TURKEY NIGHT G.P. PRACTICE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 29, 2024)………Jacob Denney laid down the fastest lap during Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice at California’s Ventura Raceway.

The four practice sessions were held in preparation for the series’ season finale on Saturday night, November 30 – the $15,000-to-win 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Denney (Galloway, Ohio) paced the 50 cars that took time with a lap of 12.016 seconds around the 1/5-mile dirt oval in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication – Race for Chase/LynK/Ed Pink Toyota.

Following Denney was the 2023 Don Basile Rookie of the Race, Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), in second with a 12.039. USAC National Midget point leader Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was third at 12.118, just ahead of his primary championship challenger, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), in fourth at 12.190. Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 12.355.

Other notables include four past Turkey Night winners. Four-time victor Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) was ninth overall in practice while Logan Seavey was 11th and Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) was 23rd. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) did not participate in practice.

Two Turkey Night Rookies and NASCAR Cup Series regulars took their first laps at Ventura on Friday. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, Nev.) was 31st in practice while NASCAR Xfinity titlist Ty Gibbs (Charlotte, N.C.) was 32nd.

Two drivers flipped during the night in very similar fashion. Tyler Edwards (Salina, Okla.) clipped the turn three cushion and flipped several times before landing on all four wheels in the pit exit ramp. Later on, Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Ariz.) clipped the wall and flipped several times before he too landed in the exit ramp. Both drivers walked away.

RACE DETAILS:

On Saturday, November 30, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the Ultimate Sprint Car Series.

The Turkey Night Grand Prix will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

PRACTICE: 1. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.016; 2. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.039; 3. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.118; 4. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.190; 5. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.355; 6. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.367; 7. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.405; 8. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.422; 9. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.430; 10. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.462; 11. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.472; 12. J.J. Yeley, 3J, Petty-12.481; 13. Kaylee Bryson, 58, Abacus-12.512; 14. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.551; 15. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.599; 16. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.627; 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 57KT, Abacus-12.648; 18. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.654; 19. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.657; 20. Cade Lewis, 101, Alexander-12.675; 21. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.702; 22. Broedy Graham, 66, BGR-12.718; 23. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.783; 24. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.868; 25. Stevie Sussex, 20AZ, Crown Jewel-12.911; 26. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.934; 27. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.945; 28. T.J. Smith, 32x, Sarale-12.956; 29. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-13.008; 30. Tyler Edwards, 14s, Mounce/Stout-13.013; 31. Kyle Busch, 51B, Busch-13.067; 32. Ty Gibbs, 81, CBI-13.098; 33. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-13.176; 34. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-13.183; 35. Jake Swanson, 31, Beilman-13.191; 36. Dalten Gabbard, 77, Gabbard-13.193; 37. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-13.194; 38. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-13.200; 39. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-13.202; 40. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.242; 41. Abby Hohlbein, 55, Lambert-13.274; 42. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling-13.280; 43. C.J. Leary, 15, Hart-13.331; 44. Mathew Radisich, 14, Graunstadt/Streeter-13.342; 45. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.406; 46. Cole Wakim, 73, Ford-13.544; 47. Ben Covich, 65NZ, Covich-13.617; 48. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.724; 49. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.895; 50. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.995.

**Tyler Edwards flipped during practice. Dalten Gabbard flipped during practice.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 30, 2024 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 83rd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

27 ROOKIE OF THE RACE CONTENDERS

PREPARE FOR TURKEY NIGHT 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 28, 2024)………The ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame annually presents the Don Basile Rookie of the Race Award, honoring the top performance by a first-time feature starter in the 98-lap classic each year.

The 2024 crop of 27 Turkey Night Rookies arrive to stake their claim and make their initial mark on the great race featuring USAC’s NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, which will take place for the 83rd time this Saturday night, November 30, at California’s Ventura Raceway.

No Rookie has won the race since Warren Mockler’s last lap heroics in 1986. Corey Day topped the field of Turkey Night debut starters in the 2023 race, finishing a close second.

Nearly half of this year’s 57-car field is among the abundance of Rookie of the Race contenders. In this year’s group are two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, Nev.), plus USAC National Midget newcomer Cale Coons (Greencastle, Ind.) who was three times a winner with the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets in 2024 and is the son of 2012 Turkey Night runner-up finisher Jerry Coons Jr.

Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) leads the overall USAC National Midget MPI Rookie of the Year standings going into the event and will be making his first Turkey Night appearance. A pair of 2024 USAC Western States Midget winners – Drake Edwards (Peoria, Ariz.) and Caden Sarale (Stockton, Calif.).

Stevie Sussex (Tempe, Ariz.), the 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, will also be eying a first career Turkey Night start as will Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.), T.J. Smith (Fresno, Calif.) and Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, Ariz.) along with returnees Terry Nichols (Delano, Calif.), Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Ariz.) and Bryan Drollinger (San Pedro, Calif.), all looking to crack the Turkey Night starting field for the first time.

International flair in the Rookie class belongs to New Zealanders Mathew Radisich (Auckland, N.Z.) and Ben Covich (Auckland, N.Z.) while Aussie Barrie Valentino (Brisbane, Australia) will also make the trip up.

First time Turkey Night midget participants in 2024 include Adam Teves (Concord, Calif.), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, Calif.), Todd Hawse (Simi Valley, Calif.), Alex Karpowicz (Spring Branch, Texas), Kyle Hawse (Las Vegas, Nev.), Peter Paulson (Woodland, Calif.), Troy DeGaton (Wickenburg, Ariz.), Dane Culver (Riverside, Calif.), Abby Hohlbein (Cloverdale, Ohio), Broedy Graham (Bakersfield, Calif.), Cole Wakim (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Austin Torgerson (Glendale, Ariz.).

The award, named in memory of track owner, promoter and 1999 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Basile, made its debut in 1998 with Kasey Kahne the first recipient.

Over the years, the Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors at Turkey Night have been awarded to some of the most talented young racers in America. A glance at the list reveals some of the top names from the sport over the past two decades, including two race winners – Kyle Larson (2011) & Tanner Thorson (2013 – and four others who’ll be in this year’s field: Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019), Jake Andreotti (2022) and Corey Day (2023).

RACE DETAILS:

This year’s Turkey Night weekend will also host the Ultimate Sprint Car Series for both nights of on-track action on November 29-30.

On Friday, November 29, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget practice, plus sprint car racing.

On Saturday, November 30, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget and sprint car racing.

Advance tickets can be purchased now at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

Both nights of the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

2024 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET ROOKIES: (27)

1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

3p DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

3v JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant)

10 ADAM TEVES/Concord, CA (Dana & Robin Craig)

14 MATHEW RADISICH/Auckland, NZ (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)

17A TOM DUNKEL/Menifee, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

18 TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse)

19 ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

20AZ STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Crown Jewel Racing)

20x KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing)

Q23 BARRIE VALENTINO/Brisbane, AU (El Toro Racing)

31 KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

32 CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)

Q32 PETER PAULSON/Woodland, CA (El Toro Racing)

32x T.J. SMITH/Fresno, CA (Caden Sarale)

39T TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton)

50 DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)

51B KYLE BUSCH/Las Vegas, NV (Kyle Busch Motorsports)

55 ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)

63 CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)

65NZ BEN COVICH/Auckland, NZ (Covich Motorsports)

66 BROEDY GRAHAM/Bakersfield, CA (Graham Racing)

71D BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros. Racing)

73 COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

77 DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard)

88A AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

PAST DON BASILE TURKEY NIGHT ROOKIES OF THE RACE:

1998: Kasey Kahne – Finished 5th

1999: Dave Steele – Finished 5th

2000: Aaron Pollock – Finished 7th

2001: Bobby East – Finished 10th

2002: Jerome Rodela – Finished 9th

2003: Ryan Durst – Finished 10th

2004: Brad Loyet – Finished 9th

2005: Kevin Swindell – Finished 11th

2006: Kody Swanson – Finished 2nd

2007: Mike Murgoitio – Finished 4th

2008: Nic Faas – Finished 13th

2009: Levi Roberts – Finished 2nd

2010: Dalton Armstrong – Finished 3rd

2011: Kyle Larson – Finished 4th

2012: Ryan Bernal – Finished 3rd

2013: Tanner Thorson – Finished 10th

2014: Isaac Chapple – Finished 13th

2015: Robert Dalby – Finished 14th

2016: Carson Macedo – Finished 3rd

2017: Zeb Wise – Finished 5th

2018: Jason McDougal – Finished 8th

2019: Cannon McIntosh – Finished 2nd

2020: No Race

2021: Mitchel Moles – Finished 3rd

2022: Jake Andreotti – Finished 4th

2023: Corey Day – Finished 2nd

FEAST ON THIS!

TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX

CLOSES USAC MIDGET SEASON WITH A BANG ON NOV 30

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 26, 2024)………The crown jewel of all crown jewels!

The 2024 ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame enters its 83rd edition on Saturday night, November 30, at the scenic Ventura Raceway, the racy 1/5-mile dirt oval nestled right along the Pacific Ocean in southern California.

It’s the United States of America’s longest running midget racing tradition, and a victory in one of these events instantly goes right to the top of every driver’s racing resume. At press time, 55 midget drivers are entered for the event with a couple more surprises expected to enter in time for race day.

Four drivers in this year’s Agajanian Promotions Turkey Night field have experienced that feeling in recent years, all of whom are once again chasing the increased winner’s share of $15,000 in the 98-lap main event.

Kyle Larson has captured four Turkey Night midget victories in 2012-16-19-23, second most all-time behind Ron Shuman’s eight. One-time winners Justin Grant (2022), Logan Seavey (2021) and Tanner Thorson (2015) are also all hungry to add another triumph to the collection.

Four more drivers have previously finished as a Turkey Night runner-up and are now vying for a first victory in the event. J.J. Yeley returns to the race after a 19-year hiatus and finished second on the pavement when the show was held at Irwindale Speedway in 2001. Cannon McIntosh led extensively in 2019 before coming home second. Buddy Kofoid closed out his 2021 series title season with a second. Corey Day earned Rookie of the Race honors a year ago in 2023 with a stellar second place drive.

Carson Macedo took third in both 2016 and 2023 while Zach Daum returns to Turkey Night for the first time in 10 years after placing fourth in each of his two most recent starts in 2013 and 2014. Jake Andreotti scored a career best fourth in 2022 while Ronnie Gardner (2013), Tyler Courtney (2018), Jacob Denney (2023) and Kaylee Bryson (2021) each crossed the line with a best performance of fifth. Bryson also became the first woman to start on the pole of Turkey Night in 2021.

Looking to top their previous top-10 Turkey Night performances are Emerson Axsom (6th in 2023) and Tanner Carrick who finished 6th after starting from the pole position in 2018. USAC Western States Midget champions held their own in their home state – Michael Faccinto (10th in 2017) and Cade Lewis (10th in 2023).

Turkey Night veterans returning to the lineup include wheelmen Gavin Miller (13th in 2023), two-time Turkey Night sprint car winner Ryan Timms (14th in 2022), series point leader Daison Pursley (14th in 2023) and Kale Drake (16th in 2023). Chase McDermand (17th in 2023) is back as is Randi Pankratz (19th in 2015), C.J. Leary (20th in 2018), C.J. Sarna (21st in 2019), Brody Fuson (24th in 2022) and Tyler Edwards (26th in 2017).

This year’s race is chockfull of Don Basile Rookie of the Race contenders, 26 in fact, who’ve not yet started a Turkey Night Grand Prix midget feature. USAC Midget newcomer, and two-time NASCAR Cup Series titlist, Kyle Busch will make his first Turkey Night run as will Cale Coons, son of USAC Career Triple Crown champ Cale Coons and leading USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year contender Zach Wigal.

USAC Western States Midget feature winners Drake Edwards and Caden Sarale will also attempt to make their first Turkey Night field as will Stevie Sussex, Karter Sarff, Terry Nichols, Jim Vanzant, Mathew Radisich, Tom Dunkel, cousins Todd Hawse and Kyle Hawse, plus Alex Karpowicz, Barrie Valentino, Peter Paulson, T.J. Smith, Troy DeGaton, Dane Culver, Abby Hohlbein, Ben Covich, Bryan Drollinger, Cole Wakim, Dalten Gabbard, Austin Torgerson and Broedy Graham.

Nine states and three countries are represented on this year’s entry list so far: California (24), Arizona (7), Oklahoma (6), Indiana (4), Illinois (3), Nevada (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (1) and Texas (1). The United States is represented by 52 of the 55 drivers while New Zealand has two and Australia one.

Three women drivers will also compete in the race: four-time starter Randi Pankratz, two-time starter Kaylee Bryson and Rookie Abby Hohlbein.

RACE DETAILS:

This year’s Turkey Night weekend will also host the Ultimate Sprint Car Series for both nights of on-track action on November 29-30.

On Friday, November 29, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget practice, plus sprint car racing.

On Saturday, November 30, the grandstands open at 3pm Pacific with cars on track at 3:30pm featuring midget and sprint car racing.

Advance tickets can be purchased now at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

Both nights of the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

2024 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST: (55)

00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports)

1p (R) TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3J J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

3p (R) DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

3v (R) JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant)

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)

8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

14 (R) MATHEW RADISICH/Auckland, NZ (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)

14s TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

14T MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)

15 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Dennis Hart)

17A (R) TOM DUNKEL/Menifee, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

18 (R) TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse)

19 (R) ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

20 C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (Sarna Motorsports)

20AZ (R) STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Crown Jewel Racing)

20x (R) KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing)

Q23 (R) BARRIE VALENTINO/Brisbane, AU (El Toro Racing)

23c TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)

31 (R) KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

32 (R) CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)

Q32 (R) PETER PAULSON/Woodland, CA (El Toro Racing)

32x (R) T.J. SMITH/Fresno, CA (Caden Sarale)

39T (R) TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton)

50 (R) DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)

51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)

51B (R) KYLE BUSCH/Las Vegas, NV (Kyle Busch Motorsports)

55 (R) ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

58 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Abacus Racing)

63 (R) CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)

65NZ (R) BEN COVICH/Auckland, NZ (Covich Motorsports)

66 (R) BROEDY GRAHAM/Bakersfield, CA (Graham Racing)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports)

71 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71D (R) BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros. Racing)

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

73 (R) COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

77 (R) DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard)

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)

88A (R) AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

89 (R) ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

98 TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

101 CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)

(R) Don Basile Rookie of the Race Contenders

TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET WINS: (1934-2023)

8-Ron Shuman

4-Kyle Larson

3-Christopher Bell & Billy Boat

2-Gary Bettenhausen, Bryan Clauson, Dave Darland, Billy Engelhart, Stan Fox, A.J. Foyt, Perry Grimm, Chuck Gurney, Ronney Householder, Parnelli Jones, Mel Kenyon, Jason Leffler, Roy Russing, Dave Steele & Bob Swanson

1-George Amick, Caleb Armstrong, Dick Atkins, George Benson, Tony Bettenhausen, Billy Cantrell, Jay Drake, Bobby East, Edgar Elder, Joe Garson, Rick Goudy, Justin Grant, Mel Hansen, Jordan Hermansader, Bubby Jones, Brent Kaeding, Michael Lewis, Johnny McDowell, Danny McKnight, Warren Mockler, Danny Oakes, Kevin Olson, Johnnie Parsons, Gary Patterson, Bobby Santos, Logan Seavey, Sammy Sessions, Tony Simon, Ted Sizemore, Tony Stewart, Tanner Thorson, Bill Vukovich, Billy Wease & Bill Zaring

TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET WINNERS: (1934-2023)

1934: Bob Swanson | Gilmore Stadium

1935: Ted Sizemore | Gilmore Stadium

1936: Ronney Householder | Gilmore Stadium

1937: Ronney Householder | Gilmore Stadium

1938: Bob Swanson | Gilmore Stadium

1939: Mel Hansen | Gilmore Stadium

1940: Roy Russing | Gilmore Stadium

1941: Roy Russing | Gilmore Stadium

1942: No Race

1943: No Race

1944: No Race

1945: Danny Oakes | Gilmore Stadium

1946: Perry Grimm | Gilmore Stadium

1947: Johnny McDowell | Gilmore Stadium

1948: Bill Vukovich | Gilmore Stadium

1949: Perry Grimm | Gilmore Stadium

1950: Bill Zaring | Gilmore Stadium

1951: No Race

1952: No Race

1953: No Race

1954: No Race

1955: Johnnie Parsons | Gardena Stadium

1956: Edgar Elder | Gardena Stadium

1957: George Amick | Gardena Stadium

1958: Joe Garson | Gardena Stadium

1959: Tony Bettenhausen | Gardena Stadium

1960: A.J. Foyt | Ascot Park

1961: A.J. Foyt | Ascot Park

1962: Billy Cantrell | Ascot Park

1963: Mel Kenyon | Ascot Park

1964: Parnelli Jones | Ascot Park

1965: Dick Atkins | Ascot Park

1966: Parnelli Jones | Ascot Park

1967: Gary Bettenhausen | Ascot Park

1968: Sammy Sessions | Ascot Park

1969: George Benson | Ascot Park

1970: Gary Bettenhausen | Ascot Park

1971: Billy Engelhart | Ascot Park

1972: Tony Simon | Ascot Park

1973: Billy Engelhart | Ascot Park

1974: Danny McKnight | Ascot Park

1975: Mel Kenyon | Speedway 605

1976: Bubby Jones | Ascot Park

1977: Gary Patterson | Ascot Park

1978: Rick Goudy | Ascot Park

1979: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1980: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1981: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1982: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1983: Kevin Olson | Ascot Park

1984: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1985: Brent Kaeding | Ascot Park

1986: Warren Mockler | Ascot Park

1987: Ron Shuman | Ascot Park

1988: Chuck Gurney | Ascot Park

1989: Chuck Gurney | Ascot Park

1990: Stan Fox | Ascot Park

1991: Stan Fox | Saugus Speedway

1992: Ron Shuman | Bakersfield Speedway

1993: Ron Shuman | Bakersfield Speedway

1994: Jordan Hermansader | Bakersfield Speedway

1995: Billy Boat | Bakersfield Speedway

1996: Billy Boat | Perris Auto Speedway

1997: Billy Boat | Ventura Raceway

1998: Jay Drake | Bakersfield Speedway

1999: Jason Leffler | Irwindale Speedway

2000: Tony Stewart | Irwindale Speedway

2001: Dave Steele | Irwindale Speedway

2002: Michael Lewis | Irwindale Speedway

2003: Dave Steele | Irwindale Speedway

2004: Bobby East | Irwindale Speedway

2005: Jason Leffler | Irwindale Speedway

2006: Billy Wease | Irwindale Speedway

2007: Dave Darland | Irwindale Speedway

2008: Bobby Santos | Irwindale Speedway

2009: Bryan Clauson | Irwindale Speedway

2010: Bryan Clauson | Irwindale Speedway

2011: Caleb Armstrong | Irwindale Speedway

2012: Kyle Larson | Perris Auto Speedway

2013: Dave Darland | Perris Auto Speedway

2014: Christopher Bell | Perris Auto Speedway

2015: Tanner Thorson | Perris Auto Speedway

2016: Kyle Larson | Ventura Raceway

2017: Christopher Bell | Ventura Raceway

2018: Christopher Bell | Ventura Raceway

2019: Kyle Larson | Ventura Raceway

2020: No Race

2021: Logan Seavey | Ventura Raceway

2022: Justin Grant | Ventura Raceway

2023: Kyle Larson | Ventura Raceway

30 FOR 30:

THORSON LEADS ALL 30

AT BAKERSFIELD FOR 30TH USAC MIDGET WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 27, 2024)………Over the past 69 years of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing, only 14 drivers have amassed 30 or more victories during their career.

Tanner Thorson is now one of those elite few following his wire-to-wire winning performance during Wednesday night’s 8th annual November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway.

Starting from the pole in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication – Race for Chase/LynK/Ed Pink Toyota, Thorson (Minden, Nev.) was never headed from start to finish, leading the entire 30-lap distance to earn his 30th career USAC National Midget feature victory – his first at Bakersfield.

The 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion joins the 30+ win club, which only 13 previous drivers have achieved: Mel Kenyon (111), Rich Vogler (95), Bob Wente (78), Bob Tattersall (63), Sleepy Tripp (59), Jimmy Davies (48), Bryan Clauson (38), Tracy Hines (35), Gene Hartley (31), Chuck Rodee (31), Dave Darland (30), Mike McGreevy (30) and Johnny Parsons (30).

“(The track) was tricky; it was definitely a race where you wanted to start on the front row,” Thorson said of the juiced up 1/3-mile clay oval which had been doused by rain the previous two days. “Hats off to my guys for not giving up. I was pretty terrible in that heat race, so we just threw a bunch of stuff at it and it stuck. This was as comfortable as it could get and it could go anywhere I wanted. I think it helped in that situation because it’s easy to lose races when you’re out there by yourself.”

The victory was also Thorson’s first since his two-month-old daughter, Blakelee, was born. Furthermore, Thorson’s latest USAC National Midget victory was his second in the state of California, and his first in the Golden State since 2020 at Merced Speedway just after he was hired for a late-season run in Malloy’s same No. 25m nearly four years to the day earlier.

“It’s cool to get back here in victory lane with (Tom Malloy),” Thorson stated. “He and (crew chief) Jerome (Rodela) gave me a shot back in 2020 when I didn’t have a ride. I told him we were going to park it at least one time this week.”

Thorson established the top spot early over fellow front row starter Cannon McIntosh, who slipped back to fourth as fellow Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammates Ryan Timms and Buddy Kofoid scurried into second and third, respectively.

By lap nine, Thorson had already reached the tail end of the field, building a 1.7 second lead in the process over Timms and Kofoid who found themselves mired behind a wall of lapped traffic.

However, the front running order was shaken up on lap 13 when the lapped car of Alex Karpowicz checked up behind Timms on the bottom of turn two. At that same moment, Kofoid was skating the low groove and clipped the left rear tire of Karpowicz, which sent Kofoid spiraling upside down to bring out the red flag, finishing Kofoid’s night in the process.

On the ensuing lap 13 restart, fifth running Carson Macedo biked on his entry into turn one, sending him flipping over three times into the outside wall and billboards, ending his race in abrupt fashion. Earlier in the evening, Macedo had set fast time during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying for the for third time in his USAC National Midget career, and for the first time since 2021.

During the red flag, 17th running Kyle Larson, the 2019 November Classic victor, peeled off to the pits and did not return and was scored 23rd.

From the second attempt at a lap 13 restart through the balance of the 30-lap main, Thorson was the dominant force as he quickly muscled his way to an eight car length lead by the midway point and increasingly built his advantage over the field as the race wore on, even as he was forced to maneuver around from top to bottom in order to work his way through traffic.

“I don’t really think I had a doubt,” Thorson confidently noted. “My car was just so good. It sounds cocky, but I was letting it drive itself and it where it went.”

Thorson ultimately powered across the finish line 3.082 seconds ahead of the competition in front of the KKM triumvirate of Ryan Timms, Cannon McIntosh and Gavin Miller while Beilman Motorsports’ Zach Daum rounded out the top-five.

Finally, it was no more tens for Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) on his California swing during the month of November. In his first three outings of the trip over the past week, Timms had finished 10th at Thunderbowl Raceway followed by a pair of 10th place performances at Merced Speedway. On this night at Bakersfield, he finished a solid second in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio – TRD – Toyota – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota, his best performance to date with the USAC National Midgets at Bakersfield.

McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), meanwhile, scored a third place result in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/GearWrench – Mobil 1 – TRD/LynK/Speedway Toyota for his ninth podium finish in his last 11 starts. His latest top-three run at Bakersfield shaved off 24 more points from 12th place finisher Daison Pursley’s USAC National Midget point lead. McIntosh now heads to California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday just 30 points behind Pursley in the race for the title.

Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) has put together a solid California swing with top-seven finishes in all four of his starts. Despite starting 14th at Bakersfield, the Buckeye advanced his way up to a seventh place finish to earn hard charger honors for the night.

It's been a rough and tumble Cali swing for Zach Daum. After placing 12th, 12th and 16th this past week, he got back into the groove at Bakersfield with a lap pass to win his heat race, then went on to grab fifth in the main event. For those two drives, he certainly made tonight's Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch made his USAC National Midget debut at Bakersfield. A promising night in which he qualified 18th out of 36 cars before leading the first two laps of his heat race came to an abrupt halt with a battery connection issue, forcing him to drop out. Starting 10th in the semi-feature, Busch worked his way up to fifth, but fell one spot short of the final transfer spot.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 27, 2024 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 8th November Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.380; 2. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.436; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.472; 4. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.579; 5. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.596; 6. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.633; 7. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.635; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.704; 9. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.774; 10. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.777; 11. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.779; 12. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.783; 13. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.785; 14. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.803; 15. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.828; 16. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.862; 17. Karter Sarff, 31, Beilman-12.869; 18. Kyle Busch, 51B, Busch-12.921; 19. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.967; 20. Brandt Twitty, 4B, Twitty-12.996; 21. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-13.001; 22. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-13.006; 23. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.041; 24. Cade Lewis, 101, Alexander-13.088; 25. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.115; 26. Broedy Graham, 66, Graham-13.181; 27. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-13.260; 28. Abby Hohlbein, 55, Lambert-13.456; 29. Troy DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-13.460; 30. Todd Hawse, 18, Hawse-13.460; 31. Kaylee Bryson, 58, Abacus-13.558; 32. T.J. Smith, 32, Sarale-14.021; 33. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-14.499; 34. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-15.562; 35. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-NT; 36. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Brody Fuson, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. Kyle Hawse, 7. Troy DeGaton, 8. Ronnie Gardner, 9. Karter Sarff. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Austin Torgerson, 5. Broedy Graham, 6. Todd Hawse, 7. Terry Nichols, 8. Kyle Busch, 9. Drake Edwards. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Corey Day, 3. Zach Wigal, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Buddy Kofoid, 6. Alex Karpowicz, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Chase McDermand. 2:11.097

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cade Lewis, 2. Ryan

Timms, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Kale Drake, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Brandt Twitty, 7. T.J. Smith, 8. Abby Hohlbein. 2:09.421

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Drake Edwards, 3. Brandt Twitty, 4. Alex Karpowicz, 5. Kyle Busch, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. T.J. Smith, 8. Abby Hohlbein, 9. Todd Hawse, 10. Kyle Hawse, 11. Terry Nichols, 12. Cale Coons. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (1), 2. Ryan Timms (3), 3. Cannon McIntosh (2), 4. Gavin Miller (5), 5. Zach Daum (7), 6. Justin Grant (8), 7. Jacob Denney (14), 8. Cade Lewis (10), 9. Logan Seavey (9), 10. Kale Drake (13), 11. Zach Wigal (18), 12. Daison Pursley (15), 13. Emerson Axsom (16), 14. Chase McDermand (12), 15. Brody Fuson (21), 16. Drake Edwards (11), 17. Austin Torgerson (20), 18. Alex Karpowicz (23), 19. Broedy Graham (24), 20. Brandt Twitty (19), 21. Buddy Kofoid (4), 22. Carson Macedo (6), 23. Kyle Larson (17), 24. Corey Day (24). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tanner Thorson.

**Cale Coons flipped during practice. Ronnie Gardner flipped during the first heat. Troy DeGaton flipped during the first heat. Buddy Kofoid flipped on lap 13 of the feature. Carson Macedo flipped on lap 13 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1436, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1406, 3-Logan Seavey-1297, 4-Ryan Timms-1288, 5-Zach Daum-1223, 6-Jacob Denney-1216, 7-Justin Grant-1158, 8-Gavin Miller-1121, 9-Zach Wigal-1044, 10-Kale Drake-1014.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-209, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Justin Grant-156, 4-Robert Ballou-149, 5-Kyle Cummins-131, 6-C.J. Leary-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Carson Macedo (12.669)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Carson Macedo (12.380)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Zach Daum

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Cade Lewis

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase McDermand

Hard Charger: Jacob Denney (14th to 7th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Zach Daum

BAKERSFIELD USAC MIDGETS

POSTPONED TO WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27

Bakersfield, California (November 25, 2024)………A forecast calling for rain throughout the next two days has forced postponement of the Tuesday night, November 26, November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway.

The Bakersfield event featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will now be held on Wednesday night, November 27, at the 1/3-mile dirt oval.

The penultimate round of the USAC season will feature an expected field of 36 cars and drivers. The eighth annual November Classic brings three past event winners in NASCAR Cup champ Kyle Larson (2019), plus two-time USAC National Midget titlists Logan Seavey (2018 & 2023) and Buddy Kofoid (2020 & 2021) as well as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, who will be making his midget racing debut.

Joining the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will be the California Lightning Sprints. Pits open at 2pm Pacific with the gates opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5pm.

Adult general admission tickets are $25. Kids 6-12 general admission tickets are $15. Kids 5 and under general admis-sion tickets are free. Ages 65+ and military (ID required) general admission tickets are $22. Pit passes are $50 ($45 for USAC members).

Advance tickets are available now at https://tickethoss.com/event/687.

USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets and California’s Bakersfield Speedway have a history that dates back six decades. Davey Moses won the first trip by the USAC National Midgets in the summer of 1959. Over that period, 25 series races have been held at the lightning-quick track that has been both paved and dirt throughout its history.

The November Classic from Bakersfield will also be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

FINALLY!

LARSON BREAKS THROUGH

TO WIN USAC MIDGET MADNESS AT MERCED

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 24, 2024)………Of all the California dirt tracks Kyle Larson has competed on in his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship career, there had been just one that he’d been unable to conquer prior to Sunday night’s Midget Madness finale.

That place was Merced Speedway.

Finally, in his sixth attempt, Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) broke through the barrier, chasing down Logan Seavey for the lead just prior to the midway point of the 30-lap feature, then led the remaining 17 trips around the 1/4-mile dirt oval to score his first USAC National Midget win of the year, and his fourth in his last five series appearances dating back to 2023.

Larson’s relatively troublesome spot of Merced has resulted in uncommon results for him over the years in USAC National Midget competition. In 2020, he took ninth and fourth across the two nights, and in 2021, missed the feature on opening night, then scored a 24th the following evening.

However, 10 of his 29 career triumphant performances with the series have come in his home state of California: Placerville (4), Ventura (3), Bakersfield (1) and Perris (1). However, for whatever rhyme or reason, Merced had escaped his grip.

”We’ve been really good whenever we’ve ran the midget at all these California tracks except for Merced,” Larson acknowledged. “I feel like we’ve been average at best at Merced, and then we had a couple races where we were really bad.”

Despite capturing the accompanying winged 360 sprint car race just prior to the midget feature, Larson still felt a bit of trepidation entering the midget main in his Silva Motorsports/FloRacing – HendrickCars.com – Durst – K & C Drywall – JVI Group/Eagle/Speedway.

“I was a bit nervous going into that feature just because the sprint cars go through the holes way easier than the midgets,” Larson explained. “In a midget, just because you’re sideways, you’re bouncing a lot. I was nervous with the track slickening up and I felt like we were going to have to run through the holes more, which we did. But my car could handle it there, which was nice.”

Larson started his race from the third slot, and remained there for the initial 10 laps as Logan Seavey headed the field with Karter Sarff sandwiched in between the two in second. Larson ultimately overtook Sarff for second on the 11th lap, then set course to track down Seavey who had sprinted out to a commanding 1.471 second lead.

However, Seavey’s wide advantage was wiped out on the 13th lap when afternoon feature winner Corey Day’s car suddenly slowed to a stop atop the turn two banking. Running seventh at the time, Day restarted at the tail, but only managed to make it back to 17th at the checkered.

With the field bunched up following the restart, Larson swiftly swiped the lead away from Seavey in turn one on the 14th lap. However, Seavey turned down off turn two and raced his way back on by to retain the top spot for the time being. Moments later, trouble found third running Sarff who was in a prime spot to accrue his best career USAC National Midget finish. In the end, it was not to be as Sarff slowed, then pulled off, out of the race with a 24th place finish in the 24 car field.

The interruption of Larson’s pursuit was merely temporary as Larson jumped right back on the horse, diving under and driving past Seavey in turn one on the lap 14 restart to take over the race lead once and for good.

“(Seavey) was pretty committed to running and exiting above the cushion,” Larson recalled. “We had that restart and I got by him, then the caution came out. He actually got back by me, then went to the bottom of three and four, and I was like ‘dang.’ We got the caution and he was running where I wanted to be. So I just felt like on the restart that, if I exited four close enough to him, I needed to try a slide job or whatever into one. It had a lot of grip for me across the center. I caught the cushion just right off of two and could protect.”

Meanwhile, Kofoid was hustling his way up the chart as well, and on the 20th lap, made his move underneath Seavey in turn four to slot into second. In a moment’s notice, he was within arm's reach of Larson for the lead with less than 10 laps to go amid a bevy of traffic, and Larson could feel his presence.

“I felt pretty good for a while, then caught traffic,” Larson replayed. “My momentum slowed down quite a bit in three and four and I couldn’t really see my line in one and two. I thought I saw somebody poke their nose into one, so I figured they were building a run off the top of three and four. I moved back up there and felt better, and I just needed to keep my momentum up better.”

Nonetheless, Larson never allowed Kofoid to get close enough to attempt to clear him, and Larson was able to help ease the stress by gapping Kofoid with a lapped car separating the two at the very end. At the stripe, Larson was 0.791 seconds better than Kofoid who finished as the runner-up while Logan Seavey completed an all northern California top-three. Tanner Thorson and Carson Macedo rounded out the top-five.

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) and his miraculous streak at Merced continued with a third place result in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. Kofoid has now finished on the podium in nine consecutive USAC National Midget starts at Merced dating back to 2020. Since that point in time, his Merced finishes have included a 2nd-3rd-1st-2nd-1st-2nd-3rd-3rd-2nd. As the lone driver to finish on the podium in both features on Sunday, he earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night award.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) jumped back on the podium with a third place run after pacing the opening 13 laps of the feature in his Abacus Racing/McVey Trucking – Indy Custom Stone – Factory QRC – Prime 47/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. It's Seavey’s first top-three with the series since scoring a third in September at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) has pulled out to a 30 point lead over Kale Drake in the race for 2024 USAC National Midget Bob Stroud/Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year honors. Wigal helped his cause in a big way with a 16th to 8th feature run which earned him hard charger honors for the night.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson (#25m Malloy), 2. Tyler Courtney (#23c Silva), 3. Corey Day (#4 Kahne), 4. Karter Sarff (#31 Beilman), 5. Zach Wigal (#89 CBI), 6. Jake Andreotti (#00 Davis), 7. Peter Paulson (#Q32 El Toro). 1:37.39

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake (#97K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 3. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Carson Macedo (#99AU Dyson), 5. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 6. Drake Edwards (#3p Petty), 7. Barrie Valentino (#Q23 El Toro). 1:37.07

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Caden Sarale (#32 Sarale), 2. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Buddy Kofoid (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), 5. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 6. Ronnie Gardner (#68 Six8), 7. Kyle Hawse (#20x Hawse). 1:36.74 (New Track Record)

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Zach Daum (#31B Beilman), 3. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 4. Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Kyle Larson (#1K Silva), 6. Travis DeGaton (#39T DeGaton), 7. Terry Nichols (#1p Nichols-Peckfelder). 1:37.38

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Drake Edwards, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Ronnie Gardner, 4. Travis DeGaton, 5. Peter Paulson, 6. Barrie Valentino, 7. Kyle Hawse, 8. Terry Nichols. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (3), 2. Buddy Kofoid (4), 3. Logan Seavey (1), 4. Tanner Thorson (7), 5. Carson Macedo (5), 6. Jacob Denney (11), 7. Daison Pursley (14), 8. Zach Wigal (16), 9. Cannon McIntosh (12), 10. Ryan Timms (13), 11. Emerson Axsom (10), 12. Justin Grant (18), 13. Kale Drake (8), 14. Caden Sarale (9), 15. Tyler Courtney (19), 16. Zach Daum (15), 17. Corey Day (6), 18. Gavin Miller (17), 19. Hayden Reinbold (22), 20. Drake Edwards (20), 21. Ronnie Gardner (23), 22. Jake Andreotti (21), 23. Travis DeGaton (24), 24. Karter Sarff (2). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Logan Seavey, Laps 14-30 Kyle Larson.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1390, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1336, 3-Logan Seavey-1243, 4-Ryan Timms-1211, 5-Zach Daum-1157, 6-Jacob Denney-1157, 7-Justin Grant-1095, 8-Gavin Miller-1049, 9-Zach Wigal-997, 10-Kale Drake-966.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-206, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Justin Grant-154, 4-Robert Ballou-149, 5-Kyle Cummins-131, 6-C.J. Leary-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 26, 2024 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 8th Annual November Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kale Drake

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Caden Sarale

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Drake Edwards

Hard Charger: Zach Wigal (16th to 8th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Buddy Kofoid

IT’S DAY’S AFTERNOON

AT MERCED’S USAC MIDGET MADNESS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 24, 2024)………For nearly the entire duration of the first feature event during Sunday afternoon’s Midget Madness doubleheader at California’s Merced Speedway, Corey Day followed the top-two every step of the way around the 1/4-mile dirt oval, just waiting for his window of opportunity to arrive.

When that exact moment arrived with five laps remaining as the frontrunners contested lapped traffic, Day pounced, going from third to second, then from second to first in a two-lap span to score his first USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory in nearly three-and-a-half years.

Day’s second career USAC victory was the first for car owner Willie Kahne and his Durst – Four CCCC’s Construction – Sander Engineering/Triple X/Worth Mopar. It is believed to be the first USAC National Midget feature victory for a Mopar-powered machine since Brad Sweet’s triumph on July 4, 2010, at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway more than 14 years ago.

Despite having to race his way to the front late in the going, Day (Clovis, Calif.) actually began his quest from the pole position, but quickly fell to third by the second lap as both Carson Macedo and Buddy Kofoid moved on by to occupy first and second while Day sought to find his footing.

“I just kind of stumbled off the original start,” Day admitted. “I wasn’t going to be the guy to blow it into turn one on the first lap and flip over while leading, so I just felt it out there for a while. I felt where we were good and where we weren’t.”

Day and Kofoid exchanged the runner-up spot several times before Kofoid took control by the seventh circuit while last Wednesday night’s Thunderbowl Raceway winner Macedo set a torrid pace around the high side, establishing a half-straightaway advantage by the halfway point.

Just mere moments later, while attempting to put 17th running Dane Culver a lap down in between turns three and four, Macedo and Culver connected wheels, sending Culver veering over the turn four cushion before slamming broadside into the outside wall, resulting in extensive right side damage to Culver’s machine while Macedo marched on. Culver was able to climb out and walk away.

On the ensuing restart, Macedo stretched his lead to five car lengths over Kofoid, and once again, faced the throes of traffic which simultaneously plugged the top, bottom and middle, challenging the mental and physical reflexes of the frontrunners down the stretch.

Day slipped through a crack in the door to slot into second in turn one on lap 25 as Kofoid worked the lapped cars of Emerson Axsom and Jake Andreotti. Maintaining a residence on the low groove, one lap later, Day spurted past Macedo for the lead in turns three and four as Macedo attempted to navigate his way past Caden Sarale.

“I knew that in clear air, the diamond line in one and two was really, really good,” Day explained. “You could make a lot of speed off two and down the back straightaway, but I also knew there was a thin groove you had to get down to off two or else you’d hit the rough stuff and get all messed up. I knew if I could beat those guys at the exit of two, they’d have no run after I cut them off. Luckily I got Buddy there before we got to traffic, then we got to traffic and Carson messed up sliding a car in three and four, which allowed us to get to him.”

From there on, Day possessed a slight gap between himself and the next wave of traffic, and thus, was able to expand his lead with relative ease en route to a 0.902 second victory, his first with the series since a 2021 USAC Indiana Midget Week triumph at Circle City Raceway.

Carson Macedo crossed the line in second with Buddy Kofoid third, a hard charging Kyle Larson in fourth and Karter Sarff rounding out the top-five.

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) led a race-high 26 of 30 laps on his way to a second place finish in his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota, just missing out on becoming the second two-time Midget Madness feature winner after scoring at Merced in 2022.

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), who remains the only two-time Merced USAC Midget winner, continued his incredible run of success at Merced at the wheel of his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records – IWX/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. His third place result made it eight consecutive podium finishes for himself with the series at Merced dating back to 2020.

Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) was buried deep in the field, starting from the 14th spot. But he was on the move quickly, advancing 10 spots in all to finish fourth and earn hard charger honors. The fourth place result equaled his best career Merced USAC Midget finish to that point.

Prior to this weekend, Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.) had never laid eyes on Merced Speedway. During the day's first program, he set his first career USAC fast time during the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session before equaling his best career USAC National Midget result of fifth. With that performance, he was the honored with the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Karter Sarff, 31, Beilman-11.993; 2. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.094; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.125; 4. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.170; 5. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.173; 6. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.174; 7. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.191; 8. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.218; 9. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.261; 10. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.263; 11. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-12.301; 12. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.327; 13. Kyle Larson, 1K, Silva-12.360; 14. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.383; 15. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-12.383; 16. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.389; 17. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.432; 18. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.497; 19. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.521; 20. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.570; 21. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.609; 22. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-12.614; 23. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.645; 24. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-13.142; 25. Peter Paulson, Q32, El Toro-13.164; 26. Barrie Valentino, Q23, El Toro-13.272; 27. Travis DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-13.300; 28. Kyle Hawse, 20x, Hawse-13.307; 29. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-NT; 30. Alex Karpowicz, 19, Mounce/Stout-NT; 31. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-NT; 32. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Karter Sarff, 5. Caden Sarale, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Peter Paulson, 8. Terry Nichols. 1:38.85

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Zach Wigal, 4. Drake Edwards, 5. Corey Day, 6. Emerson Axsom, 7. Barrie Valentino. 1:39.12

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Travis DeGaton. 1:39.54

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Dane Culver, 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Kyle Hawse. 1:43.70

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Ronnie Gardner, 5. Travis DeGaton, 6. Peter Paulson, 7. Barrie Valentino, 8. Kyle Hawse. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Corey Day (1), 2. Carson Macedo (2), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Kyle Larson (14), 5. Karter Sarff (6), 6. Logan Seavey (7), 7. Jacob Denney (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (5), 9. Tanner Thorson (10), 10. Ryan Timms (3), 11. Daison Pursley (11), 12. Zach Daum (16), 13. Zach Wigal (18), 14. Kale Drake (23), 15. Gavin Miller (13), 16. Justin Grant (19), 17. Tyler Courtney (12), 18. Drake Edwards (22), 19. Caden Sarale (17), 20. Emerson Axsom (15), 21. Jake Andreotti (9), 22. Hayden Reinbold (21), 23. Dane Culver (20), 24. Ronnie Gardner (24). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-26 Carson Macedo, Laps 27-30 Corey Day.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1338, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1290, 3-Logan Seavey-1179, 4-Ryan Timms-1168, 5-Zach Daum-1126, 6-Jacob Denney-1102, 7-Justin Grant-1056, 8-Gavin Miller-1022, 9-Zach Wigal-948, 10-Kale Drake-929.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-196, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-148, 5-Kyle Cummins-131, 6-C.J. Leary-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (12.130)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Karter Sarff (11.993)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jacob Denney

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Andreotti

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tyler Courtney

Hard Charger: Kyle Larson (14th to 4th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Karter Sarff

MERCED’S USAC MIDGET MADNESS POSTPONED,

DOUBLE FEATURES ON SUNDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 23, 2024)………Saturday night’s scheduled Midget Madness opener featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at California’s Merced Speedway has been postponed.

The event will now be run as part of a doubleheader program on Sunday, November 24, which will present two complete, full events for the series consisting of a pair of 30-lap features at the 1/4-mile dirt oval.

Heavy and steady overnight on Friday and Saturday rain doused the track with moisture. Despite yeoman’s work by the track crew all day, the surface was unable to smoothed out into a safe and raceable condition. Thirty-three drivers and cars were signed in for the event.

Sunday’s event at Merced will now see the front gates opening at Noon Pacific time with the drivers meeting also set for noon and hot laps at 12:30pm.

The racing program on Sunday will run a full program for the USAC National Midgets, consisting of two-lap qualifying, heat races, a semi-feature and a 30-lap feature event.

Following the conclusion of the first program, a second event will occur with a bit of a twist on the format. No qualifying will be held, but instead, heat race lineups will be based on the finishing order of the first feature. The first feature winner will receive the one seed with the second-place finisher getting the second seed, and so on, which will, in essence, act as the official qualifying time.

The number one seed will line up in the 6th position of Saturday night’s heat race one and the number two seed will line up in the 6th position of heat race two, and so forth. From there on, the “traditional” USAC format for heat races will take over with the top-six transferring/getting their qualifying time back from each of the heat races, etc.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 23, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval –Midget Madness

DRIVERS & CARS IN ATTENDANCE: (33) Jake Andreotti (#00 Davis), Kyle Larson (#1K Silva), Terry Nichols (#1p Nichols-Peckfelder), Justin Grant (#2 RMS), Drake Edwards (#3p Petty), Corey Day (#4 Kahne), Chase McDermand (#8w Ford), Santino Ferrucci (#16 Abacus), Alex Karpowicz (#19 Mounce-Stout), Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), Kyle Hawse (#20x Hawse), Tyler Courtney (#23c Silva), Barrie Valentino (#Q23 El Toro), Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), Tanner Thorson (#25m Malloy), Karter Sarff (#31 Beilman), Zach Daum (#31B Beilman), Caden Sarale (#32 Sarale), Peter Paulson (#Q32 El Toro), Travis DeGaton (#39T DeGaton), Dane Culver (#50 Knuckles Up), Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Emerson Axsom (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Ronnie Gardner (#68 Six8), Buddy Kofoid (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), Austin Torgerson (#88A Mounce-Stout), Zach Wigal (#89 CBI), Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Kale Drake (#97K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Carson Macedo (#99AU Dyson).

EVENT CANCELED DUE TO WET TRACK CONDITIONS

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1290, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1229, 3-Ryan Timms-1116, 4-Logan Seavey-1116, 5-Zach Daum-1083, 6-Jacob Denney-1042, 7-Justin Grant-1019, 8-Gavin Miller-984, 9-Zach Wigal-905, 10-Kale Drake-887.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-195, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-145, 5-Kyle Cummins-131, 6-C.J. Leary-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-121, 9-Brady Bacon-120, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 24, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness

PENULTIMATE CHALLENGE!

USAC MIDGET NOVEMBER CLASSIC

HITS BAKERSFIELD NOV. 26

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 22, 2024)………The California roads lead the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship to Bakersfield Speedway for the penultimate round of the season on Tuesday night, November 26.

The eighth annual November Classic brings three past event winners in NASCAR Cup champ Kyle Larson (2019), plus two-time USAC National Midget titlists Logan Seavey (2018 & 2023) and Buddy Kofoid (2020 & 2021) as well as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, making his midget racing debut.

Thirty-six (36) entries are expected to sign in for the event at the 1/3-mile clay oval, which first hosted USAC National Midget racing in 1959.

Among the 36 are Emerson Axsom, twice a Bakersfield runner-up finisher in 2021 and 2023. In both of those same years, Justin Grant finished third each time. Tyler Courtney, the 2019 USAC National Midget champion, took third at Bakersfield back in 2021.

The 2016 series king, Tanner Thorson, collected a fast qualifying time and a third place result in 2017. Cannon McIntosh also set fast time in 2021 before coming home fourth in the feature at Bako in 2022 and 2023 while Carson Macedo, a victor last Wednesday at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway, scored a fifth in 2023.

At press time, Daison Pursley leads the 2024 USAC National Midget standings and enters the event with a best Bakersfield performance of 6th in 2023. Jacob Denney raced to a 9th in 2023 while Hayden Reinbold rounded out the top-10 in 2023.

Also returning to the Bakersfield lineup are six-time Bakersfield USAC Western States Midget winner Ronnie Gardner, a 16th place finisher with the USAC National Midgets there in 2017. Cade Lewis is a Bakersfield native and was this year’s USAC Western States Midget champion. He finished 16th in the 2023 November Classic. Lewis’ car owner, Dean Alexander, scored a USAC Western States Midget win at Bakersfield back in 2019.

Another Bakersfield native, Brody Fuson, captured a USAC West Coast Sprint Car victory at his hometown track in 2022. Furthermore, he finished 17th with the USAC National Midgets there in 2022. Jake Andreotti took 11th in the 2023 November Classic and also captured a USAC Micro Sprint win at Bako in 2016. USAC National Midget feature winners Gavin Miller and Ryan Timms each notched a 13th in the event in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Exactly one-half of the field is looking to make their first Bakersfield USAC National Midget feature starts. Among them are Drake Edwards and Terry Nichols, each of whom have been victorious with the Western Midget Racing series at Bakersfield in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Two others, Corey Day and Cale Coons, have fathers who’ve experienced their fair share of success at Bakersfield. Corey’s father, Ronnie Day, scored four Bako victories with the BCRA Midgets, NARC Sprint Cars and USAC Western States Midgets between 1992-2002. Cale, son of Jerry Coons Jr., will be making his USAC National Midget debut. Jerry finished third with the USAC National Midgets at Bakersfield in 1998.

Additional first-time Bakersfield USAC Midget starting hopefuls include two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in his USAC debut. Four USAC National Midget winners are set for Bakersfield: Zach Daum and Chase McDermand, plus top series Rookies Kale Drake and Zach Wigal.

They’ll be joined in the Bakersfield lineup by Stevie Sussex, Karter Sarff, Brandt Twitty, cousins Todd Hawse and Kyle Hawse, Alex Karpowicz, Troy DeGaton, Abby Hohlbein and Austin Torgerson, all eying first Bakersfield USAC National Midget feature starts.

RACE DETAILS

The Tuesday, November 26, running of the November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the California Lightning Sprints.

Pits open at 2pm Pacific with the gates opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5pm.

Adult general admission tickets are $25. Kids 6-12 general admission tickets are $15. Kids 5 and under general admission tickets are free. Ages 65+ and military (ID required) general admission tickets are $22. Pit passes are $50 ($45 for USAC members).

Advance tickets are available now at https://tickethoss.com/event/687.

USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets and California’s Bakersfield Speedway have a history that dates back six decades. Davey Moses won the first trip by the USAC National Midgets in the summer of 1959. Over that period, 25 series races have been held at the lightning-quick 1/3-mile that has been both paved and dirt throughout its history.

The November Classic from Bakersfield will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

BAKERSFIELD USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST: (36)

00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports)

1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3p DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)

4B BRANDT TWITTY/Bakersfield, CA (Kevin Twitty)

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

18 TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse)

19 ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

20AZ STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Crown Jewel Racing)

20x KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing)

23c TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)

31 KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

39T TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton)

51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)

51B KYLE BUSCH/Las Vegas, NV (Kyle Busch Motorsports)

55 ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

63 CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports)

71 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)

88A AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

101 CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 11/16/2021 - Cannon McIntosh - 12.347 - 97.092 mph

6 Laps - 11/23/1991 - Lynn Carter - 1:26.460 - 83.192 mph

8 Laps - 11/17/2018 - Tyler Courtney - 1:43.590 - 92.580 mph

10 Laps - 11/17/2020 - Jonathan Beason - 2:03.059 - 97.417 mph

12 Laps - 11/16/2021 - Chase Randall - 2:31.417 - 95.077 mph

15 Laps - 11/25/1993 - Sleepy Tripp - 3:25.910 - 87.678 mph

100 Laps - 11/23/1995 - Billy Boat - 26:58.12 - 74.086 mph

BAKERSFIELD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:

3-Jay Drake & Billy Vukovich

2-Buddy Kofoid, Logan Seavey, Ron Shuman & Sleepy Tripp

1-Brady Bacon, Billy Boat, Dave Darland, Terry Farrar, Jordan Hermansader, Page Jones, Kyle Larson, Thomas Meseraull, Davey Moses, Frank Secrist & Rich Vogler

BAKERSFIELD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

1959: Davey Moses (8/2)

1966: Frank Secrist (8/14) & Billy Vukovich (9/11)

1967: Billy Vukovich (7/2) & Billy Vukovich (7/16)

1974: Sleepy Tripp (11/24)

1988: Rich Vogler (11/11)

1989: Sleepy Tripp (11/18)

1990: Terry Farrar (11/17)

1991: Page Jones (11/23)

1992: Ron Shuman (11/26)

1993: Ron Shuman (11/25)

1994: Jordan Hermansader (11/24)

1995: Billy Boat (11/23)

1997: Jay Drake (11/22)

1998: Jay Drake (11/26)

1999: Dave Darland (11/20)

2000: Jay Drake (11/18)

2017: Brady Bacon (11/18)

2018: Logan Seavey (11/17)

2019: Kyle Larson (11/23)

2020: Buddy Kofoid (11/17)

2021: Buddy Kofoid (11/16)

2022: Thomas Meseraull (11/15)

2023: Logan Seavey (11/14)

BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:

1959 FEATURE: 1. Davey Moses, 2. Joe Garson, 3. Billy Cantrell, 4. Norm Rapp, 5. Cal Niday, 6. Johnny Wood, 7. Leroy Neumayer, 8. Gene Gurney, 9. Johnny Melton, 10. Jim Gilchrist, 11. Johnnie Tolan, 12. Chuck Booth, 13. Dempsey Wilson, 14. Joe Soares, 15. Norm Hall, 16. Don Staudinger. NT

1966 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Frank Secrist, 2. George Benson, 3. Duane Sears, 4. Tom Trader, 5. Johnny Moorhouse, 6. Larry Ferrua, 7. Jimmy Caruthers, 8. Jim Bob Luebbert, 9. Bernie Schechter, 10. Al Henderson, 11. Ned Spath, 12. Clark Templeman, 13. Ed Johns, 14. Joe Garson, 15. Walt Kennedy, 16. Paul Jones, 17. Porky Rachwitz, 18. Jack Sachse. NT

1966 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2.Al Henderson, 3. George Benson, 4. Rick Henderson, 5. Jimmy Caruthers, 6. Don Melton, 7. Billy Wilkerson, 8. Dickie Deis, 9. Bruce Walkup, 10. Johnny Moorhouse, 11. Tom Trader, 12. Ed Johns, 13. Ron Hughes, 14. Mike Mosley, 15. Paul Jones, 16. Frank Secrist, 17. George Todd, 18. Larry Ferrua.

1967 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2. Duane Sears, 3. Mike McGreevy, 4. Hank Butcher, 5. Johnny Moorhouse, 6. George Benson, 7. Jan Opperman, 8. Dave Strickland, 9. Herman Hutton, 10. Walt Kennedy, 11. Billy Wilkerson, 12. Gil Alcala, 13. Don Sparks, 14. Henry Rossi, 15. Don White, 16. Ray Lattie, 17. Ed Johns, 18. Dickie Deis. NT

1967 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2. Walt Kennedy, 3. George Benson, 4. Johnny Moorhouse, 5. Larry Ferrua, 6. Dickie Deis, 7. Ray Lattie, 8. Ron Hughes, 9. Jerry Welton, 10. Clark Templeman, 11. Tom McCoy, 12. Jim Vaughan, 13. Sonny White, 14. Dennis Johansen, 15. Jack Yeley, 16. Porky Rachwitz, 17. Johnny Parsons, 18. Billy Wilkerson. NT

1974 FEATURE: (30 laps), 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Chuck Gurney, 3. Pancho Carter, 4. Mel Kenyon, 5. Jimmy Caruthers, 6. Jerry Weeks, 7. Danny O'Neill, 8. Bill Weingarten, 9. Danny McKnight, 10. Larry Rice, 11. Johnny Anderson, 12. Jim Beckley, 13. Gary Irvin, 14. Mark Alderson, 15. Wheeler Gresham, 16. Hank Butcher, 17. Roger Mears, 18. Bobby Tripp, 19. Jeff Heywood, 20. George Snider.

1988 FEATURE (40 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Darryl Haugh, 3. Wally Pankratz, 4. Kevin Olson, 5. Dave Strickland Jr., 6. Ken Nichols, 7. Mario Bringetto Jr., 8. Tommy White, 9. Chuck West, 10. Floyd Alvis, 11. Johnny Cofer, 12. Rick Zermani, 13. Rusty Rasmussen, 14. Jim Berg, 15. Larry Derwin, 16. Joe Winters, 17. Sleepy Tripp, 18. Robby Flock, 19. P.J. Jones, 20. Frank Pedregon, 21. John Starks, 22. Terry Wente. NT

1989 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Mario Bringetto Jr., 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Terry Farrar, 5. Kevin Olson, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Dirk VanCott, 8. Kevin Doty, 9. Bob Davison, 10. Dennis Hart, 11. Terry Tarditi, 12. Ray Derby, 13. Hank Butcher, 14. Jeff Gordon, 15. P.J. Jones, 16. Ron Hughes Jr., 17. Rick Taylor, 18. Tommy White, 19. Dan Drinan, 20. Frank Pedregon. NT

1990 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Terry Farrar, 2. Dave Strickland Jr., 3. Sleepy Tripp, 4. Ricky Gray, 5. P.J. Jones, 6. Jeff Gordon, 7. Russ Gamester, 8. Mike Streicher, 9. Robby Flock, 10. Rick Taylor, 11. John McLaughlin, 12. George Ito, 13. Terry Tarditi, 14. Ray Derby, 15. Kevin Doty, 16. Mike Appio, 17. Lee Yetter, 18. Frank Pedregon, 19. Kevin Olson, 20. Stephen Lewis.

1991 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Page Jones, 2. P.J. Jones, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Robby Flock, 5. Doug Kalitta, 6. Mike Streicher, 7. Johnny Cofer, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. Andy Pierce, 10. Jordan Hermansader, 11. Tyce Carlson, 12. Critter Malone, 13. Terry Tarditi, 14. John Kaiser, 15. Stan Fox, 16. Doug Silva, 17. Wally Pankratz, 18. Ricky Gray, 19. George Ito, 20. Keith Rauch. NT

1992 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Hank Butcher, 5. Chuck Gurney, 6. Stan Fox, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. George Ito, 9. Brent Kaeding, 10. Brett Horrobin, 11. Keith Chrisco, 12. Jordan Hermansader, 13. Mike Streicher, 14. Glenn Carson, 15, Joe Gaerte, 16. Lealand McSpadden, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Jason Jonkman, 19, John Harkrader, 20. Page Jones, 21. Billy Garcia, 22. Sleepy Tripp, 23. Billy Boat, 24. Terry Tarditi. NT

1993 FEATURE: (100 laps): 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Robby Flock, 3. Johnny Cofer, 4. George Ito, 5. Jay Drake, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Jordan Hermansader, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Stan Fox, 11. Ron Hazelton, 12. Keith Chrisco, 13. Chuck Gurney, 14. Hank Butcher, 15. Rick Hendrix, 16. Richard Griffin, 17. Stevie Reeves, 18. Page Jones, 19. Jimmy Sills, 20. Robert Dolacki, 21. Ronnie Day, 22. Sleepy Tripp, 23. Cary Faas, 24. Billy Boat. NT

1994 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Jordan Hermansader, 2. Hank Butcher, 3. Kenny Irwin Jr., 4. Billy Boat, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Danny Lasoski, 7. Johnny Cofer, 8. George Ito, 9. Jack Runyon, 10. Sleepy Tripp, 11. Robby Flock, 12. Robert Dolacki, 13. Ronnie Day, 14. Tony Elliott, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Ronnie Johncox, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Jason Leffler, 19. Rick Hendrix, 20. Wally Pankratz, 21. Tony Stewart, 22. Lealand McSpadden, 23. Donnie Beechler, 24. Andy Michner. 25:56.85

1995 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Billy Boat, 2. Kenny Irwin Jr., 3. Kevin Doty, 4. Richard Griffin, 5. Rick Hendrix, 6. George Ito, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Jimmy Sills, 9. Andy Michner, 10. Ron Shuman, 11. Hank Butcher, 12. Larry Brown, 13. Shane Scully, 14. J.J. Ercse, 15. Frankie Kerr, 16. Jeremy Sherman, 17. Danny Lasoski, 18. Jason Leffler, 19. Wally Pankratz, 20. Jim Keene, 21. Jay Drake, 22. Brian Gerster, 23. Johnny Cofer, 24. J.R. Lawson. 26:58.12

1997 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Billy Boat, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Wally Pankratz, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Ricky Shelton, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Clay Klepper, 9. Craig Brady, 10. Dwayne Marcum, 11. Rick Hendrix, 12. Shane Scully, 13. Steve Paden, 14. Cory Kruseman, 15. Larry Brown, 16. Jason Leffler, 17. Nick Lundgreen, 18. Steve Barth, 19. John Heydenreich, 20. Danny Lasoski, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Kevin Thomas, 23. Robert Dolacki, 24. Marc DeBeaumont. NT

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps - Held Nov. 26) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Jason Leffler, 3. Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. Dave Darland, 5. Kasey Kahne, 6. Dan Boorse, 7. Jimmy Sills, 8. Ricky Shelton, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Brian Tyler, 11. Robby Flock, 12. Michael Lewis, 13. Ronnie Day, 14. Rick Hendrix, 15. Aaron Fiscus, 16. Dane Carter, 17. Kevin Doty, 18. Scott Hansen, 19. Steve Paden, 20. Brian Stanfill, 21. Shane Scully, 22. Jordan Hermansader, 23. John Starks, 24. Donnie Beechler. NT

1999 FEATURE: (50 Laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Michael Lewis, 4. Travis Welpott (#8), 5. Marc DeBeaumont, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Clay Klepper, 8. Glenn Carson, 9. Bobby Boone, 10. Steve Paden, 11. Dane Carter, 12. Rick Vaughn, 13. Dave Stoltz, 14. A.J. Felker (MCI), 15. Jerry Coons, Jr., 16. Bryan Stanfill, 17. Ed Carpenter, 18. Dwayne Marcum, 19. Derrick Hearron, 20. Ryan Newman, 21. Dean Alexander, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Bud Kaeding, 24. Bruce Donaldson, 25. Thomas Meseraull. NT

2000 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Aaron Fike, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Ronnie Day, 6. Bud Kaeding, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Steve Paden, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Bryan Stanfill, 11. Jimmy Sills, 12. John Nervo, 13. Jimmy Christian, 14. Dwayne Marcum, 15. A.J. Johnson, 16. Sarah McCune, 17. Derrick Hearron, 18. Ryan Scott, 19. Wally Pankratz (#37x), 20. Rick Hendrix, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Marc DeBeaumont, 23. Shane Scully, 24. Michael Lewis. NT

2017: 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Tyler Courtney, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Ryan Robinson, 8. Alex Schutte, 9. Michael Faccinto, 10. Tanner Carrick, 11. Frankie Guerrini, 12. Chad Boat, 13. Courtney Crone, 14. Matt Mitchell, 15. David Prickett, 16. Ronnie Gardner, 17. Michael Pickens, 18. Cory Elliott, 19. Zeb Wise, 20. Robert Dalby, 21. Mason Daniel, 22. Holly Shelton, 23. Dustin Golobic, 24. Shannon McQueen. NT

2018: (starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Rico Abreu (2), 3. Shane Golobic (6), 4. Spencer Bayston (11), 5. Chad Boat (7), 6. Tanner Carrick (13), 7. Brady Bacon (4), 8. Holly Shelton (25), 9. Jason McDougal (21), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (9), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (22), 12. Cole Bodine (23), 13. Cody Swanson (17), 14. Sam Johnson (8), 15. Dustin Golobic (3), 16. Robert Dalby (24), 17. Alex Schutte (16), 18. Holley Hollan (18), 19. C.J. Sarna (26), 20. Zeb Wise (5), 21. Ryan Robinson (10), 22. Tyler Courtney (15), 23. Sterling Cling (19), 24. Michael Faccinto (14), 25. Justin Grant (12), 26. Michael Pickens (20). NT

2019: (starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (6), 2. Michael Pickens (1), 3. Rico Abreu (12), 4. Tyler Courtney (10), 5. Jesse Colwell (4), 6. Jason McDougal (2), 7. Gio Scelzi (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (20), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (5), 10. Tanner Carrick (16), 11. Tucker Klaasmeyer (21), 12. Chase Johnson (13), 13. Buddy Kofoid (15), 14. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (11), 15. Carson Macedo (14), 16. Chris Windom (19), 17. Ethan Mitchell (18), 18. Spencer Bayston (3), 19. Daison Pursley (23), 20. Cory Elliott (25), 21. Robert Dalby (24), 22. Aaron Reutzel (7), 23. Logan Seavey (8), 24. Cannon McIntosh (22), 25. Zeb Wise (17). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Kyle Larson (2), 3. Tyler Courtney (3), 4. Chase Johnson (1), 5. Spencer Bayston (4), 6. Chris Windom (20), 7. Tanner Thorson (6), 8. Cannon McIntosh (16), 9. Justin Grant (14), 10. Carson Macedo (21), 11. Jonathan Beason (8), 12. Emerson Axsom (12), 13. Clinton Boyles (10), 14. Ethan Mitchell (11), 15. Kaylee Bryson (7), 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9), 17. Andrew Layser* (24), 18. Michael Faccinto (13), 19. Tanner Carrick (15), 20. Cole Bodine* (23), 21. Bryant Wiedeman (19), 22. Frankie Guerrini (22), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Daison Pursley (17). NT

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Tanner Thorson (5), 5. Cannon McIntosh (11), 6. Cory Eliason (8), 7. Chris Windom (7), 8. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 10. Logan Seavey (17), 11. Thomas Meseraull (22), 12. Tanner Carrick (20), 13. Brenham Crouch (15), 14. Kaylee Bryson (19), 15. Ryan Timms (13), 16. Tony Gomes (18), 17. Taylor Reimer (16), 18. Chase Randall (12), 19. Jade Avedisian (6), 20. Carson Macedo (10), 21. Ethan Mitchell (14), 22. Michael Faccinto (21). NT

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (3), 2. Michael Pickens (4), 3. Buddy Kofoid (6), 4. Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Justin Grant (10), 7. Brenham Crouch (16), 8. Emerson Axsom (8), 9. Chance Crum (14), 10. Spencer Bayston (21), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (13), 12. Kaylee Bryson (15), 13. Gavin Miller (17), 14. Jake Andreotti (11), 15. Jade Avedisian (9), 16. Dominic Gorden (22), 17. Alex Bright (18), 18. Mitchel Moles (2), 19. Hayden Reinbold (20), 20. Cade Lewis (24-P), 21. Daison Pursley (12), 22. Taylor Reimer (1), 23. Jacob Denney (23-P), 24. Jason McDougal (19). NT

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Justin Grant (2), 4. Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. Carson Macedo (7), 6. Daison Pursley (8), 7. Taylor Reimer (6), 8. Jade Avedisian (14), 9. Jacob Denney (13), 10. Hayden Reinbold (17), 11. Jake Andreotti (10), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (16), 13. Ryan Timms (18), 14. Buddy Kofoid (4), 15. Mitchel Moles (21), 16. Cade Lewis (12), 17. Brody Fuson (22), 18. Chance Crum (20), 19. Shannon McQueen (15), 20. Mariah Ede (19), 21. Gavin Miller (3), 22. Michael Faccinto (11). NT

$25,000 TITLE PRIZE AWAITS

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK COMPETITORS IN 2025

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 21, 2024)………USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competitors will battle for a $25,000 championship prize during the 2025 edition of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing.

The 38th annual event will consist of seven events at seven different Hoosier state dirt tracks between July 25 and August 2. Furthermore, each of the seven feature events will pay $8,000-to-win during the traditional summer event, which debuted in 1988.

“Indiana Sprint Week, as a whole, is a crown jewel of the USAC Sprint Car schedule, and this takes it to that level with the championship payoff,” USAC’s Kirk Spridgeon said. “This is a credit to the support of our returning partners who have been able to quadruple the Indiana Sprint Week payoff in a four-year timeframe.”

Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway will host the opener of the series on Friday, July 25. From there, the schedule travels to Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 26, then it’s onto Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday, July 27, to complete the first weekend.

After a two-day break from on-track action, the series resumes at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis on Wednesday, July 30, before venturing over to the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, July 31. Bloomington Speedway’s annual Friday night round is set for Friday, August 1 with the series finale heading to Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August 2.

The inaugural Indiana Sprint Week took place in 1988 and has been sanctioned by USAC starting with the 1996 season. The 2025 edition will mark 30 years under the USAC banner.

Logan Seavey captured the most recent USAC Indiana Sprint Week title in 2024. The list of past series champions includes Randy Kinser (1988), Chuck Amati (1989 & 1990-co), Gary Trammell (1990-co), Bob Kinser (1991), Kevin Thomas (1992, 1993, 1995 & 1996), Kelly Kinser (1994), J.J. Yeley (1997 & 2003), Dave Darland (1998, 2001 & 2007), Tony Elliott (1999), Jay Drake (2000), Cory Kruseman (2002 & 2005), Levi Jones (2004, 2008, 2009 & 2012), Jon Stanbrough (2006 & 2010), Chris Windom (2011 & 2018), Bryan Clauson (2013 & 2014), Robert Ballou (2015), Brady Bacon (2016 & 2023), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017 & 2021), C.J. Leary (2019), Chase Stockon (2020) and Justin Grant (2022).

MERCED’S USAC MIDGET MADNESS

SHIFTS TO SATURDAY-SUNDAY, NOV. 23-24

Merced, California (November 21, 2024)………The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship weekend at California’s Merced Speedway has been shifted to a Saturday-Sunday schedule to be held on November 23-24.

Rain has forced cancellation of the originally scheduled Friday, November 22, program. Instead, Tarlton & Sons Presents Midget Madness will now take place at the high-banked 1/4-mile dirt oval with two complete programs on Saturday-Sunday, November 23-24.

Thirty-three drivers have announced their intentions of competing at Merced, including past Midget Madness winners Buddy Kofoid, Logan Seavey, Carson Macedo, Tanner Thorson and Justin Grant, plus NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, Indianapolis 500 veteran Santino Ferrucci and many more.

On Saturday, pits will open at 2pm Pacific with the drivers meeting set for 4:30pm, the grandstands opening at 5pm, and hot laps at 5:30pm. The program will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus 360 winged sprint cars and the BCRA Lightning Sprints.

On Sunday, pits will open at 1pm Pacific with the drivers meeting set for 3:30pm, the grandstands opening at 4pm and hot laps at 4:30pm. The program will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus 360 winged sprint cars.

Both nights, tickets are $30 for ages 16 and up and $15 for ages 6-15. Ages 5 and under are admitted for free. Pit passes are $50 ($45 for USAC members).

Pre-purchased tickets for Friday’s originally scheduled event will be refunded.

Tickets are available online at www.mercedspeedway.net and will also be available to purchase at the front gate.

Camping for this event is available and for those fans looking to do so, all arrangements need to me made directly through the Merced County Fairgrounds.

Merced Speedway is located at 900 Martin Luther King Drive Merced, CA 95341.

HERE’S CARSON!

TIMELY BOOST & LATE RACE HEROICS

NET MACEDO TULARE USAC MIDGET WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Tulare, California (November 20, 2024)………Sometimes, when you feel like you’re down and out, the one thing you really need to keep you going is a little boost.

Carson Macedo knows the feeling after a frantic late-race sequence saw him leading on one lap, then thinking his race was over the next lap before getting hit by another car, then charging his way back to the front and into victory lane during Wednesday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature event at Tulare, California’s Thunderbowl Raceway.

The ringer Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) persevered through came during a three-lap span late in the going of the 30-lap main event at the 1/3-mile dirt oval. However, for the first 25 circuits, Macedo was in full control in what was his first appearance of the series season aboard his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota, an Australian based team with a car built by a New Zealand based chassis company.

As Macedo rounded turns three and four along the inside berm with five laps remaining, his car inexplicably, and suddenly, stalled. As he began to coast, the lapped car of Dane Culver banged into the back end of Macedo’s car. As flame flickered from the headers, miraculously, Macedo’s car regained power and continued on its merry way.

“Before the race started, it was kind of spitting and sputtering,” Macedo revealed. “I was nervous that something wasn’t going right. Then we fired off and it felt good, and then the lap before that, I actually lifted on the bottom and it just died. I came around the next lap and thought, ‘man, maybe that was just a weird deal,’ then it did it again really badly. I actually didn’t get refired until the guy behind me ran into the back of me!”

When the yellow flag was displayed a split second later, the moment was not all lost for Macedo. The caution was deemed an inadvertent yellow, thus, according to Section 1406, Part I of the USAC National Midget rulebook, “a car that an inadvertent yellow is displayed for will be positioned in order of positions lost.”

As Jacob Denney scooted underneath Macedo for the lead in turn four on lap 26, Denney became the new leader while Macedo was relegated back to second, which is where he was running when the yellow was displayed.

On the ensuing restart, Macedo wound it up on the high line, and on lap 27, used his momentum off turn four to slingshot under Denney entering turn one. Macedo’s first attempt was unsuccessful as he slid in front of Denney on the entry to turn one, but was unable to make the move stick as Denney darted back under Macedo off turn two. However, on lap 28, Macedo reloaded and stuck the move on the second try, then raced away over the final 3.5 laps to victory by a 1.178 second margin.

“When he went to the lead, I thought, if he’s running the top, I’m going to be in trouble, especially in one and two, but he cheated it down there and I was able to get a run,” Macedo recalled. “I knew he was going to the bottom in three and four, so I just figured I’m not going to win if I follow him down there. I might as well give it everything I’ve got and it worked out.”

For car owner Sean Dyson, it’s the third year in a row his team has won a USAC National Midget feature with the first two coming at California’s Merced Speedway with Macedo in 2022 and Spencer Bayston in 2023.

“I really had to get up on the wheel and earn that win,” Macedo explained. “I was excited there after the race. I know these races are hard to win, and it just felt really special racing with my buddy Sean Dyson. He ships this car all the way over from Australia. It’s a lot of money and a lot of work and a lot of effort, so it feels good to reward him with a win.”

Crossing the finish line behind Macedo on this night at Tulare for the series’ first visit since 2010 were runner-up Jacob Denney and third-place finisher Cannon McIntosh while Corey Day came home fourth and Logan Seavey rounded out the top-five.

Not that Macedo needed any more motivation, but seeing his name in a mid-pack tier in an online picking contest provided him some extra ammo going into the night. When all was said and done, Macedo swept the night at Tulare where he had won his most recent visit this past September with the World of Outlaws. This time, he was twice victorious, winning both the Kings of Thunder 360 Sprint Car feature followed by the USAC National Midget main.

“I had some motivation going into tonight,” Macedo pointed out after his second career USAC National Midget score. “I was looking at the pool and saw I was in group C and I thought man, I’ve got to get up in the seat. I know these midget guys are really good, especially the guys who run them all year long and are really comfortable in these cars. It felt good to be comfortable tonight. This track is a little bigger, so I can move around and run it more like a winged sprint car.”

Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) turned in his best result of the year, leading two laps late en route to a runner-up result in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication – Race for Chase/LynK/Ed Pink Toyota. With it, the Ohioan earned his best finish of the USAC National Midget season.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) raced his way to a third-place finish, thus marking his eighth podium result in his last nine USAC National Midget feature starts in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/GearWrench – Mobil 1 – TRD/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

Dane Culver's first career USAC National Midget feature start went superbly. After starting 24th, the Riverside, California racer advanced his way up to a 15th place finish. The +9 performance made him the evening’s hard charger.

Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.) put on a show in his 11th to 4th feature run. The two-time Trophy Cup champ at Tulare picked up where he left off following a second place result in his most recent USAC National Midget start at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway in 2023. For that, he was the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) set fast time and a new track record during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. His lap of 15.344 seconds surpassed the former USAC National Midget record at Tulare of 15.628 set by Bryan Clauson in 2010. It was Carrick’s fourth career fast time with the series, three of which have come in his home state of California during the month of November.

Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) performed likewise, setting a new eight lap Tulare track record for USAC National Midgets with a time of 2:07.597. Of the 24 drivers on hand, he was the lone driver who also competed in the series’ only other visit to Tulare back in 2010.

Throughout the night, one driver got upside down. Tyler Courtney, making his first series start in two years, got into the berm between turns three and four while running 16th, sending him flipping three times before coming to a rest on lap 11 of the feature. The 2019 USAC National Midget champion was able to walk away.

Also of note, of the 24 drivers signed in at Tulare, 18 had previously won at least one USAC National Midget feature. With 75 percent of the field being a feature winner, it ranks among the most successful gathering for an event in series history.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 20, 2024 – Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.344 (New Track Record); 2. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-15.417; 3. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-15.580; 4. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-15.585; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-15.614; 6. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-15.632; 7. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-15.698; 8. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-15.701; 9. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-15.720; 10. Emerson Axsom, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.731; 11. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.738; 12. Buddy Kofoid, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.755; 13. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-15.771; 14. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.801; 15. Zach Daum, 31B, Beilman-15.805; 16. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Silva-15.816; 17. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.854; 18. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-15.913; 19. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.946; 20. Karter Sarff, 31, Beilman-15.948; 21. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-16.200; 22. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-16.265; 23. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.352; 24. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-16.384.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Tanner Carrick, 6. Chase McDermand, 7. Daison Pursley, 8. Gavin Miller. 2:10.237

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Corey Day, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Kale Drake, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Karter Sarff. NT

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Drake Edwards, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Dane Culver, 8. Austin Torgerson. 2:07.597 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Carson Macedo (2), 2. Jacob Denney (1), 3. Cannon McIntosh (9), 4. Corey Day (11), 5. Logan Seavey (3), 6. Tanner Thorson (4), 7. Tanner Carrick (6), 8. Buddy Kofoid (15), 9. Justin Grant (5), 10. Ryan Timms (16), 11. Daison Pursley (10), 12. Zach Daum (8), 13. Gavin Miller (19), 14. Zach Wigal (7), 15. Dane Culver (24), 16. Kale Drake (14), 17. Drake Edwards (12), 18. Hayden Reinbold (23), 19. Jake Andreotti (18), 20. Tyler Courtney (17), 21. Chase McDermand (22), 22. Emerson Axsom (13), 23. Karter Sarff (20), 24. Austin Torgerson (21). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Carson Macedo, Laps 26-27 Jacob Denney, Laps 28-30 Carson Macedo.

**Tyler Courtney flipped on lap 11 of the feature.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 22-23, 2024 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (15.589)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Tanner Carrick (15.344)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Zach Wigal

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Zach Daum

Hard Charger: Dane Culver (24th to 15th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Corey Day

JOIN THE DIRT DRAFT

USAC WEST COAST SWING FANTASY CONTEST!

Tulare, California (November 20, 2024)………Get ready, USAC fans!

Dirt Draft is thrilled to announce the USAC West Coast Leaderboard Contest, bringing you closer to the action and giving you a shot at claiming the top spot among USAC fans from across the country.

Your race knowledge and lineup skills will be put to the test! Every position counts as you climb the leaderboard. Reach the top and you’ll not only score incredible prizes but also earn the ultimate Dirt Draft and USAC bragging rights.

Here's how it works:

New Subscribers: Visit www.DirtDraft.com or download the DirtDraft app to subscribe. New Subscribers receive the following:

-Free T-Shirt. Select from a USAC, High Limit, Flo Racing or a DirtDraft t-shirt shipped directly to you.

-$50 promo code to Deatherage Optics

-$20 promo code for MyRacePass All Access

-$10 promo code for GottaRace.com

-$10 promo code for HuntTheFront.com

Draft Your Team: Log into your account and draft your team for the opening round this Wednesday at Thunderbowl Speedway and for each of the remaining four events on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget Series Schedule. Contests lock just before the first heat race takes the green flag. The nightly contest winner will receive:

-$50 promo code to Deatherage Optics

The Leaderboard: The leaderboard will be updated after each event. Prizes will be awarded to the top 25 in the overall USAC West Coast Leaderboard.

1st: Custom Dirt Draft USAC Trophy + Prize Pack and Promo Codes

2nd: USAC Merchandise Prize Pack + Promo Codes

3rd: USAC T-Shirt + Promo Codes

4th -25th :

i. $50 promo code to Deatherage Optics

ii. $20 promo code for MyRacePass All Access

iii. $10 promo code for GottaRace.com

iv. $10 promo code for HuntTheFront.com

Whether you're new to USAC or a seasoned pro, this is the perfect chance to show what you've got! Are you ready to dominate the USAC West Coast Fantasy Leaderboard? This is your shot – bring your A-game and let's see who really knows their USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget Series racing!

2024 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET CALIFORNIA SWING SCHEDULE:

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, California

Nov 22: Merced Speedway – Merced, California

Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, California

Nov 26: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California

DOUBLE DOSE!

USAC MIDGET MADNESS HITS MERCED NOV. 22-23

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 18, 2024)………California’s Merced Speedway has become an annual stop on USAC’s NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship swing through California since the beginning of the decade of the roaring 2020s.

What’s also become an annual staple is Merced producing some of the most scintillating and sensational series races of the season. There’s a reason they call this one “Midget Madness.”

It all comes to fruition once more, for the fifth consecutive year, for two-straight nights on the high-banked 1/4-mile dirt oval Friday-Saturday, November 22-23. It’s full programs each night that conclude with 30-lap feature events.

Thirty-three drivers have made their intentions to compete in the event, and five of those 34 have already bagged a USAC National Midget victory in their career at Merced.

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) is the lone multi-time Merced USAC National Midget winner at Merced, having scored during his series championships of 2021 and 2022. He’ll pilot one of seven entries out of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports stable.

In fact, the eventual USAC National Midget driving champion has won at Merced in three consecutive years. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and Abacus Racing continued that trend in 2023 by notching victory on the second of two nights a year ago.

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) notched his first and only career USAC National Midget win to date at Merced back in 2022. As a matter of fact, both of his Australia-based Dyson Motorsport team’s USAC victories have come at Merced.

Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) collected a dramatic Merced midget victory during the first ever weekend of series action there back in 2020. For November, the 2016 USAC National Midget champ has reunited with the Tom Malloy-owned team for whom he won that race four years earlier.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and RMS Racing posted a convincing and dominant Merced triumph back in 2021, leading the final 25 laps in record-setting style. His 30-lap run of 6:14.350 remains the series record for a 30-lap distance, the second fastest 30-lap race in series history.

The past Merced midget winners will be flanked by a slew of contenders, including Tanner Carrick (2nd in 2020), Cannon McIntosh (3rd in 2020), Tyler Courtney (3rd in 2020) and Kyle Larson (4th in 2020). However, it should be noted that Larson plans to compete in only the Saturday portion of the Merced event.

Furthermore, this weekend’s field will also consist of the likes of Emerson Axsom (4th in 2021), Ryan Timms (4th in 2023), Jacob Denney (5th in 2022), Corey Day (7th in 2015) and Jake Andreotti (8th in 2015).

Stunningly, in five previous Merced starts, current USAC National Midget point leader Daison Pursley hasn’t finished better than his 11th place result in 2023. Hayden Reinbold (11th in 2023) and Gavin Miller (18th in 2022) are also back to take on Merced.

Vying for their first USAC National Midget starts at Merced include Rookie of the Year contenders Zach Wigal and Kale Drake, plus 2024 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year Drake Edwards, USAC National Midget winners Zach Daum and Chase McDermand, plus USAC five-time USAC Western States titlist Ronnie Gardner.

Also on the list of first-timers are Karter Sarff, Dalten Gabbard, Austin Torgerson, Terry Nichols, Brandt Twitty, cousins Todd Hawse and Kyle Hawse, as well as Alex Karpowicz, Barrie Valentino, Peter Paulson and Troy DeGaton.

RACE DETAILS:

On Friday night, the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship is joined by the IMCA Northern Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks. Tickets are $25 for adults age 18 and up and $10 for ages 6-17. Ages 5 and under are admitted for free.

On Saturday night, USAC National Midgets headline an all open wheel show alongside winged 360 sprint cars. Tickets are $30 for adults age 18 and up and $15 for ages 6-17. Ages 5 and under are admitted for free.

Both nights, pit gates will open at 2pm Pacific with grandstands opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5pm and cars on track at 5:45pm.

Tickets are available online at www.mercedspeedway.net and will also be available to purchase at the front gate.

Camping for this event is available and for those fans looking to do so, all arrangements need to me made directly through the Merced County Fairgrounds.

Merced Speedway is located at 900 Martin Luther King Drive Merced, CA 95341.

EXPECTED ENTRY LIST FOR MERCED SPEEDWAY: (34)

CAR # / DRIVER / HOMETOWN / CAR ENTRANT

00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports) (Saturday Only)

1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3p DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)

4B BRANDT TWITTY/Bakersfield, CA (Kevin Twitty)

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

18 TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse)

19 ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

20x KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing)

23c TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports)

Q23 BARRIE VALENTINO/Brisbane, AU (El Toro Racing)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)

31 KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

Q32 PETER PAULSON/Woodland, CA (El Toro Racing)

39T TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports)

71 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

77 DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard)

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)

88A AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

98 TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:

2-Buddy Kofoid

1-Spencer Bayston, Justin Grant, Carson Macedo, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey & Tanner Thorson

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:

2020: Thomas Meseraull (11/20) & Tanner Thorson (11/21)

2021: Justin Grant (11/23) & Buddy Kofoid (11/24)

2022: Carson Macedo (11/22) & Buddy Kofoid (11/23)

2023: Spencer Bayston (11/21) & Logan Seavey (11/22)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 11/22/2023 - Jade Avedisian - 11.417

10 Laps - 11/21/2023 - Jesse Love - 1:54.98

12 Laps - 11/21/2023 - Jade Avedisian - 2:18.06

30 Laps - 11/23/2021 - Justin Grant - 6:14.350

MERCED SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE RESULTS:

2020 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (6), 2. Tanner Carrick (2), 3. Cannon McIntosh (5), 4. Carson Macedo (8), 5. Tanner Thorson (15), 6. Shane Golobic (3), 7. Ryan Bernal (9), 8. Spencer Bayston (11), 9. Kyle Larson (19), 10. Emerson Axsom (14), 11. Mitchel Moles (7), 12. Buddy Kofoid (21), 13. Logan Seavey (16), 14. Tyler Courtney (23-P), 15. Chris Windom (22), 16. Justin Grant (17), 17. Colby Copeland (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson (13), 19. Chase Randall (20), 20. Daison Pursley (1), 21. Zeb Wise (12), 22. Michael Faccinto (10), 23. Cole Bodine (24-P), 24. Jesse Love (4). NT

2020 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (4), 2. Buddy Kofoid (1), 3. Tyler Courtney (2), 4. Kyle Larson (6), 5. Spencer Bayston (3), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Carson Macedo (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (10), 9. Justin Grant (7), 10. Mitchel Moles (11), 11. Shane Golobic (14), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12), 14. Colby Copeland (15), 15. Emerson Axsom (16), 16. Tanner Carrick (21), 17. Chris Windom (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson (23-P), 19. Zeb Wise (19), 20. Bryant Wiedeman (20), 21. Robert Dalby (24-P), 22. Ben Worth (17), 23. Chance Crum (22), 24. Chase Johnson (9). 7:18.810

2021 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Tanner Thorson (1), 3. Buddy Kofoid (3), 4. Emerson Axsom (6), 5. Cannon McIntosh (5), 6. Shane Golobic (7), 7. Mitchel Moles (4), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. Carson Macedo (10), 10. Jason McDougal (14), 11. Chris Windom (9), 12. Zeb Wise (12), 13. Tanner Carrick (16), 14. Thomas Meseraull (13), 15. Ryan Bernal (18), 16. Kaylee Bryson (8), 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (17), 18. Ryan Timms (21), 19. Jade Avedisian (19), 20. Maria Cofer (20), 21. Chase Johnson (22), 22. Brenham Crouch (15), 23. Bryant Wiedeman (23-P), 24. Hayden Reinbold (24-P). 6:14.35

2021 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (6), 2. Chris Windom (2), 3. Justin Grant (17), 4. Jade Avedisian (1), 5. Logan Seavey (5), 6. Emerson Axsom (9), 7. Bryant Wiedeman (11), 8. Shane Golobic (12), 9. Tanner Thorson (8), 10. Ryan Timms (16), 11. Taylor Reimer (13), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (23-P), 13. Maria Cofer (18), 14. Chance Crum (24-P), 15. Jake Andreotti (20), 16. Cannon McIntosh (4), 17. Mitchel Moles (14), 18. Kaylee Bryson (19), 19. Brenham Crouch (15), 20. Carson Macedo (3), 21. Thomas Meseraull (21), 22. Tanner Carrick (7), 23. Jason McDougal (22), 24. Kyle Larson (10). NT

2022 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Carson Macedo (5), 2. Buddy Kofoid (14), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Chance Crum (1), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Mitchel Moles (3), 7. Kaylee Bryson (7), 8. Cannon McIntosh (19), 9. Tanner Thorson (13), 10. Brenham Crouch (23-P), 11. Spencer Bayston (15), 12. Thomas Meseraull (17), 13. Ryan Timms (9), 14. Tanner Carrick (12), 15. Bryant Wiedeman (8), 16. Emerson Axsom (22), 17. Jade Avedisian (10), 18. Michael Faccinto (18), 19. Jacob Denney (16), 20. Daniel Whitley (11), 21. Taylor Reimer (20), 22. Daison Pursley (21), DQ. Jake Andreotti (2). NT

2022 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (3), 2. Spencer Bayston (1), 3. Jason McDougal (7), 4. Jade Avedisian (5), 5. Jacob Denney (14), 6. Carson Macedo (4), 7. Cannon McIntosh (15), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 9. Mitchel Moles (6), 10. Tanner Carrick (17), 11. Justin Grant (16), 12. Thomas Meseraull (23-P), 13. Ryan Timms (9), 14. Chance Crum (24-P), 15. Taylor Reimer (12), 16. Brenham Crouch (10), 17. Tanner Thorson (21), 18. Gavin Miller (20), 19. Jake Andreotti (13), 20. Kaylee Bryson (19), 21. Logan Seavey (8), 22. Bryant Wiedeman (18), 23. Daniel Whitley (2), 24. Dylan Bloomfield (22). NT

2023 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Spencer Bayston (1), 2. Buddy Kofoid (5), 3. Tanner Carrick (4), 4. Logan Seavey (12), 5. Jesse Love (8), 6. Tanner Thorson (10), 7. Carson Macedo (9), 8. Jacob Denney (14), 9. Ryan Timms (16), 10. Jade Avedisian (11), 11. Daison Pursley (6), 12. Justin Grant (22), 13. Corey Day (18), 14. Bryant Wiedeman (17), 15. Hayden Reinbold (19), 16. Taylor Reimer (23-P), 17. Cannon McIntosh (13), 18. Braden Chiaramonte (15), 19. Emerson Axsom (3), 20. Jake Andreotti (7), 21. Chance Crum (20), 22. Gavin Miller (2), 23. Mitchel Moles (21). NT

2023 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Justin Grant (10), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Ryan Timms (7), 5. Carson Macedo (11), 6. Jade Avedisian (6), 7. Corey Day (15), 8. Jake Andreotti (1), 9. Spencer Bayston (8), 10. Emerson Axsom (12), 11. Hayden Reinbold (13), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (21), 13. Daison Pursley (14), 14. Taylor Reimer (20), 15. Jacob Denney (19), 16. Tanner Carrick (16), 17. Braden Chiaramonte (17), 18. Brody Fuson (9), 19. Michael Faccinto (18), 20. Tanner Thorson (3), 21. Jesse Love (5), 22. Thomas Meseraull (22). NT

50+ USAC MIDGETS ENTERED

FOR NOV. 30 TURKEY NIGHT GP AT VENTURA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 18, 2024)………Fifty-three (53) USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship drivers and cars will compete in the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.

They’ll all converge on California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 30, for the 2024 installment of the longest-running midget race of them all, a tradition which dates back to 1934.

At least four past Turkey Night Grand Prix winners are included in the driver lineup, headlined by four-time event winner Kyle Larson (2012-2016-2019-2023), plus one-time winners Justin Grant (2022), Logan Seavey (2021) and Tanner Thorson (2015).

They’re among the 21 USAC National Midget feature winners in the field, 17 of which are vying for a first Turkey Night midget triumph. It’s a list which includes five USAC National Midget champions, including Logan Seavey (2018 & 2023), Buddy Kofoid (2021 & 2022), Tyler Courtney (2019), Tanner Thorson (2016) and J.J. Yeley (2003).

To date, nine different drivers have won USAC National Midget races during the 2024 campaign, seven of which are vying for a first career Turkey Night triumph. Daison Pursley has won seven while Cannon McIntosh owns three scores. Logan Seavey has picked up a pair of wins as has Ryan Timms, himself a two-time Turkey Night Sprint Car winner in 2022-2023. Single scores belong to Emerson Axsom, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Chase McDermand and Zach Wigal.

Wigal is one of at least 25 Don Basile Rookie of the Race contenders in the 2024 lineup, which includes its share of headlining names. Jumping off the list is two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who will be making his USAC Midget debut during the series’ November tour through the Golden State.

Also included on the Rookie list is Cale Coons, son of USAC Career Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. USAC Western States Midget front runner Drake Edwards is vying for top Rookie glory as are veteran drivers, and Turkey Night newcomers, Stevie Sussex and Karter Sarff, plus international flair from New Zealand’s Ben Covich and Mathew Radisch.

Overall, six past Turkey Night Rookies of the Race will be in the field: Kyle Larson (2011), Tanner Thorson (2013), Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019), Jake Andreotti (2022) and Corey Day (2023).

This year’s Turkey Night weekend will also host the Ultimate Sprint Car Series for both nights of on-track action on November 29-30.

SCHEDULE:

Friday, November 29: Grandstands open at 3pm Pacific. Cars on track at 3:30pm. Midget practice, plus sprint car racing.

Saturday, November 30: Grandstands open at 3pm Pacific. Cars on track at 3:30pm. Sprint car racing, plus midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature.

Advance tickets can be purchased now at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

2024 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST:

00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Silva Motorsports)

1p (R) TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3J J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

3p (R) DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

3v (R) JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant)

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)

8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

14F (R) MATHEW RADISCH/Auckland, NZ (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)

14s TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

14T MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt-Streeter Racing)

15 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Dennis Hart)

17A (R) TOM DUNKEL/Menifee, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

18 (R) TODD HAWSE/Simi Valley, CA (Todd Hawse)

19 (R) ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

20 C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (Sarna Motorsports)

20AZ (R) STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Crown Jewel Racing)

20x (R) KYLE HAWSE/Las Vegas, NV (Hawse Racing)

Q23 (R) BARRIE VALENTINO/Brisbane, AU (El Toro Racing)

23c TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Silva Motorsports)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)

31 (R) KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

32 (R) CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)

Q32 (R) PETER PAULSON/Woodland, CA (El Toro Racing)

39T (R) TROY DeGATON/Wickenburg, AZ (Troy DeGaton)

50 (R) DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)

51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)

51B (R) KYLE BUSCH/Las Vegas, NV (Kyle Busch Motorsports)

55 (R) ABBY HOHLBEIN/Cloverdale, OH (Lambert Motorsports)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

58 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Abacus Racing)

63 (R) CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Joe Dooling)

65NZ (R) BEN COVICH/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Six8 Motorsports)

71 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71D (R) BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros. Racing)

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

73 (R) COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

77 (R) DALTEN GABBARD/Peoria, AZ (Dalten Gabbard)

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)

88A (R) AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

89 (R) ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

98 TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

101 CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)

(R) represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race candidate

KYLE BUSCH TO MAKE USAC MIDGET DEBUT

AT BAKERSFIELD & VENTURA

Speedway, Indiana (November 14, 2024)………Two-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch will make his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in California during the month of November.

Busch (Las Vegas, Nev.) will compete with USAC during the Tuesday, November 26, event at Bakersfield Speedway’s 1/3-mile dirt oval. He will then take on Ventura Raceway’s 1/5-mile dirt oval on Saturday, November 30, for the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Busch will carry the number 51 on his Kyle Busch Motorsports owned midget which will be in partnership with FloSports and carry sponsorship from Lucas Oil.

Also included in the announcement is that Busch will compete in the 39th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink on January 13-18, 2025, at the SageNet Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Furthermore, it was also revealed that he will be driving alongside his son Brexton at the Tulsa Shootout from December 31 through January 4.

All of these events will be streamed exclusively on FloRacing, making it the essential home to watch Kyle Busch get behind the wheel during the NASCAR offseason.

“The Cup season may be over, but the racing season is still in full swing with the biggest events on dirt taking place over the next couple of months,” Busch stated.

To purchase tickets and find out more event info on the upcoming USAC events, please visit www.BakersfieldSpeedway.com and www.VenturaRaceway.com.‍

KYLE LARSON ADDS FOUR

USAC MIDGET RACES TO HIS SCHEDULE IN NOVEMBER

Speedway, Indiana (November 14, 2024)………The racing season isn't over yet for NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson.

Fresh off the season finale at Phoenix Raceway this past weekend, Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) has confirmed that he'll be behind the wheel for four upcoming USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events during the month of November in California.

Larson will team up with Silva Motorsports to compete in Midget Madness at Merced Speedway on November 22-23, the November Classic at Bakersfield Speedway on November 26 and the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame at Ventura Raceway on November 30.

For all three of these events, Larson will be teammates with fellow sprint car star Tyler Courtney, who recently announced he'll be driving for Paul Silva during the final seven USAC Midget races of the season as well as the Chili Bowl Nationals in January.

Larson owns three career victories at Merced Speedway with all three wins coming in a sprint car during the traditional November event at the track. This month, he will be making his first start at Merced since 2021.

Larson will enter the race at Bakersfield Speedway with an average finish of 1.5 in his two previous November Classic starts. He won the event in 2019 before finishing second one year later in 2020.

To round out the November swing, Larson will be seeking a fourth career victory in the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway. In addition to his win in the race last year, he also won the race in 2012, 2016 and 2019.

Following the completion of the three USAC National Midget Series events on his schedule, Larson will travel to Australia to join Kubota High Limit Racing for three nights of racing on December 28-30.

Race fans can watch all of these events live on FloRacing. If you're not already a FloRacing subscriber, sign up today at www.FloRacing.com.

HATS OFF TULARE!

USAC MIDGETS RETURN TO THUNDERBOWL NOV. 20

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Tulare, California (November 12, 2024)………It’s been 14 years since the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship last paid a visit to Tulare, California’s Thunderbowl Raceway.

For the first time since that night in 2010, the series returns for round two of the seven-race California swing on Wednesday, November 20.

Just one driver from that night’s lineup all those years ago is expected to be among this year’s crop of contenders. That’s Zach Daum, a seventh place feature finisher with the series at Tulare in 2010.

However, while a majority of the field possesses minimal to zero racing experience at Tulare’s 1/3-mile dirt oval, several others in this weekend’s field not only have made extensive laps in a sprint car at the track but have also been frequent winners.

One-time USAC National Midget feature winner Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.) enters the event after capturing each of the past two Trophy Cup titles at Tulare in 2023-2024 aboard a winged sprint car. Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), himself a 2021-2022 USAC National Midget titlist, corralled the Trophy Cup crown in 2021.

Tyler Courtney, the 2019 USAC National Midget champ, scored a feature victory during Trophy Cup in 2022 as did Ryan Timms in 2021-2022. Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) reigned victorious at Tulare in September with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.), likewise, was a victor at Tulare as recently as this past October when he captured a Sprint Car Challenge Tour win.

Newly crowned USAC Career Triple Crown champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) nearly had his day in the sun at Tulare in 2023. After winning a Trophy Cup feature, his car was deemed underweight in post-race tech, which erased his short-lived victory. Seavey now eyes a bit of redemption this time around.

Also joining this group is a flock of Tulare experienced wheelman, including three-time USAC national champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), who finished fourth with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at the track in 2010. Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), the 2016 USAC National Midget king, ran second during a Trophy Cup feature in 2017.

Furthermore, Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) and Terry Nichols (Delano, Calif.) each have competed in USAC Western States Midget competition at Tulare. Andreotti took 4th with the series in 2021 while Nichols grabbed a top-five result in 2015. Austin Torgerson (Glendale, Ariz.) notched an 11th at Tulare with the Kings of Thunder Sprint Cars in 2023.

The list of Tulare first-timers is also quite extensive, a list that includes the likes of current USAC National Midget point leader Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), plus series feature winners Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.), Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio), Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) and Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.).

Also visiting Tulare for the first-time are first-time USAC National Midget winning hopefuls Drake Edwards (Peoria, Ariz.), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.).

USAC national racing has made four previous treks to Tulare over the years. USAC National Midgets made its aforementioned only previous trip in 2010 with Tracy Hines as the winner. USAC National Sprint Cars have taken on Tulare on three occasions with Garrett Hansen (2009), Jon Stanbrough (2009) and Bud Kaeding (2010) all taking top honors.

RACE DETAILS

The front gates for the Wednesday night, November 20, event will open at 4pm Pacific with the drivers meeting set for 4:30pm and cars on track at 5pm. The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will be joined by the Kings of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Car Series.

Grandstand tickets for the event are $35 for adults, $33 for seniors, $18 for kids 6-12, and free for kids 6 and under. Bleacher tickets are $30 for adults, $28 for seniors, $15 for kids 6-12, and free for kids 5 and under. Adult pit passes are $45.

The track is located at East Bardsley Avenue, & S K St, Tulare, CA 93274. The track can be reached via phone at (559) 688-0909. For more info, visit https://www.thunderbowlraceway.com/.

If you can’t make it to the track in person, the full event can be watched live on FloRacing at https://www.flosports.link/usac.

EXPECTED TULARE USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ENTRIES:

00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3p DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

4 COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne)

8w CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

23c TYLER COURTNEY (Silva Motorsports)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25m TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tom Malloy)

31 KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

31B ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Beilman Motorsports)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb/Agajanian Motorsports)

71K CANNON MCINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

86 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)

88A AUSTIN TORGERSON/Glendale, AZ (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

98 TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb/Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1244, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1157, 3-Ryan Timms-1066, 4-Logan Seavey-1052, 5-Zach Daum-1036, 6-Jacob Denney-968, 7-Justin Grant-963, 8-Gavin Miller-946, 9-Zach Wigal-862, 10-Kale Drake-853.

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY:

1-Tracy Hines

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY:

2010: Tracy Hines (11/13)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 11/13/2010 - Bryan Clauson - 15.628

THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE RESULTS:

2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Alex Schutte, 5. Brad Kuhn, 6. Bobby East, 7. Zach Daum, 8. Henry Clarke, 9. Levi Roberts, 10. Cody Swanson, 11. Evan Margeson, 12. Matt Streeter, 13. Randi Pankratz, 14. Scott Pierovich, 15. Jake Swanson, 16. Brad Loyet, 17. Chris Ennis, 18. Cory Kruseman, 19. Levi Jones, 20. Robby Josett, 21. Sean Dodenhoff, 22. Troy Rutherford, 23. Danny Faria Jr., 24. Dave Darland, 25. Kody Swanson, 26. Shannon McQueen. NT

LEWIS PREVAILS AT PERRIS

USAC CRA SEASON FINALE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Perris, California (November 9, 2024)………Ricky Lewis doesn’t always compete in the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series, but when he does, he prefers to win.

For the third time in less than a month, the Camarillo, Calif. racer came away with a USAC CRA victory, this time doing so in the series’ season finale on Saturday night at California’s Perris Auto Speedway.

Lewis led early, late and often. After starting from the pole, Lewis paced the opening the eight laps before giving up the top spot to his teammate, Jake Swanson, a third of the way through the 30-lap event.

Swanson held control for a 14 circuit span from laps 9-22 before Lewis raced his way back on by on lap 23, then led the final eight trips around the 1/2-mile dirt oval en route to victory, the fourth overall of his USAC CRA career and his nation-leading 22nd sprint car win of the 2024 season across all series and divisions.

Lewis’ first career Perris Auto Speedway triumph was extra special. He and his parents used to frequent the southern California venue to watch USAC CRA racing while he was growing up.

Furthermore, Lewis led a one-two Tom & Christy Dunkel Racing sweep as his teammate, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) finished second after starting the night as the Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier, the 22nd of his career over the 30 drivers on hand with a time of 16.066 seconds. Swanson now ranks third overall on the list behind Damion Gardner (106) and Mike Spencer (63).

Tenth starting David Gasper (Goleta, Calif.), the 2024 USAC CRA Rookie of the Year, crossed the line in third while series champion R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.) took fourth.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) rounded out the top-five by earning hard charger honors in memory of Jim & Chet Gardner, advancing 11 spots after starting back in the 16th position. Thomas also captured the FlowDynamics Inc. / Sexton Fire Protection / In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr and Wiley Miller II First Heat Race.

Stevie Sussex (Tempe, Ariz.) won the Perris BillsJerky.net / Factory Wraps Second Heat Race. Tommy Malcolm (Corona, Calif.) scored the Perris WC Friend Company / In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Third Heat Race.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 9, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Jake Swanson, 17x, Dunkel-16.066; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.072; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.256; 4. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-16.260; 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.330; 6. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.381; 7. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.413; 8. Ricky Lewis, 17, Dunkel-16.439; 9. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-16.446; 10. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-16.477; 11. Matt Westfall, 11c, Turner/Wheeler-16.488; 12. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-16.532; 13. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.536; 14. Tye Mihocko, 5, Wilson-16.578; 15. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-16.616; 16. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-16.662; 17. Stevie Sussex, 4, Calderwood-16.690; 18. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-16.741; 19. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-17.083; 20. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.113; 21. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-17.136; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.298; 23. Mark Henry Jr., 39R, Henry-17.634; 24. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-17.656; 25. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-17.661; 26. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-17.730; 27. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.832; 28. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger/Sweeney-17.880; 29. Heath Holdsclaw, 33, Holdsclaw-17.913; 30. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.199.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Jake Swanson, 4. A.J. Bender, 5. David Gasper, 6. Logan Calderwood, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Jordan Hermansader, 9. Gary Marshall Jr., 10. Bryan Drollinger. 2:50.71

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to feature) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Tye Mihocko, 4. Cody Williams, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Mark Hendry Jr., 9. Heath Holdsclaw. 2:53.77

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Matt Mitchell, 5. Logan Williams, 6. James Turnbull II, 7. Jonas Reynolds, 8. Elexa Herrera, 9. Blake Hendricks, 10. Hayden Reinbold. 2:54.15

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to feature) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Logan Calderwood, 4. James Turnbull II, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Jordan Hermansader, 7. Jonas Reynolds, 8. Hayden Reinbold, 9. Mark Henry Jr., 10. Bryan Drollinger, 11. Blake Hendricks, 12. Elexa Herrera, 13. Heath Holdsclaw, 14. Gary Marshall Jr. 4:37.01

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ricky Lewis (1), 2. Jake Swanson (6), 3. David Gasper (10), 4. R.J. Johnson (3), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 6. Logan Williams (9), 7. Tommy Malcolm (18), 8. A.J. Bender (2), 9. Tye Mihocko (14), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (13), 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (8), 12. James Turnbull II (15), 13. Austin Grabowski (20), 14. Verne Sweeney (21), 15. Matt Westfall (11), 16. Elexa Herrera (23), 17. Jordan Hermansader (19), 18. Cody Williams (5), 19. Austin Williams (12), 20. Matt Mitchell (4), 21. Stevie Sussex (17), 22. Logan Calderwood (7), 23. Jonas Reynolds (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Ricky Lewis, Laps 9-22 Jake Swanson, Laps 23-30 Ricky Lewis.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (16th to 5th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Johnson-1509, 2-Tommy Malcolm-1324, 3-Austin Williams-1271, 4-A.J. Bender-1256, 5-David Gasper-1251, 6-Logan Williams-1145, 7-Cody Williams-1133, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-990, 9-Verne Sweeney-948, 10-Austin Grabowski-926.

TALL TASK!

OSBORNE NAMED 2024

USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 7, 2024)………Prior to first strapping into a USAC Silver Crown car late last season, Trey Osborne estimated that his big track experience was limited to running a sprint car at the 3/8-mile Paragon (Ind.) Speedway.

Just a little over a year later, after a full season of competing at tracks all larger in size, Osborne has been honored as the 2024 Max Papis Innovations USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year.

With his accomplishment, Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) becomes the first Buckeye State native in 22 years, and seventh overall, to earn USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year honors, joining Jack Hewitt (1981), Dave Blaney (1984), Kenny Jacobs (1986), Gene Lee Gibson (1988), Todd Kane (1998) and Matt Westfall (2002).

Despite missing a pair of events, Osborne finished a solid sixth in the overall series point standings after starting 12 of the 14 events on the 2024 calendar. His season was highlighted by a pair of top-five finishes, one each on pavement and dirt, in his BCR Group/Flint Trucking – Duncan Oil – QS Components Kercher Chevy, featuring a Maxim chassis on dirt and a Beast on pavement.

“It’s definitely very cool to see my name on that list,” Osborne remarked when looking at the names of the past recipients. “I couldn’t do it without (crew chief) Malcolm Lovelace. He took a chance on me, and I think, overall, it was a pretty good year. I don’t know if we really had a goal for a points finish. Malcolm and I had talked about winning Rookie of the Year, but his biggest thing was that we kept improving every race, and not to plateau. We’re in a pretty good spot and I’m pretty bummed that the season ended. I wish we could keep going.”

After getting his feet wet with the team by making two series starts in late 2023, Osborne signed on for a full season USAC Silver Crown run in 2024. But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

In February, Osborne was injured during a flip over the turn three wall during a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature event at Florida’s Ocala Speedway, resulting in a broken vertebra in his back, plus a compression fracture in two more vertebrae while shearing off the top of a fourth vertebra. Sidelined with a back brace and a bevy of checkups, X-rays and MRIs, Osborne eagerly awaited the start of the season which was more than two months away.

After returning to the racetrack, Osborne estimated that he didn’t really feel like himself again until late in the season and had been racing with the pain on his mind all along. With that said, Lovelace, a former USAC Sprint Car competitor himself in the 1970s-80s, never wavered in his support for Osborne and even extended a helping hand to his other racing exploits.

“Without Malcolm, a lot of my sprint car season wouldn’t have even been possible because he kept me not only motivated, but he also helped me out by getting me a new seat after it got destroyed in Florida,” Osborne revealed. “A lot of my stuff was actually on those sprint cars, and all of it got destroyed. So, Malcolm helped me out with some new equipment and we talked multiple times a week about setups and thinking through ideas.”

Outside of Eldora, IRP and just a handful of practice laps at Du Quoin, the entirety of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown track slate was entirely new for Osborne. Five of his six top-ten results on the year came on pavement, three of which came at tracks in which he was visiting for the first time, including his fourth place run at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway in June. His next time out in July resulted in his best performance to date, a third place finish during the series debut at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway.

“That really did a lot for our season, especially the third in Hutchinson,” Osborne remembered. “We worked for that, and I was pretty happy with that performance. We actually had an overheating issue and we weren’t really able to figure it out. We tried everything, then Malcolm said, ‘just run it.’ So we ran it, but unfortunately, we killed a motor doing that. But we did get a good finish out of it, so that was definitely a fun trip. The ride home definitely isn’t bad when you have a run like that.”

Osborne has undergone a meteoric rise in recent years, from a midget racer under the tutelage of USAC Hall of Famers Mel and Don Kenyon where he ultimately became a USSA Kenyon Midget titlist. Thereafter, he began competing in dirt sprint cars at local Indiana dirt tracks in 2022, opening many eyes with a trio of victories in 2023 before an impressive performance during Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway with USAC late that summer. Osborne is now at a point where he can contrast and compare the various ways to approach anything that’s thrown his way, and with a year under his belt in the champ cars, he’s absorbed it all.

“In Silver Crown racing, it’s pretty much all half-miles and mile or bigger tracks,” Osborne explained. “That was definitely a lot to get used to, but I really like them now. It definitely takes a different driving style to run a Silver Crown car, but with the longer tracks and the longer races, you’ve got to go about it a little bit differently and just keep yourself within range whereas with the sprint car, you’ve just got to be on attack the whole time. You still have to be on attack with the Silver Crown car, but if it takes you a couple more laps to pass a car, that’s better than potentially wrecking the car. That’s especially true with only having 14 races a year. A DNF and a bad points night can really kill your whole season’s points run.”

At 6’8”, Osborne is undoubtedly the tallest Rookie of the Year honoree in USAC Silver Crown history. So, it seems fitting that he quickly became acclimated to the biggest cars in USAC’s arsenal. Now, he’s prepared to run it back, with even more gusto, for the same team in full season number two in 2025.

“At every race, I was able to build off what I’ve already learned,” Osborne acknowledged. “You just keep adding from race-to-race as you learn something. Next year, I’ll learn even more and I’ll be able to look back at the end of the season to where I’m at right now and go, ‘wow, I could’ve done things a lot differently.’ But as long as that keeps happening, I know I’m still getting better; that’s what really matters.”

2024 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 468 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

2. 396 Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

3. 305 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

4. 302 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

5. 223 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

6. 127 Jackson Macenko, Cincinnati, Ohio

7. 108 Danny Jennings, Norman, Okla.

8. 93 Chase Dietz, York, Pa.

9. 78 Kip Hughes, North Enid, Okla.

10. 62 Mark Bitner, Columbus, N.J.

11. 53 Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind.

12. 51 Aric Gentry, Robards, Ky.

13. 50 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

14. 49 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

15. 46 Tom Savage, Red Lion, Pa.

16. 44 Steve Gennetten, Gravois Mills, Mo.

17. 35 Joe Trenca, Phoenix, N.Y.

18. 33 Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, Okla.

19. 23 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz.

20. 19 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.

21. 16 Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, Neb.

22. 10 Jake Trainor, Medway, Mass.

USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1981: Jack Hewitt, Troy, Ohio

1982: Keith Kauffman, Mifflintown, Pa.

1983: Rick Hood, Memphis, Tenn.

1984: Dave Blaney, Hartford, Ohio

1985: Steve Butler, Kokomo, Ind.

1986: Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, Ohio

1987: Jeff Swindell, Memphis, Tenn.

1988: Gene Lee Gibson, Richwood, Ohio

1989: Jimmy Sills, Placerville, Calif.

1990: Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Ind.

1991: Stevie Reeves, Indianapolis, Ind.

1992: Jim Keeker, Cicero, Ind.

1993: Randy Tolsma, Meridian, Idaho

1994: Kenny Irwin Jr. , Indianapolis, Ind.

1995: Chuck Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

1996: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.

1997: Jimmy Kite, Stockbridge, Ga.

1998: Todd Kane, Powell, Ohio

1999: Paul White, Temple, Texas

2000: Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash.

2001: Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Ill.

2002: Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

2003: Ron Gregory, Noblesville, Ind.

2004: Aaron Pierce, Muncie, Ind.

2005: Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif.

2006: Mat Neely, Robinson, Ill.

2007: Cameron Dodson, Greenfield, Ind.

2008: Steve Arpin, St. Francis, Ont.

2009: Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.

2010: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Ind.

2011: Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, Calif.

2012: Kyle Hamilton, Danville, Ind.

2013: Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.

2014: Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.

2015: C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

2016: Casey Shuman, Tempe, Ariz.

2017: Joss Moffatt, Columbus, Ind.

2018: Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind.

2019: Derek Bischak, Angola, Ind.

2020: Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo.

2021: Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

2022: Gregg Cory, Shelbyville, Ind.

2023: Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.

2024: Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

FROM 2 WHEELS TO 4!

HUNTER MADDOX CLAIMS MPI

USAC SPRINT ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HONORS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 6, 2024)………Whether it’s on two wheels or four, Hunter Maddox is apt to give it a whirl.

After more than a decade of dirt bike racing, the Bedford, Indiana native turned his focus toward the dirt ovals in recent years. The 29-year-old’s efforts in the four-wheel variety were rewarded in 2024 by being named the Max Papis Innovations USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Rookie of the Year.

To join a Rookie of the Year list that includes eventual series champions such as Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Tracy Hines, Josh Wise, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Tyler Courtney and Logan Seavey as a USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, the accomplishment means the world to Maddox.

“It gives me chills,” Maddox admitted. “This is just the end of my third year of racing sprint cars. It’s a true honor and it’s something that I set out to do since the beginning of the year. I thought it might be possible, so I just tried to stay very persistent and not give up.”

Maddox made 25 feature starts with the series throughout the 2024 season en route to an 18th place finish in the overall standings. Furthermore, he was one of only 11 drivers to compete in all 44 events on the slate in his Hunter Maddox Racing/TJD Roofing - Air-Master Heating & Air Conditioning/DRC/Cummings Chevy.

“I can officially say that I’ve made it to every single round of the tour, which is phenomenal since I don’t think I’ve had perfect attendance since elementary school,” Maddox quipped. “I’ve sacrificed a lot to be able to do it, but it was a goal that I had set. I’m a very determined person and I’m very driven, so when somebody tells me I can’t do something or whenever I tell myself I can do something, I’m going to make it happen. To be able to make it happen and be on the list with some of the greatest drivers of all-time, I don’t know if it’ll ever set in.”

Maddox’s background before entering the USAC Sprint Car world is quite different than the common path most partake, most often quarter midgets, micro sprints and the like at a young age. Maddox didn’t even begin racing of any sort until the age of 16, ultimately winning championships on the local level before traveling nationally and specializing in Hare Scramble racing, which is a form of off-road motorcycle competition that varies in distance and time, with riders completing multiple laps around a marked course through wooded or other rugged natural terrain.

These days, Maddox has curtailed his dirt bike racing to just a handful of events per year. In fact, the morning after the USAC National Sprint Car season finale at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway, Maddox endured an all night drive/ride back to Indiana in order to make it to the starting line in time for a Hare Scramble event.

“As soon as the feature was over, I hightailed it east for a race at 10am in Greencastle, Indiana for the final round of the national series for off road racing – the Ironman GNCC,” Maddox explained. “I had to be back on the starting line at 10am with a warmed up bike. It’s about a 10-hour trek (and we lost an hour due to the change in time zones), so we had about 12 hours to make the 10-hour trek. Then it takes about an hour to get changed and get on the starting line.”

Beyond that, Maddox has now made sprint car racing his priority in the spring, summer, fall, and on occasion, in the winter. Once the feeling of a nearly 900 horsepower sprint car grabbed him, it was instant. Soon after, he knew this is what he was going to do.

“(Dirt bike racing) is a sport I truly love, but when I got into a sprint car, it was a whole new level that I hadn’t felt in many years,” Maddox admitted. “I love the challenge of sprint cars and I love the challenge of the bike, and I still enjoy doing both. Nothing really translates except for the mentality. I know from my years of racing dirt bikes, you’ve just got to stay calm, cool and collected if you want a good result.”

Maddox chalks up his highlight moment of the 2024 campaign as winning his first career heat race with the series during the USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing round near his hometown track at Bloomington Speedway. The cherry on top was the fact that he defeated USAC National Sprint Car feature winners Chase Stockon, Logan Seavey, Jadon Rogers and Briggs Danner to achieve the feat.

Among the top things Maddox reflected on following the season was the relationships he made. Chief among them was his right hand man Butch Mundy as well as the bond he formed with the BGE Dougherty Motorsports group and drivers Carson Garrett and C.J. Leary. It was a common sight to see Maddox’s No. 24m parked alongside Garrett and Leary in the pit area at each event. At a couple points during the year, Maddox even lent Garrett a car to drive in a pair of USAC races.

It’s an uncommon story of how Maddox and Garrett’s friendship was sparked. During Winter Dirt Games at Florida’s Ocala Speedway in 2023, unknown to each other at the time, they happened to pit alongside one another. Thereafter, Garrett’s team suddenly had a bit of a problem. Somehow, someway, a flashlight was dropped inside their fuel tank. Upon hearing about the issue, Maddox came to the rescue, retrieving his fishing pole from the trailer and literally fished the flashlight out of the fuel tank to save the day.

In return, when Maddox had a question regarding how the pre-race four-wide salute worked, Garrett drew it out on a piece of paper and demonstrated it for him.

“The entire team played an instrumental part the entire year for me last year and this year with USAC,” Maddox complimented. “I really don’t think that I could’ve gotten to this point or had as many decent runs as I’ve had. It was also really cool to be able to become friends with C.J. this year. He’s one of the greatest of all-time in the sport. Even though he’s a year younger than me, I look up to him. But there’s a lot of really good people here. If you keep the good ones by your side, they’ll steer you on the right path.”

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 949 Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Ind.

2. 553 Kale Drake, Collinsville, Okla.

3. 494 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.

4. 360 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

5. 328 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

6. 314 Wesley Smith, Nixa, Mo.

7. 275 Todd Hobson, Clyde, Vic.

8. 267 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

9. 246 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

10. 127 Chase Howard, Nesbit, Miss.

11. 72 Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Ind.

12. 68 Shane Butler, Bushnell, Fla.

13. 68 Nic Harris, Atlanta, Ill.

14. 20 Jason Cherry, Blandon, Pa.

15. 10 Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1971: Darl Harrison, Tiffin, Ohio

1972: Billy Cassella, Weirton, W.Va.

1973: Rich Leavell, Elwood, Ind.

1974: Lee Osborne, Lebanon, Pa.

1975: Marvin Carman, Union City, Mich.

1976: Roger Rager, Mound, Minn.

1977: Eddie Leavitt, Kearney, Mo.

1978: Tim Richmond, Ashland, Ohio

1979: Jerry Carman, Burlington, Mich.

1980: Frank Riddle, Tampa, Fla.

1981: Steve Long, Indianapolis, Ind. (co)

1981: Johnny Coogan, Alexandria, Ind. (co)

1982: Danny Milburn, Indianapolis, Ind.

1983: Dean Shirley, Middletown, Ill.

1984: Jerry Russell, Springfield, Ill.

1985: Terry Shepherd, Warsaw, Ind.

1986: Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, Ohio

1987: Rick Ungar, Garrettsville, Ohio

1988: Dean Jacobs, Fredericksburg, Ohio

1989: Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Ind.

1990: Rick Howerton, Indianapolis, Ind.

1991: Tony Stewart, Columbus, Ind.

1992: Gary Cameron II, Tulsa, Okla.

1993: Kenny Irwin Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.

1994: Bobby Smith, Martinsville, Ind.

1995: Mark Cassella, Weirton, W.Va.

1996: Gus Wasson, Bloomdale, Ohio

1997: J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Ariz.

1998: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Ind.

1999: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.

2000: Bud Kaeding, Campbell, Calif.

2001: Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Ind.

2002: Boston Reid, Logansport, Ind.

2003: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Ind. (co)

2003: Mat Neely, Robinson, Ill. (co)

2004: Josh Ford, Camarillo, Calif. (co)

2004: Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif. (co)

2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, Calif.

2006: Scotty Weir, Marion, Ind.

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Miss.

2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Ariz.

2009: Henry Clarke, Villa Park, Calif.

2010: Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

2011: Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, N.Y.

2012: C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

2013: Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Ind.

2014: Jarett Andretti, Mooresville, N.C.

2015: Aaron Farney, Brookston, Ind.

2016: Isaac Chapple, Willow Branch, Ind.

2017: Stevie Sussex, Tempe, Ariz.

2018: Timmy Buckwalter, Douglassville, Pa. (co)

2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif. (co)

2019: Dustin Clark, Washington, Ind.

2020: Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.

2021: Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.

2022: Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

2023: Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

2024: Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Ind.

JIMMY SILLS & RON SHAVER

NAMED CO-GRAND MARSHALS

FOR 2024 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX

Ventura, California (November 5, 2024)………Motorsports legends Jimmy Sills and Ron Shaver have been named co-grand marshals of the 83rd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame at California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 30.

Sills, of Placerville, Calif., was USAC's first three-time Silver Crown champion, in 1990, 1994 and 1996. Until surpassed by Dave Steele, he was the all-time lap leader in Silver Crown history. A six-time champion of the prestigious Dirt Cup at Washington’s Skagit Speedway, Sills also won the 1978 Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic in Australia and is a former champion of the famed Oval Nationals in 1996 at California’s Perris Auto Speedway.

In 1982, Sills won the championship at Baylands Speedway in Fremont, Calif., and the following year, scored a significant opening night win at the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa.

The leader of one of America's most renowned Sprint Car Racing Schools, Sills was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2006, the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame in 2007 and the USAC Hall of Fame in 2018.

Over the past 30 years, Shaver has been one of the leading engine builders for many championship winning teams with USAC, the World Of Outlaws, the All Star Circuit of Champions, NARC, CRA, SCRA, NCRA, NHRA and SCORE.

The Shaver family has been involved in motorsports since the 1930s when Offenhauser racing engines came to them for manufacturing and machining and continuing through the 1950s with drag racing engine work for Drake Engineering.

In 1976, Shaver began development for his first sprint car engine built for Tommy Hunt of Hunt Magnetos, and later, Dean Thompson and Bruce Bromme.

He and his Shaver Racing Engine teams compiled over 30 open wheel championships throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Now, in the 21st century, Shaver Engines have proven themselves time and time again by claiming victories at the most prestigious races across the country, including the Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal, World 100, Gold Cup, Dirt Cup and at the Syracuse Mile in New York.

Agajanian Promotions presents the 2024 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway, which begins on Friday, November 29, with midget practice, plus USCS Sprint Car racing.

On Saturday, November 30, the Turkey Night Grand Prix final night consists of midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature, plus sprint car semis and main events.

Advance tickets can be purchased at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

TOP OF THE WORLD!

CUMMINS WINS WESTERN WORLD AT MOHAVE VALLEY,

JOHNSON CLINCHES USAC CRA TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Mohave Valley, Arizona (November 2, 2024)………One night after pacing the middle stages of the feature before seeing the lead slip through his fingers, Kyle Cummins bounced back quite nicely during Saturday night’s 57th Western World Championships finale Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway.

This time around, once Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) assumed control, he never relented after leading the final 25 laps to earn a $10,500 reward as well as his first career Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series feature victory in his Petty Performance Racing No. 3p.

In what was nearly a carbon copy of Friday’s Western World opener, USAC CRA point leader R.J. Johnson was the driver all others were chasing during the opening laps. Johnson paced the first eight of Friday’s feature, and on Saturday, led the opening five circuits of the 30-lap affair.

Each time, however, it was the fourth-place starting Cummins who surged by Johnson for the lead. On Saturday, Cummins went topside in turn four to clear Johnson for the top spot by the sixth lap mark.

Moments later, on the 10th lap, the most unexpected of all twists and turns took place when a brief power outage submerged the 1/3-mile dirt oval in darkness amid a green flag run. After only two minutes, the track lights began to shine again, the red flag was lifted and racing was able to resume.

Just as he did the previous night, Friday winner Kevin Thomas Jr. emerged into the second spot past R.J. Johnson thereafter. However, this time, by the time he did so, only nine laps remained and a full straightaway separated himself and Cummins for the race lead.

Going green the rest of the way, Cummins went unchallenged the remainder of the way, outside of navigating lapped traffic, to earn the victory with Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) taking second and Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) finishing third.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.) finished in the fourth spot after leading the initial five laps, and his points gained throughout the night allowed him to clinch his first career USAC CRA Sprint Car championship.

J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.) rounded out the top-five after starting 18th on the grid. His +13 advancement earned him hard charger honors presented in memory of Jim and Chet Gardner. Furthermore, Yeley pocketed the coveted Lafond Jar of Change, which totaled $3423.68, raised through donations from the racing community.

Cody Williams (Norco, Calif.) won the FlowDynamics Incorporated / In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr and Wiley Miller II First Heat Race. Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) captured the WC Friend Company Second Heat Race. Kyle Cummins scored the win in the BillsJerky.net / Silbermann Solar Third Heat Race. J.J. Yeley was the victor of the Sexton Fire Protection Fourth Heat Race. A.J. Bender (San Diego, Calif.) raced to the win in the Factory Wraps Semi.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 2, 2024 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona – 57th Annual Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.089; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-14.172; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.252; 4. Stevie Sussex, 5, Baldwin-14.379; 5. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.399; 6. Ricky Lewis, 17, Dunkel-14.429; 7. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-14.477; 8. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.518; 9. Jake Swanson, 17x, Dunkel-14.592; 10. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.644; 11. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.671; 12. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-14.725; 13. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.746; 14. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-14.760; 15. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-14.801; 16. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-14.807; 17. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-14.819; 18. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.872; 19. Cameron La Rose, 13p, Petty-14.879; 20. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-14.907; 21. Bryan Drollinger, 71, Drollinger/Sweeney-14.913; 22. Matt Westfall, 11c, Turner/Wheeler-14.941; 23. Troy Treharn, 7x, Treharn-14.977; 24. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-15.085; 25. Kaleb Montgomery, 4J, Calderwood-15.108; 26. Dayton Shelton, 9, Shelton-15.111; 27. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-15.142; 28. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-15.169; 29. Don Grable, 45x, Budlong-15.195; 30. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.241; 31. Jayme Barnes, 9x, Barnes-15.266; 32. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-15.281; 33. Racin Silva, 5s, Silva-15.363; 34. Mark Henry Jr., 39R, Henry-15.429; 35. Colt Treharn, 77, Treharn-15.628; 36. Brent Sexton, 44s, Sexton-15.634; 37. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-15.737; 38. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-15.927; 39. Camie Bell, 29c, Bell-16.305; 40. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.610; 41. Todd Pratt, 17F, Pratt-NT; 42. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cody Williams, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Kaleb Montgomery, 6. Logan Williams, 7. Don Grable, 8. Mark Henry Jr., 9. Bryan Drollinger. NT

WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Austin Williams, 6. A.J. Bender, 7. Austin Grabowski, 8. Colt Treharn, 9. Dayton Shelton. NT

BILLSJERKY.NET / SILBERMANN SOLAR THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Cameron La Rose, 3. David Gasper, 4. Logan Calderwood, 5. Shon Deskins, 6. Troy Treharn, 7. Brent Sexton, 8. Jordan Hermansader, 9. Grant Sexton. NT

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Tye Mihocko, 4. Stevie Sussex, 5. Jeff Dyer, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Racin Silva, 8. Blake Hedricks, 9. James Turnbull II. NT

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Austin Grabowski, 4. Grant Sexton, 5. Colt Treharn, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Don Grable, 8. Brody Wake, 9. Racin Silva, 10. Brent Sexton, 11. Jordan Hermansader, 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 13. Mark Henry Jr., 14. Elexa Herrera, 15. Troy Treharn, 16. Dayton Shelton, 17. Bryan Drollinger, 18. Blake Hendricks, 19. Todd Pratt, 20. Camie Bell, 21. James Turnbull II. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (4), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. R.J. Johnson (2), 5. J.J. Yeley (18), 6. Ricky Lewis (1), 7. Matt Westfall (19), 8. Tye Mihocko (8), 9. Jake Swanson (9), 10. Austin Williams (14), 11. Stevie Sussex (3), 12. David Gasper (11), 13. Charles Davis Jr. (10), 14. Cody Williams (13), 15. A.J. Bender (23), 16. Cameron La Rose (17), 17. Kaleb Montgomery, 18. Tommy Malcolm (12), 19. Austin Grabowski (16), 20. Shon Deskins (24), 21. Jeff Dyer (2), 22. Verne Sweeney (25-P), 23. Grant Sexton (21), 24. Logan Calderwood (7), 25. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (26-P), 26. Logan Williams (15). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

**Jayme Barnes flipped during qualifying.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 R.J. Johnson, Laps 6-30 Kyle Cummins.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: J.J. Yeley (18th to 5th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Johnson-1440, 2-Tommy Malcolm-1264, 3-Austin Williams-1240, 4-A.J. Bender-1202, 5-David Gasper-1183, 6-Cody Williams-1096, 7-Logan Williams-1086, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-940, 9-Verne Sweeney-912, 10-Austin Grabowski-885.

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: November 9, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

KTJ SCORES WESTERN WORLD OPENER

AT MOHAVE VALLEY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Mohave Valley, Arizona (November 2, 2024)………Entering Friday night, Kevin Thomas Jr.’s most recent visit to Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway back in April of this year resulted in a victory.

The Cullman, Ala. kept the winning ways rolling during the opening night of the 57th annual Western World Championships Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors.

For KTJ, it was his eighth career Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car feature victory, and his second of the season for the Bonneau Motorsports team.

Thomas was one of three different leaders in the 30-lap feature, and was the final of the bunch, as he raced around the outside of fellow USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competitor Kyle Cummins in turn two on lap 18, then led the remaining 13 laps en route to victory on the first of two nights of Western World.

USAC CRA point leader R.J. Johnson paced the first eight laps from the pole position before being overtaken by Cummins who started third. Thomas then raced his way into the lead on lap 18 from the sixth starting position after kicking off the night as the Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier.

At the checkered flag, Thomas was followed to the line by R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.), Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.).

USAC CRA top Rookie David Gasper (Goleta, Calif.) was the feature’s hard charger presented in memory of Jim and Chet Gardner after advancing from 20th to 12th. Gasper also notched a win in the Factory Wraps Semi-Feature.

Verne Sweeney (Lomita, Calif.) won the FlowDynamics Incorporated / In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr and Wiley Miller II First Heat Race. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.) captured the WC Friend Company Second Heat Race. R.J. Johnson scored the win of the BillsJerky.net / Silbermann Solar Third Heat Race. Tommy Malcolm (Corona, Calif.) was the victor of the Sexton Fire Protection Fourth Heat Race.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 1, 2024 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona – 57th Annual Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-14.010; 2. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-14.300; 3. C.J. Leary, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.421; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.454; 5. Stevie Sussex, 5B, Baldwin-14.482; 6. Jake Swanson, 17x, Dunkel-14.564; 7. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.591; 8. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.621; 9. Ricky Lewis, 17, Dunkel-14.623; 10. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-14.632; 11. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.634; 12. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.689; 13. Kaleb Montgomery, 4J, Calderwood-14.691; 14.691; 14. Matt Westfall, 11c, Turner/Wheeler-14.704; 15. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-14.750; 16. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-14.751; 17. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-14.754; 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.842; 19. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-14.847; 20. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-14.851; 21. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.862; 22. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.895; 23. Cameron La Rose, 13P, Petty-14.940; 24. Dayton Shelton, 9, Shelton-15.048; 25. Colt Treharn, 77, Treharn-15.111; 26. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-15.120; 27. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-15.124; 28. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-15.218; 29. Troy Treharn, 7x, Treharn-15.222; 30. Don Grable, 45x, Budlong-15.226; 31. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-15.262; 32. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-15.322; 33. Jayme Barnes, 9, Barnes-15.406; 34. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-15.406; 35. Stevie Rogers, 11, Rogers-14.479; 36. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-15.493; 37. Brent Sexton, 44s, Sexton-15.595; 38. Racin Silva, 5s, Silva-15.696; 39. Mark Henry Jr., 39R, Henry-15.698; 40. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-15.815; 41. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-16.093; 42. Todd Pratt, 17F, Pratt-16.238; 43. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-16.430; 44. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger/Sweeney-17.118; 45. Camie Bell, 29c, Bell-17.122.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Colt Treharn, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Kaleb Montgomery, 7. Jayme Barnes, 8. David Gasper, 9. Troy Treharn. NT

WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Matt Westfall, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Jeff Dyer, 7. Don Grable, 8. Blake Hendricks, 9. Jake Swanson. NT

BILLSJERKY.NET / SILBERMANN SOLAR THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Logan Calderwood, 5. Cameron La Rose, 6. Logan Williams, 7. Grant Sexton, 8. James Turnbull II, 9. Stevie Rogers. NT

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Austin Williams, 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Cody Williams, 6. Shon Deskins, 7. Braden Chiaramonte, 8. Jordan Hermansader, 9. Dayton Shelton. NT

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. David Gasper, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Kaleb Montgomery, 4. Jeff Dyer, 5. Troy Treharn, 6. Jayme Barnes, 7. Jordan Hermansader, 8. Logan Williams, 9. Don Grable, 10. James Turnbull II, 11. Braden Chiaramonte, 12. Dayton Shelton, 13. Shon Deskins, 14. Mark Henry, 15. Racin Silva, 16. Elexa Herrera, 17. Brody Wake, 18. Brent Sexton, 19. Jim Vanzant, 20. Bryan Drollinger, 21. Todd Pratt, 22. Blake Hendricks, 23. Camie Bell, 24. Grant Sexton. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 2. R.J. Johnson (1), 3. Kyle Cummins (3), 4. C.J. Leary (4), 5. Ricky Lewis (9), 6. Stevie Sussex (2), 7. Charles Davis Jr. (11), 8. A.J. Bender (8), 9. Jake Swanson (7), 10. J.J. Yeley (5), 11. Matt Westfall (14), 12. David Gasper (20), 13. Logan Calderwood (18), 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (17), 15. Cameron La Rose (22), 16. Cody Williams (12), 17. Tye Mihocko (10), 18. Austin Williams (19), 19. Kaleb Montgomery (13), 20. Verne Sweeney (16), 21. Austin Grabowski (21), 22. Elexa Herrera (26), 23. Tommy Malcolm (15), 24. Jeff Dyer (24), 25. Colt Treharn (23), 26. Grant Sexton (25). NT

**Stevie Rogers flipped on lap 4 of the third heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 R.J. Johnson, Laps 9-17 Kyle Cummins, Laps 18-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: David Gasper (20th to 12th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Johnson-1371, 2-Tommy Malcolm-1230, 3-Austin Williams-1193, 4-A.J. Bender-1165, 5-David Gasper-1138, 6-Logan Williams-1060, 7-Cody Williams-1053, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-897, 9-Verne Sweeney-889, 10-Austin Grabowski-858.

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: November 2, 2024 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona – 57th Annual Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors

LEARY, TEAM AZ, PETTY & ROSSI TEAM UP

FOR 2025 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 1, 2024)………C.J. Leary will drive full-time on the USAC Silver Crown National Championship trail throughout the 2025 season in a joint effort between Team Arizona Racing, Petty Performance Racing and Phil Rossi.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) is coming off a season in which he finished fourth in the USAC Silver Crown standings, his third consecutive top-four points finish with the series. The 2015 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year owns three wins in the series, at Terre Haute (2016), Eldora (2018) and Madison (2022).

Team AZ Racing entered the champ car racing world in 2024 and flourished in a dirt only schedule with drivers Daison Pursley and Mario Clouser. In just the team’s second series start, Pursley raced the team’s car to a last lap victory at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

Leary has competed in the series for Klatt Enterprises full-time since 2022. Now he’ll take the reins of the series’ newest full-time team on dirt and pavement in pursuit of his first ever USAC Silver Crown title aboard the Avanti Windows & Doors, Apache Transport, OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry No. 21 DRC chassis powered by Stanton Racing Engines.

“I’m extremely excited for this new endeavor,” Leary stated. “(Car owner) Mike Burkhart, Craig (Burkhart), Jerry (Petty) and everybody seems to be putting together a super team. It’s going to be pretty cool. Hopefully we come out of the gates swinging. Obviously, their sprint car program has been really good. We’ve raced against them for the last handful of years and it definitely seems like they know what’s going on. They’ve got a notebook now with Daison and Clouser, so I’m super excited.”

Leary and Team AZ’s first foray together will come this weekend when the team travels out to Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway for the 57th annual Western World Championships. There, Leary will wheel the team’s machine for the two-night Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series event on Friday-Saturday, November 1-2. Team AZ has won each of the last three Western World features with Jake Swanson (2022) and Daison Pursley (2023).

“Originally, I was going to drive for Bill Michael out there, then the Silver Crown deal came about,” Leary revealed. “We just wanted to work together and just feel each other out a little bit and try to build on that notebook a little bit for next year. Hopefully, we can win two races.”

Leary’s USAC accolades also include the AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship, the Eastern Storm title and the Indiana Sprint Week crown, all of which he earned in 2019. In 2012, Leary was named USAC National Sprint Rookie of the Year, and in 2023, earned the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Championship Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment.

The 2025 USAC Silver Crown schedule will be announced in December.

SEAVEY SECURES USAC CAREER TRIPLE CROWN!

2024 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR REVIEW

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 31, 2024)………In a span of two seasons, Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing went from being among the newest driver/team combinations in the sport to becoming USAC Career Triple Crown champions.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is now one of only eight drivers who can lay claim to being a member of the USAC career Triple Crown club alongside Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris Windom.

Meanwhile, Noblesville, Indiana based Abacus Racing became just the second entrant to post championships in USAC’s Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget divisions, a feat previously only accomplished by the duo of Mike Curb & Cary Agajanian.

On his path to a 107-point edge in the final championship tally along with a $50,000 title prize, Seavey led the points for 42 of the 44 events – a span of eight months and 13 days between February 13 and October 26, both of which are all-time series records for the duration of holding the point lead.

Along the way, Seavey totaled 14 series victories in 2024, equaling the all-time USAC National Sprint Car season record set by Tom Bigelow in 1977. Furthermore, in July, Seavey became the first driver in 39 years to record four consecutive USAC National Sprint Car feature victories, a feat that hadn’t been achieved since Rick Hood’s similarly impressive 1985 campaign.

The 2024 USAC National Sprint Car season was the second busiest on record with 44 events, second only to the 51 held in 1977. During the run, Seavey led the series in feature wins (14), laps led (364), top-fives (31) and top-tens (38).

What makes this season all the more impressive is the fact that this was Seavey and Abacus Racing’s first foray into sprint cars together. Just as their first season in USAC Silver Crown and Midgets wound up, the Sprint Car too resulted in a resoundingly dominant performance and a title by year’s end.

“It’s unbelievable,” Seavey stated. “That’s the goal we set when starting this sprint car team, but we surely didn’t expect it to come in the first year. There’s hundreds of people who play a part in making these things go around to run the whole season, and to come out on top is unbelievable.”

Guided by Team Principal Brent Cox, Team Manager Kirk Simpson, Crew Chief Ronnie Gardner, plus Daniel Whitley, Trevor Reed, Liam Haigh, Johnny Cofer, Chris Mansell, Chad Vermeil, Missy Vermeil and partners, John Lunsford and Ken Gauze, the team found comfort right away and the chemistry was perfectly composed.

In February at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, despite engine troubles and a timely weather delay, Seavey and Abacus persevered to sweep the night and become the first to win multiple USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship features in a single night for the first time since Bud Kaeding at Terre Haute more than 22 years earlier in 2001. To add to that, Abacus became the first entrant to win their first two USAC National Sprint Car main events on the same day since Max Dowker at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 1975.

“Heading to Florida, we were optimistic, but wanted to be realistic,” Cox explained. “After two podium finishes to start the season (at Ocala), we ran into engine troubles on night three. Luckily, rain saved us and we could make the engine change and be ready for both races at Volusia to be run on the same night. Without a third engine in the trailer, we won them both after an energetic conversation between Logan and I earlier that day when he said, ‘we are in a hole.’ Well, I said, ‘we are not in the hole; we are standing next to it.’ I will remember that conversation for the rest of my life. It was hard because, as a team, we were not prepared as maybe we should have been. We are not the biggest team, and likely never will be. We work hard to take the resources we have to make it work. I always say, ‘I don’t want to be the biggest; I want to be the best.’”

With the point lead now securely in their hands, Seavey and Abacus continued their winning ways at Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway, Terre Haute Action Track and Circle City Raceway during the month of May, the latter of which was the earliest in a season (May 23) that any driver had picked up his fifth win of the year since Larry Dickson on May 10, 1970.

Seavey carried his winning ways in Pennsylvania during June’s Eastern Storm by winning at Big Diamond Speedway one year removed from missing out on a transfer spot there. To close out the week, Seavey scored a photo finish triumph over Briggs Danner at the smallest track on the schedule – the 1/5-mile Action Track USA.

Seavey began his streak of four-straight USAC Sprint wins at Illinois’ Macon Speedway on the final weekend of June before landing three-straight at Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway to kick off July, the last of which served as the opening night of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing. Seavey very nearly became the first driver since Parnelli Jones in 1961 to run his win streak to five with the series but came up a car length short to Kyle Cummins at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway.

Seavey added wins at Lawrenceburg Speedway and Circle City Raceway en route to his first Indiana Sprint Week title. At Lawrenceburg, he started 11th on his way to winning a race featuring seven lead changes among four drivers, tied for the most lead swaps ever in a USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature.

With 13 wins in the books, Seavey and Abacus had to wait another 11 races across two-and-a-half months before hitting paydirt again in October at Lawrenceburg’s $20,000-to-win Fall Nationals, tying Bigelow’s single season mark. Although coming up just shy of the win record, the team was able to clinch the championship one night early in the penultimate round at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

It was a surreal moment for the young and hungry team who has already reached heights in their two-year span that so few others have even come close to accomplishing.

“They put a lot of faith and belief in me that we could come out here and do this,” Seavey praised. “All the parts and pieces, and all the hard work that goes into coordinating a race team, it’s pretty unbelievable to only go full-time in this sport for two seasons and have three championships on their end. All the press in on me for the Triple Crown, and I’m obviously super excited about that, but the team definitely deserves the praise too.”

It certainly aids the situation when a driver can cross over to three different series with essentially the same supporting cast surrounding him, especially when that group has clicked as successfully as this one.

“Just having Ronnie and Kirk to work on this thing gives me so much confidence,” Seavey reiterated. “I’ve raced with Ronnie in the past on a few other cars, and getting to work with Kirk this year, he’s been a huge part of this effort to keep us on our toes and making us think a little bit differently on things, and was a key to help us in places where Ronnie and I may have struggled in the past. I already had confidence to go into the tracks where we’ve already been good at in the past. I feel like it really filled the void of the places I hadn’t been good at. Just having two guys over there that are really smart and really good at what they do was the key to what we had going on this year.”

Elsewhere, for the first time since 2012, each driver finishing inside the top-10 of the series standings also won at least one feature event: Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr., C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant and Matt Westfall.

For the third consecutive year, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished as the runner-up in the standings, adding five wins to his credit. In May at Circle City, he made it 14 consecutive seasons with a USAC National Sprint Car feature win, breaking the mark of 13-straight years set by Sheldon Kinser between 1974-1986. In June at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park, he became the winningest Eastern Storm driver of all-time with victory number seven. He followed up with his first win at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway in a decade as well as his first Indiana Sprint Week win in three years at Terre Haute in July.

In September at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway, Bacon earned his 50th series win as a driver for the Dynamics, Inc./Hoffman Auto Racing in the same state where he earned win number one for the team. Bacon capped the year by capturing a $10,000 bonus as the first two-time champion in the three-year history of the 10-race Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment. He also netted his crew chief, Matt Hummel, $2,500 as the champion.

Third-place points finisher Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) made, perhaps, the most impressive drive of any non-winner with the series in 2024, advancing a series record 21 positions in a 23rd to 2nd charge at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway in May. He also notched his first two career points-paying USAC National Sprint Car wins at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway in June and at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway during the 4-Crown Nationals.

En route to fourth in the standings, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) won five times with the series, including the inaugural Justin Owen Memorial at Lawrenceburg in April for his first series win in 19 months. He became the fourth different driver for Rock Steady Racing to score the Spring Showdown at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway in May. He was triumphant on his 33rd birthday in June at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway after Briggs Danner ran out of fuel on the last corner of the last lap. KTJ added a Smackdown prelim night score at Kokomo in August before bagging a $20,000 payday in September after becoming the first five-time winner of the Haubstadt Hustler at Tri-State.

Five years to the day after his most recent Ocala victory, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) won again at the D-shaped Florida oval in February. For good measure, the fifth-place points finishing driver also was standing tall as the winner of the non-points inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 10-car, 20-lap invitational. Leary once again led all series drivers with 10 fast qualifying times, the third time he has achieved the feature, and the only driver to do so more than once.

Mitchel Moles’ season was highlighted by an Eastern Storm title in which he recorded five top-five results in a six-night span. Furthermore, one year after becoming the first ever USAC National Sprint Car winner at Illinois’ Macon Speedway, the Raisin City, California native became the first ever repeat series winner at the 1/5-mile dirt oval for his only series win of the year on the road to a sixth place finish in points.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) was on the winning side of the most electrifying finish of the year when he erased a half-straightaway deficit to Kyle Cummins on the last lap to win the opening night of #LetsRaceTwo in May at Eldora. His first series win in 18 months proved to be the closest finish of the USAC season – .016 seconds. In June, Ballou also became the third driver to surpass 500 career USAC National Sprint Car feature starts, joining Dave Darland and Brady Bacon.

Joining the brand new Petty Performance Racing team for 2024, Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) progressively jelled to become a consistent frontrunner. After calling his shot in July by declaring over the PA system, “we’re going to win at Kokomo,” he did just that 24 hours later for the team’s first win. Cummins and company added one more win on Friday the 13th in September at Circle City.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) experienced perhaps the strangest stat line in the history of USAC National Sprint Car racing by finishing ninth in points despite winning nine times! Inconsistency plagued his bid for a third-straight series title, but when he was on, he was on. He won the opening two rounds of the season in Ocala and rounded out the year with a win in the season finale at Red Dirt to become just the fourth driver in USAC Sprint Car history to win both the opener and the closer in a season, joining the likes of Pat O’Connor (1956), Steve Butler (1986) and Brady Bacon (2020).

In May, Grant bewildered the crowd by winning at Eldora, then promptly stuffing his car into the turn three wall and flipping over on his cooldown lap. He then won his 50th career USAC National Sprint Car race in May at Knoxville as well as the Indiana Sprint Week round at Tri-State. He picked up the prelim opener of Smackdown at Kokomo, then became the first 4-time Smackdown championship night winner two nights later with a lucrative $35,000 top prize.

Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) snuck into 10th in points on the final weekend of the year after making the biggest charge to win during the 2024 series season. Starting 13th on the grid at Red Dirt, Westfall patrolled the bottom to the lead and to a highly popular win. Amid the process, it was the furthest back any driver had started and won a race with the series since Kevin Thomas Jr.’s 14th to 1st charge at Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway in 2021.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) posted his first three victories of the USAC National Sprint Car season in 2024. In June at Grandview, he became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car feature since Frankie Kerr 25 years earlier in 1999 and the first Pennsylvanian to win a series race in his home state since Paul Pitzer at Reading in 1979. Danner went on to cement his status as a winner outside the confines of the Keystone State as well by capturing the Indiana Sprint Week finale in August at Bloomington and the inaugural Greg Staab Memorial at Lawrenceburg in October.

Hunter Maddox (Bedford, Indiana) raced his way to Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC National Sprint Cars in 2024. Maddox, who cut his racing teeth on dirt bikes, made 25 feature starts and finished 18th in the standings.

2024 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS

Driver Champion: Logan Seavey

Entrant Champion: Abacus Racing #57

Most Feature Wins: 14-Logan Seavey

Rookie of the Year: Hunter Maddox

Most Laps Led: 364-Logan Seavey

Most Top-Fives: 31-Logan Seavey

Most Top-Tens: 38-Logan Seavey

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 10-C.J. Leary

Most Heat Race Wins: 13-Robert Ballou

Most Feature Starts: 44-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

Biggest Charge of the Year: May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Daison Pursley (23rd to 2nd)

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 2987 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

2. 2880 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

3. 2718 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

4. 2645 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

5. 2625 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

6. 2561 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

7. 2550 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.

8. 2481 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.

9. 2476 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

10. 1804 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

11. 1800 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.

12. 1768 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

13. 1559 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

14. 1499 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

15. 1432 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.

16. 1322 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.

17. 1008 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, Calif.

18. 949 (R) Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Ind.

19. 890 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

20. 593 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Ind.

21. 570 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

22. 553 (R) Kale Drake, Collinsville, Okla.

23. 494 (R) Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.

24. 429 Max Adams, Loomis, Calif.

25. 402 Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK

26. 360 (R) Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

27. 353 Tye Mihocko, Peoria, Ariz.

28. 328 (R) Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

29. 314 (R) Wesley Smith, Nixa, Mo.

30. 275 (R) Todd Hobson, Clyde, Vic.

31. 267 (R) Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

32. 246 (R) Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

33. 231 Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.

34. 192 Timmy Buckwalter, Douglassville, Pa.

35. 127 (R) Chase Howard, Nesbit, Miss.

36. 126 Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Ill.

37. 123 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Ind.

38. 114 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.

39. 72 (R) Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Ind.

40. 68 (R) Shane Butler, Bushnell, Fla.

41. 68 (R) Nic Harris, Atlanta, Ill.

42. 46 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.

43. 24 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

44. 20 (R) Jason Cherry, Blandon, Pa.

45. 10 (R) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1. 2987 Abacus Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#57)

2. 2880 Dynamics Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)

3. 2718 Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#21AZ)

4. 2645 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)

5. 2625 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15x)

6. 2561 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)

7. 2550 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)

8. 2481 Petty Performance Racing, Litchfield Park, Ariz. (#3p)

9. 2476 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)

10. 1875 2B Racing, Marion, Ind. (#2B)

11. 1804 Ray Marshall Motorsports, Forest, Ohio (#33m)

12. 1800 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15)

13. 1768 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)

14. 1471 Hogue Racing Enterprises, Westampton, N.J. (#39)

15. 1322 JPA Racing, Cresco, Pa. (#88J)

16. 1008 Stensland Motorsports, Fort Wayne, Ind. (#41)

17. 949 Hunter Maddox Racing, Bloomington, Ind. (#24m)

18. 935 Michael Dutcher Motorsports, Cicero, Ind. (#17GP)

19. 890 Epperson Racing, Camby, Ind. (#2E)

20. 722 Baldwin-Fox Racing, West Lafayette, Ind. (#5)

21. 583 Brandon Mattox Racing, Cory, Ind. (#28)

22. 570 Heffner Racing Enterprises, Hellertown, Pa. (#27)

23. 484 Crum Racing, Mooresville, Ind. (#26)

24. 402 Tom Harris Motorsport, Tipton, Ind. (#84)

25. 360 Gray Brothers, Greenfield, Ind. (#06)

26. 310 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5K)

27. 246 Wedgewood Motorsports, Lebanon, Ohio (#98)

28. 241 Dave Wilson Special, Brownsburg, Ind. (#5T)

29. 231 Doney-Lawson Racing, Odessa, Mo. (#74)

30. 212 Trey Osborne Racing, Indianapolis, Ind. (#11T)

31. 192 Hummer Motorsports, Belvidere, N.J. (#20)

32. 187 Daming-Swanson Motorsports, Danville, Ind. (#5T)

33. 128 Paul Hazen, Columbia City, Ind. (#57H)

34. 127 Ronny Howard, Nesbit, Miss. (#13)

35. 126 Daum Motorsports, Greenville, Ill. (#5d)

36. 123 Lauren Beauchamp, Needham, Ind. (#11)

37. 114 Mario Clouser Motorsports, Chatham, Ill. (#6)

38. 86 On The Gass Racing, Advance, Ind. (#17)

39. 68 Landon Butler Racing, Bushnell, Fla. (#18)

40. 68 Nic Harris, Atlanta, Ill. (#N2)

41. 27 Cheney Racing, Arcadia, Calif. (#42)

42. 24 Sterling Cling Racing, Franklin, Ind. (#34)

43. 20 Cherry Motorsports, Blandon, Pa. (#67c)

44. 10 Sy Allen, Plainfield, Vt. (#7s)

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 949 Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Ind.

2. 553 Kale Drake, Collinsville, Okla.

3. 494 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.

4. 360 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

5. 328 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

6. 314 Wesley Smith, Nixa, Mo.

7. 275 Todd Hobson, Clyde, Vic.

8. 267 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

9. 246 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

10. 127 Chase Howard, Nesbit, Miss.

11. 72 Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Ind.

12. 68 Shane Butler, Bushnell, Fla.

13. 68 Nic Harris, Atlanta, Ill.

14. 20 Jason Cherry, Blandon, Pa.

15. 10 Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Feb 15: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Feb 16: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE-Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

May 22: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

May 23: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

May 31: Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA

WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jun 11: (E) Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA

WINNER: Briggs Danner (Hogue Racing Enterprises #39)

Jun 12: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jun 13: (E) Big Diamond Speedway | Pottsville, PA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jun 14: (E) Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jun 15: (E) Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jun 16: (E) Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jun 28: Macon Speedway – Macon, IL

WINNER: Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

Jun 29: Macon Speedway – Macon, IL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

July 26: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

July 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Petty Performance Racing #3p)

July 30: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

July 31: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

August 1: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics Inc. #69)

August 3: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

August 4: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Briggs Danner (Hogue Racing Enterprises #39)

Aug 22: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Aug 23: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Sep 7: (AE) Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics Inc. #69)

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Petty Performance Racing #3p)

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Sep 26: (SE) The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, IN

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE-Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Briggs Danner (Hogue Racing Enterprises #39)

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Oct 25: (AE) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK

WINNER: Matt Westfall (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)

Oct 26: (AE) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------

(AE) represents an event co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing

(E) represents an Eastern Storm event

(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event

(F) represents an event awarding feature points only

(A) represents an event awarding appearance points only

(SE) represents a non-points, special event

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

14-Logan Seavey (Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park, May 10 at Bloomington Speedway, May 21 at the Terre Haute Action Track, May 23 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 13 at Big Diamond Speedway, Jun 16 at Action Track USA, Jun 29 at Macon Speedway, Jul 5 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 6 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 26 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 30 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 31 at Circle City Raceway & Oct 12 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)

9-Justin Grant (Feb 9 at Ocala Speedway, Feb 10 at Ocala Speedway, Feb 15 at Ocala Speedway, May 4 at Eldora Speedway, May 31 at Knoxville Raceway, Aug 3 at Tri-State Speedway, Aug 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 26 at Kokomo Speedway & Oct 26 at Red Dirt Raceway)

5-Brady Bacon (May 22 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 12 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Jun 15 at Port Royal Speedway, Aug 1 at the Terre Haute Action Track & Sep 7 at Texarkana 67 Speedway)

5-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Apr 13 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, May 11 at Tri-State Speedway, Jun 14 at Williams Grove Speedway, Aug 25 at Kokomo Speedway & Sep 14 at Tri-State Speedway)

3-Briggs Danner (Jun 11 at Grandview Speedway, Aug 4 at Bloomington Speedway & Oct 11 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)

2-Kyle Cummins (Jul 27 at Kokomo Speedway & Sep 13 at Circle City Raceway)

2-Daison Pursley (Jun 1 at Knoxville Raceway & Sep 21 at Eldora Speedway)

1-Robert Ballou (May 3 at Eldora Speedway)

1-C.J. Leary (Feb 16 at Ocala Speedway)

1-Mitchel Moles (Jun 28 at Macon Speedway)

1-Matt Westfall (Oct 25 at Red Dirt Raceway)

NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT WINS:

1-C.J. Leary (Sep 26 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

FEATURE LAPS LED

364-Logan Seavey

190-Kevin Thomas Jr.

177-Justin Grant

133-Kyle Cummins

131-Brady Bacon

114-Mitchel Moles

113-Briggs Danner

83-Daison Pursley

20-Jake Swanson

19-Carson Garrett

12-Robert Ballou

10-Max Adams & C.J. Leary

9-Shane Cottle & Chase Stockon

7-Matt Westfall

5-Stevie Sussex

3-Joey Amantea & Jadon Rogers

1-Brayden Fox

TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES

31-Logan Seavey

26-Brady Bacon

21-Daison Pursley

20-Kevin Thomas Jr.

19-C.J. Leary

18-Justin Grant

17-Robert Ballou

16-Mitchel Moles

14-Kyle Cummins

11-Briggs Danner

5-Chase Stockon

4-Carson Garrett & Jake Swanson

3-Shane Cottle

2-Alex Bright, Ricky Lewis, Jadon Rogers & Matt Westfall

1-Max Adams, Rylan Gray & Chase Johnson

TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES

38-Logan Seavey

37-Brady Bacon

35-Daison Pursley

33-Mitchel Moles & Kevin Thomas Jr.

32-C.J. Leary

31-Robert Ballou

30-Kyle Cummins

29-Justin Grant

19-Briggs Danner

17-Chase Stockon

14-Jake Swanson

12-Shane Cottle, Carson Garrett, Ricky Lewis & Jadon Rogers

9-Matt Westfall

6-Joey Amantea

5-Alex Bright

4-Wesley Smith

2-Max Adams, Nick Bilbee, Rylan Gray, Anton Hernandez & J.J. Yeley

1-Chance Crum, Xavier Doney, Kale Drake, Steven Drevicki, Chase Johnson, Kyle Jones, Tye Mihocko, Brady Short, Stevie Sussex & Paul White

FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

10-C.J. Leary

7-Logan Seavey

5-Mitchel Moles & Daison Pursley

4-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Kyle Cummins

1-Robert Ballou, Alex Bright, Briggs Danner, Geoff Ensign, Carson Garrett, Justin Grant & Chase Stockon

HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

13-Robert Ballou

12-Justin Grant

11-Brady Bacon & Kyle Cummins

10-Kevin Thomas Jr.

9-C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Matt Westfall

8-Mitchel Moles & Chase Stockon

7-Daison Pursley

6-Jadon Rogers

5-Jake Swanson

4-Carson Garrett & Ricky Lewis

3-Joey Amantea, Briggs Danner, Kale Drake & Anton Hernandez

2-Alex Bright, Charles Davis Jr. & Stevie Sussex

1-Max Adams, Saban Bibent, Nick Bilbee, Wyatt Burks, Harley Burns, Mario Clouser, Shane Cottle, Xavier Doney, Steven Drevicki, Tom Harris, Jack Hoyer, Chase Johnson, Hunter Maddox, Tye Mihocko, Trey Osborne, Kyle Shipley, Carson Short, Wesley Smith & Scotty Weir

SEMI WINS (Presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts)

2-Robert Ballou, Carson Garrett, Todd Hobson, C.J. Leary, Ricky Lewis, Daison Pursley & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Alex Bright, Brayden Clark, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Charles Davis Jr., Kale Drake, Weston Gorham, Justin Grant, Korbyn Hayslett, Brandon Mattox, Mitchel Moles, Jadon Rogers, Kendall Ruble, Nate Schank, Logan Seavey, Kyle Shipley, Kobe Simpson, Jake Swanson, Scotty Weir & Matt Westfall

FEATURE STARTS

44-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Kevin Thomas Jr.

42-Matt Westfall

41-Carson Garrett

36-Chase Stockon

34-Joey Amantea & Jadon Rogers

33-Jake Swanson

29-Briggs Danner

25-Hunter Maddox

20-Ricky Lewis

17-Shane Cottle

16-Brandon Mattox

15-Charles Davis Jr. & Kale Drake

14-Anton Hernandez

13-Chance Crum

12-Alex Bright & Tom Harris

11-Max Adams

10-Harley Burns

9-Tye Mihocko & Trey Osborne

8-Korbyn Hayslett & Kobe Simpson

7-Hayden Reinbold & Wesley Smith

6-Saban Bibent, Nick Bilbee, Rylan Gray, Todd Hobson & Stevie Sussex

5-Timmy Buckwalter, Jack Hoyer, J.J. Hughes, Kayla Roell, Kyle Shipley & Scotty Weir

4-Zach Daum, Xavier Doney, J.T. Ferry, Brayden Fox & Frankie Guerrini

3-Brent Beauchamp, Geoff Ensign, Matt Goodnight, Weston Gorham, Chase Howard, Kyle Jones, Carmen Perigo, Zack Pretorius, Brady Short, Shawn Westerfeld & Paul White

2-Dustin Beck, Donny Brackett, Shane Butler, Logan Calderwood, Craig Carroll, Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Aric Gentry, Nic Harris, Hayden Harvey, Chase Johnson, R.J. Miller, Kendall Ruble, Brian Ruhlman, Nate Schank, Adyn Schmidt, Eric Schulz, Gunnar Setser, Matt Sherrell, Carson Short, Mark Smith, Cooper Sullivan & J.J. Yeley

1-Garrett Abrams, Ryan Barr, Robert Bell, Wyatt Burks, Rhett Butler, Brayden Clark, Sterling Cling, Brock Cottrell, Braxton Cummings, Steven Drevicki, Paul Dues, Dakota Earls, Nate Ervin, Scott Frack, Gabriel Gilbert, Ivan Glotzbach, Sam Hinds, Ronny Howard, Jason Howell, Ty Hulsey, Keith Martin, John Mollick, Evan Mosley, Anthony Nicholson, Seth Parker, Kody Swanson, Colt Treharn, Cody Williams, Joe Wood Jr. & Justin Zimmerman

2024 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFIERS

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.858)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Chase Stockon (14.075)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – C.J. Leary (16.173)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – C.J. Leary (16.151)

Feb. 15: Ocala Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.925)

Feb. 16: Ocala Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.914)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.026)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (16.151)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (15.286)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Geoff Ensign (11.496)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (13.226)

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track – Logan Seavey (20.152)

May 22: Circle City Raceway – Robert Ballou (12.679)

May 23: Circle City Raceway – C.J. Leary (12.371)

May 31: Knoxville Raceway – C.J. Leary (18.807)

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway – Brady Bacon (19.708)

Jun 11: Grandview Speedway – Brady Bacon (13.341)

Jun 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Mitchel Moles (14.685)

Jun 13: Big Diamond Speedway – Alex Bright (14.799)

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway – Logan Seavey (19.659)

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway – C.J. Leary (18.205)

Jun 16: Action Track USA – Kyle Cummins (10.539)

Jun 28: Macon Speedway – Daison Pursley (10.335)

Jun 29: Macon Speedway – Logan Seavey (10.268)

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway – Logan Seavey (11.959)

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway – Daison Pursley (12.050)

Jul 26: Lincoln Park Speedway – Logan Seavey (12.078)

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins (12.687)

Jul 30: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary (13.952)

Jul 31: Circle City Raceway – C.J. Leary (11.957)

Aug 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Mitchel Moles (19.639)

Aug 2: Bloomington Speedway – Carson Garrett (11.455)

Aug 3: Tri-State Speedway – Briggs Danner (13.193)

Aug 4: Bloomington Speedway – Brady Bacon (11.755)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (12.782)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Mitchel Moles (12.626)

Sep 6: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Brady Bacon (14.110)

Sep 7: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.985)

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway – Mitchel Moles (12.228)

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Mitchel Moles (13.216)

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (15.536)

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.049)

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.213)

Oct 25: Red Dirt Raceway – Kyle Cummins (12.832)

Oct 26: Red Dirt Raceway – C.J. Leary (12.935)

HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – Robert Ballou (10th to 4th)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Alex Bright (18th to 6th)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Robert Ballou (24th to 11th)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Tye Mihocko (23rd to 11th)

Feb. 15: Ocala Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 7th)

Feb. 16: Ocala Speedway – Joey Amantea (20th to 11th)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Mitchel Moles (18th to 9th)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – Jadon Rogers (19th to 6th)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – Jake Swanson (15th to 9th)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Daison Pursley (23rd to 2nd)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Robert Ballou (16th to 7th)

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track – Joey Amantea (19th to 11th)

May 22: Circle City Raceway – Carson Garrett (24th to 12th)

May 23: Circle City Raceway – Chance Crum (23rd to 14th)

May 31: Knoxville Raceway – J.J. Yeley (23rd to 10th)

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway – J.J. Yeley (17th to 10th)

Jun 11: Grandview Speedway – Joey Amantea (20th to 9th)

Jun 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey (23rd to 15th)

Jun 13: Big Diamond Speedway – Ricky Lewis (25th to 10th)

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway – Justin Grant (12th to 5th)

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley (13th to 4th)

Jun 16: Action Track USA – Joey Amantea (20th to 10th)

Jun 28: Macon Speedway – Kyle Cummins (22nd to 15th)

Jun 29: Macon Speedway – C.J. Leary (11th to 5th)

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 10th)

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Stockon (23rd to 11th)

Jul 26: Lincoln Park Speedway – Jadon Rogers (23rd to 10th)

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (23rd to 8th)

Jul 30: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Ricky Lewis (19th to 6th)

Jul 31: Circle City Raceway – Briggs Danner (12th to 5th)

Aug 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Daison Pursley (17th to 9th)

Aug 3: Tri-State Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (24th to 7th)

Aug 4: Bloomington Speedway – Mitchel Moles (20th to 7th)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Ricky Lewis (24th to 10th)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Jadon Rogers (24th to 9th)

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Matt Westfall (24th to 15th)

Sep 7: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Kyle Jones (22nd to 10th)

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle (12th to 5th)

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Kendall Ruble (24th to 11th)

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Mitchel Moles (24th to 15th)

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Kyle Cummins (16th to 9th)

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – (21st to 10th)

Oct 25: Red Dirt Raceway – Matt Westfall (13th to 1st)

Oct 26: Red Dirt Raceway – Cooper Sullivan (23rd to 18th)

DIRT DRAFT FASTEST HOT LAPS DRIVER

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – C.J. Leary (14.054)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Justin Grant (14.556)

Feb 12: Volusia Speedway Park – Timmy Buckwalter (16.994)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Justin Grant (16.711)

Feb. 15: Ocala Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.946)

Feb. 16: Ocala Speedway – Briggs Danner (14.202)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.140)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (16.341)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (15.629)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – C.J. Leary (11.688)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (13.179)

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track – C.J. Leary (20.157)

May 22: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle (12.551)

May 23: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (12.447)

May 31: Knoxville Raceway – Chase Stockon (19.086)

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway – Daison Pursley (19.918)

Jun 11: Grandview Speedway – Mitchel Moles (13.409)

Jun 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kyle Cummins (15.164)

Jun 13: Big Diamond Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14.784)

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway – C.J. Leary (20.667)

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway – Brady Bacon (18.245)

Jun 16: Action Track USA – C.J. Leary (10.563)

Jun 28: Macon Speedway – C.J. Leary (10.448)

Jun 29: Macon Speedway – Mitchel Moles (10.358)

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway – Robert Ballou (11.942)

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway – Justin Grant (12.319)

Jul 26: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chance Crum (12.265)

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway – Carson Garrett (12.799)

Jul 30: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Logan Seavey (14.489)

Jul 31: Circle City Raceway – Brady Bacon (12.058)

Aug 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Mitchel Moles (19.967)

Aug 2: Bloomington Speedway – Daison Pursley (11.552)

Aug 3: Tri-State Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.068)

Aug 4: Bloomington Speedway – Carson Garrett (11.846)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.042)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – C.J. Leary (12.865)

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Justin Grant (13.008)

Sep 6: Texarkana 67 Speedway – C.J. Leary (14.523)

Sep 7: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Mitchel Moles (14.710)

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway – Mitchel Moles (12.168)

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.214)

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (15.709)

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.246)

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Shawn Westerfeld (14.454)

Oct 25: Red Dirt Raceway – C.J. Leary (12.867)

Oct 26: Red Dirt Raceway – Daison Pursley (13.220)

INFERNO ARMOR FIRE MOVE OF THE NIGHT

Jun 11: Grandview Speedway – Robert Ballou

Jun 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Anton Hernandez

Jun 13: Big Diamond Speedway – Joey Amantea

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway – Charles Davis Jr.

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway – Alex Bright

Jun 16: Action Track USA – Ricky Lewis

Jun 28: Macon Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jun 29: Macon Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Stockon

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway – Ricky Lewis

Jul 26: Lincoln Park Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway – Joey Amantea

Jul 30: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou

Jul 31: Circle City Raceway – Todd Hobson

Aug 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Nate Schank

Aug 3: Tri-State Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.

Aug 4: Bloomington Speedway – Rylan Gray

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Briggs Danner

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Brandon Mattox

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Brayden Clark

Sep 7: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway – Gunnar Setser

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Robert Ballou

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Kayla Roell

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chase Stockon

Oct 25: Red Dirt Raceway – Paul White

Oct 26: Red Dirt Raceway – R.J. Miller

C-MAIN WINS (Presented by Trailer Alarms)

3-Hunter Maddox

1-Max Adams, Brayden Clark, Kyle Johnson, Kevin Newton & Kyle Shipley

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS (1956-2024)

1. [62 wins] Dave Darland

2. [58 wins] Brady Bacon

3. [54 wins] Justin Grant

4. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow

5. [47 wins] Tracy Hines

6. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt

7. [45 wins] Larry Dickson

8. [44 wins] Kevin Thomas Jr.

9. [42 wins] Pancho Carter

10. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson

11. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen

12. [38 wins] Robert Ballou

13. [37 wins] Sheldon Kinser

14. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler

16. [32 wins] Rollie Beale

17. [31 wins] Tyler Courtney

18. [30 wins] Chris Windom

19. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley

23. [26 wins] Tony Elliott & Dave Steele

25. [25 wins] Steve Butler, Jay Drake & Parnelli Jones

28. [24 wins] Logan Seavey

29. [23 wins] C.J. Leary & Roger McCluskey

31. [22 wins] Rick Hood, Bubby Jones & Sammy Sessions

34. [21 wins] Greg Weld

35. [20 wins] Kyle Cummins

36. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding

39. [16 wins] Damion Gardner & Jud Larson

41. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler

44. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup

48. [13 wins] Steve Chassey

49. [12 wins] Eric Gordon

50. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler

54. [10 wins] Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson

58. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley

62. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana

66. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise

76. [6 wins] Emerson Axsom, Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Shane Cottle, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider, Jake Swanson & Dick Tobias

87. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Derek Davidson, Gene Lee Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Chuck Gurney, Shane Hmiel, Kevin Huntley, Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Jim Mahoney, Andy Michner, Johnny Parsons, Bill Puterbaugh, Tanner Thorson & Cole Whitt

104. [4 wins] Rob Chaney, Cary Faas, Jesse Hockett, Van Johnson, Steve Kinser, Michael Lewis, Ralph Liguori, Mitchel Moles, Don Nordhorn, Lee Osborne, Red Riegel, Ken Schrader, Al Smith & Danny Smith

118. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Briggs Danner, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith, Matt Westfall & Doug Wolfgang

141. [2 wins] Chad Boat, Marvin Carman, Ed Carpenter, Brad Doty, Ed Elisian, Nic Faas, Cy Fairchild, Brad Fox, Arnie Knepper, Danny Lasoski, Mack McClellan, Jason McDougal, James McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Jim McWithey, Danny Milburn, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Jerry Poland, Daison Pursley, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Mickey Shaw, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Brad Sweet, Bob Sweikert, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Mike Spencer, Bud Tingelstad, Billy Vukovich, Mike Ward & Carl Williams

176. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, Ryan Bernal, Jeff Bland Jr., Stan Bowman, Alan Brown, Karl Busson, Johnny Capels, David Cardey, Bob Cicconi, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Duke Cook, Mel Cornett, Allen Crowe, Billy Engelhart, Cotton Farmer, Aaron Farney, Gary Fedewa, Blake Fitzpatrick, Pat Flaherty, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Rickie Gaunt, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Ron Gregory, Richard Griffin, Garrett Hansen, Jerry Hansen, Jim Hemmings, Josh Hodges, Bob Hogle, Jackie Howerton, Chuck Hulse, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Gordon Johncock, Chet Johnson, Page Jones, Bob Kinser, Mike Kirby, Fred Linder, Steve Long, Hank Lower, Brett Mann, Bobby Marshman, Larry Martin, Mike Martin, Brad Marvel, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Bob McCoy, Jim McElreath, Charlie Musselman, Bobby Olivero, Jim Packard, Gary Patterson, Billy Pauch, Dave Peperak, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Bud Randall, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Rodney Ritter Jr., Brody Roa, David Roahrig, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Billy Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Smokey Snellbaker, Wib Spalding, Greg Staab, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Mike Sweeney, Jeff Swindell, Clark Templeman, Tyler Thomas, Bill Tyler, Rick Ungar, Lennie Waldo, Tyler Walker, Scotty Weir, Kenny Weld, Bob Wente, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-2024)

1. (65) Tom Bigelow

2. (62) Dave Darland

3. (60) Tracy Hines

4. (55) C.J. Leary

5. (53) Brady Bacon

6. (40) Kevin Thomas Jr.

7. (39) Levi Jones

8. (37) Larry Dickson

9. (36) Bryan Clauson

10. (35) Rich Vogler

11. (34) Justin Grant

12. (33) Chase Stockon

13. (31) Sheldon Kinser

14. (30) Pancho Carter

15. (29) Don Branson

16. (27) Dave Steele

17. (26) Jay Drake

18. (24) Gary Bettenhausen & J.J. Yeley

20. (23) Jon Stanbrough

21. (22) Steve Butler

22. (21) A.J. Foyt

23. (20) Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott & Roger McCluskey

26. (19) Greg Weld

27. (18) Parnelli Jones

28. (17) Kyle Cummins

29. (16) Rollie Beale, Jack Hewitt & Doug Kalitta

32. (15) Kenny Irwin Jr., Mitchel Moles, Logan Seavey, Sammy Sessions & Brian Tyler

37. (14) Billy Cassella, Tyler Courtney & Damion Gardner

40. (13) Bobby East & Bruce Walkup

42. (12) Robert Ballou, Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom

50. (11) Jim McWithey & George Snider

52. (10) Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise, Thomas Meseraull & Jake Swanson

56. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise

59. (8) Shane Cottle, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O’Connor & Hunter Schuerenberg

64. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, Johnny Parsons, Daison Pursley, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser

81. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath & Ken Schrader

90. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley & Kevin Thomas

101. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith, Brad Sweet & Bob Wente

121. (3) Tommy Astone, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Dave Blaney, Karl Busson, Kevin Doty, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Gary Gray, John Heydenreich, Gordon Johncock, Greg Leffler, Andy Linden, Steve Long, Larry Martin, Justin Marvel, Jason McCord, Larry Moore, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Lee Osborne, Brandon Petty, Jerry Poland, Bob Pratt, Jadon Rogers, Brady Short, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Dean Thompson, Dick Tobias, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & John Wolfe

155. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Chad Boat, Keith Bloom Jr., Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Briggs Danner, Nic Faas, Brayden Fox, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Jason McDougal, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson

200. (1) Pat Abold, Donnie Adams, Bobby Adamson, Mark Alderson, Chuck Amati, Chuck Arnold, Dick Atkins, Terry Babb, Joe Barzda, Ryan Bernal, Nick Bilbee, Lee Brewer Jr., Alex Bright, Bill Brown, Dale Burton, Gary Cameron, Larry Cannon, Billy Cantrell, Dana Carter, Rob Chaney, Bob Cicconi, Bob Cleberg, Leon Clum, Peter Cozzolino, Don Davis, Doc Dawson, Brad Doty, Steven Drevicki, Rex Easton, Geoff Ensign, Al “Cotton” Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Jared Fox, Joe Gaerte, Carson Garrett, Harry Garrett, Rickie Gaunt, Chuck Gurney, Norm Hall, Jerry Hansen, Brian Hayden, Jonathan Hendrick, Hank Henry, Tyler Hewitt, Ted Hines, Jesse Hockett, Bob Hogle, Danny Holtsclaw, Kevin Huntley, Gary Irvin, Mike Johnson, Dee Jones, Page Jones, Todd Kane, Ray Kenens Jr., Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Buddy Kofoid, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael Lewis, Ricky Lewis, John Logan, Ed Lynch Jr., Critter Malone, Louie Mann, Mike Mann, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, Nick McCormick, Wes McIntyre, Bob McLean, Blake Miller, Jerry Miller Jr., Ron Milton, Hal Minyard, Matt Mitchell, Warren Mockler, Mike Mosley, Mike Murgoitio, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Gary Ponzini, Ande Possman, Roger Rager, Davey Ray, Rex Records, Jerry Richert Jr., Red Riegel, Travis Rilat, Manny Rockhold, Hank Rogers, Bill Rose, Joe Roush, Jerry Russell, Bobby Santos, Don Schilling, John Sernett, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Dean Shirley, Eric Shively, Randy Smith, Wib Spalding, Ned Spath, Greg Staab, Steve Stapp, Richard Summers, Bob Sweikert, Jeff Swindell, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Tom Tepe, Leon Thickstun, Ryan Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Tony Weyant, Austin Williams, Rip Williams, Eddie Wirth & Mitch Wissmiller

ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:

1956: Pat O'Connor (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern), 1957: Elmer George (Midwest) & Bill Randall (Eastern), 1958: Eddie Sachs (Midwest) & Johnny Thomson (Eastern), 1959: Don Branson (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern), 1960: Parnelli Jones (Midwest) & A.J. Foyt (Eastern), 1961: Parnelli Jones, 1962: Parnelli Jones, 1963: Roger McCluskey, 1964: Don Branson, 1965: Johnny Rutherford, 1966: Roger McCluskey, 1967: Greg Weld, 1968: Larry Dickson, 1969: Gary Bettenhausen, 1970: Larry Dickson, 1971: Gary Bettenhausen, 1972: Sammy Sessions, 1973: Rollie Beale, 1974: Pancho Carter, 1975: Larry Dickson, 1976: Pancho Carter, 1977: Sheldon Kinser, 1978: Tom Bigelow, 1979: Greg Leffler, 1980: Rich Vogler, 1981: Sheldon Kinser, 1982: Sheldon Kinser, 1983: Ken Schrader, 1984: Rick Hood, 1985: Rick Hood, 1986: Steve Butler, 1987: Steve Butler, 1988: Steve Butler, 1989: Rich Vogler, 1990: Steve Butler, 1991: Robbie Stanley, 1992: Robbie Stanley, 1993: Robbie Stanley, 1994: Doug Kalitta, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Brian Tyler, 1997: Brian Tyler, 1998: Tony Elliott, 1999: Dave Darland, 2000: Tony Elliott, 2001: J.J. Yeley, 2002: Tracy Hines, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Jay Drake, 2005: Levi Jones, 2006: Josh Wise, 2007: Levi Jones, 2008: Jerry Coons Jr., 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Shane Hmiel (Pavement), 2011: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Bobby Santos (Pavement), 2012: Bryan Clauson, 2013: Bryan Clauson, 2014: Brady Bacon, 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Brady Bacon, 2017: Chris Windom, 2018: Tyler Courtney, 2019: C.J. Leary, 2020: Brady Bacon, 2021: Brady Bacon, 2022: Justin Grant, 2023: Justin Grant, 2024: Logan Seavey

ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:

1961: Sterling Plumbing & Heating, 1962: Bruce Homeyer, 1963: Bruce Homeyer, 1964: Jud Phillips, 1965: Jack Colvin, 1966: Anderson Products, 1967: Rufus Gray, 1968: Ray Smith, 1969: Willie Davis, 1970: Kenny Lay, 1971: Willie Davis, 1972: Mauri Amerling, 1973: R-B Racing Associates, 1974: Conger & Stapp Racing, 1975: Ernie Ensign, 1976: Steve Stapp Racing, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Sherman Armstrong, 1979: Lloyd Weaver, 1980: Gohr Distributing Co., 1981: Ben Leyba, 1982: Ben Leyba, 1983: Damon Fortune, 1984: Damon Fortune, 1985: Damon Fortune, 1986: Phil Poor, 1987: Jeff Stoops, 1988: Jeff Stoops, 1989: Dynamics, Inc., 1990: Johnny Vance Racing Team, Inc., 1991: Ron Stanley, 1992: Dynamics, Inc., 1993: Dynamics, Inc., 1994: Utopia Services, Inc., 1995: Niebel Engines, Inc., 1996: Dynamics, Inc., 1997: Dynamics, Inc., 1998: Vance-Walker Racing, 1999: Dynamics, Inc., 2000: Walker-Lamers Racing, 2001: Walker-Gratton Racing, 2002: Dynamics, Inc., 2003: Tony Stewart Racing, 2004: Dynamics, Inc., 2005: 2B Racing, 2006: Tony Stewart Racing, 2007: Tony Stewart Racing, 2008: Dynamics, Inc., 2009: Tony Stewart Racing, 2010: Tony Stewart Racing, 2011: Tony Stewart Racing, 2012: CTR/BCI/Curb-Agajanian, 2013: Tony Stewart Racing/Curb-Agajanian, 2014: Dynamics, Inc., 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Dynamics, Inc., 2017: Baldwin Brothers Racing, 2018: Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, 2019: Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, 2020: Dynamics, Inc., 2021: Dynamics, Inc., 2022: TOPP Motorsports, 2023: TOPP Motorsports, 2024: Abacus Racing

ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

1971: Darl Harrison, 1972: Billy Cassella, 1973: Rich Leavell, 1974: Lee Osborne, 1975: Marvin Carman, 1976: Roger Rager, 1977: Eddie Leavitt, 1978: Tim Richmond, 1979: Jerry Carman, 1980: Frank Riddle, 1981: Steve Long & Johnny Coogan, 1982: Danny Milburn, 1983: Dean Shirley, 1984: Jerry Russell, 1985: Terry Shepherd, 1986: Kenny Jacobs, 1987: Rick Ungar, 1988: Dean Jacobs, 1989: Eric Gordon, 1990: Rick Howerton, 1991: Tony Stewart, 1992: Gary Cameron II, 1993: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1994: Bobby Smith, 1995: Mark Cassella, 1996: Gus Wasson, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Tracy Hines, 1999: Ryan Newman, 2000: Bud Kaeding, 2001: Ed Carpenter, 2002: Boston Reid, 2003: Michael Lewis & Mat Neely, 2004: Josh Ford & Josh Wise, 2005: Darren Hagen, 2006: Scotty Weir, 2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2008: Chad Boat, 2009: Henry Clarke, 2010: Justin Grant, 2011: Coleman Gulick, 2012: C.J. Leary, 2013: Tyler Courtney, 2014: Jarett Andretti, 2015: Aaron Farney, 2016: Isaac Chapple, 2017: Stevie Sussex, 2018: Timmy Buckwalter & Logan Seavey, 2019: Dustin Clark, 2020: Jadon Rogers, 2021: Tanner Thorson, 2022: Emerson Axsom, 2023: Daison Pursley, 2024: Hunter Maddox

2024 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER:

GARRETT ABRAMS/Rushville, IN (Garrett & Tony Abrams #32)

MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (F & F Racing #63)

JOEY AMANTEA/Mount Pocono, PA (JPA Racing #88J)

COLLIN AMBROSE/Owensboro, KY (Lynn Ambrose #36)

BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Ballou Motorsports #12)

WILL BARNETT/Brazil, IN (Will Barnett #88)

RYAN BARR/Piqua, OH (Barr Family #21B)

STAN BEADLES/Owensville, IN (Beadles Racing #84)

BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Fairland, IN (Lauren Beauchamp #11)

DUSTIN BECK/Petersburg, IN (Henson-Rupp #75)

ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell #71)

(R) SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Wedgewood Motorsports #98)

NICK BILBEE/Indianapolis, IN (Bilbee Motorsports #17)

JAKE BLAND/Bloomington, IN (Hunter Maddox Racing #24x)

JAMES BOICE/Summitville, IN (James Boice #69x)

COLTEN BOOTEN/Marion, IL (Jeff Pritchett #2J)

JAMES BOYD/Villa Park, IL (James Boyd #16B)

DONNY BRACKETT/Fort Branch, IN (Tony Brackett #4B)

ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Heffner Racing Enterprises #27)

TIMMY BUCKWALTER/Douglassville, PA (Hummer Motorsports #20)

WYATT BURKS/Topeka, KS (Wyatt Burks Racing #11w)

HARLEY BURNS/Brazil, IN (Britt Aero Racing #16) & (Knight Racing #16K)

(R) SHANE BUTLER/Bushnell, FL (Landon Butler Racing #18)

RHETT BUTLER/San Angelo, TX (Rhett Butler #34R)

LOGAN CALDERWOOD/Goodyear, AZ (Josh Ford Motorsports #4c) & (Josh Ford Motorsports #73)

TROY CAREY/Tullamore, NSW (Troy Carey Motorsports #45N)

NATE CARLE/West Harrison, IN (Jeff Carle #14c)

CRAIG CARROLL/Collinsville, OK (Dena Risley #24c)

DAYLAN CHAMBERS/Bowling Green, IN (Daylan Chambers Racing #4c)

JASON CHERRY/Blandon, PA (Cherry Motorsports #67c)

BRAYDEN CLARK/Tipton, IN (Clark Racing #4BC)

STERLING CLING/Tempe, AZ (Sterling Cling #34)

MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Mario Clouser Motorsports #6)

CALE COONS/Greencastle, IN (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)

AUSTIN CORY/Morristown, IN (Cory Racing #00)

SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Epperson Racing #2E)

COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (KCBJ Motorsports #8D)

BROCK COTTRELL/Fletcher, OK (Derek Cottrell #5B)

BRAYDON CROMWELL/Lone Jack, MO (Mike Cromwell #4x)

(R) CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Crum Racing #26)

BRAXTON CUMMINGS/Bedford, IN (Bub & Amanda Cummings #71B)

KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Petty Performance Racing #3p)

LEE DAKUS/Edmonton, AB (Dakus Open Wheel Motorsports #21x)

BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (KO Motorsports #5D) & (Hogue Racing Enterprises #39)

MICHAEL DAUGHERTY/Evansville, IN (Michael Daugherty #3.14)

ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports #5d)

AARON DAVIS/Windfall, IN (Jeff Davis #11)

CHARLES DAVIS JR./Buckeye, AZ (Charles Davis Jr. #47)

XAVIER DONEY/Odessa, MO (Doney-Lawson Racing #74)

(R) KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (2B Racing #2B)

STEVEN DREVICKI/Reading, PA (Drevicki Racing #19)

BRYCE DUES/Russia, OH (Bryce Dues Racing #23D)

PAUL DUES/Minster, OH (Dues Racing #87)

DAKOTA EARLS/Independence, MO (Jason Earls #15E)

TOM ELLER/Pleasant Prairie, WI (Tom Eller #29OG)

GEOFF ENSIGN/Sebastopol, CA (On The Gass Racing #17) & (Ensign Motorsports #44E)

NATE ERVIN/Reelsville, IN (Nevil Algieo #11)

J.T. FERRY/Drums, PA (J.T. Ferry #18J)

BRAYDEN FOX/Avon, IN (Fox Brothers Racing #53)

SCOTT FRACK/Gilbertsville, PA (Scott Frack #39x)

MAX FRANK/Williamston, MI (Middle Class Motorsports #25)

PARKER FREDERICKSON/Kokomo, IN (Parker Frederickson #34)

CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15)

DAVID GASPER/Goleta, CA (Jerry Burton #04)

ARIC GENTRY/Robards, KY (Larry Gentry #10)

GABRIEL GILBERT/Greenwood, IN (Gabriel Gilbert Racing #10G)

IVAN GLOTZBACH/Fillmore, IN (Brian Hayden Racing #2H)

MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing #39G)

WESTON GORHAM/Colleyville, TX (Gorham Racing #71w)

JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (TOPP Motorsports #4)

TYLER GRAVES/Chariton, IA (Graves Motorsports #T4)

(R) RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Brothers #06)

COLIN GRISSOM/Anderson, IN (Colin Grissom #00)

FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (Jerry Burton #04), (F & F Racing #G3) & (F & F Racing #63)

MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Tin Hoagie Customs #51)

LUKE HALL/Ludlow Falls, OH (Simon Racing #23s)

(R) NIC HARRIS/Atlanta, IL (Nic Harris #N2)

TOM HARRIS/Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK (Tom Harris Motorsport #84)

HAYDEN HARVEY/Warrensburg, IL (Judy Smith-Terry Robertson #8)

AUSTIN HAWKINS/Sumner, IL (Austin Hawkins #5A)

KORBYN HAYSLETT/Troy, OH (Kim & Dave Hayslett #1H)

BRIAN HEITKAMP/North Star, OH (Brian Heitkamp #22)

ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)

TYLER HEWITT/Marion, IN (Abby Hewitt #97)

SAM HINDS/Westfield, IN (Steve Hinds #71H)

(R) TODD HOBSON/Clyde, VIC (Jerry Burton #04), (Jason Soudrette Racing #44) &

(Wingo Brothers Racing #77)

(R) CHASE HOWARD/Nesbit, MS (Ronny Howard #13)

RONNY HOWARD/Nesbit, MS (Howard Racing #44)

JASON HOWELL/Fort Worth, TX (Pack Rat Racing #72)

JACK HOYER/Frankfort, IN (Chris Hoyer #11) & (Paul Hazen #57H)

J.J. HUGHES/Jasper, IN (John Hughes #76)

(R) WILL HULL/Plainfield, VT (Sy Allen #7s)

TY HULSEY/Owasso, OK (Dena Risley #24H)

STEVE IRWIN/Fenton, MI (Flying Zero Racing #0)

JACK JAMES/Harlan, IN (Jack James #99)

A.J. JOHNSON/Oskaloosa, IA (Rick Germar #93)

CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #4J)

KYLE JOHNSON/Greencastle, IN (Mike Johnson #99J)

R.J. JOHNSON/Laveen, AZ (Tyler Sturgeon Racing #77s)

KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Ryan Hall Racing #79x)

MIKE LARRISON/Avon, IN (American Dream Racing #06L)

C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Stensland Motorsports #41)

(R) HUNTER MADDOX/Bedford, IN (Hunter Maddox Racing #24m) & (Hunter Maddox Racing #36)

BRENNON MARSHALL/Edgewood, TX (Miller Racing #43)

KEITH MARTIN/Clayburn, TX (Ryan Hall Racing #79)

BRANDON MATTOX/Terre Haute, IN (Brandon Mattox Racing #28)

JUSTIN MENEELY/Brazil, IN (Justin Meneely #100)

TYE MIHOCKO/Peoria, AZ (Dave Wilson Special #5T), (Jamie Paul #24p) & (Cheney Racing #42)

R.J. MILLER/Edgewood, TX (Miller Racing #34)

MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

JOHN MOLLICK/Toronto, OH (Scott Clever #4J)

EVAN MOSLEY/Lapel, IN (Chris Barkdull #27)

TODD MOULE/Heathcote, VIC (Moule Racing #26AU)

KEVIN NEWTON/Farmersburg, IN (2nd Law Motorsports #14N) & (2nd Law Motorsports #16TH)

ANTHONY NICHOLSON/Arlington, TN (Nicholson Motorsports #16)

(R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5), (Trey Osborne Racing #6T), (Trey Osborne Racing #11T) & (Larry Ebert #11T)

SETH PARKER/West Terre Haute, IN (Seth & Mike Parker #38p)

CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman #21)

ANDREW PRATHER/Martinsville, IN (Knight Racing #16K)

ZACK PRETORIUS/Yorktown, IN (Jeff Pretorius #9z)

DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ-Curb-Agajanian Racing #21AZ)

HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19)

(R) KAYLA ROELL/Dillsboro, IN (KO Motorsports #5K)

JADON ROGERS/Worthington, IN (Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP) & (Amati Racing #66)

KENDALL RUBLE/Vincennes, IN (Jerry Ruble #17)

BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman #49)

NATE SCHANK/Santa Rosa, CA (Nate Schank #1)

ADYN SCHMIDT/Haubstadt, IN (Adam Schmidt #12s)

STEPHEN SCHNAPF/Newburgh, IN (Three Chet's Racing #39F)

ERIC SCHULZ/Sioux Falls, SD (Miles Grein #38)

SAM SCOTT/Patoka, IN (Sam Scott #7s)

JAKE SCOTT/Morgantown, IN (Jeff Miller #33)

NATHAN SEALE/Fort Branch, IN (Nathan Seale #1s)

LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing #57)

(R) GUNNAR SETSER/Columbus, IN (KO Motorsports #5G)

KEITH SHEFFER II/Jerome, MI (Sheffer Racing #86)

MATT SHERRELL/Owasso, OK (Graham Motorsports #15m)

KYLE SHIPLEY/Phoenix, AZ (AJR Motorsports #4u)

BRADY SHORT/Bedford, IN (Randy Edwards #61m)

CARSON SHORT/Marion, IL (Randy Edwards #21m)

JAKE SIMMONS/New Palestine, IN (Jake Simmons #7s)

KOBE SIMPSON/Bonham, TX (Kevin Simpson #21K)

(R) WESLEY SMITH/Nixa, MO (2B Racing #2B)

MARK SMITH/Sunbury, PA (Terry Witherspoon #43m)

WESLEY SMITH/Nixa, MO (Wesley Smith Racing #44)

CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (KO Motorsports #5s)

COLBY STUBBLEFIELD/Seagoville, TX (Glen Stubblefield #2)

COOPER SULLIVAN/Lawton, OK (Fry Family Motorsports #79F)

STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5) & (Tyler Sturgeon Racing #77s)

JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (2B Racing #2B), (Daming-Swanson Motorsports #5T), (Landon Simon Racing #24) & (Tom Eades #47)

KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran Racing #77)

KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

TRAVIS THOMPSON/Brazil, IN (Travis Thompson #7)

MATT THOMPSON/Bloomington, IN (Matt Thompson #26T)

COLT TREHARN/Los Lunas, NM (Treharn Racing #77)

SCOTTY WEIR/Marion, IN (2B Racing #2x), (Mark Hery #21) & (Tom Eades #47x)

SHAWN WESTERFELD/Guilford, IN (Fischesser-Owen Racing #4J) & (Fischesser-Owen Racing #44J)

MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)

PAUL WHITE/Temple, TX (Greg Wade #1)

NOAH WHITEHOUSE/Greenfield, IN (Scott Whitehouse #00)

DANIEL WHITLEY/Ferndale, CA (Jerry Burton #04)

REED WHITNEY/Jasper, IN (Whitney Racing #87)

CODY WILLIAMS/Rensselaer, IN (Cody Williams #26)

CODY WILLIAMS/Norco, CA (Tom & Laurie Sertich #92)

MITCH WISSMILLER/Saybrook, IL (RNB Motorsports #29)

JOE WOOD JR./Newcastle, OK (Joe Wood #03)

J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Yeley Racing #2)

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS READY TO BATTLE AT MOHAVE VALLEY’S “57th WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS”
By Lance Jennings

OCTOBER 29, 2024... Starting this Friday, November 1st, the battle for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship will head to Mohave Valley Raceway for two nights of action. Promoted by Ron Meyer, the “57th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors” will also showcase the Spring Family Motorsports Mini Dwarfs. Located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona, the Pit Gates will open at 2:30pm, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 7:00pm. For more information, visit mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000.

For those that cannot make it to the races, the event will be live streamed at FloRacing (floracing.com).

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at Mohave Valley Raceway.
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.
- FUEL WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.
- TIRES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.

Noted as an Arizona tradition since 1968 when Bob Cleberg took the checkered flags at the Manzanita Speedway, the “Western World Championships” has been a premier event for sprint car racing. While the headline divisions and host tracks may have changed, some of the most notable names in the sport have claimed victory at the Western World. Hall of Fame racers like Jan Opperman, Rick Ferkel, Ron Shuman, Bubby Jones, Lealand McSpadden, Sammy Swindell, and Steve Kinser have stood atop the podium. Last year, Daison Pursley claimed his first Western World Championship and the winner’s list along with the 2024 pre-entry list is at the end of this release.

Since April 23, 2022, the fast 1/3-mile clay oval has held seven USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and five different drivers have claimed victory. Defending champion, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa and Ricky Lewis are tied with two Mohave Valley wins. “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. topped the April 6th event, while Lewis claimed victory on October 12th. “The Cadillac” Cody Williams established the 1-lap track record of 13.923 seconds on April 1, 2023 and the complete Mohave Valley win list is at the end of this release.

After scoring fourth at Imperial Valley Raceway on October 19th, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) holds a commanding 97-point lead over the competition. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, one semi-main win, eighteen top-10 finishes, and 71 feature laps led on the season. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine feature wins to his credit and will be looking to add the Western World to his resume.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) is second in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored ninth in the October 19th feature at Imperial Valley Raceway. To date, Tommy “Thunder” has four feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, seventeen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven series wins and will have his sights on gaining valuable points with Mohave Valley victories.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) ranks third in the championship point standings. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams placed fifth at Imperial Valley Raceway on October 19th. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has six heat race victories, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, fifteen top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led on the year. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will be looking for his first USAC/CRA victory of 2024 at the Western World Championships.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) sits fourth in the battle for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender raced from tenth to sixth in the October 19th main event. To date, the former 360 Sprint Car Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner has one feature win, seven heat race victories, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking for the second USAC/CRA win of his career at Mohave Valley.

Leading rookie contender, David Gasper (Goleta, California) has climbed to fifth in the championship point chase. Driving the Kittle Motorsports & Gasper Racing #18 Art Klee / Martin Roofing DRC, Gasper won the Friday feature at Imperial and ran ninth on October 19th. At press time, the two-time California Lightning Sprint Champion has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, two Factory Wraps semi-main wins, four In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 59 feature laps led. David will have his sights on his third win of the campaign at Mohave Valley.

While David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Blake Bower, Braden Chiaramonte, Jon DeWees, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Tyler Hatzikian, Camie Bell, Aaron Altaffer, Jacob Tuttle, Heath Holdsclaw, Blake Hendricks, and Tom Dunkel are also in contention.

Mohave Valley Raceway is located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona. For more event information, visit the track’s website at mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000. Mohave Valley Raceway is a cash only facility and grandstand tickets are available online at the track’s website and at the track on race day. Adult General Admission tickets are $25, Kids General Admission Tickets are $15. Outside food, beverages, and ice chests are not permitted.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr. and Wiley Miller II, Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SPRINT CAR WINNERS: 1968-Bob Cleberg; 1969-Bob Huebner; 1970-Jerry McClung; 1971-Jan Opperman; 1972-Jan Opperman; 1973-Earl Wagner; 1974-Rick Ferkel; 1975-Ron Shuman; 1976-Bubby Jones; 1977-Ron Shuman; 1978-Lealand McSpadden; 1979-Tim Green; 1980-Sammy Swindell; 1981-Ron Shuman; 1982-Steve Kinser; 1983-Steve Kinser; 1984-Ron Shuman; 1985-Steve Kinser; 1986-Bobby Davis Jr.; 1987-Steve Kinser; 1988-Mark Kinser; 1989-Sammy Swindell; 1990-Steve Kinser; 1991-Danny Lasoski; 1992-Steve Kinser; 1993-Lealand McSpadden; 1994-Ron Shuman; 1995-Lealand McSpadden; 1996-Steve Kinser; 1997-Mark Kinser; 1998-Tyler Walker; 1999-Donny Schatz; 2000-Jay Drake; 2001-Jeremy Sherman; 2002- Bud Kaeding; 2003-Tony Elliott; 2004-Bud Kaeding; 2005-Dave Darland; 2006-Josh Wise; 2007-Jerry Coons Jr.; 2008-Kevin Swindell; 2009-Sammy Swindell; 2010-Donny Schatz; 2011-Donny Schatz; 2012-Wayne Johnson; 2013-Bryan Clauson; 2014-Matt Rossi, 2015-Bryan Clauson, 2016-Chris Windom, 2017-Chase Stockon, 2018-Tyler Courtney, 2019-Tyler Courtney, 2020-Tyler Courtney, 2021-Logan Seavey, 2022-Jake Swanson, 2023-Daison Pursley.

WESTERN WORLD PRE-ENTRIES: 2-J.J. Yeley, 2J-James Turnbull II, 3P-Kyle Cummins, 3V- Jim Vanzant, 4G-Chris Gansen, 5-Tye Mihocko, 5B-Stevie Sussex, 5E-Elexa Herrera, 5S-Racin Silva, 5W-Logan Williams, 5X-Tommy Malcolm, 7X-Troy Treharn, 9-Dayton Shelton, 9X-Jayme Barnes, 11-Stevie Rogers, 11C-Matt Westfall, 12B-Joel Rayborne, 13P-Cameron La Rose, 14-Blake Hendricks, 14X-Tom Hendricks, 15-Kevin Thomas Jr., 17-Ricky Lewis, 17T-Todd Pratt, 17W-Austin Williams, 17X-Jake Swanson, 18-David Gasper, 20-Shon Deskins, 21-A.J. Bender, 21X-Caleb Stelzig, 22-Grant Sexton, 29C-Camie Bell, 39-Jeff Dyer, 39E-Kyle Edwards, 39R-Mark Henry Jr., 44-Cody Williams, 44S-Brent Sexton, 45X-Don Grable, 47-Charles Davis Jr., 51-R.J. Johnson, 51T-Eddie Tafoya Jr., 71-Jordan Hermansader, 71D-Bryan Drollinger, 72-Austin Grabowski, 74-Shane Sexton, 77-Colt Treharn, 78B-Brody Wake, 98-Verne Sweeney.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson 1296, 2. Tommy Malcolm 1199, 3. Austin Williams 1159, 4. A.J. Bender 1110, 5. David Gasper (R) 1095, 6. Logan Williams 1050, 7. Cody Williams 1018, 8. Verne Sweeney 858, 9. Charles Davis Jr. 838, 10. Austin Grabowski 831, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. 673, 12. Elexa Herrera (R) 599, 13. Brent Sexton (R) 501, 14. Grant Sexton 423, 15. Logan Calderwood 410, 16. Ricky Lewis 403, 17. Blake Bower 366, 18. Matt Mitchell 328, 19. Brody Roa 307, 20. Jeff Dyer 278. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Charles Davis Jr., 2-David Gasper, 2-R.J. Johnson, 2-Ricky Lewis, 2-Matt Mitchell, 2-Cody Williams, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Braden Chiaramonte, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

MOHAVE VALLEY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Cody Williams – 13.923 (04/01/23)

MOHAVE VALLEY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Brody Roa, 2-Ricky Lewis, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

Leary, Team AZ, Petty & Rossi Team Up for 2025 USAC Silver Crown Season

Richie Murray
October 27, 2024

Speedway, Indiana (October 27, 2024)………C.J. Leary will drive full-time on the USAC Silver Crown National Championship trail throughout the 2025 season in a joint effort between Team Arizona Racing, Petty Performance Racing and Phil Rossi.

The 2025 USAC Silver Crown schedule will be announced in December.

GRANT FINALE!

JG FINISHES WITH A FLOURISH

IN RED DIRT USAC SPRINT CLOSER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Meeker, Oklahoma (October 26, 2024)………After earning back-to-back USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championships in 2022 and 2023, Justin Grant had become accustomed to finishing the season on a high note.

However, after an admittedly uneven and inconsistent year featuring a multitude of highs and lows, the Ione, Calif. native still managed to strike the right chord to wrap up the 2024 campaign during Saturday night’s season finale for the series at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

Far out of the championship equation this time around, Grant’s sole focus was zeroed in on securing the bag in the $10,000-to-win event aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

That he did, capping a season with nine feature wins, and remarkably, a ninth place finish in the series’ final standings. His nine victories mark the second best output of his career following an 11-win splurge in 2023.

If you stay away from the point tally, and instead, focus on the win column, it looked like any other typical Justin Grant kind of year. Saturday also proved to be yet another performance you’ve come to expect from Grant as he slid past Robert Ballou for the lead on a restart just prior to the halfway point of the 30-lapper before going on to lead the final 19 laps en route to his 54th career series win, third on the all-time list.

“We’ve won nine races but it’s been a heck of a struggle this year,” Grant acknowledged. “It’s been really tough, but we’ve finally hit on some things that gave me some feel and started to give me some comfort in the car. (Jeff Walker) and Nic (Mansker) have been working their tails off. I’ve been driving J-Dub nuts all year just trying to get comfortable. Tires change and things change, and I just lost the feel for the car. We could win races but it was only when the track kind of fell into our favor. Tonight is really what we had struggled with all year – slick to a curb on the wall, which is what I love to do, so that’s been super frustrating. I’ve been beating my head against the wall, and it feels like we’ve finally figured it out in time to roll into next year.”

In the process, Grant became just the fourth driver in USAC Sprint Car history to win both the season opener and the season closer, joining the likes of Pat O’Connor (1956), Steve Butler (1986) and Brady Bacon (2020).

Furthermore, he also became the eighth driver to win the final race of the USAC Sprint Car season in back-to-back seasons. The list includes Pat O’Connor (1956-57), Pancho Carter (1973-74), Tom Bigelow (1975-76 & 1979-80), Steve Butler (1988-89), Tracy Hines (1999-2000), Bryan Clauson (2014-15) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017-18).

Early on, the pace was controlled by another past USAC National Sprint Car champion, Robert Ballou. Starting from the pole, Ballou broke away from the pack while Logan Seavey slotted into the second spot before being overhauled by Daison Pursley for the position on the second go around on the 1/4-mile dirt oval.

By lap 10, Ballou had already reached the tail end of the 25-car field. From there, he sliced, diced and julienned a pathway through two and three-wide traffic to escape Pursley’s pursuit for the time being. At that moment, fourth starting Grant emerged in the hunt. At the exit of turn four on the 11th lap, Grant and Pursley made wheel-to-wheel contact. Pursley took the brunt of it and dropped to third while Grant stepped up another spot in the running order to third.

“It was pretty tight and it was awfully slick across there,” Grant explained. “It was hard to get much of a drive to really clear a guy. As soon as you peeled off the wall, they’d start driving back away from you. When you’re trying to throw sliders on a guy who’s getting away from you into the corner, it’s difficult to get them cleared. I got into Daison a little bit there; I think I got the back bumper, but they were close. There were a couple of them there where I about killed the motor coming across and some of the sliders on lappers were pretty sketchy coming across there.

Moments later, after the completion of the lap by the leaders, 24th running Matt Sherrell spun to a stop at the edge of the infield between turns three and four, thus, bringing out the yellow flag, while also making the path void of traffic and placing Grant right on the rear bumper of Ballou for the ensuing restart.

Grant spared little time in getting right to work as he slid Ballou in turn one to take over the lead once and for all while Ballou was faced with having to shake off the hounding pursuit of Pursley in the tussle for second.

“He started the race so slow down there that I thought he was going to stay in the moisture down the front stretch and slide himself into one,” Grant concluded of Ballou. “He took off from the moisture and fired right into the slick under the flag stand, and you’re just a sitting duck at that point. I wasn’t really planning on sliding him into one. I was going to get up and follow him. I didn’t want to get caught in the melee and get drug back into the scrum. When he did that, I thought, well, if you’re going to tee it up, I’m going to hit it.”

Around 10 to go, Grant now found himself in the throngs of gridlocked lap traffic. At first, he was at ease as he used the high side to move around and ahead of the tail-enders. However, a bevy of high/low traffic awaited on his route. Those compounding factors allowed Ballou to reel himself back into contention, to within four car lengths of Grant with just eight laps to go.

Grant’s swift split second slide job on the lapped car of Cooper Sullivan in turns one and two on lap 25 proved decisive in two fashions. First, it provided Grant a clear coast on the back straightaway. Secondly, Ballou became entrapped, stifled and suppressed behind Sullivan momentarily, allowing Grant to break the race open with just five-and-a-half laps remaining.

The fact is, neither Grant nor Ballou ever totally completely escaped their plight in traffic. They managed their way through successfully, but when all was said and done, Grant reached the stripe 1.688 seconds ahead of Ballou with Pursley third, USAC National Sprint Car champion Logan Seavey fourth and C.J. Leary fifth.

“The big move of the race I feel like was getting by Daison,” Grant explained. “Daison is a heck of a racecar driver and he’s obviously good here at Meeker. I was happy to get him put away pretty early, and then after that, I just went to work. It was a heck of a lot of fun. I wanted to go win a race. I never have been accused of making a lot of friends out here in this deal. If you’re going to get berated for it, you might as well throw it and make some money while you’re at it.”

One night following his first win of the USAC National Sprint Car season, Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) closed out the weekend as the ProSource Passing Master for the Red Dirt weekend. Westfall passed a total of 15 cars over the course of both nights this weekend to earn a $500 bonus.

Also this weekend, Cooper Sullivan (Lawton, Okla.) was making his debut in USAC National Sprint Car competition. To close out the second of two nights, he earned Hard Charger honors by virtue of advancing from 23rd to 18th in the feature.

R.J. Miller (Edgewood, Texas) not only made his first USAC National Sprint Car start on Saturday night, but he also cemented 2024 his ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car title in the process during the co-sanctioned show. For that, Miller earned recognition for the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

To open the night, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) collected his 55th career Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time with the USAC National Sprint Cars. By doing so, he became just the fifth driver in series history to reach 10 or more fast times in a season. Of the seven occasions this feat has been accomplished throughout the 69-year history of the series, Leary has done it himself three of those times with 11 in 2019, 12 in 2022 and now 10 in 2024. Others to do it include Kevin Thomas Jr. (15 in 2018), Tom Bigelow (14 in 1978), Rich Vogler (10 in 1989) and Bryan Clauson (2012).

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 26, 2024 – Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, Oklahoma – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints Series

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.935; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.030; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.118; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.127; 5. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-13.160; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.207; 7. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-13.217; 8. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-13.242; 9. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.300; 10. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.310; 11. Wesley Smith, 2B, 2B Racing-13.372; 12. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.400; 13. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.401; 14. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-13.432; 15. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.445; 16. Kyle Jones, 79, Hall-13.478; 17. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.517; 18. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-13.559; 19. Colt Treharn, 77, Treharn-13.741; 20. Matt Sherrell, 15m, Graham-13.745; 21. R.J. Miller, 34, Miller-13.808; 22. Wyatt Burks, 11w, Burks-13.826; 23. Ty Hulsey, 24H, Risley-13.914; 24. Joe Wood Jr., 03, Wood-13.979; 25. Paul White, 1, Wade-13.980; 26. Cooper Sullivan, 79F, Fry-14.029; 27. Craig Carroll, 24c, Risley-14.044; 28. Brock Cottrell, 5B, Cottrell-14.115; 29. Brennon Marshall, 43, Miller-14.575.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Hunter Maddox, 5. R.J. Miller, 6. Paul White, 7. Carson Garrett. 2:14.442 (New Track Record)

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Weston Gorham, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Cooper Sullivan, 6. Wyatt Burks, 7. Kobe Simpson. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Xavier Doney, 4. Wesley Smith, 5. Ty Hulsey, 6. Craig Carroll, 7. Colt Treharn. 2:17.425

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Kyle Jones, 5. Matt Sherrell, 6. Joe Wood Jr., 7. Brock Cottrell. 2:19.896

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kobe Simpson, 2. Joe Wood Jr., 3. Paul White, 4. Craig Carroll, 5. Colt Treharn, 6. Brock Cottrell. 1:55.343 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Robert Ballou (1), 3. Daison Pursley (2), 4. Logan Seavey (3), 5. C.J. Leary (6), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 7. Brady Bacon (9), 8. Kyle Cummins (11), 9. Wesley Smith (12), 10. Matt Westfall (7), 11. Xavier Doney (10), 12. Mitchel Moles (8), 13. Kyle Jones (14), 14. Kobe Simpson (16), 15. Hunter Maddox (15), 16. Ty Hulsey (20), 17. Joe Wood Jr. (21), 18. Cooper Sullivan (23), 19. Weston Gorham (17), 20. Craig Carroll (24), 21. Hayden Reinbold (13), 22. R.J. Miller (19), 23. Paul White (22), 24. Matt Sherrell (18), 25. Carson Garrett (25-P). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

**Carson Garrett flipped over the turn three wall during the first heat. Wyatt Burks flipped into the front straightaway catchfence during the second heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Robert Ballou, Laps 12-30 Justin Grant.

FINAL USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2987, 2-Brady Bacon-2880, 3-Daison Pursley-2718, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2645, 5-C.J. Leary-2625, 6-Mitchel Moles-2561, 7-Robert Ballou-2550, 8-Kyle Cummins-2481, 9-Justin Grant-2476, 10-Matt Westfall-1804.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-195, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-145, 5-Kyle Cummins-131, 6-C.J. Leary-131, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Brady Bacon-120, 9-Matt Westfall-119, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-109.

FINAL RED DIRT PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Matt Westfall-15, 2-Kyle Cummins-14, 3-Cooper Sullivan-12, 4-Paul White-11, 5-Justin Grant-10, 6-Wesley Smith-10, 7-Brady Bacon-9, 8-Logan Seavey-7

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (13.220)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (12.935)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kobe Simpson

Hard Charger: Cooper Sullivan (23rd to 18th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: R.J. Miller

ProSource Red Dirt Passing Master Champion: Matt Westfall (15)

ProSource Top ASCS Elite Non-Wing Finisher: Wesley Smith (9th)

ProSource Top ASCS Elite Non-Wing Two-Night Average Finish: Wesley Smith (9.5)

WESTFALL SHOCKS & AWES WITH RED DIRT WIN,

SEAVEY CLINCHES USAC SPRINT TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Meeker, Oklahoma (October 25, 2024)………”It’s a dream come true to be able to win some USAC races.”

Matt Westfall has now achieved this highlight three times in his long career, but his latest triumph was undoubtedly his most incredible during Friday night’s USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship debut at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

Meanwhile, third-place finishing Logan Seavey clinched the USAC National Sprint Car driving title. In doing so, he became the eighth member of the USAC Career Triple Crown Club by capturing championships in all three of USAC’s national divisions: Midget (2018 & 2023), Silver Crown (2023) and Sprint (2024). It’s a feat previously accomplished by only Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris Windom.

Starting 13th on the grid, Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) found his way to the front by sticking to the bottom and controlling the throttle with precision and perfection. After all, starting as far back as he did and running the line that he chose, Westfall had to be every bit of perfect as humanly possible for 30-straight laps in his Ray Marshall Motorsports/Buckeye Machine – Hempy Water/DRC/Gressman Chevy.

After swiping the lead away from the rim-riding Kyle Cummins with seven laps remaining, Westfall cruised to his first USAC National Sprint Car win of the season. Amid the process, it was the furthest back any driver had started and won a race with the series since Kevin Thomas Jr.’s 14th to 1st charge at Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway in 2021.

Perhaps most miraculous of all was the fact that Westfall’s run to the front came after starting on the pole of the semi-feature and running second. It was a bounce back for the ages for the driver who hadn’t finished inside the top-five of a USAC National Sprint Car feature in nearly six months, back in May at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

“We sucked all night,” Westfall admitted. “We qualified decent but we weren’t very good. We made wholesale changes there for the feature and it slowed down enough to where we could idle the bottom and nobody else could hold it down there.”

At the start, it was pole starting Kevin Thomas Jr. who broke out to lead the opening four laps, fending off repeated slider attempts from Justin Grant along the way. However, Kyle Cummins was fiercely on the move. The sixth starting driver was contending for the lead by lap four, and by lap five, he was up front after slipping under Thomas for the top spot in turn two.

Within a few laps, Cummins had strung his lead out to a full-straightaway, and his powerhouse performance thus far appeared to all onlookers as if he was a shoo-in for the win, especially after already corralling Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier honors followed by a dominant heat race victory.

Within a few laps, Cummins was already slicing his way through the back end of traffic. As the focus turned to the battles beyond the lead, there was a yellow streak crawling along the bottom of the track driven by Westfall. At first, some might’ve misconstrued it as a lapped car until noticing that it was picking off the cars in front of it at will.

By lap eight, Westfall was running 10th, and that’s when he really began to rally. He was eighth by lap nine, sixth by lap 10, fifth by lap 11 and third by lap 12. Finally, on lap 17, Westfall cleared Grant for second after Grant became entrapped behind a flurry of traffic on the high line of turns three and four. Though the track could be deemed technical, for Westfall’s style and liking, this place fit him like a glove.

“I call this red ice; there was no grip,” Westfall explained. “There was just one little patch around the bottom that we could get ahold of. Everybody was pretty even and we were pretty good there on the bottom.”

Although his deficit remained nearly three seconds behind Cummins at that juncture, the momentum seemed to be on the side of Westfall. However, once Westfall encountered his share of lapped cars on the low line, he figured his surge to the front was in danger. However, none of those cars were able to stick to the bottom quite like he could. As they slid up, Westfall swiftly drove by them all while keeping his car as straight as an arrow through the turns. Suddenly, Cummins' lead had dwindled from a full-straightaway to a half-straightaway.

Westfall’s 1.812 second deficit to Cummins was dramatically cut on lap 20 when 23rd running Hunter Maddox spun to a stop in turn one to bring out the yellow flag, thus, bunching up the field and removing the equation of lapped traffic for the final 10 laps.

On the ensuing restart, Cummins stayed true to the top while Westfall occupied the bottom. Lap after lap after lap, it was the true definition of a high-low battle as the pair remained side-by-side all the way around the 1/4-mile dirt oval. On lap 24, Westfall’s persistence paid off as he emerged from turn four to nip Cummins at the line by a wheel at the conclusion of the 24th lap.

From that point onward, Westfall successfully inched away bit by bit to cross the finish line as a winner in the return of USAC National Sprint Cars to Oklahoma for the first time since Jay Drake’s victory 20 years ago at the Tulsa Fairgrounds in 2004.

Kyle Cummins finished as the runner-up 1.948 seconds behind Westfall after leading a race high 19 laps. New series champion Logan Seavey took third with Justin Grant fourth and Kevin Thomas Jr. fifth.

Not only was Westfall the feature winner, but he also earned hard charger honors for his +12 performance. While doing so, he became the first driver since Brady Bacon at Wisconsin’s Wilmot Raceway in 2023 to score both the hard charger award and the feature win on the same evening.

It was also a big night for Paul White. The Texan earned his best career USAC National Sprint Car result. His 17th to 7th run made him the recipient of Inferno Armor’s Fire Move of the Night. He also picked up an extra $100 from ProSource as the best finishing ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints Series driver.

To begin the night, Kyle Cummins established Red Dirt’s USAC National Sprint Car track record of 12.832 seconds. His 17th career fast time with the series moved him past Rollie Beale, Jack Hewitt and Doug Kalitta for sole possession of 28th place all-time.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 25, 2024 – Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, Oklahoma – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints Series

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.832 (New Track Record); 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.946; 3. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.018; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.042; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.087; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.148; 7. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.186; 8. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.235; 9. Kyle Jones, 79, Hall-13.245; 10. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.284; 11. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-13.356; 12. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.361; 13. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-13.420; 14. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-13.457; 15. Wesley Smith, 2B, 2B Racing-13.471; 16. Paul White, 1, Wade-13.566; 17. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-13.597; 18. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.602; 19. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.695; 20. Wyatt Burks, 11w, Burks-13.817; 21. Matt Sherrell, 15m, Graham-13.902; 22. Cooper Sullivan, 79F, Fry-13.920; 23. Colt Treharn, 77, Treharn-13.931; 24. Craig Carroll, 24c, Risley-14.019; 25. Brock Cottrell, 5B, Cottrell-14.044; 26. Ty Hulsey, 24H, Risley-14.094; 27. R.J. Miller, 34, Miller-14.102; 28. Brennon Marshall, 43, Miller-14.798; 29. Joe Wood Jr., 03, Wood-14.090.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Matt Sherrell, 5. Kyle Jones, 6. Weston Gorham, 7. Brock Cottrell, 8. Joe Wood Jr. 2:17.610

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Xavier Doney, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Kobe Simpson, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Cooper Sullivan, 7. Ty Hulsey. 2:17.053 (New Track Record)

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Wesley Smith, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Colt Treharn, 6. R.J. Miller, 7. Hunter Maddox. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Wyatt Burks, 2. Craig Carroll, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Paul White, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Brennon Marshall. 2:25.578

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Weston Gorham, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Brock Cottrell, 4. Cooper Sullivan, 5. Ty Hulsey, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Brennon Marshall, 8. R.J. Miller, 9. Joe Wood Jr. 2:23.814

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Matt Westfall (13), 2. Kyle Cummins (6), 3. Logan Seavey (3), 4. Justin Grant (2), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 6. Brady Bacon (9), 7. Paul White (17), 8. Daison Pursley (7), 9. Mitchel Moles (4), 10. Wesley Smith (16), 11. C.J. Leary (5), 12. Robert Ballou (10), 13. Wyatt Burks (8), 14. Xavier Doney (15), 15. Kyle Jones (11), 16. Cooper Sullivan (21), 17. Carson Garrett (12), 18. Weston Gorham (18), 19. Matt Sherrell (20), 20. Hunter Maddox (25-P), 21. Kobe Simpson (19), 22. Hayden Reinbold (14), 23. Colt Treharn (22), 24. Brock Cottrell (24), 25. Craig Carroll (23). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 5-23 Kyle Cummins, Laps 24-30 Matt Westfall.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2916, 2-Brady Bacon-2820, 3-Daison Pursley-2645, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2580, 5-C.J. Leary-2555, 6-Mitchel Moles-2514, 7-Robert Ballou-2474, 8-Kyle Cummins-2426, 9-Justin Grant-2395, 10-Carson Garrett-1777.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-195, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-142, 5-C.J. Leary-130, 6-Kyle Cummins-128, 7-Chase Stockon-126, 8-Matt Westfall-119, 9-Brady Bacon-118, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-109.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 26, 2024 – Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, Oklahoma – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (12.867)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Cummins (12.832)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Wyatt Burks

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Weston Gorham

Hard Charger: Matt Westfall (13th to 1st)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Paul White

ProSource Top ASCS Elite Non-Wing Finisher: Paul White

TITLE TOWN!

TWO FINAL ROUNDS TO DECIDE

THE USAC SPRINT CROWN AT RED DIRT OCT 25-26

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Meeker, Oklahoma (October 24, 2024)………Championship weekend at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway presents both the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another for the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season.

The series’ debut visit to the 1/4-mile dirt oval marks the first visit fort the series to the Sooner State in 20 years and will host the crowning of a champion and the final two events of the season on Friday-Saturday, October 25-26.

We’ve witnessed how the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets have performed here before in this land. But we’ve never seen anything like this before – USAC National Sprint Cars spraying red dirt of the Oklahoma kind for two consecutive nights to close out the season in style.

Here are the storylines to keep your noggin glued to when USAC Sprint Cars come to call this weekend for $6,000-to-win on Friday night and a $10,000-to-win finale on Saturday evening.

SEAVEY’S CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIO

With two full-points programs on tap this weekend, Logan Seavey’s point lead currently stands at 84 over Brady Bacon. A maximum of 84 points are on the line each night, which means that if Seavey is able to gain one point on Bacon during Friday’s event, Seavey will clinch the title ahead of schedule.

A Sprint Car title would be a major boon for Seavey personally, but even more so in terms of USAC history. After previously claiming a pair of USAC National Midget championships (2018 & 2023) and a USAC Silver Crown title (2023), a National Sprint Car title would make Seavey a USAC career Triple Crown champion.

Only seven drivers can lay claim to being a member of the USAC career Triple Crown club for the moment: Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris Windom. Seavey could make it eight before the year is out.

On top of that, Yeley will be competing in the event in his father’s (Jack Yeley) owned No. 2, making it a rare possibility that multiple USAC career Triple Crown champs will be in the field at the same time.

SEAVEY’S QUEST FOR 15

In addition to the championship hunt, Logan Seavey’s quest to break the single season USAC National Sprint Car win record is just within his reach.

Seavey’s most recent victory two weekends ago at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway was his 14th score on the season, tying Tom Bigelow’s single season mark set in 1977. With one more victory, Seavey would stand alone at the top of the record book.

RED DIRT RAIDERS

Six previous USAC National Midget events have been held at Red Dirt Raceway dating back to 2018. Two of those past winners will be in this weekend’s field.

Back in 2021, Daison Pursley earned his first career USAC National Midget win at Red Dirt, sweeping both features, in fact, after also earning a micro victory that very same evening. This past July, he was back in victory lane at Red Dirt following another USAC Midget triumph.

In 2019, Logan Seavey earned a USAC National Midget score at Red Dirt and also finished as the runner-up there in 2018. In fact, Seavey led the first seven laps of this past July’s race before mechanical problems sidelined him.

Furthermore, Justin Grant went 13th to 2nd with the midgets at Red Dirt back in 2021 and was 2nd again in 2022. Bacon grabbed a 5th in 2018 while Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) tallied a 9th in 2022.

BACON THE STATESMAN

No driver in this weekend’s field has won a USAC National Sprint Car race in the state of Oklahoma. Brady Bacon would certainly like to make it happen this weekend in his home state.

Back in June of this year at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Bacon extended his record of different United States he’s won a USAC National Sprint Car race in to 15 throughout his career.

Going even further, Bacon has never won a USAC national race of any kind in Oklahoma. This one, however, marks his chance to add a special one to his laundry list of motorsports accomplishments.

THE SOONER THE BETTER – USAC IS BACK IN OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma is a rare territory for the USAC National Sprint Cars to set up camp. Just seven previous appearances have been made by the series since 1966. In fact, the series’ most recent visit to Oklahoma came 20 years ago in 2004 with a victory by Jay Drake at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex.

Eventual three-time series champ Larry Dickson conquered the debut in July of 1966 in Tulsa while Roger McCluskey took the next night in Muskogee. In 1967, Ralph Liguori scored the weekend opener at Tulsa while Greg Weld prevailed in the weekend capper at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.

After a nearly two decade wait, USAC Sprints returned to the Sooner State in 1985 as part of the USAC vs. CRA Challenge. CRA’s Mike Sweeney was the triumphant party in the first of two Oklahoma dates at Lawton Speedway while, one night later, USAC’s Rick Hood cashed in at OKC, kicking off a string of four-straight series victories, a feat which hadn’t been duplicated until Logan Seavey achieved it this year.

Funny enough, each of the last pair of USAC National Sprint Car races held in Oklahoma both came down to a late-race pass for the win. Such was the case for Rick Hood at OKC in 1985 as he charged by Denny Donaldson with two to go for the win. Drake performed likewise, capitalizing on Josh Ford’s late-race misfortune before crossing the line, albeit with a flat right rear tire.

There’s one particular thread in common for all the previous years in which the series stopped by to race in Oklahoma. In every single one of those years, the eventual USAC National Sprint Car champion was among the feature winners. It’s an omen that either Logan Seavey or Brady Bacon would love to continue this weekend at Red Dirt.

CLOSING TIME

The end of the USAC National Sprint Car season is here and that means that several achievements are on the line.

Only three drivers have won both the season opening points race and the finale in the same year: Pat O’Connor (1956), Rich Vogler (1986) and Brady Bacon (2020). Justin Grant, an Ocala, Florida opener winner in February of 2024, will try to add his name to the list.

Grant and Logan Seavey have already won at the same track on consecutive evenings during the 2024 USAC Sprint season. If one of the two could pull off a sweep of the Red Dirt weekend, he’d become just the fourth driver to achieve consecutive wins at a particular track twice in the same season. Pancho Carter pulled off the feat at Winchester and Eldora in 1976; Tom Bigelow doubled up twice at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1977; and Brady Bacon pulled it off at Knoxville and Perris in 2019.

“Walking off” with a feature victory and a championship on the same night has only been accomplished 11 previous times: Eddie Sachs (1958), Tommy Hinnershitz (1959), Parnelli Jones (1960), Pancho Carter (1974), Sheldon Kinser (1977 & 1982), Steve Butler (1988), Josh Wise (2006), Levi Jones (2011), Brady Bacon (2020) and Justin Grant (2023). Either Seavey or Bacon are poised to become the next this time around.

Additionally, on eight occasions, a driver has won multiple USAC National Sprint Car features to close out the season. That list includes Roger McCluskey (1962), Sheldon Kinser (1982), Jack Hewitt (1997), Tracy Hines (2000), Josh Wise (2006), Jerry Coons Jr. (2007), Kevin Swindell (2008) and Tyler Courtney (2019). Hines (2000) remains the lone driver to win each of the last three to close out a season. Logan Seavey currently rides a one-race winning streak entering Red Dirt.

RACE DETAILS

A practice night will begin the weekend on Thursday, October 26, from 6-8pm Central. Grandstand admission is free while pit passes are $20 apiece.

On Friday, October 25, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints) will be joined by Factory Stocks and Non-Wing Micros. Pit gates open at 2pm Central with the grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 5pm, cars on track at 5:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

On Saturday, October 26, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing) will be joined by Sport Modifieds/B-Mods and Non-Wing Micros. Pit gates open at Noon Central with the grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 5pm and cars on track at 5:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

General admission tickets are $30. High school students and younger are $10. Tickets are available online at www.reddirtraceway.com under the “Buy Tickets” tab and will be sold the day of the show as well. All access passes (pit access & reserved seat) are available as well for $40 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are $10. Tailgate area is $150 per carload (up to 8 people per car).

Both nights of racing at Red Dirt can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://www.flosports.link/usac.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2843, 2-Brady Bacon-2759, 3-Daison Pursley-2588, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2513, 5-C.J. Leary-2503, 6-Mitchel Moles-2459, 7-Robert Ballou-2430, 8-Kyle Cummins-2345, 9-Justin Grant-2325, 10-Chase Stockon-1768.

ASCS ELITE NON-WING SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Miller-727, 2-Paul White-686, 3-Jason Howell-668, 4-Rhett Butler-519, 5-Mason Smith-480, 6-Joshua Hanna-447, 7-Justin Zimmerman-445, 8-Keith Martin-419, 9-Josh Hawkins-400, 10-Raven Culp-338.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS IN OKLAHOMA:

7-16-1966: Larry Dickson at the Tulsa Fairgrounds (George Nesler #29)

7-17-1966: Roger McCluskey at Muskogee Speedway (Mutt Anderson #51)

7-8-1967: Ralph Liguori at the Tulsa Fairgrounds (Carl Forberg #15)

7-9-1967: Greg Weld at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds (Ward Dunseth-Paul Leffler #92)

5-11-1985: Mike Sweeney at Lawton Speedway (Joe Kasparoff #5c)

5-12-1985: Rick Hood at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds (Damon Fortune #39)

9-17-2004: Jay Drake at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex (Tony Stewart Racing #20)

8TH WONDER:

SWANSON OVERCOMES INJURY

TO SNARE 2024 USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 22, 2024)………At his family’s home on Christmas morning of 2023, Kody Swanson’s upcoming season and the entirety of his racing future hung in the balance.

MRIs, CT scans and multiple surgeries on his broken left foot came and went in the months to come, with Swanson having plates and screws installed shortly thereafter. The most positive prognosis had Swanson possibly returning to the cockpit by June at the earliest.

While still utilizing crutches, Swanson maintained a rigorous rehabilitation and physical therapy program. By March 4, just a little over two months since the accident, he took his first unaided steps without crutches. Therapy continued into the Spring, and ultimately, the walking boot finally came off just in time for the start of the USAC Silver Crown season on April 20 at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway, plenty of time ahead of schedule. But the question remained – was he ready?

How did Swanson respond? Similar to Pancho Carter’s heroic comeback to kick off the 1978 season, Swanson showed no signs of wear, tear or rust. Despite a slight limp in his gait, Swanson showed all the signs of the same ol’ Kody as he led the day off by taking the top time in practice, then laid down the fastest lap in qualifying and concluded the afternoon with a masterpiece driving performance in which he led all 100 laps in succession for his eighth career Silver Crown victory at Toledo, and sixth straight.

“I don’t know if I should’ve even raced this year,” Swanson remarked. “I shattered my foot pretty well over the winter and I can’t believe that God put so many special people in my life to give me a chance to walk like I can, to race again and to even make it back in time for the first race in the spring.”

As an encore, two weeks later at the Rich Vogler Classic on the high banks of Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, Swanson once again established the fastest time in practice before capturing the pole and going on to lead all 100 laps en route to his third consecutive Winchester USAC Silver Crown victory, the first driver to win three USAC features in a row at Winchester since Ryan Newman in 1999.

Swanson’s winning ways continued into the fourth round of the season in May as he once again led all 100 laps from the pole to earn a $26,000 payday and his fifth career Hoosier Hundred, his first on the pavement of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park after scoring his first four on the dirt of the now shuttered Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2014-15-16-18.

In early August, Swanson had yet another surgery to remove two screws from his foot. In his first race back, during the series debut at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway, Swanson was perfect once again, leading all 100 laps in succession from the pole.

Gripping a mere six-point edge in the standings over Justin Grant heading into October’s season finale at IRP, all Swanson needed was a top-three run to secure the title. However, yet again, he went above and beyond. Despite winning the pole position for an all-time single season series record seventh time, “domination” wasn’t exactly part of the equation. After leading early, Swanson fell back to third, then regrouped and worked his way back to the front to lead the final 38 laps on a record-setting night in which he became the track’s all-time winningest Silver Crown driver with his ninth win. To boot, his nine wins there are more than any other driver in series history at any single track.

Swanson’s eighth USAC Silver Crown title (2014-15-17-18-19-21-22-24) set a new record in terms of total championships earned by any one driver in a USAC national series. He had previously been tied with A.J. Foyt’s seven Indy Car crowns under the USAC banner as well as Mel Kenyon’s seven USAC National Midget championships.

The 2024 campaign also represented the fourth time in which Kody won both the season finale and the USAC Silver Crown title on the same day. He's now accomplished this feat in 2014-2015-2021-2024. Nobody else has done it more than twice.

In the process, Swanson drove the Doran Binks Racing team’s No. 77 to the entrant championship. Utilizing a Maxim/Hampshire Chevy combo on dirt and a Beast/Lanci Ford package on pavement, their Mission Foods – Wilke Orthodontics – Glenn Farms entry earned five wins in totality on the season en route to a 21-point spread between him and runner-up Grant in the final championship tally. For Kevin Doran, it’s his second USAC Silver Crown entrant title while, for Dan Binks, it’s his first.

“I’ve got an Army behind me, and I’m so fortunate for each and every one of them,” Swanson praised. “My wife, Jordan, she does so much for me personally as a wife, as a teammate and as a spotter.”

The 14 USAC Silver Crown events held in 2024 were the most since the 2006 season, and the second most all-time behind only the 1999 schedule which contested 15 races. For Swanson, it was a grueling task to master, but seemingly no matter how short or long the season is, Swanson is always there at the end with this being his 11th consecutive top-two finish in the series standings.

“This was a 14-race Silver Crown schedule and this was the first time we’ve completed that many races in my career,” Swanson noted. “It was a grueling year, and there were a lot of really strong contenders. I think of C.J. (Leary) having four podiums in a row at the beginning before trouble befell him, and Logan (Seavey) and Justin (Grant) doing the same. Each of those guys had great runs and were a part of the title fight. We had some unfortunate things on our end too, but it seemed like we were never out of it. I’m so thankful that certain things fell our way, and on other ones, we were able to overcome and just keep digging. With three races to go, running heads up and being in a really close title fight, coming out second on the two dirt miles was great except for Justin sweeping them both.”

Outside of Swanson, the 2024 season will be remembered for the emergence of five first-time USAC Silver Crown winners, the most in a single year with the series since 2010. Unquestionably, one of the most major of all milestones occurred in mid-May at the Belleville High Banks in Kansas when Kaylee Bryson became the first woman to win a USAC nationally sanctioned event in the 69-year history of the organization.

In just his second career USAC Silver Crown start, Daison Pursley scored, perhaps, the most exhilarating victory of the year. Pursley erased a two-plus second deficit over the final few laps in June at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, then took over the lead with a highwire high side pass of Justin Grant off the fourth and final turn on the 50th and final lap.

Dakoda Armstrong’s journey to a first career USAC national victory included its share of twists, turns and excursions that took him down a variety of paths throughout the past two decades of his career behind the wheel. During the final 12 laps of June’s round at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, he went from being on the verge of his first career top-five finish with the series to leading his first ever laps to becoming the 2024 season’s third first-time USAC Silver Crown race winner after racelong leader C.J. Leary fell out due to a flat left rear tire on lap 89.

After five career runner-up finishes in USAC Silver Crown competition, Kevin Thomas Jr. had no desire for any more “second” thoughts during USAC’s inaugural run at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway in July. In a late-race battle for the lead, he and C.J. Leary touched wheels, resulting in Leary toppling over while Thomas continued onward to victory to become the third-straight first-time Silver Crown winner on the season.

To finish first, you must first survive. Mitchel Moles did just that during September’s 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where he was practically the last one standing during the 50-lap race, overcoming a near devastating accident with a lapped car and flat tire after flat tire for his competition down the stretch. In what was the 100th USAC Silver Crown race ever held on a 1/2-mile dirt track, Moles became the fifth and final first-time series winner of the season.

Less than two months after becoming a first-time Silver Crown winner, Dakoda Armstrong made himself a two-time series winner on the biggest and fastest track on the circuit, the 1.25-mile paved oval of World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. While running second to Kody Swanson with two laps remaining, Swanson’s engine suddenly expired. Given the reins to the lead, Armstrong felt he might’ve been running out of fuel but managed to fend off the field on a late restart to make it to the finish line first once more.

When it came to dirt mile season in August, Justin Grant had the field covered. At both Springfield and Du Quoin, Grant was picture perfect by setting the fastest pace in practice, scoring the pole position, then going on to lead every lap in both features to become the first driver to sweep to victories on both Illinois miles in a single season since Chris Windom in 2018.

In a year in which he had won 15 times across USAC’s National Sprint Car and Midget divisions to that point, Logan Seavey had to wait patiently until he could taste victory once again with the USAC Silver Crown series in October’s Sumar Classic at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

Furthermore, Kody Swanson’s qualifying run of 30.239 seconds at WWT Raceway set a new speed record average of 148.814 mph, the fastest lap ever turned by a traditional USAC Silver Crown car in the 54-year history of the series. On the run, Swanson bested the former mark of 146.699 mph, set by none other than himself in 2022 at the same track.

Kody Swanson led all drivers with 466 laps led and seven fast qualifying times. Swanson and Justin Grant notched 10 top-five finishes apiece, best in the series. Logan Seavey, meanwhile, finished inside the top-10 in all 14 events. Five drivers started all 14 events: Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Nathan Moore, Logan Seavey and Kody Swanson.

C.J. Leary advanced more positions in a single race than any other driver throughout the season. His 22nd to 3rd run at IRP in May came in an unfamiliar car borrowed from fellow competitor Bryan Gossel. In fact, Leary advanced 18 or more positions in three different races throughout the Silver Crown season, just the second driver to do so in series history after Brian Tyler in 2004. Leary also traveled from 20th to 2nd at Belleville and 24th to 6th at Terre Haute.

With a pair of top-five finishes on dirt (3rd at Salt City) and pavement (4th at Madison), 6’8” tall Trey Osborne finished sixth in series points to earn Rookie of the Year honors with the series.

Meanwhile, Gregg Cory earned the Engler Machine Fast Pass title for the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season. The first car running a lap down received a fast pass and their lap back at each race on the schedule. Cory earned five fast passes in all, which earned him a $5,000 reward – $2,500 to him as a driver and $2,500 for his Williams-Cory Racing team.

Kyle Steffens, a longtime veteran of the modified ranks, posted a career-best fifth in Silver Crown points after scoring five top-10 results, including a best of 7th at both Salt City and Du Quoin.

After 42 seasons of competition, the Bateman Racing team bid farewell following the 2024 season. Originally driven by Randy Bateman, the team continued on after his death from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in 2017, led by his wife, Patty, and several friends. In 2024, the team was stellar with driver Jerry Coons Jr. at the controls, recording four top-10 finishes in all four of the team’s starts.

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

2024 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:

Most Wins: 5-Kody Swanson

Driver Champion: Kody Swanson

Entrant Champion: Doran Binks Racing #77

Rookie of the Year: Trey Osborne (6th)

Most Laps Led: 466-Kody Swanson

Most Top-Fives: 10-Justin Grant & Kody Swanson

Most Top-Tens: 14-Logan Seavey

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 7-Kody Swanson

Most Feature Starts: 14-Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Nathan Moore, Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson

Best Finish By A Rookie: Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley (1st) & Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Mitchel Moles (1st)

Most Positions Advanced in a Race: (19) May 25: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – C.J. Leary (22nd to 3rd)

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

2024 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Apr 20: (P#) Toledo Speedway – Toledo, OH

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Binks Racing #77)

May 5: (P#) Winchester Speedway – Winchester, IN

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Binks Racing #77)

May 18: (D) Belleville High Banks - Belleville, KS

WINNER: Kaylee Bryson (Sam Pierce #26)

May 25: (P#) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - Brownsburg, IN

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Binks Racing #77)

Jun 15: (D) Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21)

Jun 21: (P) Madison International Speedway - Oregon, WI

WINNER: Dakoda Armstrong (C & A Motorsports #5)

Jul 20: (D) Salt City Speedway – Hutchinson, KS

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Chris Dyson Racing #9)

Aug 10: (P) Jennerstown Speedway – Jennerstown, PA

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Binks Racing #77)

Aug 16: (P) World Wide Technology Raceway – Madison, IL

WINNER: Dakoda Armstrong (C & A Motorsports #5)

Aug 17: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds - Springfield, IL

WINNER: Justin Grant (Hemelgarn Racing #91)

Aug 31: (D#) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds - Du Quoin, IL

WINNER: Justin Grant (Hemelgarn Racing #91)

Sep 21: (D) Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #119)

Oct 6: (D) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22)

Oct 19: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - Brownsburg, IN

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Binks Racing #77)

------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------

(D) represents a dirt event

(P) represents a pavement event

# represents a daytime event

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

2024 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 858 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.

2. 837 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

3. 788 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

4. 690 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

5. 528 Kyle Steffens, Saint Charles, Mo.

6. 468 (R) Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

7. 454 Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.

8. 452 Gregg Cory, Shelbyville, Ind.

9. 433 Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass.

10. 396 (R) Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

11. 366 Dakoda Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.

12. 361 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.

13. 329 Dave Berkheimer, Mechanicsburg, Pa.

14. 306 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

15. 305 (R) Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

16. 304 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz.

17. 302 (R) Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

18. 296 Taylor Ferns, Shelby Township, Mich.

19. 262 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

20. 260 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

21. 243 Trey Burke, Alvin, Texas

22. 243 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz.

23. 227 Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind.

24. 223 (R) Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

25. 200 Tyler Roahrig, Plymouth, Ind.

26. 184 Chris Fetter, Troy, Mo.

27. 180 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.

28. 138 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Ind.

29. 130 Davey Hamilton Jr., Boise, Idaho

30. 127 (R) Jackson Macenko, Cincinnati, Ohio

31. 126 Brian Ruhlman, Clarklake, Mich.

32. 125 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

33. 120 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

34. 108 (R) Danny Jennings, Norman, Okla.

35. 98 Mark Smith, Sunbury, Pa.

36. 95 Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind.

37. 93 (R) Chase Dietz, York, Pa.

38. 88 Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill.

39. 82 Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo.

40. 78 (R) Kip Hughes, North Enid, Okla.

41. 78 Jimmy Light, West Springfield, Pa.

42. 76 Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo.

43. 75 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.

44. 63 Chris Urish, Elkhart, Ill.

45. 62 (R) Mark Bitner, Columbus, N.J.

46. 58 Travis Welpott, Pendleton, Ind.

47. 57 Korey Weyant, Springfield, Ill.

48. 53 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.

49. 53 (R) Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind.

50. 51 (R) Aric Gentry, Robards, Ky.

51. 50 (R) Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

52. 49 (R) Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

53. 46 (R) Tom Savage, Red Lion, Pa.

54. 44 (R) Steve Gennetten, Gravois Mills, Mo.

55. 41 Derek Bischak, Angola, Ind.

56. 41 Mike Haggenbottom, Levittown, Pa.

57. 39 Casey Buckman, Chandler, Ariz.

58. 35 (R) Joe Trenca, Phoenix, N.Y.

59. 33 (R) Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, Okla.

60. 33 Cody Gerhardt, Fresno, Calif.

61. 23 (R) Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz.

62. 19 Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Ill.

63. 19 (R) Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.

64. 16 (R) Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, Neb.

65. 10 Joey Moughan, Springfield, Ill.

66. 10 Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo.

67. 10 Kenny Gentry, Henderson, Ky.

68. 10 (R) Jake Trainor, Medway, Mass.

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

2024 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1. 858 Doran Binks Racing, Lebanon, Ohio (#77)

2. 837 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91)

3. 788 Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#22)

4. 636 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#6)

5. 528 Steffens Motorsports, Saint Charles, Mo. (#08)

6. 468 BCR Group, Springfield, Ohio (#81)

7. 454 Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#26)

8. 452 Williams-Cory Racing, Shelbyville, Ind. (#32)

9. 433 DJ Racing, Boca Raton, Fla. (#98)

10. 396 Chip Thomas-Joe Moore, Kaufman, Texas (#48)

11. 387 Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing, Pittsboro, Ind. (#60)

12. 366 C & A Motorsports, New Castle, Ind. (#5)

13. 346 Team AZ Racing , Brownsburg, Ind. (#21)

14. 338 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#9)

15. 329 Berkheimer Racing, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (#31)

16. 309 John Haggenbottom, Bristol, Pa. (#24)

17. 306 Pink 69 Racing, Evansville, Ind. (#69)

18. 302 DMW Motorsports, Phoenix, Ariz. (#10)

19. 296 Taylor Ferns Racing, Shelby Township, Mich. (#555)

20. 260 Westfall Racing, Pleasant Hill, Ohio (#54)

21. 243 Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing, Pittsboro, Ind. (#40)

22. 227 Gamester Racing, Peru, Ind. (#51)

23. 223 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#119)

24. 223 Patty Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill. (#55)

25. 200 Michael Newman, Snohomish, Wash. (#41)

26. 184 Chris Fetter, Troy, Mo. (#15)

27. 180 John Stehman, Halifax, Pa. (#52)

28. 158 Kazmark Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#92)

29. 136 Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo. (#06)

30. 128 Hans Lein, Edgerton, Wis. (#97)

31. 127 Jackson Macenko, Cincinnati, Ohio (#124)

32. 126 Brian Ruhlman, Clarklake, Mich. (#49)

33. 108 David Grace Motorsports, Norman, Okla. (#61)

34. 101 Davey Hamilton Racing, Jamestown, Ind. (#14)

35. 98 B & S Racing, Sunbury, Pa. (#01)

36. 95 Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing, Pittsboro, Ind. (#19)

37. 95 KR Racing, New Castle, Ind. (#7)

38. 93 Bruce Lee, Abbottstown, Pa. (#86)

39. 88 Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill. (#2)

40. 78 Wingo Brothers Racing, Pittsboro, Ind. (#118)

41. 78 Kip Hughes, North Enid, Okla. (#160)

42. 76 Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo. (#44)

43. 70 Five Three Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#53)

44. 63 Chris Urish, Elkhart, Ill. (#177)

45. 62 Henry Yeska, Columbus, N.J. (#4)

46. 58 Welpott Racing, Pendleton, Ind. (#18)

47. 57 Scott Weyant, Springfield, Ill. (#199)

48. 53 Dave Peperak Motorsports, Clinton, Ind. (#777)

49. 51 Tim Simmons, Cabot, Ark. (#3)

50. 50 Sammy & Mouren Fetter, Bridgeton, Mo. (#88)

51. 49 TwoC Racing, Liberal, Kan. (#12)

52. 46 Tom Savage, Red Lion, Pa. (#38)

53. 44 Steve Gennetten, Gravois Mills, Mo. (#03)

54. 41 Derek Bischak, Indianapolis, Ind. (#131)

55. 39 C-Buck Motorsports/Eddie Sachs Jr., Chandler, Ariz. (#25)

56. 35 Karlsen Racing, Phoenix, N.Y. (#166)

57. 29 Bill Rose Racing, Crawfordsville, Ind. (#66)

58. 23 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz. (#29)

59. 21 Mark Swanson Encore Team, West Des Moines, Iowa (#121)

60. 19 A.J. Felker Racing, Jeffersonville, Ind. (#37)

61. 19 Armstrong Racing, New Palestine, Ind. (#99)

62. 16 Cornell Racing Stables, Monee, Ill. (#8)

63. 15 John Tosti, High Ridge, Mo. (#07)

64. 13 McQuinn Motorsports, Springfield, Ill. (#114)

65. 10 MSP Motorsports, Springfield, Ill. (#129)

66. 10 Gentry Motorsports, Henderson, Ky. (#188)

67. 10 Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#126)

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

2024 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 468 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

2. 396 Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

3. 305 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

4. 302 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

5. 223 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

6. 127 Jackson Macenko, Cincinnati, Ohio

7. 108 Danny Jennings, Norman, Okla.

8. 93 Chase Dietz, York, Pa.

9. 78 Kip Hughes, North Enid, Okla.

10. 62 Mark Bitner, Columbus, N.J.

11. 53 Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind.

12. 51 Aric Gentry, Robards, Ky.

13. 50 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

14. 49 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

15. 46 Tom Savage, Red Lion, Pa.

16. 44 Steve Gennetten, Gravois Mills, Mo.

17. 35 Joe Trenca, Phoenix, N.Y.

18. 33 Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, Okla.

19. 23 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz.

20. 19 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.

21. 16 Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, Neb.

22. 10 Jake Trainor, Medway, Mass.

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

RACE WINS:

5-Kody Swanson (Apr 20 at Toledo Speedway, May 5 at Winchester Speedway, May 25 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug 10 at Jennerstown Speedway & Oct 19 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park)

2-Dakoda Armstrong (Jun 21 at Madison International Speedway & Aug 16 at World Wide Technology Raceway)

2-Justin Grant (Aug 17 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds & Aug 31 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds)

1-Kaylee Bryson (May 18 at the Belleville High Banks)

1-Mitchel Moles (Sep 21 at Eldora Speedway)

1-Daison Pursley (Jun 15 at Port Royal Speedway)

1-Logan Seavey (Oct 6 at the Terre Haute Action Track)

1-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Jul 20 at Salt City Speedway)

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

LAPS LED:

466-Kody Swanson

187-Justin Grant

117-Brady Bacon

103-C.J. Leary

85-Kevin Thomas Jr.

77-Logan Seavey

55-Dakoda Armstrong

51-Bobby Santos

38-Mitchel Moles

16-Kaylee Bryson

13-Daison Pursley

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT!

SWANSON SCORES IRP FINALE,

SECURES 8TH USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 19, 2024)………It couldn’t have been a more perfect Championship Saturday for Kody Swanson and his Doran Binks Racing team in the USAC Silver Crown season finale at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

That is, outside of “only” leading 49 of the 100 laps.

Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) shook off a near racelong battle with Bobby Santos, and for a brief stretch with Tyler Roahrig, before taking the lead for good on lap 63 to score the win at the .686-mile paved oval while also notching his record-extending eighth career series championship in his Doran Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Wilke Orthodontics – Glenn Farms/Beast/Lanci Ford.

Where do we possibly begin with the accolades the 36-year-old racer earned in one night? Swanson’s eighth USAC Silver Crown title (2014-15-17-18-19-21-22-24) set a new record in terms of total championships earned by any one driver in a USAC national series. He had previously been tied with A.J. Foyt’s seven Indy Car crowns under the USAC banner as well as Mel Kenyon’s seven USAC National Midget championships.

Furthermore, Kody’s ninth career IRP Silver Crown victory set a new record for wins in the series at the track. Of all people, he surpassed the record of eight that he had previously shared with his brother, Tanner Swanson. With his latest win, Kody also moved to the top line in terms of overall USAC sanctioned wins at IRP with his 15th, tying Tracy Hines and Bobby Santos for number one all-time.

In fact, Kody’s dominance of IRP extends even further. He is now the record holder for most wins by any driver at any track in USAC Silver Crown history. His ninth at IRP surpassed Jack Hewitt’s eight at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway and Tanner Swanson’s aforementioned eight at IRP.

To begin the night, Kody even earned his seventh pole position of 2024, setting a new USAC Silver Crown single season mark in the process. Who’s record did he break, you might ask? Of course, it was his own record that he broke. He earned six pole positions in both the 2015 and 2023 seasons.

This night also marked the fourth time in which Kody won both the season finale and the USAC Silver Crown title on the same day. He's now accomplished this feat in 2014-2015-2021-2024. Nobody else has done it more than twice, including Al Unser (1973), Bobby Olivero (1979), Gary Bettenhausen (1980), Jack Hewitt (1986), Steve Butler (1992), Jimmy Sills (1996), J.J. Yeley (2002-03), Bobby East (2012) and Chris Windom (2016).

Needless to say, Swanson has firmly established himself as the king of USAC Silver Crown racing. We already knew that, but he proved it once again on Saturday night in earning himself yet another driving crown while also securing the Doran Binks Racing partnership its first ever series entrant championship. For Doran Racing, it’s their second career USAC Silver Crown title with Swanson after previously winning it all in 2022 in a split effort with Chris Dyson Racing. That year, Doran handled the pavement side of the team while Dyson spearheaded the dirt portion. For 2024, the Doran Binks combo was a true all-in performance by the team on both dirt and pavement.

As far as the race itself is concerned, unlike May’s Hoosier Hundred where he led 100 laps from start to finish, Kody found himself chasing the rabbit throughout the majority of the 100-lap, 68.6-mile distance en route to his 45th career USAC Silver Crown win. Carrying a nine-point lead over Justin Grant into the race, a third-place finish or better was a deal-sealer for Kody and his title hopes, and that’s exactly where he fell to for a time during the early stages of the race.

Initially, six-time IRP Silver Crown winner Santos got the upper hand around the outside of Swanson to edge him for the lead by the length of his chrome front bumper at the conclusion of lap one. However, Swanson muscled his way back by Santos as he worked the middle groove underneath Santos in turns three and four to slot himself into the lead by lap two.

A yellow flag brought about by the stopped car of 21st running Nathan Moore necessitated a caution and a restart in which Santos took full advantage of. One lap after the resumption on the 13th circuit, Santos surged back around the outside of Swanson in turns three and four to once again reclaim the top spot.

Soon, it became a three-car tussle at the front as Santos, Swanson and the emerging Tyler Roahrig all ran nose-to-tail. Roahrig made his run at Swanson on the 19th lap when he powered past in turns one and two to gain the second the second position and then went to work on Santos for the race lead. The pair went side-by-side for multiple laps on the 28th and 29th go around with mere inches separating the two as they crossed the stripe. Both Santos and Roahrig had already tasted victory on the night with Santos capturing the accompanying Brown’s Oil Service Midget feature and Roahrig pocketing the 500 Sprint Car Tour main.

With the championship weighing on his mind, Swanson had to teeter on that delicate balance between racing for points and racing for the win. Swanson freely acknowledged that, in that moment, it was practically impossible to discard any thoughts on the points aspect.

“When your helmet’s on, your only job is to try and win the race,” Swanson confessed. “But I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that those thoughts are in there and I try to be aware.”

Additionally, in Silver Crown racing, three bonus points are issued to the driver and team leading the most laps. So getting to the lead and staying there was just as imperative in both the race and the title fight for Swanson.

“I tried really hard to get the lead because I wanted the lead,” Swanson stated. “I hope I left Bobby enough room. I was trying to do that, and I was still trying to race hard for it. He got a great run after that restart, and he got a great entry into three, so I was going to have to be second for a little while. After that, Tyler came up through there, and at that point, I knew it would be hard to get the lead. Bobby is a champion racer and he’s not going to give you the lead for nothing. I don’t blame him. We race really hard a lot and I have great respect for him.”

The battle at the front was stifled on lap 30 when fifth running Dakoda Armstrong slowed to a stop in turn three. However, the upcoming lap 34 restart proved to be most detrimental to second place running Roahrig. As the field was rolling through turn four with the green flag in sight, Roahrig’s car failed to take off and began to coast down the straightaway before completely stopping in turn one. The culprit was a magneto issue, which ended Roahrig’s bid for a first career USAC Silver Crown victory.

For the next nearly 30 laps, Santos remained in control with Swanson lurking in the shadows a few car lengths behind. By lap 62, Swanson was in position to make a move. Pulling even with Santos in turns one and two, the two remained in lockstep throughout the entirety of the lap with Santos nipping Swanson at the stripe by a half car length. Less than a half lap later, Swanson had fully moved ahead as he cleared Santos for the number one spot for good by the time the pair exited turn two.

From that point forward, Swanson burst away from Santos to the tune of two to three seconds while defending series champ Logan Seavey made a late surge from fifth to second between laps 67-75 to earn himself a runner-up finish 2.362 seconds behind Swanson at the finish line. Santos came home third with C.J. Leary fourth and Grant rounding out the top-five but coming up 21 points short in the final championship tally.

In the end, Swanson didn’t get those three bonus points for most laps led after pacing the field for 49 while Santos controlled the pace for 51 of the 100. Nonetheless, Swanson led the laps that led him to another historic night.

“I just had to hope that maybe the race would go long enough that it would swing back in our favor,” Swanson explained. “Luckily, on a longer run, we were really good. Logan was coming late, and the beauty of Silver Crown racing is that my wife (and spotter) does a great job on keeping me up to speed on what’s happening and let me know that I had a little gap there to be careful through that lapped traffic at the end to make sure we finished it. I sure didn’t want to waste it, and I appreciate the chance just to give it a shot.”

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) once again equaled his best career pavement USAC Silver Crown result with a second in his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/DiaEdge Mitsubishi Materials – STIDA.com/Beast/Felker Chevy. At IRP alone, it’s his third career runner-up finish with the series at the track, and the third time he’s done so in his four most recent starts.

En route to a third place result, Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) led a race high 51 laps in his DJ Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson Race Products/Beast/Speedway Chevy. For that, he earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night. Despite not notching a series victory for the first time since 2021, Santos was, perhaps, the most consistent driver in the series with seven top-fives in seven starts, all on the pavement.

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) had quite a night for himself and his BCR Group/Flint Trucking & Truck Service – Duncan Oil – QS Components/Beast/Kercher Chevy. First, he raced from 12th to 6th to earn a $200 bonus as the Hard Charger courtesy of Hoosier Auto Racing Fans in memory of the late Eleanor Vogler who recently passed away. Osborne also wrapped up USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year honors for 2024.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 19, 2024 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Championship Saturday

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-20.892; 2. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-21.120; 3. Tyler Roahrig, 41, Newman-21.147; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-21.169; 5. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-21.189; 6. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-21.278; 7. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-21.282; 8. Nathan Byrd, 40, Legacy/Wilson-21.395; 9. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.413; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-21.621; 11. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-21.648; 12. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-21.672; 13. Jake Trainor, 126, Pierce-21.728; 14. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-21.752; 15. Cody Gerhardt, 14, Hamilton-21.928; 16. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-23.224; 17. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-24.799; 18. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Logan Seavey (5), 3. Bobby Santos (2), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Justin Grant (4), 6. Trey Osborne (12), 7. Nathan Byrd (8), 8. Russ Gamester (9), 9. Kyle Robbins (13), 10. Kaylee Bryson (10), 11. Gregg Cory (15), 12. Tyler Roahrig (3), 13. Dakoda Armstrong (7), 14. Kyle Steffens (11), 15. Cody Gerhardt (14), 16. Dave Berkheimer (17), 17. Nathan Moore (16). 42:40.183

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Bobby Santos, Laps 2-12 Kody Swanson, Laps 13-62 Bobby Santos, Laps 63-100 Kody Swanson.

FINAL USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-858, 2-Justin Grant-837, 3-Logan Seavey-788, 4-C.J. Leary-690, 5-Kyle Steffens-528, 6-Trey Osborne-468, 7-Kaylee Bryson-454, 8-Gregg Cory-452, 9-Bobby Santos-366, 10-Nathan Moore-367.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-195, 3-Robert Ballou-149, 4-Justin Grant-142, 5-C.J. Leary-130, 6-Chase Stockon-126, 7-Kyle Cummins-124, 8-Brady Bacon-115, 9-Matt Westfall-109, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-107.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (21.074)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (20.892)

Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Hard Charger in Memory of Eleanor Vogler: Trey Osborne (12th to 6th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Bobby Santos

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

October 19, 2024 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – “3rd Annual Heritage Fall Classic”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-11.770 (New Track Record); 2. Ricky Lewis, 17, Dunkel-11.952; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-11.955; 4. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-12.018; 5, Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-12.048; 6. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-12.142; 7. Blake Bower, 17X, Dunkel-12.174; 8. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.191; 9. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-12.200; 10. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-12.248; 11. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-12.286; 12. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-12.338; 13. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-12.349; 14. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-12.372; 15. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-12.414; 16. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-12.443; 17. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-12.469; 18. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-12.602; 19. Stevie Rogers, 11, Rogers-12.619; 20. Dayton Shelton, 9, Shelton-12.709; 21. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-12.819; 22. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-12.827; 23. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-12.977; 24. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-13.080; 25. Todd Pratt, 17T, Pratt-13.772.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Transfer to Feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Blake Bower, 5. David Gasper, 6. Brent Sexton, 7. Stevie Rogers, 8. Jeff Dyer, 9. Todd Pratt. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Transfer to Feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Grant Sexton, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. A.J. Bender, 5. Logan Calderwood, 6. Elexa Herrera, 7. Dayton Shelton, 8. Austin Grabowski. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Transfer to Feature) 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Austin Williams, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Jon DeWees, 6. Jonas Reynolds, 7. Blake Hendricks, 8. Shon Deskins. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps)
Scratched after #39 Jeff Dyer was unable to make the call. The remaining 8 cars started the feature.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ricky Lewis (5), 2. Charles Davis Jr. (8), 3. Tye Mihocko (11), 4. R.J. Johnson (4), 5. Austin Williams (1), 6. A.J. Bender (10), 7. Logan Williams (13), 8. Tommy Malcolm (9), 9. David Gasper (6), 10. Verne Sweeney (14), 11. Grant Sexton (15), 12. Dayton Shelton (18), 13. Brent Sexton (20), 14. Austin Grabowski (12), 15. Elexa Herrera (21), 16. Jon DeWees (19), 17. Blake Hendricks (22), 18. Todd Pratt (23), 19. Stevie Rogers (17), 20. Logan Calderwood (2), 21. Jonas Reynolds (16), 22. Cody Williams (3), 23. Blake Bower (7). NT.
----------------------------
**Blake Bower flipped during lap 1 of the feature. Jonas Reynolds flipped during lap 19 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Tye Mihocko, Laps 4-28 R.J. Johnson, Laps 29-30 Ricky Lewis.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Tye Mihocko (11 to 3)
NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: November 1&2 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona – “57th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors”

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

October 18, 2024 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – “3rd Annual Heritage Fall Classic”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-11.976 (New Track Record); 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-11.984; 3. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-12.008; 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-12.033; 5. Ricky Lewis, 17, Dunkel-12.092; 6. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-12.113; 7. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-12.178; 8. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-12.190; 9. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-12.238; 10. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-12.319; 11. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.326; 12. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-12.373; 13. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-12.376; 14. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-12.508; 15. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-12.543; 16. Mark Henry Jr., 39R, Henry-12.567; 17. Stevie Rogers, 11, Rogers-12.641; 18. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-12.705; 19. Dayton Shelton, 9, Shelton-12.722; 20. Blake Bower, 17X, Dunkel-12.742; 21. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-12.835; 22. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-12.886; 23. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Dunkel-13.369; 24. Todd Pratt, 17T, Pratt-13.466; 25. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-13.927.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Transfer to Feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Shon Deskins, 3. Verne Sweeney, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Dayton Shelton, 6. Tommy Malcolm, 7. Mark Henry Jr., 8. Elexa Herrera, 9. Brent Sexton. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Transfer to Feature) 1. Grant Sexton, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Logan Williams, 4. Stevie Rogers, 5. Blake Bower, 6. Cody Williams, 7. Tom Dunkel, 8. Ricky Lewis. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 5 Transfer to Feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. David Gasper, 3. Tye Mihocko, 4. Austin Grabowski, 5. Jon DeWees, 6. Jonas Reynolds, 7. Todd Pratt, 8. Jeff Dyer. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, Top 7 Transfer to Feature) 1. Cody Williams, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Jeff Dyer, 4. Jonas Reynolds, 5. Elexa Herrera, 6. Mark Henry Jr., 7. Brent Sexton, 8. Todd Pratt, 9. Tom Dunkel, 10. Ricky Lewis. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. David Gasper (1), 2. Austin Williams (3), 3. R.J. Johnson (6), 4. Tye Mihocko (4), 5. Shon Deskins (9), 6. Tommy Malcolm (8), 7. A.J. Bender (11), 8. Charles Davis Jr. (10), 9. Verne Sweeney (12), 10. Blake Bower (19), 11. Austin Grabowski (5), 12. Cody Williams (7), 13. Brent Sexton (22), 14. Jeff Dyer (14), 15. Elexa Herrera (21), 16. Stevie Rogers (16), 17. Jonas Reynolds (17), 18. Logan Williams (2), 19. Mark Henry Jr. (15), 20. Jon DeWees (20), 21. Grant Sexton (13), 22. Dayton Shelton (18). NT.
----------------------------
**Ricky Lewis flipped during lap 1 of the semi. Dayton Shelton flipped during lap 5 of the feature. Mark Henry Jr. flipped on lap 17 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 David Gasper, Laps 3-16 Tye Mihocko, Lap 17-22 Austin Williams, Laps 23-30 David Gasper.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Blake Bower (19 to 10)
NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: October 19 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California – “3rd Annual Heritage Fall Classic”

SWANSON VS. GRANT!

IT’S A DUEL FOR THE USAC SILVER CROWN

TITLE SATURDAY AT IRP!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 17, 2024)………The 2024 USAC Silver Crown National Championship battle comes down to two drivers, one race and just six points of separation this Saturday, October 19, at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

One-hundred laps are all that remain on the season. One-hundred laps are all that remain in deciding the champion for 2024. After a year’s worth of work, you couldn’t really ask for more.

Now, let’s check the storylines that we’re keen on this weekend for Championship Saturday at the .686-mile paved oval!

SWANSON & GRANT DUKE IT OUT FOR THE TITLE

Point leader Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) is eying an unprecedented eighth career USAC Silver Crown driving title (2014-15-17-18-19-21-22) while Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) is seeking a second after previously capturing the championship in 2020.

For all intents and purposes, IRP has been Swanson’s playground over the years as he’s scored eight career victories at the track located just west of the Indianapolis. The eight victories are tied for the all-time lead alongside his brother, Tanner Swanson. Kody’s 10 Silver Crown pole positions at IRP are a record and his 14 overall USAC victories at IRP rank as the second most all-time.

Grant, meanwhile, owns four top-five finishes at IRP with a best result of third in October 2023. He has won on the pavement with the USAC Silver Crown series before, capturing the 2021 Rich Vogler Classic at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway by the blink of an eye over – you guessed it – Swanson.

WALK OFF HOMERS

Kody Swanson and Justin Grant are also wanting to end the season on a doubly impressive high note by winning both the race and the Silver Crown championship in one fell swoop on the final night of the season.

Swanson is among the 10 drivers in series history to accomplish the feat and is the only one to do so on three different occasions. The others to achieve it at least once are Al Unser (1973), Bobby Olivero (1979), Gary Bettenhausen (1980), Jack Hewitt (1986), Steve Butler (1992), Jimmy Sills (1996), J.J. Yeley (2002-03), Bobby East (2012), Kody Swanson (2014-15-21) and Chris Windom (2016).

SANTOS ON THE CUSP OF AN IRP RECORD

Bobby Santos is on the brink of a record-setting performance this Saturday at IRP. The Franklin, Massachusetts native’s 15 career USAC victories at the track are tied for first place all-time alongside Tracy Hines.

In fact, Santos has won in all three USAC national divisions in his career at IRP (Silver Crown, Sprint & Midget). The exclusive list of nine to do that includes Santos, Kody Swanson, Mike Bliss, Bobby East, Tracy Hines, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jim Keeker, Dave Steele and Tony Stewart.

Santos owns six career USAC Silver Crown wins at IRP dating back to 2009. More than anything, he’d just like to get back to victory lane for the first time with the series in 2024 after five starts have produced five top-five finishes, including runner-up performances at both Winchester and Madison.

DAKODA ARM-STRONGER

I think it’s safe to say that Dakoda Armstrong’s most recent visit to IRP in May marked the turning point for his USAC Silver Crown program following no finishes better than 10th in 2023.

That day, the New Castle, Ind. racer earned accolades as the top Hoosier Hundred Rookie by finishing sixth. Since that point, he hasn’t finished outside the top-two in series competition with a first career Silver Crown victory at Madison followed by a second at Jennerstown and another triumphant score at World Wide Technology Raceway.

He’s no dark horse anymore. He’s a contender and will be among those to keep an eye on to play spoiler on the championship party come Saturday.

TRAINOR WHEELS A BIG CAR

Finally, Jake Trainor will get his shot at the USAC Silver Crown division where he’ll make his series debut this Saturday in a second machine for car owner Sam Pierce as a teammate to Kaylee Bryson.

The 19-year-old Trainor (Medway, Mass.) has been spectacular in the few showings he’s already had at IRP over the past couple of seasons. He captured victory at the Carb Night Classic midget race in both 2023 and 2024, and this past August, added an Ecotec Midget feature score at IRP.

Trainor has already proven he’s the real deal in midgets and sprint cars on pavement with his successes at IRP as well as winning the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway as a Rookie in 2023. Now we get to see him take his shot at the big cars.

TRIPLETS & QUADRUPLETS

At least five drivers are set to perform at least triple duty in Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midgets during Championship Saturday at IRP, and there’s even one individual who’ll take on four different types of machinery!

Jake Trainor will have his own personal pavement 4-Crown as he tackles all three, plus the Ecotec All Star Midget event. Meanwhile, Kody Swanson, Bobby Santos, Dakoda Armstrong and Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.) will compete in the Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget races.

As a fan, with four divisions, you’ll certainly get your money’s worth. For these particular racers, they’ll get a full workout!

RACE DETAILS

Championship Saturday on October 19 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, plus the 500 Sprint Car Tour and Pavement Midgets at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The main gate and pit gates open at 9am Eastern. The drivers meeting will take place at 11:30am and the front gates open at Noon. 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice #1 begins at 12:30pm followed by Midget Practice #1 at 12:55pm, USAC Silver Crown Practice #1 at 1:20, All-Star Pavement Midget Practice #1 at 1:50, 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice #2 at 2:15pm, Midget Practice #2 at 2:40 and USAC Silver Crown Practice at 3:05pm.

After practice, 500 Sprint Car Tour Qualifying commences at 3:35pm, followed by Midget Qualifying at 4pm, USAC Silver Crown Qualifying at 4:20pm, All-Star Midget Practice #2 and Qualifying at 5pm, Opening Ceremonies at 5:20pm, the 40-lap 500 Sprint Car Tour Feature at 5:30pm, the 30-lap Midget Feature at 6:05pm, the 20-lap All-Star Midget Feature at 6:35pm and the 100-lap USAC Silver Crown Feature at 7:10pm.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.raceIRP.com. Tickets will also be on sale at the gate on race day. Tickets for Championship Saturday are $25 and is general admission seating. Kids 12 & under are FREE with an adult present. Pit passes are $35 apiece.

USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (18)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

14 CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Davey Hamilton Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 (R) BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

126 (R) JAKE TRAINOR/Medway, MA (Sam Pierce)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS DEBUT AT IMPERIAL VALLEY DOUBLEHEADER
By Lance Jennings

OCTOBER 15, 2024... For the first time in series history, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will battle at Imperial Valley Raceway with two nights of action starting this Friday, October 18th. The “3rd Annual Heritage Fall Classic” will also feature the Southwest Ecotech Midgets, and SoCal Lightning Sprints. Sport Compacts will join the Saturday show. Located at the Imperial Valley Expo at 200 East 2nd Street in Imperial California, the pit gates at the 1/4-mile track will open at 2:00pm, the spectator gates will open at 5:00pm, with racing scheduled for 7:00pm. For more information, visit the Imperial Valley Raceway page on Facebook or https://cmwfheritagefoundation.ticketspice.com/3rd-annual-heritage-fall-classic.

For those that cannot make it to the races, the event will be live streamed at FloRacing.com

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at Imperial Valley Raceway.
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.
- FUEL WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.

While new to USAC/CRA, Imperial Valley Raceway (often called Imperial or El Centro) has been a historic stop dating back to 1957 for the California Racing Association (CRA) and later the Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA). Driving for Lee Knox, Nick Valenta won the first Imperial CRA race on March 9, 1957 and Jerry Meyer raced the family car to victory at the last CRA appearance on October 20, 1991. “The Flying Shoe” Ron Shuman won SCRA’s Imperial debut for Anne Wilkerson on February 26, 1994 and Mike Kirby topped the last SCRA visit on March 7, 1998 for Wilkerson. Shuman set the old 3/8-mile track record of 15.83 on March 26, 1994 in Anne Wilkerson’s #11 entry.

Heading to the “fastest 1/4-mile under sea level,” R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) holds a 66-point lead over the competition. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson finished third last Saturday night at Mohave Valley. To date, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, one semi-main win, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 46 feature laps led on the season. The 2005 Rookie of the Year is currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine feature wins to his credit. This Friday and Saturday, Johnson will be looking to continue his championship bid by adding Imperial Valley to his win list.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) ranks second in the point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored a ninth place finish at Mohave Valley Raceway. At press time, the veteran driver has four feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fifteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy “Thunder” is currently tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven series wins and will have his sights on winning at Imperial Valley.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is third in the championship point chase. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams placed tenth last Saturday night at Imperial Valley. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has six heat race victories, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will be looking for victory circle at Imperial Valley.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) sits fourth in the battle for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender raced from thirteenth to finish sixth in last Saturday’s 30-lap main event. At press time, the former USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner has one feature win, six heat race victories, twelve top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. At Imperial Valley, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will have his sights on the second USAC/CRA win of his career.

After charging from ninth to second at Mohave Valley, leading rookie contender David Gasper (Goleta, California) has climbed to fifth in the chase for the championship. Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Valley Precision Products, Gasper has one feature win, one heat race victory, two semi-main wins, four In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, twelve top-10 finishes, and 49 feature laps led to his credit. The two-time California Lightning Sprint Champion will be looking to add Imperial Valley wins to his resume.

While Gasper leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Blake Bower, Braden Chiaramonte, Stevie Rogers, Jon DeWees, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Tyler Hatzikian, Camie Bell, Aaron Altaffer, Jacob Tuttle, Heath Holdsclaw, Blake Hendricks, and Tom Dunkel are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Eddie Tafoya Jr., Logan Calderwood, Grant Sexton, Ricky Lewis, Brody Roa, Jeff Dyer, “Flash” Jordan Hermansader, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Jonas Reynolds, and more.

Imperial Valley Raceway is located at the Imperial Valley Expo at 200 East 2nd Street in Imperial California. For more event information, visit the Imperial Valley Raceway page on Facebook or https://cmwfheritagefoundation.ticketspice.com/3rd-annual-heritage-fall-classic. General Admission tickets (18 Years & Up) are $10, 17 years to 13 years are $5, with 13 years and under are FREE.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson-1148, 2. Tommy Malcolm-1082, 3. Austin Williams-1022, 4. A.J. Bender-990, 5. David Gasper (R)-962, 6. Logan Williams-958, 7. Cody Williams-938, 8. Verne Sweeney-755, 9. Austin Grabowski-745, 10. Charles Davis Jr.-707, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-673, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-529, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-423, 14. Logan Calderwood-381, 15. Grant Sexton-344, 16. Matt Mitchell-328, 17. Ricky Lewis-310, 18. Brody Roa-307, 19. Blake Bower (R)-291, 20. Matt McCarthy-254.
The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Charles Davis Jr., 2-Matt Mitchell, 2-R.J. Johnson, 2-Cody Williams, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Braden Chiaramonte, 1-David Gasper, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST

FOR SATURDAY’S IRP SEASON FINALE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 16, 2024)………The final countdown. The last waltz. The season finale.

However you call it, it’s the championship round of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season, and it commences this Saturday, October 19, at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The aptly named Championship Saturday will feature a field of 18 USAC Silver Crown drivers and cars on the .686-mile paved oval.

Among them are championship contenders Kody Swanson and Justin Grant. Swanson holds a six-point edge over Grant in the series standings entering the final event of the season.

Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has won eight USAC Silver Crown races at IRP in his career, tied with his brother, Tanner Swanson, for the most all-time. This past May at IRP, he earned his 10th career USAC Silver Crown pole position at the track before leading all 100 laps en route to victory.

Meanwhile, Grant (Ione, Calif.) owns four top-five finishes at IRP with a best result of third

in October 2023. He has won on the pavement with the USAC Silver Crown series before, scoring the 2021 Rich Vogler Classic at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.

Among the drivers in the Silver Crown lineup for Saturday are three past IRP Silver Crown winners, including Swanson (8), plus six-time winner Bobby Santos (Franklin, Massachusetts) as well as Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.), a winner with the series at IRP in 2000.

Three more drivers have been knocking on the door of late for a win at IRP. Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.) was a runner-up finisher at IRP in 2021. So too was C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) who collected a second place result in 2022. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the most recent USAC Silver Crown winner two weeks ago at Terre Haute, has twice finished second at IRP in 2023 and again in 2024.

Returning to the lineup are a slew of past top-10 Silver Crown performers at IRP. Chief among them are Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.) and Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), each of whom have finished sixth in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Recently crowned Trans Am SGT champion Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) is back in the IRP lineup following a 7th in 2023. She’s joined by the 2024 season’s top USAC Silver Crown Rookie, Columbus, Ohio’s Trey Osborne (9th in 2024). New Castle, Indiana’s Kyle Robbins (10th in 2019), Shelbyville, Indiana’s Gregg Cory (10th in 2022) and St. Charles, Missouri’s Kyle Steffens (10th in 2024) have all had solid finishes at IRP.

Also back in the field are Fresno, California’s Cody Gerhardt (13th in 2018), Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Dave Berkheimer (21st in 2022), Kaufman, Texas’ Nathan Moore (21st in 2024) and Silver Crown newcomer Jake Trainor (Medway, Mass.) who already owns three midget wins at IRP between 2023-24. Trainor, the 2023 Little 500 winner, will make his USAC Silver Crown debut behind the wheel of Sam Pierce’s #126 as a teammate to Bryson.

Race Details

USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (18)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

14 CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Davey Hamilton Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 (R) BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

126 (R) JAKE TRAINOR/Medway, MA (Sam Pierce)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-785, 2-Justin Grant-779, 3-Logan Seavey-721, 4-C.J. Leary-629, 5-Kyle Steffens-493, 6-Trey Osborne-413, 7-Kaylee Bryson-411, 8-Gregg Cory-411, 9-Nathan Moore-367, 10-Bobby Santos-366.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK:

1 Lap - 5/20/2000 - Jason Leffler - 20.298 - 121.667 mph

10 Laps - 8/2/2001 - Derek Davidson - 3:35.06 - 104.789 mph

15 Laps - 5/22/2003 - Chet Fillip - 5:16.38 - 117.087 mph

20 Laps - 8/2/1995 - Eric Gordon - 7:14.71 - 113.621 mph

25 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jim Childers - 9:51.91 - 104.306 mph

100 Laps - 5/12/2001 - Mike Bliss - 35:41.40 - 115.326 mph

146 Laps - 5/26/2023 - Bobby Santos - 1:13:52.03 - 81.354 mph

150 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jeff Bloom - 1:02:32.109 - 98.728 mph

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT IRP:

8-Kody Swanson & Tanner Swanson

6-Bobby Santos

5-Mike Bliss

3-Bobby East

2-Kenny Irwin Jr., Jim Keeker, Jason Leffler & Ken Schrader

1-Pat Abold, Jeff Bloom, David Byrne, Bob Cicconi, Jay Drake, Bruce Field, Russ Gamester, Kyle Hamilton, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Kasey Kahne, Jason McCord, Ryan Newman, Johnny Parsons, George Snider, Dave Steele, Tony Stewart, Brian Tyler & J.J. Yeley

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT IRP:

1985: Rick Hood (7/13)

1986: Ken Schrader (7/13)

1987: Jeff Bloom (7/11)

1988: Bruce Field (7/9)

1989: Bob Cicconi (7/8) & Ken Schrader (7/8)

1990: George Snider (6/30)

1991: Johnny Parsons (6/29)

1992: Jim Keeker (6/27)

1993: Mike Bliss (6/26)

1994: Mike Bliss (8/4)

1995: Jim Keeker (8/2)

1996: Mike Bliss (5/18) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/31)

1997: Pat Abold (5/17) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/30)

1998: Tony Stewart (5/16) & Jason Leffler (7/29)

1999: Ryan Newman (5/22) & Dave Steele (8/4)

2000: Jason Leffler (5/20) & Russ Gamester (8/6)

2001: Mike Bliss (5/12) & Kasey Kahne (8/2)

2002: Mike Bliss (8/1)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/22) & Jason McCord (7/31)

2004: Jay Drake (8/5)

2005: Bobby East (8/4)

2006: Brian Tyler (8/3)

2007: Bobby East (7/26)

2008: Bobby East (7/24)

2009: Bobby Santos (7/23)

2010: Tracy Hines (7/22)

2011: Kody Swanson (7/28)

2012: Bobby Santos (5/19) & Bobby Santos (7/26)

2013: Tanner Swanson (7/27)

2014: Tanner Swanson (5/17) & David Byrne (7/24)

2015: Tanner Swanson (5/23) & Tanner Swanson (7/23)

2016: Tanner Swanson (5/27) & Kody Swanson (7/21)

2017: Kody Swanson (5/26) & Bobby Santos (7/20)

2018: Kody Swanson (5/25)

2019: Kyle Hamilton (5/24) & Kody Swanson (9/7)

2020: Tanner Swanson (8/21)

2021: Kody Swanson (5/29) & Kody Swanson (8/14)

2022: Bobby Santos (5/27) & Tanner Swanson (10/22)

2023: Bobby Santos (5/26) & Tanner Swanson (10/15)

2024: Kody Swanson (5/25)

USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK:

JULY 13, 1985 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Rick Hood (5), 2. Ken Schrader (2), 3. Dave Blaney (4), 4. Larry Rice (21), 5. Gary Bettenhausen (13), 6. Joe Saldana (18), 7. Bruce Field (6), 8. John Andretti (12), 9. Rich Vogler (1), 10. Sheldon Kinser (3), 11. John Batts Jr. (24), 12. Jac Haudenschild (16), 13. Tom Bigelow (7), 14. Jerry Nemire (10), 15. Kramer Williamson (22), 16. Ken Hamilton (8), 17. Billy Engelhart (11), 18. Mark Alderson (23), 19. George Snider (9), 20. Gary Irvin (15), 21. Steve Chassey (17), 22. Doug Saunier (20), 23. Danny Milburn (19), 24. Johnny Parsons (14). 1:07:16.06

JULY 13, 1986 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ken Schrader (2), 2. Steve Butler (15), 3. Rick Hood (9), 4. Dave Blaney (7), 5. Billy Engelhart (3), 6. Jack Hewitt (21), 7. George Snider (5), 8. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 9. Warren Mockler (16), 10. Bob Frey (12), 11. Tom Bigelow (10), 12. Larry Dickson (13), 13. Jeff Bloom (20), 14. Manny Rockhold (23), 15. Greg Staab (19), 16. Steve Chassey (18), 17. Duke Cook (17), 18. Taylor Andrews (24), 19. Larry Rice (4), 20. Nick Fornoro Jr. (11), 21. Bruce Field (6), 22. Gary Irvin (8), 23. Johnny Parsons (22), 24. Mark Alderson (14). 1:03:15.05

JULY 11, 1987 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jeff Bloom (3), 2. Jack Hewitt (17), 3. Steve Butler (2), 4. Rick Hood (16), 5. Jeff Swindell (14), 6. Bruce Field (12), 7. Steve Chassey (13), 8. Warren Mockler (19), 9. Mark Alderson (7), 10. Tony Elliott (26), 11. Kenny Jacobs (9), 12. Duke Cook/Ken Schrader (18), 13. Larry Rice (21), 14. Jim Childers (15), 15. Terry Kawell (24), 16. Manny Rockhold (20), 17. Gary Bettenhausen (11), 18. Bob Frey (8), 19. Bob Cicconi (6), 20. Rich Vogler (1), 21. Andy Hillenburg (10), 22. Ron Dunstan (23), 23. Kelly Kinser (22), 24. Mike Bliss (25), 25. Ken Schrader (4), 26. Dave Blaney (5). 1:02:32.109

JULY 9, 1988 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bruce Field (6), 2. Steve Butler (17), 3. Bob Frey (16), 4. George Snider (15), 5. Steve Chassey (9), 6. Tray House (14), 7. Billy Vukovich III (3), 8. Gene Lee Gibson (1), 9. Jack Hewitt (19), 10. Jerry Russell (23), 11. Larry Rice (10), 12. Jim Keeker (21), 13. Kenny Jacobs (11), 14. Palmer Crowell (5), 15. Gary Bettenhausen (4), 16. Andy Hillenburg (8), 17. Ray Joe Fager (25), 18. Mark Alderson (13), 19. Ken Schrader (7), 20. Johnny Parsons (2), 21. Gary Irvin (18), 22. Gary Hieber (22), 23. Tony Elliott (24), 24. Bob Cicconi (20), 25. Rich Vogler (26), 26. Jeff Bloom (12). NT

JULY 8, 1989 FEATURE: (75 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Bob Cicconi (6), 2. Ken Schrader (2), 3. Bruce Field (9), 4. Gary Bettenhausen (12), 5. Mark Alderson (4), 6. Johnny Parsons (13), 7. Bob Frey (3), 8. Larry Rice (14), 9. Rusty Rasmussen (8), 10. Walt Kennedy (23), 11. George Snider (19), 12. Andy Hillenburg (15), 13. Tony Elliott (10), 14. Tom Bigelow (21), 15. Wayne Hammond (11), 16. Warren Mockler (22), 17. Gene Lee Gibson (20), 18. Gary Hieber (17), 19. Steve Butler (5), 20. Manny Rockhold (7), 21. Jim Mahoney (16), 22. Steve Chassey (18), 23. Rich Vogler (1), 24. Jeff Bloom (24). NT

JULY 8, 1989 FEATURE: (75 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Ken Schrader (2), 2. Gary Bettenhausen (4), 3. Bob Cicconi (1), 4. Andy Hillenburg (12), 5. Bruce Field (3), 6. Wayne Hammond (15), 7. Mark Alderson (5), 8. Rusty Rasmussen (9), 9. Johnny Parsons (6), 10. Jeff Bloom (20), 11. George Snider (11), 12. Larry Rice (8), 13. Warren Mockler (16), 14. Tom Bigelow (14), 15. Rick Tomasik (24), 16. Gary Hieber (18), 17. Danny Milburn (21), 18. Tony Elliott (13), 19. Mike Thomas (23), 20. Lyn McIntosh (22), 21. Bob Frey (7), 22. Gene Lee Gibson (17), 23. Walt Kennedy (10), 24. Jim Mahoney (19). NT

JUNE 30, 1990 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. George Snider (16), 2. Ken Schrader (11), 3. Eric Gordon (2), 4. Bob Frey (10), 5. Brent Kaeding (3), 6. Jeff Gordon (6), 7. Jack Hewitt (15), 8. Davey Hamilton (9), 9. Wally Pankratz (7), 10. Andy Hillenburg (17), 11. Bob Cicconi (5), 12. Warren Mockler (1), 13. Chuck Gurney (13), 14. Roy Caruthers (14), 15. Rusty McClure (23), 16. Wayne Hammond (12), 17. Jimmy Sills (18), 18. Steve Butler (19), 19. Tray House (20), 20. Gary Hieber (21), 21. Rich Vogler (8), 22. Stan Fox (4), 23. Tony Elliott (22), 24. Bentley Warren (25), 25. Manny Rockhold (24). NT

JUNE 29, 1991 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Johnny Parsons (1), 2. Eric Gordon (6), 3. Jim Keeker (15), 4. Steve Butler (16), 5. Wally Pankratz (5), 6. Russ Gamester (8), 7. Chuck Gurney (9), 8. Steve Chassey (11), 9. Larry Dickson (14), 10. Tony Elliott (21), 11. Tray House (20), 12. Gary Hieber (18), 13. Andy Hillenburg (13), 14. Mike Fedorcak (22), 15. Greg Staab (19), 16. Jerry Nemire (23), 17. Gene Lee Gibson (10), 18. Jeff Gordon (3), 19. Brad Marvel (24), 20. Robbie Stanley (12), 21. Stan Fox (4), 22. Bob Cicconi (17), 23. Jimmy Sills (2), 24. George Snider (7). 42:09.55

JUNE 27, 1992 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jim Keeker (1), 2. Johnny Parsons (2), 3. Jimmy Sills (7), 4. Mike Bliss (4), 5. Jim Mahoney (11), 6. Tony Stewart (5), 7. Steve Butler (8), 8. Stevie Reeves (17), 9. Chip Thomas (9), 10. Russ Gamester (6), 11. Eric Gordon (13), 12. Joe Gaerte (10), 13. Wally Pankratz (3), 14. Tony Elliott (20), 15. Larry Dickson (23), 16. Tray House (22), 17. Greg Staab (24), 18. Cary Faas (18), 19. Page Jones (14), 20. Jack Hewitt (15), 21. Tyce Carlson (16), 22. Mike Fedorcak (19), 23. Davey Hamilton (12), 24. Warren Mockler (21). NT

JUNE 26, 1993 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (3), 2. Johnny Parsons (2), 3. George Snider (4), 4. Stevie Reeves (9), 5. Eric Gordon (16), 6. Ron Shuman (14), 7. Jim Keeker (11), 8. Steve Butler (6), 9. Tony Elliott (10), 10. Jim Mahoney (8), 11. Gary Hieber (12), 12. Bob Cicconi (21), 13. Ronnie Burke (19), 14. Bob Frey (20), 15. Greg Staab (18), 16. Wally Pankratz (5), 17. Bill Baue (24), 18. Jimmy Sills (1), 19. Tray House (22), 20. Larry Dickson (13), 21. Tyce Carlson (15), 22. Chip Thomas (17), 23. Tony Stewart (7), 24. Gary Cameron II (23). NT

AUGUST 4, 1994 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (4), 2. P.J. Jones (1), 3. Johnny Parsons (3), 4. Kenny Irwin Jr. (8), 5. Jimmy Sills (12), 6. Tony Elliott (6), 7. Ron Shuman (15), 8. George Snider (20), 9. Randy Tolsma (14), 10. Chuck Gurney (17), 11. Jack Runyon (19), 12. Wally Pankratz (13), 13. Kenneth Nichols (24), 14. Rocky Hodges (23), 15. Bentley Warren (10), 16. Jack Hewitt (21), 17. Chuck Leary (16), 18. Rusty McClure (11), 19. Andy Michner (2), 20. Gary Hieber (18), 21. Page Jones (5), 22. Eric Gordon (7), 23. Russ Gamester (9), 24. Dave Steele (22). NT

AUGUST 2, 1995 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Jim Keeker (1), 2. Tony Stewart (2), 3. Kenny Irwin Jr. (11), 4. Mike Bliss (3), 5. Davey Hamilton (12), 6. Dave Darland (7), 7. Eric Gordon (5), 8. Dave Steele (13), 9. Johnny Parsons (9), 10. Dan Drinan (15), 11. Bentley Warren (22), 12. Jack Runyon (14), 13. Lee Brewer Jr. (24), 14. Gary Hieber (17), 15. Jimmy Sills (8), 16. Jack Hewitt (4), 17. Chuck Gurney (6), 18. Tyce Carlson (20), 19. Randy Tolsma (18), 20. Jimmy Kite (23), 21. Kevin Doty (19), 22. Andy Michner (16), 23. Chuck Leary (21), 24. Rocky Hodges (10). NT

MAY 18, 1996 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (7), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (4), 3. Dave Blaney (2), 4. Kevin Doty (5), 5. Dave Steele (3), 6. Jim Keeker (6), 7. Johnny Parsons (17), 8. Chuck Gurney (8), 9. Chet Fillip (22), 10. Dave Darland (24), 11. Jack Hewitt (9), 12. Russ Gamester (13), 13. Wally Pankratz (14), 14. Chip Thomas (27), 15. Jimmy Sills (29), 16. Sammy Swindell (11), 17. Ryan Newman (12), 18. Pat Abold (16), 19. Robby Flock (1), 20. Tony Elliott (26), 21. Jim Mahoney (19), 22. Frankie Kerr (10), 23. Jackie Burke (23), 24. Chuck Leary (15), 25. John Heydenreich (20), 26. Bill Baue (21), 27. Kenneth Nichols (25), 28. Bill Rose (30), 29. Eric Gordon (18), 30. Bentley Warren (28). NT

JULY 31, 1996 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kenny Irwin Jr. (1), 2. Jimmy Sills (2), 3. Mike Bliss (11), 4. Robby Flock (8), 5. Eric Gordon (24), 6. Davey Hamilton (7), 7. Jack Hewitt (14), 8. Dave Darland (15), 9. Andy Michner (13), 10. Pat Abold (10), 11. Donnie Beechler (23), 12. Paul Durant (27), 13. Kenneth Nichols (29), 14. Steve Barth (12), 15. Chuck Gurney (20), 16. Randy Tolsma (21), 17. Gary Hieber (30), 18. Rocky Hodges (5), 19. Tracy Hines (19), 20. Tony Stewart (3), 21. Ryan Newman (9), 22. Dan Drinan (6), 23. Jackie Burke (18), 24. Bill Baue (28), 25. Gary Irvin (17), 26. Brian Tyler (22), 27. Dave Steele (4), 28. Tony Elliott (26), 29. Jim Keeker (16), 30. Bill Rose (25). NT

MAY 17, 1997 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Pat Abold (4), 2. Jimmy Kite (8), 3. Jack Hewitt (6), 4. Donnie Beechler (28), 5. Jim Keeker (1), 6. Davey Hamilton (2), 7. Kenny Irwin Jr. (7), 8. Chuck Leary (9), 9. Andy Michner (11), 10. Russ Gamester (16), 11. Chuck Gurney (13), 12. Bentley Warren (12), 13. Brian Tyler (23), 14. Eric Gordon (29), 15. Dave Darland (27), 16. Ronnie Burke (26), 17. Rocky Hodges (19), 18. Joe Gosek (30), 19. Cory Kruseman (18), 20. Bill Baue (25), 21. Todd Thomas (20), 22. Tracy Hines (17), 23. Ryan Newman (14), 24. Robby Flock (15), 25. Jimmy Sills (5), 26. Kevin Thomas (10), 27. Brian Gerster (3), 28. Jason McCord (24), 29. Jay Drake (22), 30. Dave Steele (21). NT

JULY 30, 1997 FEATURE: (100 Laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kenny Irwin Jr. (28), 2. Mike Bliss (12), 3. Dan Drinan (13), 4. Pat Abold (9), 5. Bentley Warren (26), 6. Chet Fillip (8), 7. Tracy Hines (19), 8. Jimmy Kite (5), 9. Jim Keeker (15), 10. Jeff Mitrisin (30), 11. Jason McCord (23), 12. Joe Gosek (29), 13. Jason Leffler (21), 14. Dave Darland (14), 15. Andy Michner (27), 16. Russ Gamester (1), 17. Robby Flock (18), 18. Ryan Newman (11), 19. Davey Hamilton (10), 20. Jack Hewitt (3), 21. Donnie Beechler (22), 22. J.J. Yeley (20), 23. Tony Stewart (2), 24. Jay Drake (4), 25. Brian Gerster (6), 26. Doug Kalitta (24), 27. Ronnie Burke (25), 28. John Heydenreich (16), 29. Paul Durant (7), 30. Chuck Leary (17). NT

MAY 16, 1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Stewart (2), 2. Pat Abold (5), 3. Dave Steele (13), 4. Russ Gamester (3), 5. Jason Leffler (1), 6. Doug Didero (7), 7. Tracy Hines (21), 8. Brian Tyler (19), 9. Chet Fillip (11), 10. Jimmy Sills (6), 11. Ryan Newman (26), 12. Bentley Warren (18), 13. Gary Hieber (25), 14. Kevin Thomas (15), 15. J.J. Yeley (27), 16. Ronnie Day (22), 17. John Heydenreich (20), 18. Eric Gordon (16), 19. Jason McCord (10), 20. Mike Brooks (12), 21. Lou Cicconi Jr. (28), 22. Dave Darland (14), 23. Donnie Beechler (4), 24. Troy Regier (30), 25. Jay Drake (9), 26. Todd Kane (23), 27. Chuck Leary (8), 28. Ken Hamilton (24), 29. Bill Rose (29), 30. Robby Flock (17). 44:57.26

JULY 29, 1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason Leffler (1), 2. Dave Steele (2), 3. Russ Gamester (3), 4. Ryan Newman (4), 5. Tony Stewart (21), 6. Brian Tyler (6), 7. Robby Flock (11), 8. Jack Hewitt (9), 9. Eric Gordon (16), 10. Dan Drinan (12), 11. Dave Darland (18), 12. Pat Abold (15), 13. Tracy Hines (22), 14. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (14), 15. Donnie Beechler (17), 16. Bentley Warren (23), 17. Jimmy Sills (10), 18. Gary Hieber (20), 19. Brad Armstrong (27), 20. John Heydenreich (7), 21. Chet Fillip (19), 22. Mike Brooks (24), 23. Mike Bliss (5), 24. Derek Davidson (26), 25. Doug Didero (25), 26. Bill Baue (29), 27. Brian Gerster (13), 28. Lou Cicconi Jr. (30), 29. Dave Blaney (8), 30. Johnny Parsons (28). NT

MAY 22, 1999 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Newman (1), 2. Tracy Hines (5), 3. Brian Tyler (14), 4. Russ Gamester (7), 5. Pat Abold (9), 6. Robby Flock (20), 7. Jason McCord (16), 8. Tony Elliott (8), 9. Doug Didero (4), 10. Derek Davidson (12), 11. Chet Fillip (17), 12. Jack Hewitt (21), 13. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (25), 14. Bentley Warren (18), 15. J.J. Yeley (29), 16. Gary Hieber (2), 17. Kipp Beard (15), 18. Ken Hamilton (19), 19. Jimmy McCune (22), 20. Dane Carter (23), 21. Mike Ordway (26), 22. Bill Tyler (28), 23. Tim Cox (30), 24. Jay Drake (11), 25. Brad Noffsinger (10), 26. Jason Leffler (#2) (13), 27. Paul White (27), 28. Dave Darland (3), 29. Jimmy Sills (6), 30. Bill Baue (24). NT

AUGUST 4, 1999 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (4), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (2), 3. Chuck Leary (1), 4. Ryan Newman (3), 5. Russ Gamester (7), 6. Jack Hewitt (8), 7. Gary Hieber (12), 8. Jason Leffler (5), 9. Tracy Hines (11), 10. Jay Drake (9), 11. Mike Bliss (21), 12. Bentley Warren (24), 13. Dave Darland (13), 14. Brian Paulus (26), 15. Rebel Jackson Jr. (10), 16. Eric Gordon (25), 17. Chet Fillip (19), 18. Jason McCord (23), 19. J.J. Yeley (16), 20. Brad Noffsinger (6), 21. Jimmy Sills (17), 22. Rick Treadway (28), 23. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 24. Brian Gerster (30), 25. Tony Elliott (18), 26. Tom Capie (20), 27. Brian Tyler (14), 28. Jimmy McCune (22), 29. Dane Carter (27), 30. Paul White (15). 41:00.18

MAY 20, 2000 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason Leffler (1), 2. Ryan Newman (10), 3. Jimmy McCune (3), 4. Kasey Kahne (27), 5. Brian Tyler (13), 6. Brian Paulus (14), 7. Dave Darland (24), 8. Russ Gamester (16), 9. Tony Elliott (19), 10. Jack Hewitt (26), 11. Dave Steele (2), 12. John Heydenreich (4), 13. Pat Abold (29), 14. Paul White (17), 15. Jimmy Sills (20), 16. Jay Drake (21), 17. Bobby McMahan (22), 18. Brad Noffsinger (18), 19. Billy Whittaker (6), 20. Eric Gordon (23), 21. J.J. Yeley (15), 22. Gary Hieber (7), 23. Ed Carpenter (8), 24. Todd Kane (28), 25. Jason McCord (5), 26. Chet Fillip (9), 27. Tracy Hines (11), 28. Bud Kaeding (12), 29. A.J. Fike (25), 30. Bentley Warren (30). NT

AUGUST 6, 2000 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Russ Gamester (5), 2. J.J. Yeley (1), 3. Chet Fillip (10), 4. Dave Steele (12), 5. John Heydenreich (13), 6. Jason McCord (8), 7. Jason Leffler (4), 8. Brad Noffsinger (7), 9. Tony Stewart (2), 10. Jimmy McCune (24), 11. Brian Tyler (20), 12. Dave Darland (23), 13. Kasey Kahne (9), 14. Ed Carpenter (26), 15. Eric Gordon (27), 16. Tracy Hines (16), 17. A.J. Fike (17), 18. Pat Abold (21), 19. Derek Davidson (25), 20. Jack Hewitt (11), 21. Ryan Newman (3), 22. Bud Kaeding (6), 23. Rich Tobias Jr. (28), 24. Dane Carter (22), 25. Gary Hieber (15), 26. Brian Paulus (18), 27. Bill Rose (19), 28. Tony Elliott (30), 29. Chuck Leary (29), 30. Paul White (14). 39:07.17

MAY 12, 2001 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (5), 2. Russ Gamester (6), 3. Tracy Hines (1), 4. Derek Davidson (12), 5. Paul White (2), 6. Ed Carpenter (19), 7. Jason McCord (20), 8. Kasey Kahne (3), 9. Dave Darland (8), 10. Chet Fillip (7), 11. J.J. Yeley (9), 12. Jay Drake (10), 13. Brian Tyler (21), 14. Dane Carter (4), 15. Brad Noffsinger (15), 16. John Heydenreich (17), 17. Bud Kaeding (13), 18. Tony Elliott (23), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (27), 20. Gary Hieber (18), 21. Michael Lewis (25), 22. Bobby McMahan (30), 23. Jimmy McCune (28), 24. Eric Gordon (22), 25. Dave Steele (11), 26. Brian Paulus (16), 27. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (24), 28. Carl Edwards (26), 29. Tyler Walker (14), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (29) 35:41.40

AUGUST 2, 2001 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kasey Kahne (9), 2. Brian Tyler (1), 3. Brad Noffsinger (3), 4. J.J. Yeley (7), 5. Michael Lewis (5), 6. Tracy Hines (8), 7. Paul White (6), 8. P.J. Jones (15), 9. Tyler Walker (2), 10. Russ Gamester (4), 11. Bud Kaeding (11), 12. Jason McCord (10), 13. Dave Steele (17), 14. Derek Davidson (22), 15. Jonathan Vennard (30), 16. Tony Elliott (28), 17. Ed Carpenter (20), 18. Aaron Fike (19), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 20. Carl Edwards (24), 21. Cory Kruseman (13), 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (25), 23. Tom Capie (29), 24. John Heydenreich (21), 25. Jay Drake (18), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (26), 27. Mike Bliss (23), 28. Tony Stewart (16), 29. Dave Darland (#135) (27). (Dane Carter car disqualified for failing to pass post-race technical inspection) (12). 38:33.06

AUGUST 1, 2002 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (1), 2. Russ Gamester (3), 3. Jason Leffler (6), 4. J.J. Yeley (2), 5. Tracy Hines (8), 6. Carl Edwards (16), 7. Dave Steele (12), 8. John Heydenreich (20), 9. Brian Tyler (7), 10. Tony Stewart (22), 11. Aaron Pollock (9), 12. Ed Carpenter (18), 13. Tyler Walker (25), 14. Dave Darland (14), 15. Derek Davidson (11), 16. Tony Elliott (31), 17. Paul White (19), 18. Teddy Beach (27), 19. Jimmy Kite (30), 20. P.J. Jones (15), 21. Aaron Fike (5), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (29), 23. Brad Noffsinger (17), 24. David Gough (28), 25. Jason McCord (24), 26. Jonathan Vennard (13), 27. Chet Fillip (4), 28. Jay Drake (26), 29. Kasey Kahne (21), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (23), 31. Bobby East (10). 44:55.65

MAY 22, 2003 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (4), 2. Dave Steele (1), 3. Brian Tyler (11), 4. Dave Darland (19), 5. Tracy Hines (6), 6. Chet Fillip (21), 7. A.J. Fike (18), 8. John Starks (10), 9. Tyler Walker (2), 10. Michael Lewis (20), 11. Jason McCord (22), 12. Russ Gamester (7), 13. Bobby East (9), 14. Jay Drake (13), 15. Teddy Beach (26), 16. Paul White (25), 17. Dane Carter (30), 18. Matt Westfall (23), 19. Donny Schatz (16), 20. Ron Gregory (5), 21. Ed Carpenter (15), 22. Aaron Pierce (8), 23. John Heydenreich (31), 24. Levi Jones (27), 25. Brad Noffsinger (28), 26. Lance Kobusch (14), 27. Bentley Warren (29), 28. Jason Leffler (3), 29. Jimmy McCune (17), 30. Aaron Fike (24), 31. Bud Kaeding (12). NT

JULY 31, 2003 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Jason McCord (15), 2. J.J. Yeley (1), 3. Carl Edwards (4), 4. Dave Darland (12), 5. Dave Steele (2), 6. Bobby East (3), 7. Tony Elliott (18), 8. Paul White (7), 9. Dane Carter (24), 10. Brad Noffsinger (13), 11. Jimmy McCune (17), 12. Jonathan Vennard (30), 13. David Bridges (27), 14. John Starks (16), 15. Rich Tobias Jr. (25), 16. Aaron Pierce (28), 17. Tyler Walker (14), 18. Ron Gregory (10), 19. Jason Leffler (8), 20. John Heydenreich (19), 21. Eric Butze (11), 22. Jimmy Kite (23), 23. Levi Jones (29), 24. Kasey Kahne (26), 25. Tracy Hines (6), 26. Brian Tyler (5), 27. Mike Bliss (9), 28. Michael Lewis (22), 29. Aaron Fike (20), 30. Chet Fillip (21), 31. Eric Gordon (31). NT

AUGUST 5, 2004 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jay Drake (1), 2. Dave Darland (6), 3. Jason McCord (10), 4. Eric Gordon (21), 5. Dave Blaney (7), 6. Chet Fillip (26), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 8. Bobby Santos (13), 9. Bobby East (11), 10. Aaron Pierce (19), 11. Dave Steele (22), 12. Bud Kaeding (3), 13. Dane Carter (4), 14. Russ Gamester (14), 15. Ron Gregory (25), 16. Aaron Fike (29), 17. P.J. Jones (18), 18. Boston Reid (15), 19. Paul White (5), 20. John Heydenreich (30), 21. Brian Tyler (17), 22. Tony Elliott (28), 23. Jeff Gardner (23), 24. Jimmy Kite (20), 25. Mike Bliss (2), 26. Tracy Hines (27), 27. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (8), 28. Tyler Walker (9), 29. Michael Lewis (16), 30. Aaron Pollock (24). 44:35.25

AUGUST 4, 2005 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (4), 2. Jason Leffler (1), 3. Josh Wise (5), 4. Jason McCord (22), 5. Tracy Hines (9), 6. Eric Gordon (21), 7. Chet Fillip (16), 8. Jimmy Kite (24), 9. Michael Lewis (23), 10. Dave Steele (8), 11. Ryan Durst (14), 12. Stevie Reeves (27), 13. Ron Gregory (12), 14. Tim Barber (17), 15. Todd Beach (25), 16. John Heydenreich (32), 17. Brian Tyler (29), 18. Dave Darland (10), 19. Kasey Kahne (3), 20. Teddy Beach (15), 21. Carl Edwards (13), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 23. Marc Jessup (6), 24. Tyler Walker (7), 25. Paul White (19), 26. Jay Drake (2), 27. Kyle Nicholas (28), 28. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (11), 29. Brad Armstrong (30), 30. Kevin Swindell (26), 31. Mike Bliss (20), 32. Russ Gamester (31). 40:07.731

AUGUST 3, 2006 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (3), 2. Carl Edwards (5), 3. Dave Steele (4), 4. Aaron Pierce (7), 5. Bryn Gohn (12), 6. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (10), 7. Thiago Medeiros (9), 8. Josh Wise (1), 9. Mat Neely (8), 10. Jay Drake (6), 11. Bud Kaeding (2), 12. Bobby Santos (13), 13. Tim Barber (11), 14. Rodney Weesner (14). 42:43.281

JULY 26, 2007 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (2), 2. Pablo Donoso (7), 3. Tim Barber (5), 4. Cameron Dodson (3), 5. Mike Murgoitio (9), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (11), 7. Bud Kaeding (12), 8. Jason Leffler (1), 9. Brian Tyler (15), 10. Billy Wease (10), 11. A.J. Fike (4), 12. Mat Neely (8), 13. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (16), 14. Aaron Pierce (6), 15. Marc Jessup (14), 16. Paul White (17), 17. Brad Armstrong (18), 18. P.J. Jones (13). 47:41.509

JULY 24, 2008 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (2), 2. Ryan Newman (3), 3. Chet Fillip (4), 4. Dave Darland (17), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 6. Aaron Pierce (11), 7. Levi Jones (6), 8. A.J. Fike (13), 9. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (12), 10. Mike Murgoitio (8), 11. Brian Tyler (14), 12. Eric Gordon (5), 13. Jacob Wilson (20), 14. Shane Hmiel (1), 15. Tracy Hines (7), 16. Steve Arpin (21), 17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (24), 18. Michael Annett (25), 19. Brad Armstrong (22), 20. Ryan Smith (19), 21. Zach Schiff (16), 22. Mario Marietta (15), 23. Shane Hollingsworth (18), 24. Tom Capie (26), 25. Cameron Dodson (23), 26. Shane Cottle (10). 42:46.92

JULY 23, 2009 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (2), 2. Bobby East (3), 3. Bud Kaeding (4), 4. Chet Fillip (1), 5. Tyler Walker (10), 6. Kody Swanson (19), 7. Eric Gordon (6), 8. Ryan Newman (9), 9. Cameron Dodson (20), 10. Tracy Hines (12), 11. Josh Wise (21), 12. Dakoda Armstrong (5), 13. Mike Lichty (11), 14. Davey Hamilton (23), 15. Mario Marietta (16), 16. Levi Jones (14), 17. A.J. Fike (15), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 19. Jacob Wilson (7), 20. Brian Tyler (18), 21. Aaron Pierce (27), 22. Zach Daum (25), 23. Shane Hmiel (17), 24. Ryan Smith (28), 25. Brad Armstrong (26), 26. Tony Hunt (22), 27. Russ Gamester (13), 28. Dave Darland (24), 29. Patrick Bruns (29), 30. Rodney Weesner (30). 37:41.05

JULY 22, 2010 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (3), 2. Levi Jones (7), 3. Jacob Wilson (8), 4. Brad Sweet (1), 5. Bobby East (10), 6. Bobby Santos (13), 7. Bud Kaeding (11), 8. Shane Hmiel (16), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 10. Troy DeCaire (30), 11. Bryan Clauson (14), 12. Brian Tyler (17), 13. Eric Gordon (15), 14. Mario Marietta (20), 15. A.J. Fike (5), 16. Justin Carver (24), 17. Aaron Pierce (22), 18. Shane Hollingsworth (25), 19. Mike Larrison (23), 20. Tanner Swanson (6), 21. Coleman Gulick (28), 22. Derek Hagar (27), 23. Kody Swanson (4), 24. Ryan Newman (2), 25. Mike Lichty (26), 26. Russ Gamester (19), 27. Zach Daum (12), 28. Jason Leffler (18), 29. Zach Martini (29), 30. Tyler Walker (21). NT

JULY 28, 2011 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (6), 2. Tracy Hines (1), 3. Tanner Swanson (5), 4. Levi Jones (4), 5. Bobby Santos (19), 6. Bryan Clauson (12), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 8. Ryan Newman (8), 9. Bobby East (3), 10. Eric Gordon (9), 11. Brian Tyler (11), 12. Aaron Pierce (18), 13. Bud Kaeding (17), 14. Josh Wise (14), 15. Jacob Wilson (15), 16. A.J. Fike (13), 17. Russ Gamester (16), 18. Dave Steele (22), 19. Kyle Larson (10), 20. Zach Daum (21), 21. Jimmy Kite (28), 22. Todd Kane (29), 23. Mike Larrison (24), 24. David Byrne (20), 25. Derek Hagar (27), 26. John Heydenreich (26), 27. Jason Leffler (2), 28. Ryan Smith (23), 29. Brian Gerster (25). NT

MAY 19, 2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (3), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. Bud Kaeding (2), 4. Tanner Swanson (4), 5. Jacob Wilson (5), 6. Tracy Hines (11), 7. Eric Gordon (14), 8. Levi Jones (7), 9. A.J. Fike (8), 10. Russ Gamester (19), 11. Bobby East (6), 12. Kyle Hamilton (12), 13. Zach Daum (15), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (10), 15. Jimmy Kite (17), 16. Doug Berryman (16), 17. David Byrne (13), 18. Brian Tyler (9), 19. Donnie Beechler (18). 47:57.38

JULY 26, 2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Kody Swanson (4), 3. Bobby East (11), 4. Kyle Larson (3), 5. Tanner Swanson (2), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 7. Eric Gordon (7), 8. Russ Gamester (9), 9. Levi Jones (14), 10. Bud Kaeding (16), 11. Jacob Wilson (12), 12. Kyle Hamilton (10), 13. Brian Tyler (8), 14. A.J. Fike (15), 15. Taylor Ferns (13), 16. Tracy Hines (5), 17. Aaron Pierce (17), 18. Jimmy Kite (18). 36:48.05

JULY 27, 2013 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. David Byrne (6), 4. Chris Windom (3), 5. Tracy Hines (5), 6. Jacob Wilson (8), 7. Bobby East (11), 8. Aaron Pierce (13), 9. Brian Tyler (15), 10. Taylor Ferns (9), 11. Russ Gamester (12), 12. Frank D’Alonso (17), 13. Randy Bateman (16), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 15. Jarett Andretti (14), 16. Bobby Santos (7), 17. Shane Hollingsworth (10). NT

MAY 17, 2014 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Kody Swanson (18), 3. David Byrne (3), 4. Tracy Hines (2), 5. Bobby Santos (5), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Kyle O’Gara (9), 8. Jacob Wilson (4), 9. Bobby East (12), 10. A.J. Fike (11), 11. Taylor Ferns (6), 12. Cale Thomas (14), 13. Christopher Bell (17), 14. Jarett Andretti (10), 15. John Hunt (16), 16. Caleb Armstrong (7), 17. Shane Cockrum (13), 18. Davey Ray (15), 19. Dave Darland (19). NT

JULY 24, 2014 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. David Byrne (4), 2. Tanner Swanson (1), 3. Kody Swanson (5), 4. Ryan Newman (2), 5. Bobby Santos (3), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Jacob Wilson (9), 8. Bobby East (10), 9. Jarett Andretti (14), 10. Ken Schrader (12), 11. Davey Hamilton Jr. (18), 12. Chris Phillips (20), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 14. Davey Ray (22), 15. Patrick Lawson (24), 16. Kyle O’Gara (13), 17. Caleb Armstrong (11), 18. Cale Thomas (16), 19. Tracy Hines (6), 20. C.J. Leary (15), 21. Ryan Litt (17), 22. John Heydenreich (19), 23. A.J. Fike (21), 24. Jarid Blondel (23). NT

MAY 23, 2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Kody Swanson (5), 3. Bobby Santos (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Aaron Pierce (8), 6. A.J. Fike (2), 7. Tracy Hines (3), 8. David Byrne (10), 9. C.J. Leary (9), 10. Austin Nemire (12), 11. Jarett Andretti (11), 12. Rex Norris III (13), 13. Jacob Wilson (6), 14. Dave Baumgartner (14), 15. Patrick Lawson (15), 16. Davey Ray (18), 17. Tad Roach (16), 18. Jimmy Parsons (17). 40:23.16

JULY 23, 2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Ryan Newman (2), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Chris Windom (9), 6. Aaron Pierce (1), 7. David Byrne (7), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 9. A.J. Fike (10), 10. Austin Nemire (11), 11. Rex Norris III (13), 12. Joe Axsom (14), 13. Jarett Andretti (15), 14. Tim Barber (16), 15. Patrick Lawson (18), 16. C.J. Leary (12), 17. Jacob Wilson (8), 18. Jimmy McCune (17), 19. Tad Roach (19). 37:25.11

MAY 27, 2016 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (2), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. Robert Stout (5), 5. Aaron Pierce (6), 6. Justin Grant (12), 7. David Byrne (9), 8. Joe Axsom (11), 9. Shane Cockrum (16), 10. Joe Liguori (10), 11. Austin Nemire (13), 12. Casey Shuman (14), 13. Shane Cottle (15), 14. Jacob Wilson (8), 15. Bobby Santos (1), 16. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 17. Patrick Lawson (17). 51:38.838

JULY 21, 2016 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Tanner Swanson (4), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Chris Windom (6), 6. Ryan Newman (2), 7. Justin Grant (9), 8. Jacob Wilson (8), 9. Joe Axsom (10), 10. Joe Liguori (11), 11. Casey Shuman (15), 12. Austin Nemire (12), 13. Kevin Studley (17), 14. David Byrne (7), 15. Patrick Lawson (16), 16. Shane Cottle (13), 17. Shane Cockrum (14). 45:52.428

MAY 26, 2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (3), 3. Tanner Swanson (2), 4. Chris Windom (6), 5. Aaron Pierce (9), 6. David Byrne (7), 7. Kevin Studley (15), 8. A.J. Russell (11), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 10. Patrick Lawson (17), 11. Toni Breidinger (13), 12. Joss Moffatt (14), 13. Troy Thompson (20), 14. Justin Grant (4), 15. Davey Hamilton Jr. (8), 16. Bill Rose (18), 17. Joe Liguori (16), 18. Joe Axsom (10), 19. J.C. Bland (19), 20. Cody Gerhardt (12). 47:17.986

JULY 20, 2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (3), 2. Tanner Swanson (1), 3. Aaron Pierce (4), 4. Kody Swanson (2), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Justin Grant (5), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 8. David Byrne (8), 9. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 10. Annie Breidinger (18), 11. Kevin Studley (13), 12. Tyler Courtney (17), 13. Joss Moffatt (16), 14. Matt Goodnight (21), 15. Patrick Lawson (14), 16. Joe Liguori (20), 17. Joe Axsom (11), 18. Ryan Newman (6), 19. Bill Rose (15), 20. Damion Gardner (9), 21. Shane Cottle (19). 47:34.181

MAY 25, 2018 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Tanner Swanson (22), 3. Aaron Pierce (6), 4. Bobby Santos (2), 5. Chris Windom (4), 6. Justin Grant (5), 7. David Byrne (3), 8. Jim Anderson (8), 9. Eric Gordon (9), 10. Kyle Hamilton (21), 11. Travis Welpott (17), 12. Patrick Lawson (16), 13. Cody Gerhardt (14), 14. Dave Darland (13), 15. Kyle Robbins (11), 16. Toni Breidinger (15), 17. Matt Goodnight (12), 18. Bill Rose (18), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 20. Derek Bischak (20), 21. Austin Blair (10), 22. Mike Haggenbottom (19). 40:54.232

MAY 24, 2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Hamilton (2), 2. Tanner Swanson (17), 3. Bobby Santos (4), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Eric Gordon (16), 6. David Byrne (6), 7. Brian Gerster (9), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 9. Austin Nemire (12), 10. Cody Gallogly (8), 11. Kyle Robbins (11), 12. John Heydenreich (15), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (14), 14. Chris Windom (5), 15. Derek Bischak (7), 16. Kody Swanson (1), 17. Matt Goodnight (13). NT

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (2), 2. Tanner Swanson (1), 3. Kyle Hamilton (6), 4. Jim Anderson (10), 5. James Davison (9), 6. David Byrne (5), 7. Bobby Santos (3), 8. Justin Grant (4), 9. Chris Windom (11), 10. Kyle Robbins (20), 11. Joe Liguori (12), 12. Patrick Lawson (18), 13. Annie Breidinger (22), 14. Austin Nemire (14), 15. Matt Goodnight (15), 16. Eric Gordon (8), 17. Mike Haggenbottom (19), 18. John Heydenreich (21), 19. Ryan Newman (7), 20. Cameron Dodson (17), 21. Derek Bischak (23), 22. Cody Gallogly (16), 23. Brian Gerster (13), 24. Dave Berkheimer (24). 50:56.46

AUGUST 21, 2020 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (2), 2. Aaron Pierce (7), 3. Kyle Hamilton (4), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Justin Grant (3), 6. Eric Gordon (6), 7. Patrick Lawson (21), 8. Russ Gamester (8), 9. Chris Windom (10), 10. Kody Swanson (1), 11. Shane Cottle (13), 12. Austin Nemire (14), 13. Matt Goodnight (15), 14. Travis Welpott (18), 15. Mike Haggenbottom (20), 16. Toni Breidinger (17), 17. Kyle Robbins (19), 18. Derek Bischak (11), 19. Kyle O’Gara (12), 20. John Heydenreich (9), 21. Bryan Gossel (22), 22. Jim Anderson (16), 23. Dave Berkheimer (24), 24. Brent Yarnal (23). 50:44.343

MAY 29, 2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (2), 3. David Byrne (3), 4. Justin Grant (4), 5. Taylor Ferns (8), 6. Jim Anderson (5), 7. Logan Seavey (12), 8. Shane Cottle (6), 9. Patrick Lawson (17), 10. Austin Nemire (13), 11. Kyle Robbins (10), 12. Kyle O'Gara (14), 13. Bryan Gossel (16), 14. Mike Haggenbottom (19), 15. Eric Gordon (11), 16. Matt Goodnight (15), 17. Annie Breidinger (18), 18. Jake Day (21), 19. Tanner Swanson (23), 20. Travis Welpott (9), 21. Nathan Byrd (7), 22. Dave Berkheimer (22), 23. Brent Yarnal (20). NT

AUGUST 14, 2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Tyler Roahrig (7), 3. Bobby Santos (3), 4. Tanner Swanson (2), 5. David Byrne (6), 6. Kyle O'Gara (11), 7. Austin Nemire (16), 8. Logan Seavey (9), 9. Russ Gamester (10), 10. Travis Welpott (13), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (23), 12. Annie Breidinger (22), 13. Aaron Pierce (12), 14. Eric Gordon (14), 15. Nathan Byrd (18), 16. Bryan Gossel (24), 17. Derek Bischak (4), 18. Justin Grant (8), 19. Jake Day (25), 20. Ryan Newman (5), 21. Kyle Robbins (20), 22. Shane Cottle (15), 23. Joe Liguori (19), 24. Taylor Ferns (17), 25. Patrick Lawson (21), 26. Dave Berkheimer (26). 57:28.825

MAY 27, 2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Taylor Ferns (10), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Logan Seavey (8), 6. Brian Tyler (13), 7. Mario Clouser (24), 8. Davey Hamilton Jr. (22), 9. Eric Gordon (21), 10. Gregg Cory (18), 11. Kyle O’Gara (11), 12. Nathan Byrd (14), 13. Justin Grant (12), 14. Bryan Gossel (20), 15. Nick Hamilton (5), 16. Tanner Swanson (7), 17. Travis Welpott (25), 18. Ryan Newman (2), 19. Russ Gamester (9), 20. Kyle Robbins (16), 21. Austin Nemire (15), 22. Mike McVetta (19), 23. Patrick Lawson (17), 24. Derek Bischak (4), 25. Dave Berkheimer (23). 50:50.044

OCTOBER 22, 2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (2), 2. C.J. Leary (10), 3. Tyler Roahrig (9), 4. Kody Swanson (1), 5. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 6. Justin Grant (6), 7. Bobby Santos (4), 8. Nathan Byrd (8), 9. Mario Clouser (7), 10. Nick Hamilton (5), 11. Brian Tyler (13), 12. Travis Welpott (19), 13. Gregg Cory (17), 14. Kyle Robbins (16), 15. Jake Day (20), 16. Bryan Gossel (15), 17. Mike McVetta (14), 18. Russ Gamester (11), 19. Kaylee Bryson (18), 20. Logan Seavey (3), 21. Dave Berkheimer (21). 40:52.622

MAY 26, 2023 FEATURE: (146 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Logan Seavey (15), 3. Tyler Roahrig (10), 4. Derek Bischak (6), 5. Taylor Ferns (13), 6. Nathan Byrd (8), 7. Tanner Swanson (3), 8. Justin Grant (4), 9. Mario Clouser (18), 10. Mike McVetta (20), 11. Bryan Gossel (27), 12. Jerry Coons Jr. (23), 13. Casey Buckman (19), 14. Wayne Johnson (24), 15. Kaylee Bryson (30), 16. Travis Welpott (26), 17. Gregg Cory (28), 18. Russ Gamester (9), 19. Kody Swanson (2), 20. Kyle Steffens (22), 21. Trey Burke (21), 22. Patrick Lawson (11), 23. Matt Westfall (25), 24. C.J. Leary (5), 25. Kyle O'Gara (16), 26. Brent Yarnal (29), 27. Dave Berkheimer (32), 28. Emerson Axsom (7), 29. Billy Wease (14), 30. Kyle Robbins (17), 31. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 32. Tom Paterson (31). 1:13:52.03 (New Track Record)

OCTOBER 15, 2023 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (3), 2. Bobby Santos (2), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Kody Swanson (1), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Kaylee Bryson (11), 8. Davey Hamilton Jr. (9), 9. Mario Clouser (6), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (12), 11. Kyle O’Gara (10), 12. Trey Osborne (19), 13. Kyle Steffens (16), 14. Bryan Gossel (17), 15. Travis Welpott (20), 16. Gregg Cory (18), 17. Derek Bischak (13), 18. Trey Burke (15), 19. Russ Gamester (7), 20. Tanner Berryhill (14), 21. Tom Paterson (21). 44:04.426

MAY 25, 2024 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Logan Seavey (2), 3. C.J. Leary (#06) (22), 4. Russ Gamester (8), 5. Bobby Santos (3), 6. Dakoda Armstrong (4), 7. Taylor Ferns (6), 8. Nathan Byrd (12), 9. Trey Osborne (9), 10. Kyle Steffens (20), 11. Justin Grant (5), 12. Tyler Roahrig (7), 13. Patrick Lawson (11), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (10), 15. Tanner Berryhill (16), 16. Gregg Cory (17), 17. Casey Buckman (15), 18. Trey Burke (13), 19. Kaylee Bryson (14), 20. Brent Yarnal (18), 21. Nathan Moore (19), 22. Dave Berkheimer (21). 42:34.898

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

October 12, 2024 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-14.520; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.636; 3. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-14.690; 4. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.716; 5. Ricky Lewis, 17, Dunkel-14.729; 6. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.761; 7. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.770; 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.783; 9. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.922; 10. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-15.007; 11. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-15.078; 12. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-15.114; 13. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.247; 14. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-15.477; 15. Racin Silva, 5S, Silva-15.529; 16. Blake Bower, 17X, Dunkel-15.692; 17. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-16.167; 18. Stevie Rogers, 11, Rogers-16.393; 19. Todd Pratt, 17T, Pratt-16.759; 20. Caleb Stelzig, 21X, Stelzig-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Logan Calderwood, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Blake Bower, 7. Todd Pratt. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Cody Williams, 5. Jordan Hermansader, 6. Elexa Herrera. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. David Gasper, 3. Verne Sweeney, 4. Racin Silva, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Stevie Rogers. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ricky Lewis (2), 2. David Gasper (9), 3. R.J. Johnson (3), 4. Cody Williams (5), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (1), 6. A.J. Bender (13), 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (8), 8. Austin Grabowski (7), 9. Tommy Malcolm (10), 10. Austin Williams (12), 11. Logan Calderwood (6), 12. Logan Williams (14), 13. Verne Sweeney (4), 14. Jordan Hermansader (11), 15. Racin Silva (15), 16. Elexa Herrera (17), 17. Stevie Rogers (18), 18. Todd Pratt (19), 19. Blake Bower (16). NT.
----------------------------
**Stevie Rogers flipped during lap 4 of the feature.
.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Ricky Lewis.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: David Gasper (9 to 2)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: October 18&19 – Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, California

REDEMPTION AT THE BURG!

DANNER CAPITALIZES LATE

TO SCORE STAAB MEMORIAL

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 11, 2024)………”It’s not really the way we want to do it, but we’ll take them any way we can get them.”

On a smattering of occasions throughout the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season, Briggs Danner wound up in the unenvious position of having the proverbial rug pulled out from underneath him while leading late in a race.

One of those particular instances came during July’s USAC Indiana Sprint Week round at Lawrenceburg Speedway where he was leading the field in the latter stages of the race before an engine issue forced him to the sidelines.

Upon his return to the 3/8-mile dirt oval during Friday night’s inaugural Greg Staab Memorial, Danner just so happened to be on the opposite side of a similar ordeal. On the final lap, racelong leader Mitchel Moles’ bid for victory was snuffed just one turn away from the finish line when a caution was displayed for an incident in turn one involving Kyle Shipley and Kale Drake.

Under the yellow, Moles’ car developed an unusual and unexpected malady. With his engine’s RPMs suddenly rising, Moles wore out his brakes just trying to keep his car whoa’d down under the yellow flag periodi. When Moles pulled off the racing surface, Danner took over control of the race, then fended off Robert Ballou for the final two circuits to gather a look-what-I-found victory in his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Boulevard Truck Repair/DRC/Rider Chevy.

Even with the lap 30 yellow flag, Danner (Allentown, Pa.) felt he still had a chance to make a run at Moles. As it turned out, good fortune for himself and devastating heartbreak for Moles was negated that scenario before it could even be put to the test.

“I feel really bad for Mitchel,” Danner admitted. “I knew he had something going on. I think his throttle was sticking. I don’t really want to win a race in that manner, but I still think we had a shot with two laps to go there. He was running through the bottom of one and two and I felt really good up top. I think we could’ve pushed the issue.”

Despite gaining all three of his career USAC National Sprint Car feature wins in 2024 at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway as well as Indiana’s Bloomington and Lawrenceburg Speedways, Danner has also quite often been on the other side of the equation more times than he’d prefer with a boatload of near misses.

At Williams Grove, Danner ran out of fuel while leading coming off the final turn on the last lap. At Port Royal, he smacked the wall and subsequently dropped out while leading with eight laps to go. At Action Track USA, he came up on the short end of a photo finish, losing out to Logan Seavey by .043 second. And of course, there was the aforementioned Lawrenceburg race in midsummer, but this time around, Danner was determined not to let another one slip away.

While Danner slotted into third for the start of the 73rd USAC national event of the year during the 73rd ever visit by the USAC National Sprint Cars at Lawrenceburg, Moles was lined up directly in front of him on the pole position. Moles levied no mercy on the 24-car field as he rushed out to a near two second lead and stayed put throughout much of the first half of the race.

On lap 13, however, Moles nearly met catastrophe as he and Todd Hobson collided off the exit of turn two as Moles was attempting to put Hobson a lap down. Wheels touched as a result, sending Hobson airborne while Moles’ momentum briefly got stifled. Nonetheless, both continued onward seemingly void of any lasting effects for the moment.

The torrid pace went caution free for the initial 26 laps until 11th running Kale Drake initiated the first yellow flag after performing a 360-degree spin in turn four, thus erasing Moles’ 1.6 second advantage. While Moles’ interval had been slashed, on the same token, it did clear a path for him to race his way to the finish line for the final four laps without the hindrance of traffic.

For the third-running Danner, it was “good riddance” to traffic, and thus, made it one less task to take away from his ultimate focus of getting to the front. With that said, time was running short.

“It was getting tough because I was pushing it really hard,” Danner explained. “We got in traffic and I knew we’d be slowing down a little bit. Guys like Brady (Bacon) would be able to keep up. He was showing his nose, but I wasn’t going to let it faze me. I just tried not to look at him and kept pushing. I was able to get by Robert (Ballou) there, and luckily, that was a big move to be able to win this.”

While many eyes were affixed to Moles leading the pathway, the intriguing battle for the second position proved to be critical. Danner chased Ballou, then successfully slid underneath him in turn three to grab the second position at a crucial juncture with just three laps to go.

Although Danner managed to close to within three to four car lengths of Moles as the front two swept through turns three and four for the final time, it seemed as if the sand in the hourglass had run out. But, just in the nick of time for Danner’s sake, Shipley bounced through turn one and nearly toppled over before coming to a halt. Drake, like Shipley, also running just beyond mid-pack at the moment, was unable to avoid Shipley and slid sideways, nerf bar first, into Shipley’s ride. Both drivers were okay, but unable to restart.

In a shocking development, under the yellow flag, Moles stopped at the edge of the infield, then was pushed to the pits with a possible stuck throttle. That made Danner the leader of the pack for the race that was extended to 31 laps due to the “overtime” period.

Although Ballou took run after run to slide up in front, Danner never flinched and never wavered as he crossed the stripe 0.593 seconds ahead of the field. Ballou came home a close second while Bacon collected third, Daison Pursley fourth and Kevin Thomas Jr. fifth.

Danner’s victory allowed him to become the first native Pennsylvanian to win three or more USAC National Sprint Car feature events in a season since National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Mitch Smith do so in 1971.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) came narrowly close to scoring his first USAC victory at Lawrenceburg since 2011. In the end, he finished with his second top-two series result in his past three starts aboard his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Mountain Mechanical Contractors/DRC/Ott Chevy.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) kept the train-a-rollin’ as he finished third to grab his 19th consecutive top-10 finish of the USAC National Sprint Car season in his Dynamics, Inc./Tom Hoffman Construction – Spankins Motorsports/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Mired back in the 16th starting spot, Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) went to work and raced his way up to a ninth place result in the feature. That earned him the evening’s hard charger honors.

Kayla Roell (Dillsboro, Ind.) furiously fought her way into the main event. Starting sixth in the semi-feature, she moved her way up to the fourth and final transfer spot to put herself in the big show. For that, she's the honoree of Inferno Armor USA’s Fire Move of the Night

In Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) captured his sixth career USAC National Sprint Car quick time, which tied him for 80th on all-time list with Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath and Ken Schrader.

Meanwhile, Danner’s third career USAC National Sprint Car victory placed him 118th on the all-time series feature winners list alongside Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith and Doug Wolfgang.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 11, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Greg Staab Memorial

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-14.049; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.076; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.085; 4. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.169; 5. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-14.256; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.266; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.369; 8. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.387; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.441; 10. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.537; 11. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-14.552; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.618; 13. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-14.700; 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.709; 15. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.724; 16. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-14.730; 17. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.786; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.862; 19. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.951; 20. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.953; 21. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-14.971; 22. Shawn Westerfeld, 44J, Fischesser/Owen-15.010; 23. Todd Hobson, 44, Soudrette-15.106; 24. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-15.304; 25. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-15.355; 26. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.633; 27. Dakota Earls, 15E, Earls-15.736; 28. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-15.948; 29. Brian Heitkamp, 22, Heitkamp-16.394; 30. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Nick Bilbee, 2. Kyle Shipley, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Ryan Barr, 7. Brian Heitkamp, 8. Kale Drake. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Shawn Westerfeld, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Hunter Maddox. 1:57.869

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Todd Hobson, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Dakota Earls. 1:59.526

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. J.J. Hughes, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Braxton Cummings, 7. Kayla Roell. 1:59.479

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Brandon Mattox, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Braxton Cummings, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Dakota Earls, 8. Brian Heitkamp, 9. Ryan Barr. NT

FEATURE: (31 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Briggs Danner (3), 2. Robert Ballou (2), 3. Brady Bacon (4), 4. Daison Pursley (6), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 6. Chase Stockon (8), 7. C.J. Leary (10), 8. Justin Grant (13), 9. Kyle Cummins (16), 10. Logan Seavey (5), 11. Nick Bilbee (9), 12. Carson Garrett (12), 13. Joey Amantea (19), 14. J.J. Hughes (18), 15. Brandon Mattox (20), 16. Todd Hobson (23), 17. Kayla Roell (24), 18. Hayden Reinbold (21), 19. Mitchel Moles (1), 20. Kale Drake (11), 21. Kyle Shipley (17), 22. Shawn Westerfeld (22), 23. Jadon Rogers (15), 24. Matt Westfall (14). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-29 Mitchel Moles, Laps 30-31 Briggs Danner.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2762, 2-Brady Bacon-2697, 3-Daison Pursley-2510, 4-C.J. Leary-2472, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2468, 6-Mitchel Moles-2383, 7-Robert Ballou-2374, 8-Kyle Cummins-2275, 9-Justin Grant-2266, 10-Carson Garrett-1711.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-196, 2-Logan Seavey-188, 3-Robert Ballou-145, 4-Justin Grant-138, 5-C.J. Leary-128, 6-Chase Stockon-126, 7-Kyle Cummins-124, 8-Brady Bacon-112, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-105, 10-Matt Westfall-104.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 12, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Fall Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (14.246)

Honest Abe Roofing/Greg Staab Memorial Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (14.049)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Nick Bilbee

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kale Drake

Greg Staab Memorial First Non-Transfer: Braxton Cummings

Greg Staab Memorial Hard Charger: Kyle Cummins (16th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Kayla Roell

Greg Staab Memorial Best Lawrenceburg Regular: Nick Bilbee (11th)

Greg Staab Memorial Not in Show Bonus: Ryan Barr

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RUMBLE AT MOHAVE VALLEY SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

OCTOBER 8, 2024... The chase for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship will resume this Saturday, October 12th at Mohave Valley Raceway. Promoted by Ron Meyer, the seventeenth point race and tune-up for November’s “57th Western World Championships” will also feature the Southwest EcoTech Midgets, Dwarf Cars, and Spring Family Motorsports Mini Dwarfs. Located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona, the Pit Gates will open at 2:30pm, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 7:00pm. For more information, visit mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000.

For those that cannot make it to the races, the event will be live streamed at Dirt Race Central, (drc.tv).

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at Mohave Valley Raceway.
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.
- FUEL WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.
- TIRES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE RACE TRACK.

Since April 23, 2022, the fast 1/3-mile clay oval has held six USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and five different drivers have claimed victory. Defending champion, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa leads all drivers with two Mohave Valley wins and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. topped the April 6th event. “The Cadillac” Cody Williams established the 1-lap track record of 13.923 seconds on April 1, 2023 and the complete Mohave Valley win list is at the end of this release.

After finishing third at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway Dirt Track (Bakersfield, CA) on September 28th, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) holds a 41-point lead over the competition. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one semi-main win, fifteen top-10 finishes, and 46 feature laps led on the season. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine feature wins to his credit. The 2005 Rookie of the Year will be looking to extend his point lead with his first series win at Mohave Valley.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) ranks second in the point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored sixteenth at Kern Raceway after suffering damage earlier in the night. To date, Tommy “Thunder” has four feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven series wins. The veteran driver will have his sights on gaining valuable points by adding a Mohave Valley win to his resume.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams placed seventh at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has five heat race victories, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, twelve top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will have his sights on his first USAC/CRA victory of 2024 on Saturday.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) is fourth in the battle for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender raced from twelfth to sixth in the September 28th main event. To date, the former 360 Sprint Car Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner has one feature win, six heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking for the second USAC/CRA win of his career at Mohave Valley.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) ranks fifth in the championship point standings. Driving John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams finished tenth in the Kern Raceway main event. At press time, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will have his sights on earning the first USAC/CRA victory of his career this Saturday night.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Blake Bower, Braden Chiaramonte, Jon DeWees, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Tyler Hatzikian, Camie Bell, Aaron Altaffer, Jacob Tuttle, Heath Holdsclaw, Blake Hendricks, and Tom Dunkel are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Eddie Tafoya Jr., Grant Sexton, Logan Calderwood, “Flash” Jordan Hermansader, and more.

Mohave Valley Raceway is located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona. For more event information, visit the track’s website at mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000. Mohave Valley Raceway is a cash only facility and grandstand tickets are available on race day. General Admission tickets (including Seniors) are $25, Children tickets (6 to 12) are $15, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. Outside food, beverages, and ice chests are not permitted.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson-1073, 2. Tommy Malcolm-1032, 3. Austin Williams-971, 4. A.J. Bender-929, 5. Logan Williams-913, 6. David Gasper (R)-888, 7. Cody Williams-867, 8. Verne Sweeney-708, 9. Austin Grabowski-691, 10. Charles Davis Jr.-642, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-613, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-495, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-423, 14. Grant Sexton-344, 15. Logan Calderwood-329, 16. Matt Mitchell-328, 17. Brody Roa-307, 18. Blake Bower (R)-263, 19. Matt McCarthy-254, 20. Ricky Lewis-233. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com.

MOHAVE VALLEY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Cody Williams – 13.923 (04/01/23)

MOHAVE VALLEY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Brody Roa, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

THE BATTLEGROUND AWAITS!

TWO NIGHTS & $20,000 IN SIGHT

FOR USAC SPRINTS AT THE BURG OCT 11-12

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 9, 2024)………As if the Fall Nationals could get any better!

The event has doubled in size for 2024 to host not one, but two-straight nights of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing this Friday-Saturday, October 11-12, at southeastern Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

To say much is on the line this weekend would certainly be an understatement.

Not only has the USAC National Sprint Car title race hit the final four-race stretch of the season, drivers and teams will also be chasing after a grand prize of $20,000 during Saturday night’s 30-lap grand culmination.

Furthermore, Brady Bacon leads a trail of hopefuls aiming to claim a $10,000 bonus in the finale of the 10-race Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment.

Additionally, Robert Ballou is staring in the face of a $10,000 bonus of his own if he can finish Saturday’s round with a podium finish to complete the NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta for 2024.

Time has come today. Can’t put it off another day. So, in the meantime, here’s six Fall Nationals storylines to watch for this weekend at the battleground of The Burg.

FALL NATTY HEROES

No less than six past Fall Nationals winners are expected to compete in this weekend’s event. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) has captured the event twice, first in 2018 and did so again for the second time in the most recent edition in 2023.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) scored the first two Fall Nationals wins in 2007 and 2008. One-time Fall Nationals winners in the field include Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) who claimed his very first career USAC victory in the 2012 event as well as Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (2020) and Princeton, Indiana’s Kyle Cummins (2022).

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) is the winningest driver in Fall Nationals history, having won the event a staggering three times in 2017-2019-2021.

On the flip side are those who’ve won USAC National Sprint Car races at Lawrenceburg but are still vying for a first career Fall Nationals win this Saturday. Among them are C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) who has won a pair of USAC National Sprint Car races at The Burg in 2017 and 2020 and was also a track champion in 2013. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is another won, having won twice at Lawrenceburg with the USAC Sprint Cars in 2021, and most recently, in July of 2024. His prowess at Lawrenceburg extends to feature victories in both USAC National Sprint Car and National Midgets.

SPEAKING OF KTJ

Kevin Thomas Jr. has routinely displayed his mastery of Lawrenceburg Speedway in USAC National Sprint Car competition over the years.

His three Fall Nationals triumphs are an all-time record, and furthermore, he now stands just one win away this weekend from equaling the great Dave Darland as the winningest driver in USAC National Sprint Car history at Lawrenceburg Speedway. Darland owns seven of them while Thomas picked up his most recent this past April.

Both the driver and his Rock Steady Racing team have previously won the Fall Nationals (2022 with Kyle Cummins), and they’ve been solid of late, finishing inside the top-two in three of their past four USAC starts.

PURSUING A “MASTERS” DEGREE

A Bubby Jones Master of Goin' Faster Series Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment champion will be crowned on Saturday night.

The finale of the 10-race series within a series arrives this weekend at Lawrenceburg with 2022 Master of Going Faster titlist Brady Bacon standing atop the points by a mere six-point margin over Kevin Thomas Jr. At stake is a $10,000 bonus for the champion driver plus a $2500 bonus to the crew chief champion.

With a maximum of 84 points up for grabs on race night (6 for the fast qualifier, 8 for each heat race winner & 70 for the feature winner), technically, seven drivers remain eligible to take home the top prize this Saturday with Daison Pursley (-27) in third followed by C.J. Leary (-29), Logan Seavey (-33), Kyle Cummins (-57) and Mitchel Moles (-81).

Winners of the Bubby Jones races thus far in 2024 include two-time winners Logan Seavey (Volusia & Terre Haute), Daison Pursley (Knoxville & Eldora), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Williams Grove & Tri-State) and one-timers Justin Grant (Eldora), Brady Bacon (Port Royal) and Kyle Cummins (Kokomo).

TRIPLE CROWN WATCH FOR SEAVEY

Logan Seavey has four races left to set a USAC National Sprint Car record and also to become just the eighth USAC career Triple Crown champion.

Seavey’s torrid pace throughout the spring and summer months placed him at 13 career USAC National Sprint Car wins, putting him one victory shy of Tom Bigelow’s single season record set in 1977. While Seavey has remained consistently within the top-five, his pursuit continues as he’s gone winless in his past 10 series starts.

Things are looking up for Seavey entering Lawrenceburg. He was victorious in his most recent USAC Silver Crown start at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track last Sunday. Furthermore, his most recent visit to Lawrenceburg with the USAC National Sprint Cars in July also resulted in a win.

Seavey’s 86-point lead in the series championship race has held steady since February, and a victory (or two) at Lawrenceburg this weekend would go to further cement his championship ideals and place him squarely in the record books in multiple manners.

BALLOU TRYIN’ FOR A TRIFECTA

Robert Ballou will enter this Saturday’s race at Lawrenceburg as the only driver in contention to collect a $10,000 payday for the NOS Energy Drink Trifecta.

Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) finished third during July’s USAC Indiana Sprint Week round at Kokomo Speedway, then took second during September’s Haubstadt Hustler at Tri-State Speedway to put him in prime position. A third-place result or better in the Trifecta finale at Lawrenceburg on Saturday would earn him a $10,000 bonus.

The 2015 USAC National Sprint Car champion would love to accomplish the feat in style, however, by winning the whole deal. Ballou scored wins in the first two editions of the Fall Nationals back in 2007 and 2008 when the event was sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series. His most recent USAC victory at Lawrenceburg was notched during Indiana Sprint Week in 2011.

One year ago at the Fall Nationals, Ballou led the initial eight laps and finished as the runner-up.

DOG DAY AFTERNOON (AND NIGHT)

This Friday will definitely be a “Dog Day” at The Burg.

The inaugural Greg Staab Memorial honors the life and memory of the five-time Lawrenceburg Speedway sprint car track champion in 1982-1983-1984-1985-1987.

Nicknamed "Dog," Staab was a longtime USAC driver and car owner who also served as the promoter of Lawrenceburg Speedway and was later a USAC National Sprint Car Competition Director.

As part of the event, the winner’s share will be $6,444, in recognition of the familiar No. 44 that he campaigned for several years on USAC’s Midget and Sprint Car trails as well as on the local Indiana/Ohio sprint car scene.

Staab scored one USAC National Sprint Car victory in his career, a memorable feat in 1988 on the pavement of Indianapolis Raceway Park that was shown live on ESPN. Staab passed away in 2017 at the age of 68.

RACE DETAILS

On Friday night, October 11, it’s the inaugural Greg Staab Memorial featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus Pure Stocks and Hornets. Pits open at 3pm Eastern, grandstands open at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following. Advance tickets are on sale now at https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/1889/tickets. General admission tickets are $25 for ages 13 & up. General admission tickets for kids age 7-12 are $5. General admission tickets for kids age 6 & under are free. Pit passes are $40 for ages 11 & up. Pit passes for ages 10 & under are $15. Backstretch/pit parking is $15.

On Saturday night, October 12, the 17th running of the Fall Nationals features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus Modifieds. Pits open at 2pm Eastern, grandstands open at 4pm, drivers meeting at 5:15pm and hot laps at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following. Advance tickets are on sale now at https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/1889/tickets. General admission tickets are $35 for ages 13 & up. General admission tickets for kids age 7-12 are $5. General admission tickets for kids age 6 & under are free. Pit passes are $45 for ages 11 & up. Pit passes for ages 10 & under are $15. Backstretch/pit parking is $15.

The Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://www.flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2710, 2-Brady Bacon-2624, 3-Daison Pursley-2439, 4-C.J. Leary-2412, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2402, 6-Mitchel Moles-2352, 7-Robert Ballou-2300, 8-Kyle Cummins-2222, 9-Justin Grant-2212, 10-Carson Garrett-1668.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-604, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-598, 3-Daison Pursley-577, 4-C.J. Leary-575, 5-Logan Seavey-571, 6-Kyle Cummins-547, 7-Mitchel Moles-523, 8-Robert Ballou-518, 9-Justin Grant-486, 10-Chase Stockon-410.

FALL NATIONALS WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

2007: Robert Ballou (MSCS)

2008: Robert Ballou (MSCS)

2009: Damion Gardner (USAC) & Jon Stanbrough (MSCS)

2010: Rained Out

2011: Levi Jones (USAC)

2012: Chase Stockon (USAC)

2013: Bryan Clauson (USAC)

2014: Bryan Clauson (USAC)

2015: Thomas Meseraull (USAC)

2016: Josh Hodges (USAC)

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr. (USAC)

2018: Justin Grant (USAC)

2019: Kevin Thomas Jr. (USAC)

2020: Brady Bacon (USAC)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (USAC)

2022: Kyle Cummins (USAC)

2023: Justin Grant (USAC)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/9/2008 - Levi Jones - 12.926 - 104.441 mph

8 Laps - 9/28/2013 - Tracy Hines - 1:51.91 - 96.506 mph

10 Laps - 7/10/2008 - Cole Whitt - 2:18.199 - 7.692 mph

12 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Stevie Sussex - 2:51.399 - 4.521 mph

30 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Josh Hodges - 7:21.09 - 91.818 mph

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

7-Dave Darland

6-Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Jon Stanbrough

4-Jack Hewitt

3-Brady Bacon, Kevin Briscoe, Bryan Clauson & Rick Hood

2-Tony Elliott, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Danny Milburn, Logan Seavey & Brian Tyler

1-Robert Ballou, Jeff Bland Jr., Mark Cassella, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Kevin Doty, Jay Drake, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Josh Hodges, Logan Jarrett, Thomas Meseraull, Rodney Ritter Jr., Brady Short, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

1983: Danny Milburn (9/18)

1984: Rick Hood (6/9) & Danny Milburn (9/16)

1985: Rick Hood (6/8)

1986: Rick Hood (6/7)

1988: Jack Hewitt (6/4)

1989: Rodney Ritter Jr. (7/1)

1992: Kevin Thomas (8/8)

1993: Jack Hewitt (7/10)

1994: Jon Stanbrough (6/18)

1995: Jack Hewitt (7/1)

1996: Mark Cassella (8/31)

1997: Brian Tyler (7/19) & Brian Tyler (8/30)

1998: Kevin Doty (5/30), Dave Darland (7/18) & Dave Darland (8/29)

1999: Kevin Briscoe (6/5), Jack Hewitt (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/28)

2000: Kevin Briscoe (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/26)

2001: Dave Darland (7/26)

2002: Kevin Briscoe (7/25)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/31), Jay Drake (6/1) & Jon Stanbrough (7/24)

2004: Jon Stanbrough (7/22)

2005: Dickie Gaines (7/21)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (4/22)

2007: Levi Jones (4/21), Jon Stanbrough (7/11) & Dave Darland (7/12)

2008: Jeff Bland Jr. (7/9) & Brady Short (7/10)

2009: Josh Wise (4/18), Dave Darland (7/10), Jerry Coons Jr. (8/22 Special Event) & Damion Gardner (10/2)

2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/17) & Dave Darland (7/9)

2011: Robert Ballou (7/10), Levi Jones (10/1)

2012: Justin Grant (7/15) & Chase Stockon (9/29)

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/14) & Bryan Clauson (9/28)

2014: Justin Grant (4/5) & Bryan Clauson (9/27)

2015: Logan Jarrett (4/4), Brady Bacon (7/12) & Thomas Meseraull (10/3)

2016: Dave Darland (4/2), Bryan Clauson (7/10) & Josh Hodges (10/1)

2017: Chris Windom (4/1), C.J. Leary (7/9) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/30)

2018: Tyler Courtney (7/22) & Justin Grant (9/29)

2019: Justin Grant (7/21) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/5)

2020: C.J. Leary (7/26) & Brady Bacon (10/3)

2021: Brady Bacon (4/3), Logan Seavey (7/25) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/2)

2022: Kyle Cummins (10/1)

2023: Justin Grant (7/24) & Justin Grant (10/7)

2024: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/13) & Logan Seavey (7/30)

FALL NATIONALS USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY

2007 FEATURE: 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kevin Swindell, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Casey Shuman, 5. A.J. Anderson, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Dakoda Armstrong, 8. Kyle Wissmiller, 9. Jeff Bland Jr., 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Derek Franks, 12. Ricky Williams, 13. Brady Bacon, 14. Sammy Imel, 15. Kevin Briscoe, 16. Darren Hagen, 17. Matt Westfall, 18. Alex Shanks, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. Joss Moffatt, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Kent Christian, 23. Brett Burdette, 24. Chris Windom.

2008 FEATURE: 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Daron Clayton, 5. Joss Moffatt, 6. Ricky Williams, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Jeff Bland Jr., 10. J. J. Yeley, 11. Lance Grimes, 12. Logan Hupp, 13. Ryan Pace, 14. Critter Malone, 15. John Memmer, 16. Dickie Gaines, 17. Bobby Stines, 18. Kyle Cummins, 19. Kurt Gross, 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Brett Burdette, 23. Kyle Robbins, 24. Josh Clemons.

2009 NIGHT ONE FEATURE: 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Cole Whitt, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 10. Scotty Weir, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Jeff Bland Jr., 13. Nic Faas, 14. Bobby East, 15. Darren Hagen, 16. Casey Riggs, 17. Brady Short, 18. Bryan Clauson, 19. Jesse Hockett, 20. Brady Bacon, 21. John Memmer, 22. Chad Boat, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Chase Stockon.

2009 NIGHT TWO FEATURE: 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Chad Boat, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Brady Short, 9. Jeff Bland Jr., 10. Dave Darland, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Coleman Gulick, 13. Casey Riggs, 14. Jonathan Hendrick, 15. Ty Deckard, 16. Ricky Williams, 17. Shawn Westerfeld, 18. Blake Fitzpatrick, 19. Hud Cone, 20. Scotty Weir, 21. Jesse Hockett, 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 23. Jerry Coons Jr., 24. Joss Moffatt.

2010 FEATURE: Rained Out

2011 FEATURE: 1. Levi Jones, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Casey Riggs, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Ted Hines, 9. Bobby East, 10. Bryan Clauson, 11. Jac Haudenschild, 12. Brady Short, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Blake Fitzpatrick, 15. Damion Gardner, 16. Matt Westfall, 17. Logan Hupp, 18. Chase Stockon, 19. Jonathan Hendrick, 20. Brady Bacon, 21. Coleman Gulick, 22. Justin Grant, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Critter Malone. NT

2012 FEATURE: 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Bobby East, 13. Logan Hupp, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Robert Ballou, 16. Scotty Weir, 17. Brady Short, 18. Wes McIntyre, 19. Dave Darland, 20. Jonathan Hendrick, 21. Dakota Jackson, 22. Daron Clayton, 23. Coleman Gulick.

2013 FEATURE: 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Justin Grant, 6. Gary Taylor, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Chad Boespflug, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Shawn Westerfeld, 12. Daron Clayton, 13. Kyle Cummins, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Joss Moffatt, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Ted Hines, 20. Scotty Weir, 21. Tyler Courtney, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Matt Westfall.

2014 FEATURE: 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jac Haudenschild, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Daron Clayton, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Scotty Weir, 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. C.J. Leary, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Shane Cottle. NT

2015 FEATURE: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Kody Swanson, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Scotty Weir, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Robert Ballou, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. Justin Grant, 14. Jarett Andretti, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Max McGhee, 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 19. Dustin Ingle, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Garrett Abrams, 22. Kyle Cummins.

2016 FEATURE: 1. Josh Hodges, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Stevie Sussex, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Jarett Andretti, 11. Chase Stockon, 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Carson Short, 14. Bret Mellenberndt, 15. Nick Bilbee, 16. A.J. Hopkins, 17. C.J. Leary, 18. Chad Boespflug, 19. Isaac Chapple, 20. Aaron Farney, 21. Joss Moffatt, 22. Landon Simon, 23. Drew Abel. 7:21.09 (NTR)

2017 FEATURE: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Josh Hodges, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Jon Stanbrough, 11. Nick Bilbee, 12. Scotty Weir, 13. Joss Moffatt, 14. Chase Stockon, 15. Kyle Robbins, 16. Isaac Chapple, 17. Garrett Abrams, 18. J.J. Hughes, 19. Tony McVey, 20. Dave Darland, 21. Aric Gentry, 22. Shawn Westerfeld, 23. Chad Boespflug. NT

2018 FEATURE: 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (7), 4. Chris Windom (18), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 6. Dave Darland (1), 7. Jarett Andretti (11), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Isaac Chapple (8), 10. Josh Hodges (9), 11. Dallas Hewitt (19), 12. Tyler Thomas (20), 13. Dakota Jackson (13), 14. Nick Bilbee (16), 15. Matt Westfall (14), 16. Justin Peck (15), 17. Jason McDougal (12), 18. Shane Cottle (10), 19. Dickie Gaines (17), 20. Brandon Spithaler (21), 21. C.J. Leary (6). NT

2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 2. Tyler Courtney (6), 3. Justin Grant (1), 4. C.J. Leary (3), 5. Chris Windom (8), 6. Nick Bilbee (10), 7. Brady Bacon (2), 8. Jarett Andretti (13), 9. Scotty Weir (14), 10. Chase Stockon (4), 11. Josh Hodges (7), 12. Dustin Clark (16), 13. Mario Clouser (15), 14. Isaac Chapple (17), 15. Max Adams (9), 16. Dustin Smith (11), 17. J.J. Hughes (19), 18. Tyler Kendall (21), 19. Justin Owen (18), 20. Garrett Abrams (20), 21. Kyle Cummins (12), 22. Aric Gentry (22). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (2), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 3. Chris Windom (1), 4. C.J. Leary (5), 5. Robert Ballou (19), 6. Kyle Cummins (11), 7. Justin Grant (3), 8. Dave Darland (18), 9. Jake Swanson (6), 10. Cole Bodine (8), 11. Scotty Weir (14), 12. Max Adams (10), 13. Shane Cottle (12), 14. Tye Mihocko (16), 15. Chase Stockon (22), 16. Carson Short (17), 17. J.J. Hughes (7), 18. Logan Seavey (15), 19. Nick Bilbee (21), 20. Mario Clouser (13), 21. Joss Moffatt (20), 22. Tyler Courtney (4) (Courtney was initially declared the winner but was repositioned to 22nd for being 15 pounds underweight in post-race tech inspection.) NT

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 2. Chris Windom (8), 3. Tanner Thorson (6), 4. Brady Bacon (11), 5. Jake Swanson (10), 6. Justin Grant (14), 7. Logan Seavey (4), 8. Max Adams (9), 9. Chase Stockon (7), 10. C.J. Leary (5), 11. Thomas Meseraull (16), 12. Brandon Mattox (19), 13. Dallas Hewitt (20), 14. Saban Bibent (1), 15. Jadon Rogers (15), 16. Ryan Thomas (12), 17. Emerson Axsom (2), 18. Justin Owen (18), 19. Shane Cottle (22), 20. Robert Ballou (13), 21. J.J. Hughes (17), 22. Jason McDougal (21). NT

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (2), 2. Logan Seavey (1), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Mitchel Moles (10), 5. Brady Bacon (11), 6. Anton Hernandez (3), 7. Thomas Meseraull (5), 8. Chase Stockon (8), 9. Robert Ballou (12), 10. Max Adams (14), 11. Emerson Axsom (7), 12. C.J. Leary (6), 13. Jake Swanson (18), 14. Jadon Rogers (19), 15. Matt Westfall (16), 16. Keith Sheffer II (21), 17. Brandon Mattox (22), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 19. Jason McDougal (9), 20. Saban Bibent (13), 21. Tripp Gerrald (20), 22. J.J. Hughes (17). NT

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (7), 2. Robert Ballou (1), 3. Jake Swanson (3), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Jadon Rogers (12), 6. C.J. Leary (6), 7. Briggs Danner (8), 8. Mitchel Moles (15), 9. Emerson Axsom (14), 10. Kyle Cummins (21), 11. Nick Bilbee (20), 12. Carson Garrett (11), 13. Chase Stockon (18), 14. Sterling Cling (16), 15. Daison Pursley (19), 16. Garrett Abrams (17), 17. Max Adams (2), 18. Thomas Meseraull (4), 19. Brady Bacon (10), 20. Saban Bibent (13), 21. Nathan Carle (22), 22. Chance Crum (9). NT

2025 USAC SPRINT CAR SEASON LAUNCHES

WITH 6 FLORIDA RACES IN FEBRUARY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 8, 2024)………For the 16th consecutive season, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship campaign will launch in the state of Florida during the month of February.

In 2025, USAC National Sprint Cars’ trip to Florida will feature six events across six consecutive nights – the first two at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park and the final four at Ocala Speedway, culminating in a point fund of at least $10,000.

Leading off the 2025 season is a practice for all teams at Ocala Speedway early on Sunday, February 9. The first race of the 16th annual edition of Winter Dirt Games arrives at Volusia Speedway Park as part of the DIRTcar Nationals on Monday-Tuesday, February 10-11, at the 1/2-mile dirt oval. The first night of racing in Volusia on Monday will pay $6,000-to-win while Tuesday night’s round will pay $10,000-to-win.

USAC National Sprint Car action then moves west to Ocala Speedway on Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday night, February 12-13-14-15, for four consecutive nights of racing on the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track. Wednesday and Thursday’s events will both pay $6,000-to-win. Friday’s round will reward the winner with $7,500 while the victor of Saturday’s finale will earn $10,000-to-win.

All six races in Florida will offer full points toward the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship. Additionally, a point fund will be up for grabs with $5,000 going to the driver gaining the most points throughout the six-race series. A sum of $2,000 will go to the runner-up, $1,500 to third, $1,000 to fourth and $500 to fifth.

Additional information on times and ticket prices for the events will be made available in the coming months.

Thirty-seven previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been held at Ocala Speedway since 2011. Justin Grant won three features and C.J. Leary one across the four nights of action back in February of 2024 in Ocala. Meanwhile, Logan Seavey swept both ends at Volusia in February of 2024.

Grant is the all-time winningest USAC National Sprint Car driver in the state of Florida with seven victories, all of which have come at Ocala Speedway.

USAC racing and the “Sunshine State” have a history that dates back to the decade of the 1950s. In fact, the first three USAC Sprint Car races ever held took place in Florida in February of 1956. Bob Sweikert won the first such event at Southland Speedway in West Palm Beach, followed by Chuck Weyant at Jacksonville Speedway and Pat O’Connor at Medley Speedway in Miami.

2025 WINTER DIRT GAMES SCHEDULE:

Sunday, February 9: Ocala Speedway | Ocala, Florida (Practice Only)

Monday, February 10: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, Florida ($6,000-to-win)

Tuesday, February 11: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, Florida ($10,000-to-win)

Wednesday, February 12: Ocala Speedway | Ocala, Florida ($6,000-to-win)

Thursday, February 13: Ocala Speedway | Ocala, Florida ($6,000-to-win)

Friday, February 14: Ocala Speedway | Ocala, Florida ($7,500-to-win)

Saturday, February 15: Ocala Speedway | Ocala, Florida ($10,000-to-win)

2025 WINTER DIRT GAMES POINT FUND:

1st: $5,000

2nd: $2,000

3rd: $1,500

4th: $1,000

5th: $500

SEAVEY SEES VICTORY,

BREAKS THROUGH TO WIN SUMAR CLASSIC

AT TERRE HAUTE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (October 6, 2024)………In a year in which he had topped all drivers with 15 USAC national feature wins, Logan Seavey entered the weekend with one notable exception on his 2024 resume – a victory with the USAC Silver Crown series.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) took care of that on Sunday night during the 20th running of the Sumar Classic at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track. The defending Silver Crown champ took control from racelong leader Brady Bacon after the halfway mark of the 100-lapper and led the final 46 laps to earn his 16th USAC national victory of the season and his first with the series on the famed 1/2-mile dirt oval.

Despite the enormous success Seavey has accrued throughout the year, his triumph was his first with USAC since the month of July, more than two months ago during an AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway.

Seavey’s win also allowed him to become the third driver this season to win in all three USAC national division, joining Daison Pursley and Justin Grant, each of whom joined him on the podium as fellow top-three finishers at Terre Haute.

Seavey’s latest victory was the ninth of his USAC Silver Crown career, moving him past 2016 champion Chris Windom and into a tie for 14th place all-time alongside 2000 series titlist Tracy Hines.

Meanwhile, the win also marked the continuation of Seavey’s streak of winning at least one USAC Silver Crown race to four consecutive seasons dating back to 2021. But this particular win required patience as it came in the 13th event of the 14-race season, just in the nick of the time, at the wheel of his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/Bloomington Bison – DiaEdge – STIDA.com/DRC/Felker Chevy.

“It’s been a struggle,” Seavey admitted. “At the tracks we normally go to and feel like we’re going to win when we show up, we’ve had some issues. Those ones hurt. But I’ve been so blessed to never have issues with this car. We just put everything together tonight; we had a great car and (crew chief) Ronnie (Gardner) did a great job setting it up. (The crew) worked really hard all day to get us here and (engine builder) A.J. Felker comes to all the races to make sure this thing runs in tip-top shape, and it really did tonight.”

Before it all began, Seavey had a premonition of how the race was going to unfold as he prepared to start from the ninth position in the 25-car field, the deepest a Sumar Classic winner has emerged from since Chris Windom in 2017.

“It was a tricky track, but I told Ronnie before we started, I think we’re going to see 100 laps of running the cushion and that’s what we got,” Seavey explained. “Ninety of those laps were sprint car laps. That’s not what you normally get with Silver Crown racing but that was fun and exciting. I really love that style of racing.”

Despite starting on the inside of row four, Seavey found himself among the front runners fairly quickly, slotting into the top-three by lap 15 behind front row starters Brady Bacon and Daison Pursley.

“I got to third there quickly,” Seavey acknowledged. “I could see Brady, and I ran down the top-two really easily. I was just trying to be patient and make sure that I made moves at the right time.”

On lap 40, Seavey powered to the second spot as he dove and drove under Pursley at the entry to turn one before sliding up and securing the position. Recent Eldora Silver Crown winner Mitchel Moles followed suit into third a half lap later in turns three and four as he too slid past Pursley.

In short order, Seavey soon found himself right on the rear bumper of Bacon for the lead. Lap after lap in his shadow, Seavey made what turned out to be the winning move on the 55th lap when he dove to the bottom of turn one and slid job his way past the nose of Bacon. As Bacon chocked up on the binders to avoid contact with the rear bumper of Seavey in turn two, his speed was scrubbed and Moles pounced by driving past Bacon for the runner-up spot moments later in turn three.

Initially , Seavey anticipated a different approach to working his way past Bacon, but when he saw an opening, he went for it in patented Terre Haute fashion to secure the lead.

“I knew running above (the cushion) was better,” Seavey acknowledged. “If I got up there and really got to Brady, I figured he was going to do the same thing and then it would be tough to pass. I think maybe he thought rubber was coming, so he moved down and I got a big run and was able to go by him.”

Soon thereafter, Pursley, as well as two-time and defending Sumar Classic winner Justin Grant, were on the move. Both drivers charged past Bacon on lap 64 to slot into third and fourth, respectively, while Bacon fell to fifth. At the same time, however, Seavey was stepping away from the field to the tune of 2.6 seconds over Moles.

The running order soon shuffled when second running Moles’ engine went up in smoke 14 laps from the finish line, forcing him into the infield and out of the race. With Moles out of the equation, Seavey's lead extended even further to five seconds over new second place occupant Pursley.

A yellow flag on lap 91 for 13th running Carmen Perigo, who performed a half-spin in the middle of the pack, brought out the yellow flag, thus deleting Seavey’s commanding advantage. A crash on the subsequent lap 95 restart saw Shane Cottle (10th) contact the turn one outside guardrail, which extended the caution period and necessitated a green-white-checker finish to button things up.

Nonetheless, Seavey kept the field at bay during the final two-lap stretch to prevail by a 0.953 second margin over Pursley, Grant, Chase Stockon and Bacon who led a race high 54 laps before crossing the line in fifth.

Overall, it was Seavey’s third career USAC victory at the Terre Haute Action Track after previously scoring National Sprint Car wins at the joint in 2021, and most recently in May of this year. To put it succinctly, Seavey is a fan of the Action Track.

“I just love this place,” Seavey exclaimed. “I love coming here, and I love Silver Crown racing, especially racing like that.”

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) made his first Sumar Classic appearance a good one as he started second and finished second as the top series Rookie performer in the field aboard his Team AZ Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Apache Transportation – OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

After winning the Sumar Classic in each of his past two attempts in 2018 and 2022, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) came up just a bit short on Sunday with a third-place result in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/DRC/Speedway Chevy. With Kody Swanson’s 10th place finish at Terre Haute, Grant will enter the series finale at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday, October 19, with a deficit of only six points.

In what was his first Sumar Classic start since 2015, more than nine years ago, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) was stellar. He officially started 16th and brought it home fourth in the seat of his Pink 69 Racing/Lucas Oil Center – True Brand Fuel Juels – N-Saine Graphix/Maxim/SPEC Chevy. The plus-12 performance earned him the night’s Hard Charger award.

After mechanical issues sidelined him early, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was relegated to using a provisional just to be able to start the feature in his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Penske – Hoosier Tire/Beast/Ford. In advancing from his 24th starting spot to finish sixth, Leary was ineligible for the hard charger award due to the use of a provisional. Nonetheless, it didn’t deter him from being honored as the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 6, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 20th Sumar Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-16 locked into the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-21.414; 2. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-21.474; 3. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-21.576; 4. Mario Clouser, 60, Legacy/Wilson-21.714; 5. Chase Dietz, 86, Lee-21.871; 6. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-21.890; 7. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-22.074; 8. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-22.092; 9. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-22.103; 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-22.274; 11. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-22.368; 12. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-22.655; 13. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-22.715; 14. Shane Cottle, 66, Rose-22.752; 15. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-22.755; 16. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-22.824; 17. Jimmy Light, 118, Wingo-22.984; 18. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-23.009; 19. Matt Goodnight, 24, Haggenbottom-23.483; 20. Kevin Newton, 99, Armstrong-23.517; 21. Mark Smith, 01, B & S-23.679; 22. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-24.536; 23. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-24.728; 24. Dave Peperak, 777, Peperak-25.164; 25. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-25.480; 26. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-26.171; 27. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-26.391; 28. Aric Gentry, 3, Simmons-27.534; 29. Kenny Gentry, 18, Gentry-NT.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Goodnight, 2. Jimmy Light, 3. Mark Smith, 4. Carmen Perigo, 5. Kevin Newton, 6. Nathan Moore, 7. Chris Fetter, 8. Gregg Cory, 9. Dave Peperak, 10. Dave Berkheimer, 11. Kenny Gentry. NT

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Daison Pursley (2), 3. Justin Grant (7), 4. Chase Stockon (16), 5. Brady Bacon (1), 6. C.J. Leary (24-P), 7. Briggs Danner (14), 8. Matt Westfall (11), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (10), 10. Kody Swanson (3), 11. Mark Smith (18), 12. Mario Clouser (4), 13. Carmen Perigo (19), 14. Brian Ruhlman (13), 15. Matt Goodnight (16), 16. Jimmy Light (17), 17. Shane Cottle (13), 18. Gregg Cory (23), 19. Nathan Moore (21), 20. Mitchel Moles (6), 21. Kyle Steffens (8), 22. Chase Dietz (5), 23. Chris Fetter (22), 24. Kevin Newton (20), 25. Trey Osborne (25). 53:17.590

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-54 Brady Bacon, Laps 55-100 Logan Seavey.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-194, 2-Logan Seavey-188, 3-Robert Ballou-145, 4-Justin Grant-133, 5-C.J. Leary-125, 6-Chase Stockon-124, 7-Kyle Cummins-117, 8-Brady Bacon-111, 9-Matt Westfall-104, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-103.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 19, 2024 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Championship Saturday

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Brady Bacon (21.063)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (21.414)

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Matt Goodnight

Hard Charger: Chase Stockon (16th to 4th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: C.J. Leary

AL KAMEL SYSTEMS LAUNCHES

AL KAMEL NORTH AMERICA,

USAC NAMED FIRST CUSTOMER

Speedway, Indiana (October 7, 2024)………As a leader in motorsport timing and innovative technologies, Al Kamel North America is establishing a brand new presence with its new headquarters in Speedway, Indiana, just steps away from the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A new partnership with the United States Auto Club will bring state-of-the-art technology and services to elevate several USAC championships. Al Kamel Systems currently provides services to important American championships and circuits, including IMSA, Circuit of the Americas and Ferrari Challenge North America.

According to Jose Luis García, CEO of Al Kamel Systems: "Our company has always aimed to expand into the American market, but in recent months, we've gained the momentum that has motivated us to establish a physical presence there. Our existing agreement with IMSA, coupled with our recent partnership with COTA, sparked increased interest from American clients. However, the final decision to enter the U.S. market was driven by a new agreement with USAC to provide services for several of their championships, as well as interest from various permanent circuits."

The primary goal of Al Kamel Systems is to bring their high level of technological innovation and excellence, which they are known for globally, to a market that is distinguished by its constant pursuit of cutting-edge advancements in the world of sports. Al Kamel is committed to enhancing the American motorsport landscape with their state-of-the-art solutions and unrivaled expertise.

Al Kamel North America will operate autonomously while benefiting from the support and synergies of Al Kamel Systems. In addition to the Indianapolis office, the new location will feature a fully equipped remote services facility offering timing, TV graphics, track limits management, Race Control solutions and more. The availability of local offices, storage, materials, and staff will position Al Kamel Systems as a more competitive player in the American market, facilitating brand growth and the expansion of its current services.

Al Kamel Systems is renowned for providing services to some of the world's most prestigious international championships, including FIA Formula E, FIA WEC, 24 Hours of Le Mans, IMSA, European Le Mans Series, Extreme E / Extreme H, E1 Series, Asian Le Mans Series, Ferrari Challenge, Porsche Cup, EuroCup3, and Peter Auto. The company also supports iconic circuits such as Paul Ricard Circuit, Barcelona Circuit, Losail Circuit, Motorland, Estoril Circuit, Jerez Circuit, Sokol Circuit, Circuit of the Americas, Navarra Circuit, and Monza Circuit.

BOYS OF SUMAR!

USAC SILVER CROWN GOES 100 LAPS

SUNDAY AT TERRE HAUTE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (October 3, 2024)………Iconic race cars and an iconic American dirt track are the setting for the final dirt race of the USAC Silver Crown National Championship season this Sunday, October 6, at western Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track for the 20th running of the Sumar Classic.

Twenty-nine competitors, ranging from the wise and experienced veterans to the brash and bold upstarts encompass the field who are vying for the glory of becoming a champ car winner at the hallowed grounds of Terre Haute.

The Sumar Classic began in 1995, and the anticipation for this Sunday’s event is at a fever pitch for the 100-lap, 50-miler named after the wives of Terre Haute businessmen and Sumar Special car owners Chapman Root and Don Smith (Sue and Mary).

Now, it’s time to meet the storylines of what you’re just about to witness on what looks to be a beautiful Autumn Sunday – a beautiful day for a motor car race any way you slice it.

THREE-PEAT IN PLAY FOR GRANT

Justin Grant’s two-race winning streak at the Sumar Classic spans across multiple generations! Well, not quite, but it sure seems like it.

Grant’s first Sumar Classic triumph came in 2018 and his second arrived in 2022. In that six-year span, only those two races have been run due to a series of rainouts and COVID-outs.

Both of Grant’s Sumar Classic wins came in dramatic fashion. He endured a duel with Kody Swanson before leading the final 17 laps to prevail in 2018. In 2022, he defeated Jerry Coons Jr. on a restart with four laps remaining to score once more.

No driver has won the Sumar Classic three times in a row, let alone three times overall. Grant, who has already won twice on the dirt with the series this year, takes his shot this Sunday.

A TRIO OF PAST SUMAR WINNER

Three past Sumar Classic winners are among the bunch in this Sunday’s field with Justin Grant, C.J. Leary and Kody Swanson in the lineup. They’re among the group of 14 different race winners in the past 16 runnings of the event dating back to 1999.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) broke the string of consecutive different Sumar Classic champions by becoming the first repeat winner in the history of the event in 2022. He’s now one of three two-time Sumar winners alongside Donnie Beechler (1995 & 1997) and Tony Elliott (1998 & 2002) and will now attempt to become the first three-time victor. Grant, the 2020 Silver Crown champion, has made five career starts in the event, winning his first one in 2018.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) made the winning move to capture his first career Silver Crown victory during the 2016 Sumar Classic and has finished inside the top-ten in all five of his Sumar Classic starts with a pair of runners-up in 2015 and 2017, plus a 5th in 2018. In 2022, he led the first 45 laps before a flat tire relegated him to a 10th place result.

Point leader Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) goes for a second career Sumar Classic triumph after capturing his first dirt 1/2-mile victory with the series back in 2014. The seven-time series champion has finished inside the top-10 in all eight of his Sumar starts, taking 7th in 2022 after starting from the pole position following previous top-flight runs of 2nd in 2018 and a pair of 3rds in 2016-2017.

A FIRST-TIMER STREAK ON THE DIRT HALVES

Wildly enough, every single half-mile dirt oval race during the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season has featured a first-time series winner.

Kaylee Bryson (Belleville), Daison Pursley (Port Royal), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Salt City) and Mitchel Moles (Eldora) have all scored first career USAC Silver Crown wins this season, all on dirt 1/2-miles.

Over the years, five drivers have won their first career USAC Silver Crown race during the Sumar Classic: Sunday’s grand marshal Donnie Beechler (1995), Kevin Thomas (1996), Tony Elliott (1998), Josh Wise (2005) and C.J. Leary (2016).

TRANSLATING THE SUCCESS

All of these individuals who’ve made previous starts in the Sumar Classic – Brady Bacon, Logan Seavey and Chase Stockon – have all tasted the sweetness of a Terre Haute Action Track victory in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition and remain on the prowl for a first Sumar score.

At the Sumar, Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has made five starts, finishing a best of 3rd in 2022 after starting all the way back in the 16th spot. Stockon’s most recent, and only, Sumar start came in 2015, finishing 11th. Meanwhile, USAC Silver Crown racing’s championship runner-up in 2021-22, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), made a successful Sumar Classic debut run in 2022, finishing 4th.

All three have been strong in USAC Silver Crown competition this year, but Sunday’s Terre Haute race presents their final opportunity to win one in 2024.

THE ROOKIE RACE

The majority of this weekend’s field belongs to Sumar Classic first-timers. Among them are Silver Crown Rookies and race winners Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.).

In fact, much of the year has belonged to seeing new faces in Silver Crown victory lane. Of the seven drivers to win a Silver Crown race in 2024, four of them are first-time winners, begging the question of ‘who could be next?’

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) is coming off consecutive 3rd place finishes at Du Quoin and Eldora. Leading 2024 USAC Silver Crown Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) has finished on the podium this year and looks to contend with the likes of Pennsylvania winged sprint car regular Chase Dietz (York, Pa.) who has finished a best of 2nd in his USAC Silver Crown career on the 1/2-mile at Port Royal as well as the always fast Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.).

As far as the USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year race goes, Osborne leads Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) by 53 markers with two races remaining.

BATEMAN FOREVER

Sunday also presents one final hurrah for the Bateman Racing team. Forty-two years since their 1982 series debut with the series, the team will make its last USAC Silver Crown appearance.

Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.), the 2008 series champion, will drive the familiar number 55, led by Patty Bateman and crew.

Terre Haute hits close to home for Coons and Bateman. In 2022, it’s where the team came closest to victory, leading with four laps to go before being passed for the win on the final restart. Despite the heartbreak, the runner-up finish was the best in Bateman Racing history.

In three starts this season, Coons has driven the Bateman car to 6th at Belleville, a 4th at Springfield and another 4th at Du Quoin. On Sunday, they eye a first ever Bateman Racing Silver Crown win in their 83rd career start.

RACE DETAILS:

The 20th running of the Sumar Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship this Sunday night, October 6, at the Terre Haute Action Track’s 1/2-mile dirt track in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Pits open at 2pm Eastern, grandstands open at 4pm and practice is set to begin at 5pm followed immediately by qualifications and racing.

Advance general admission tickets are on sale now at www.usactickets.com. Advance grandstand tickets are $20 for ages 13 and up while kids age 12 and under are free. Infield tickets are just $10 for ages 13 & up while kids age 12 and under are free. On the day of the race, the price is $5 higher for all tickets for ages 13 & up.

Sunday’s Sumar Classic can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-742, 2-Justin Grant-715, 3-Logan Seavey-651, 4-C.J. Leary-574, 5-Kyle Steffens-471, 6-Kaylee Bryson-411, 7-Trey Osborne-395, 8-Gregg Cory-384, 9-Bobby Santos-366, 10-Nathan Moore-342.

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

SUMAR CLASSIC ENTRY LIST: (29 DRIVERS & CARS)

01 MARK SMITH/Sunbury, PA (L & M Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

18 KENNY GENTRY/Henderson, KY (Kenny Gentry)

21 (R) DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing/Curb-Agajanian)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (John Haggenbottom)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

49 BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)

52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Bateman Racing)

60 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

66 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Bill Rose Racing)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

86 (R) CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

99 (R) KEVIN NEWTON/Farmersburg, IN (Armstrong Racing)

118 JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Wingo Brothers Racing)

119 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:

1980: Gary Bettenhausen (11/2)

1995: Donnie Beechler (7/7)

1996: Kevin Thomas (7/5)

1997: Donnie Beechler (7/4)

1998: Tony Elliott (7/3)

1999: Jack Hewitt (9/17)

2002: Tony Elliott (6/1)

2003: J.J. Yeley (6/14)

2004: Brian Tyler (6/5)

2005: Josh Wise (6/4)

2006: Bud Kaeding (8/5)

2008: Dave Darland (7/23)

2010: Levi Jones (10/9)

2012: Bobby East (10/13)

2014: Kody Swanson (4/6)

2015: Shane Cockrum (7/2)

2016: C.J. Leary (4/3)

2017: Chris Windom (4/2)

2018: Justin Grant (4/29)

2022: Justin Grant (5/1)

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:

2-Donnie Beechler, Tony Elliott & Justin Grant

1-Gary Bettenhausen, Shane Cockrum, Dave Darland, Bobby East, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, C.J. Leary, Kody Swanson, Kevin Thomas, Brian Tyler, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:

1 Lap - 6/4/2005 - Josh Wise - 20.139 - 89.379 mph

10 Laps - 7/3/1998 - Derek Davidson - 3:40.40 - 81.670 mph

15 Laps - 6/5/2004 - Cary Faas - 5:47.78 - 77.635 mph

100 Laps - 4/3/2016 - C.J. Leary - 44:20.125 - 67.666 mph

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

PAST SUMAR CLASSIC RESULTS:

1980 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 2. Johnny Parsons (11), 3. Ken Schrader (1), 4. Larry Dickson (12), 5. Pancho Carter (6), 6. Rich Vogler (20), 7. Larry Rice (14), 8. Sheldon Kinser (9), 9. Jim McElreath (5), 10. Tom Bigelow (3), 11. Steve Cannon (15), 12. Steve Chassey (7), 13. Jerry Weeks (22), 14. Larry Gates (18), 15. Billy Engelhart (17), 16. Joe Saldana (8), 17. Eddie Leavitt (13), 18. Steve Kinser (4), 19. Chris Cumberworth (19), 20. Bobby Olivero (10), 21. Paul Pitzer (16), 22. Kramer Williamson (21). 50:37.20

1995 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Donnie Beechler (15), 2. Jack Hewitt (17), 3. Jimmy Sills (6), 4. Rocky Hodges (19), 5. Kenny Irwin Jr. (24), 6. Tony Stewart (3), 7. Richard Griffin (14), 8. Chuck Gurney (4), 9. Robby Flock (1), 10. Cary Faas (20), 11. Eric Gordon (10), 12. Brian Hayden (23), 13. Jack Runyon (9), 14. Dave Darland (16), 15. Lee Dunn (21), 16. Kevin Thomas (2), 17. Jon Stanbrough (11), 18. Brad Noffsinger (8), 19. Tony Elliott (5), 20. Ron Shuman (18), 21. Kevin Doty (13), 22. Mark Cassella (12), 23. Johnny Parsons (22), 24. Dan Drinan (7). 50:41.55

1996 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas (12), 2. Jimmy Sills (11), 3. Tony Stewart (7), 4. Tony Elliott (8), 5. Cory Kruseman (3), 6. Chuck Gurney (13), 7. Dave Darland (17), 8. Kevin Doty (15), 9. Jon Stanbrough (23), 10. Jim Keeker (24), 11. Richard Griffin (21), 12. Brad Marvel (19), 13. Kenny Irwin Jr. (2), 14. Johnny Parsons (18), 15. Rip Williams (22), 16. Kenny Jacobs (6), 17. Mark Cassella (14), 18. Jack Hewitt (16), 19. Donnie Beechler (1), 20. John Heydenreich (20), 21. Bill Rose (9), 22. Cary Faas (3), 23. Bill Baue (4), 24. Robby Flock (10). NT

1997 FEATURE (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Donnie Beechler (1), 2. Kevin Thomas (9), 3. Jimmy Sills (3), 4. Dave Darland (17), 5. Russ Gamester (13), 6. Brian Tyler (24), 7. Robby Flock (12), 8. Brian Gerster (4), 9. Derek Davidson (21), 10. Wally Pankratz (7), 11. Brian Hayden (11), 12. Tony Elliott (18), 13. Chuck Leary (15), 14. Tony Stewart (8), 15. Tim Clark (6), 16. Ryan Newman (23), 17. Jack Hewitt (19), 18. Jason Leffler (14), 19. Terry Pletch (10), 20. Cary Faas (2), 21. Jimmy Kite (5), 22. J.J. Yeley (16), 23. Chuck Gurney (20), 24. Johnny Parsons (22). NT

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Elliott (2), 2. J.J. Yeley (3), 3. Brian Tyler (5), 4. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (4), 5. Todd Kane (11), 6. Ryan Newman (18), 7. Wally Pankratz (10), 8. Kevin Doty (14), 9. Robby Flock (7), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 11. Derek Davidson (15), 12. Jason Leffler (12), 13. Dave Darland (9), 14. Lou Cicconi Jr. (21), 15. Kenneth Nichols (24), 16. Tracy Hines (6), 17. Jimmy Sills (16), 18. Jack Hewitt (1), 19. Eric Gordon (19), 20. Bill Rose (23), 21. Kevin Thomas (22), 22. Russ Gamester (8), 23. Donnie Beechler (13), 24. Aaron Mosley (17). NT

1999 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (3), 2. Dave Darland (7), 3. Jimmy Sills (9), 4. Greg Wilson (23), 5. Brad Noffsinger (1), 6. Tony Elliott (4), 7. Todd Kane (15), 8. Ryan Newman (21), 9. Brad Fox (20), 10. Jay Drake (13), 11. Tracy Hines (8), 12. Dave Steele (12), 13. Paul White (22), 14. Cory Kruseman (10), 15. Eric Gordon (16), 16. Craig Dori (25), 17. Brian Tyler (17), 18. Tom Capie (24), 19. Russ Gamester (5), 20. Dane Carter (26), 21. J.J. Yeley (2), 22. Jason Leffler (19), 23. Bill Rose (14), 24. Donnie Beechler (6), 25. Rick Treadway (11), 26. Johnny Parsons (18). 55:58.18

2002 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Elliott (14), 2. J.J. Yeley (4), 3. Tracy Hines (3), 4. Kevin Huntley (18), 5. Matt Westfall (17), 6. Rich Tobias Jr. (11), 7. John Starks (21), 8. Gary Hieber (19), 9. Jason McCord (6), 10. Jonathan Vennard (13), 11. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 12. Randy Bateman (20), 13. Dave Darland (9), 14. John Heydenreich (16), 15. Dave Steele (12), 16. Derek Davidson (1), 17. Russ Gamester (15), 18. Kyle Steffens (5), 19. Dane Carter (22), 20. Jay Drake (10), 21. Nick Lundgreen (8), 22. Jack Hewitt (24), 23. Paul White (25), 24. Aaron Fike (7), 25. Jim Mills (23), 26. Jason Leffler (26). NT

2003 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (3), 2. Kevin Huntley (2), 3. Dave Darland (6), 4. Paul White (16), 5. Matt Westfall (19), 6. Dave Steele (18), 7. Brian Tyler (15), 8. Levi Jones (9), 9. Jason McCord (17), 10. Rich Tobias Jr. (7), 11. Tyler Walker (14), 12. Teddy Beach (10), 13. Eric Gordon (5), 14. Jerry Nemire (22), 15. Jay Drake (1), 16. David Bridges (26), 17. Tracy Hines (4), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 19. Jonathan Vennard (12), 20. Daryl Campbell (24), 21. Craig Dori (23), 22. John Heydenreich (13), 23. Nick Lundgreen (21), 24. Brad Noffsinger (11), 25. Russ Gamester (20), 26. Tony Elliott (25). NT

2004 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (22), 2. Levi Jones (1), 3. Dave Darland (3), 4. Cory Kruseman (23), 5. Bud Kaeding (4), 6. Donnie Beechler (12), 7. Dave Steele (20), 8. Tony Elliott (10), 9. Jon Stanbrough (2), 10. Jay Drake (16), 11. John Heydenreich (25), 12. Rob Chaney (11), 13. Shane Hollingsworth (19), 14. Russ Gamester (9), 15. Boston Reid (15), 16. Tom Capie (26), 17. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (28), 18. Jim Moughan (27), 19. Paul White (17), 20. Aaron Fike (5), 21. Jason McCord (24), 22. Aaron Pierce (7), 23. Matt Westfall (6), 24. Tracy Hines (8), 25. Rich Tobias Jr. (13), 26. Kyle Wissmiller (29), 27. Teddy Beach (14), 28. Kevin Huntley (18), 29. Cary Faas (21). NT

2005 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Josh Wise (1), 2. Brian Tyler (20), 3. Dave Darland (2), 4. Jon Stanbrough (7), 5. Jesse Hockett (3), 6. Levi Jones (8), 7. Bud Kaeding (9), 8. Kevin Huntley (15), 9. Aaron Pierce (10), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (4), 11. Jay Drake (5), 12. Tom Capie (25), 13. Teddy Beach (19), 14. Russ Gamester (24), 15. Nick Lundgreen (13), 16. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (27), 17. Paul White (17), 18. John Heydenreich (14), 19. Rich Tobias Jr. (16), 20. Matt Westfall (23), 21. Dave Steele (21), 22. Tom Hessert III (12), 23. Jason McCord (6), 24. Shane Hollingsworth (18), 25. Mat Neely (22), 26. Tony Elliott (11), 27. Kyle Steffens (26). NT

2006 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bud Kaeding (2), 2. Shane Cottle (3), 3. Levi Jones (11), 4. Dickie Gaines (9), 5. Tom Capie (26), 6. Chris Urish (23), 7. Jay Drake (14), 8. Cole Carter (24), 9. Justin Allgaier (19), 10. Shane Hollingsworth (10), 11. Aaron Pierce (17), 12. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (25), 13. Mat Neely (5), 14. Ron Gregory (6), 15. Jon Stanbrough (13), 16. Russ Gamester (15), 17. Jerry Coons Jr. (4), 18. John Heydenreich (1), 19. Dave Darland (8), 20. Mitch Wissmiller (22), 21. Josh Wise (7), 22. Donnie Beechler (12), 23. Brian Tyler (16), 24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (20), 25. Jeff Swindell (21), 26. Steve Buckwalter (18). NT

2008 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (1), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 3. Shane Cottle (11), 4. Brian Tyler (13), 5. Mat Neely (17), 6. Levi Jones (6), 7. Jesse Hockett (15), 8. Tom Capie (21), 9. Chris Urish (20), 10. Patrick Bruns (22), 11. Russ Gamester (19), 12. Craig Dori (18), 13. Kevin Huntley (16), 14. Shane Hollingsworth (5), 15. Rex Norris III (23), 16. Bud Kaeding (10), 17. Darren Hagen (14), 18. Jon Stanbrough (4), 19. Tyler Walker (8), 20. Cole Whitt (12), 21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (7), 22. Tracy Hines (2), 23. Chris Windom (9). NT

2010 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Levi Jones (2), 2. Bryan Clauson (5), 3. Shane Cottle (19), 4. Terry Babb (18), 5. Kody Swanson (24), 6. Shane Hollingsworth (10), 7. Bobby East (6), 8. Tom Capie (9), 9. Jeff Swindell (13), 10. Dave Darland (3), 11. A.J. Fike (12), 12. Kellen Conover (28), 13. Tanner Swanson (21), 14. Todd Kane (20), 15. Bud Kaeding (4), 16. Jon Stanbrough (1), 17. Brian Tyler (7), 18. Russ Gamester (25), 19. Tracy Hines (11), 20. Zach Daum (16), 21. Matt Westfall (14), 22. John Heydenreich (15), 23. Mike Hess (23), 24. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 25. Justin Carver (17), 26. Derek Hagar (22), 27. Randy Bateman (26), 28. Donnie Beechler (27). NT

2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (2), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 3. Russ Gamester (11), 4. Bud Kaeding (7), 5. Tracy Hines (4), 6. Bryan Clauson (1), 7. Brian Tyler (9), 8. Robert Ballou (3), 9. Kody Swanson (6), 10. Tanner Swanson (13), 11. Rich Tobias Jr. (12), 12. Dave Darland (10), 13. Shane Hollingsworth (8), 14. Shane Cottle (14). NT

2014 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (2), 2. Tracy Hines (1), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 4. Bobby East (3), 5. Zach Daum (10), 6. Shane Cockrum (4), 7. Dave Darland (9), 8. A.J. Fike (12), 9. John Hunt (17), 10. Joe Liguori (13), 11. Jacob Wilson (14), 12. Patrick Lawson (20), 13. Chris Windom (5), 14. Aaron Pierce (7), 15. Caleb Armstrong (8), 16. Christopher Bell (11), 17. Davey Ray (15), 18. Dakota Jackson (16), 19. Taylor Ferns (18), 20. Jake Simmons (21), 21. Jarett Andretti (19). NT

2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cockrum (2), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (4), 4. Shane Cottle (6), 5. Brady Bacon (3), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Kody Swanson (1), 8. Chris Windom (10), 9. Tracy Hines (11), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 11. Chase Stockon (18), 12. Tyler Courtney (15), 13. A.J. Fike (13), 14. Jacob Wilson (17), 15. Patrick Lawson (20), 16. Terry James (21), 17. Rex Norris III (19), 18. Dave Darland (22), 19. Joey Moughan (16), 20. Aaron Pierce (12), 21. Russ Gamester (14), 22. Kent Wolters (23), 23. Austin Nemire (24), 24. Steve Buckwalter (8). NT

2016 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (2), 2. Justin Grant (1), 3. Kody Swanson (4), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. Chris Windom (5), 6. Shane Cottle (7), 7. Shane Cockrum (9), 8. Bryan Clauson (14), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 10. Dave Darland (8), 11. Robert Ballou (13), 12. Casey Shuman (16), 13. David Byrne (15), 14. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (11), 15. Neil Shepherd (20), 16. Terry James (17), 17. Austin Nemire (19), 18. Terry Babb (12), 19. Steve Buckwalter (10), 20. J.C. Bland (18). 44:20.125 (New Track Record)

2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (9), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Kody Swanson (1), 4. Hunter Schuerenberg (11), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (16), 6. Brady Bacon (6), 7. Dave Darland (20), 8. Damion Gardner (19), 9. Dakota Jackson (13), 10. Joss Moffatt (22), 11. Johnny Petrozelle (12), 12. Joe Liguori (14), 13. Patrick Bruns (15), 14. David Byrne (3), 15. Austin Nemire (23), 16. Bill Rose (21), 17. Steve Buckwalter (10), 18. Shane Cockrum (4), 19. Mark Smith (17), 20. Aaron Pierce (8), 21. Shane Cottle (18), 22. Justin Grant (7), 23. J.C. Bland (24), 24. Casey Shuman (2). 49:16.103

2018 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Kody Swanson (18), 3. Tyler Courtney (1), 4. Chris Windom (13), 5. C.J. Leary (4), 6. Shane Cockrum (7), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 8. Joe Liguori (21), 9. Johnny Petrozelle (12), 10. Neil Shepherd (23), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (24), 12. Austin Nemire (25), 13. Kyle Robbins (19), 14. Shane Cottle (8), 15. Jacob Wilson (10), 16. Casey Shuman (11), 17. Steve Buckwalter (20), 18. Aaron Pierce (6), 19. Travis Welpott (14), 20. David Byrne (17), 21. Joss Moffatt (16), 22. Matt Goodnight (22), 23. Coleman Gulick (9), 24. Austin Mundie (15), 25. Brady Bacon (5). NT

2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 3. Brady Bacon (16), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Emerson Axsom (13), 6. Bill Rose (17), 7. Kody Swanson (1), 8. Carmen Perigo (10), 9. Terry Babb (22), 10. C.J. Leary (2), 11. Dallas Hewitt (15), 12. Brian Ruhlman (19), 13. Austin Nemire (18), 14. Travis Welpott (24), 15. Kyle Robbins (4), 16. Shane Cottle (11), 17. Casey Buckman (23), 18. Buddy Kofoid (8), 19. Kyle Steffens (20), 20. Jason McDougal (14), 21. Shane Cockrum (9), 22. Brian Tyler (26-P), 23. Matt Westfall (7), 24. Jake Swanson (6), 25. Tommy Nichols (25), 26. Davey Ray (21), 27. Eric Gordon (27). NT

28 ENTRIES

FOR SUNDAY’S USAC SILVER CROWN

SUMAR CLASSIC AT TERRE HAUTE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (October 1, 2024)………Twenty-eight USAC Silver Crown entries are set for this Sunday’s 20th running of the 100-lap Sumar Classic on October 6 at western Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

The event at the 1/2-mile dirt oval features three past winners: series point leader Kody Swanson (2014), C.J. Leary (2016) and two-time victor Justin Grant (2018 & 2022).

They’re among the 13 Sumar Classic veterans in the field along with first-time winning hopefuls and past runner-up Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Arizona (2nd in 2008-12-22). Fellow top-five Sumar Classic finishers in this weekend’s lineup include Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (3rd in 2022), Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey (4th in 2022) and Pleasant Hill, Ohio’s Matt Westfall (5th in 2002-03).

Like Coons, Bacon and Seavey before, Fort Branch, Indiana’s Chase Stockon (11th in 2015) is among the group of Terre Haute USAC National Sprint Car winners vying for a first career Terre Haute USAC Silver Crown tri

umph.

Meanwhile, Stoystown, Pennsylvania’s Carmen Perigo (8th in 2022), Sunbury, Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith (19th in 2017) and Winchester, Indiana’s Matt Goodnight (22nd in 2018) return to the Sumar Classic field.

Meanwhile, two drivers who’ve spent a large portion of their careers with fenders in late models and modifieds are making their return to the Sumar Classic in open wheel machinery: St. Charles, Missouri’s Kyle Steffens (18th in 2002) and Clarklake, Michigan’s Brian Ruhlman (12th in 2022).

However, the majority of this weekend’s field belongs to Sumar Classic first-timers. Three of them own USAC national feature wins on their resume: Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), plus Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) and Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.). Pursley (Port Royal) and Moles (Eldora) have each won their first career USAC Silver Crown races in 2024 on dirt half-miles. Danner is coming off a 3rd place finish at Eldora.

Leading 2024 USAC Silver Crown Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) looks to make his first Sumar Classic main event start along with fellow Silver Crown Rookies Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Chase Dietz (York, Pa.), Aric Gentry (Robards, Ky.) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.), a former USAC National Sprint Car track record holder at Terre Haute.

Veterans of the Silver Crown ranks making their first visit to the Sumar Classic include Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Kenny Gentry (Henderson, Ky.), Jimmy Light (West Springfield, Pa.) and Kevin Newton (Farmersburg, Ind.), whose one and only career USAC Silver Crown start came during the 2003 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 21 years ago.

RACE DETAILS:

Pits open at 2pm Eastern, grandstands open at 4pm and practice is set to begin at 5:30pm followed immediately by qualifications and racing.

Sunday’s Sumar Classic can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

SUMAR CLASSIC ENTRY LIST: (28 DRIVERS & CARS)

01 MARK SMITH/Sunbury, PA (L & M Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

18 KENNY GENTRY/Henderson, KY (Kenny Gentry)

21 (R) DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing/Curb-Agajanian)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (John Haggenbottom)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

49 BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)

52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Bateman Racing)

60 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

86 (R) CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

99 (R) KEVIN NEWTON/Farmersburg, IN (Armstrong Racing)

118 JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Wingo Brothers Racing)

119 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

CANNON BOOMS!

MCINTOSH’S LATE RACE BC39 HEROICS

NET $20,039 USAC MIDGET SCORE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 29, 2024)………After finishing as the runner-up on three different occasions in his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship career at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Cannon McIntosh found himself at the right place, at the right time in the right moment for a breakthrough during Sunday night’s sixth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors.

In 2022, McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) finished as the runner-up and was leading just five laps from the finish line before being passed by Buddy Kofoid. Furthermore, in both 2023 and just this past Thursday, he came home a close second during prelim feature nights with victory just barely eluding his grasp.

McIntosh seized the moment on Sunday night when he took advantage of a bouncing Chase McDermand through turns three and four as the front runners arrived at the white flag. McIntosh swung to the outside, nipped McDermand at the line to lead lap 38 before McDermand slid him back in turn one. McIntosh cut back under McDermand in turns one and two on the final lap to secure the top spot, the thrill of victory, a place in the history books and a $20,039 prize.

With his efforts, McIntosh became the sixth different BC39 winner in as many races while also becoming the driver who led the least amount of laps en route to victory in the history of the event – two – in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/GearWrench – Mobil 1 – TRD/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

McIntosh’s 0.191 second margin of victory is the closest in BC39 history, but he’s been used to close calls at the 1/5-mile dirt oval over the years. This time around, however, he was finally the one who prevailed.

“We’ve been so close to winning here, even on prelim nights, and we just hadn’t gotten it done,” McIntosh remarked. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that excited crossing the line. I think this is definitely number one. To be able to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and to put my name in the history books, is pretty special. I’m so thankful to do this in honor of Bryan (Clauson) who was a legend in this sport and a hero. To do this in his name with (Bryan’s father) Tim (Clauson) here, it’s a really cool feeling to be able to do this, and I’m just so grateful to be able to race here.”

The sixth starting McIntosh lay in wait throughout much of the 39-lap distance as he ran fifth as late as nine laps to go. Outside front row starter Daison Pursley set the pace for the first two circuits before pole sitter and Thursday night BC39 prelim feature winner Chase McDermand flexed his muscles by surging to the front on the low line of turn three and remained there for much of the night.

For the majority of the race, it appeared all the breaks were going McDermand’s way. Each time he came close to approaching lapped traffic, the caution was displayed for an incident, first on lap 18 and then again on the 31st circuit.

In that same timeframe, fifth-starting Jade Avedisian came to life on the top side after falling back to eighth early in the going. Shortly after reaching the top-five on lap 20, she collided with defending BC39 winner Justin Grant in turns one and two, which sent Grant tumbling over and also collected Jacob Denney (8th). Avedisian continued on while Grant restarted at the tail and Denney went to the sideline for the remainder of the night.

All eyes were now on Avedisian as she threaded the needle between Kale Drake and McIntosh on lap 28 to go from fifth to third. With nine to go, Avedisian and her KKM teammate, Drake, met wheel to wheel in the battle for third. Drake took the brunt of the misfortune as his left rear tire went flat moments later, sending him coasting to a stop after nearly flipping over in turn three. Drake was relegated to 18th at the finish, but still earned the Max Papis Innovations BC39 Rookie of the Race, scoring a custom designed trophy and $700 for his efforts.

With just eight laps to go and a clear track ahead of him, McDermand seemed destined for the big payday. But Avedisian as well as McIntosh had their say in the matter. One lap after the ensuing restart on the 32nd go around, Avedisian charged past Pursley for second on the back straight, then pulled even to the outside of McDermand in turn two and appeared poised to race her way into the lead. However, just as that was happening, Shane Cottle (9th) spun to a stop in turn four, meaning that the running order reverted back to the last completed lap, thus relegating Avedisian back to third for the restart.

The final eight laps to the finish witnessed a scramble of epic proportions among the frontrunners. First, McIntosh established his presence as he advanced from fourth to second past Avedisian and Pursley in turn one on lap 33. Avedisian promptly took third from Pursley at the exit of turn four a half lap later and began to test McIntosh for the runner-up spot as she ran the top and McIntosh cruised the bottom.

“I knew I was good enough there, but it was hard to get a rhythm with all the holes and finding your way,” McIntosh revealed regarding the low line. “When someone got a good run on the outside, I had to move around a little bit. I stayed patient and I knew I had the car to do it.”

With all that said, McDermand was in total control at the front of the field with a four car length lead on the back straight with the white flag in sight. But as McDermand entered the bottom of turn three on lap 38, the axis of the Earth seemingly tilted, sending McDermand biking on two wheels through the corner. When he landed on all fours in turn four, his front bumper was facing toward the infield.

McDermand recovered in time to beat McIntosh into turn one on the final lap, but without the proper angle, McDermand slid up the racetrack and McIntosh slid under. Simultaneously, Avedisian bolted around the outside of McDermand to occupy second. With McIntosh working the bottom and Avedisian the middle/top, McIntosh beat her to the line by less than two car lengths. McDermand took third, another couple car lengths behind Avedisian. Pursley came home fourth while Kevin Thomas Jr. rounded out the top-five.

“I knew I was good down there and didn’t want to move, but then the opportunity presented itself coming to the white,” McIntosh explained. “I actually didn’t know it was the white until he messed up and I saw it. I thought about driving down there and chopping his nose but I just stuck to the line I had. He went in and drifted in front of me, but I just waited patiently and drove back under him and protected into three.”

In the end, the top-three finishers carried a range of emotions, all with tears in their eyes for varying reasons. One for their greatest triumph; one for coming up just short of their defining moment thus far; and one for letting one slip away from their grasp in crunch time.

Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) was that close to becoming the first woman to win a USAC National Midget feature. Her end result was the fourth runner-up finish of her career with the series aboard the Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota – Peelz/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. Earlier in the evening, she also finished third in the prelim feature, but despite two podium finishes in one day and earning the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night, she was anything but satisfied.

“It’s super, super heartbreaking,” Avedisian admitted. “I wanted this one so bad. You do it for these kinds of races, and when you’re in a spot to capitalize and it just doesn’t fall your way, it’s heartbreaking. I could cry right now. I’m going to think about this one for a long time. I wanted to kiss those bricks really badly, but it didn’t happen and I gave my best effort and the team gave their best effort. I was willing to either flip it or win it. On the four-wide, I was telling myself that I’m either going to end up over the fence or I’m going to have a good shot to win this thing. That’s just what this race means to me and what this whole event means to me. I’d be willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) went from the highest of highs in winning his first career USAC National Midget feature on Thursday to seeing the biggest payday of his career vanish in the blink of an eye on Sunday night. Although there isn’t much consolation to offer after what transpired, a weekend in which he recorded his two best career USAC National Midget results can’t be all bad. But this is one that truly got away after he led a race high 35 of 39 laps in his Chase McDermand/Mulch Express of Wisconsin – McDermand Plumbing/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“I ran 38 decent laps, and one really, really bad one. It stings. It really stings,” McDermand lamented. “But coming out of this weekend with a first and a third, we probably shouldn’t hang our heads too much, but there’s nothing really I can say that will help all of us these next few days.”

This night marked Kameron Key's first championship night start during the BC39. Starting all the way back in 24th in the feature, he went +15 to finish a solid ninth. That earned the Warrensburg, Missouri racer hard charger honors for the night.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 29, 2023 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – Driven2SaveLives BC39

FIRST ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 2. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Kyle Cummins (#3G Styres), 4. Shane Cottle (#44 4 Kings), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 6. Zach Wigal (#89 CBI), 7. Mitchel Moles (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 8. Bryce Massingill (#40x McDermand), 9. Stephen Schnapf (#11s Martin), 10. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 11. Gunnar Setser (#43 Arnold), 12. Frankie Guerrini (#63 F & F), 13. Glenn Styres (#0G Styres), 14. Kameron Key (#21J TKH), 15. Briggs Danner (#98 Schneider), 16. Brady Bacon (#21H TKH), 17. Drake Edwards (#3p Petty), 18. Todd Hobson (#75AU Griffiths), 19. Kevin Cook (#77 Cook), 20. Karter Sarff (#21K Sarff), 21. Jeff Schindler (#8x Giddy Up). NT

SECOND ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 2. Thomas Meseraull (#7x Engler), 3. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 4. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 5. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Tyler Edwards (#14s Mounce-Stout), 7. Darin Naida (#3R Binks), 8. Kaylee Bryson (#58 Abacus), 9. Emerson Axsom (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 10. Kevin Newton (16TH Second Law), 11. C.J. Leary (#54 4 Kings), 12. Zach Daum (#7u Trifecta), 13. Joel Myers Jr. (#1 Crouch), 14. Alex Karpowicz (#19 Mounce-Stout), 15. Cody Beard (#7B Beard), 16. Adam Taylor (#7T ATM), 17. Cameron La Rose (#3J Petty), 18. Kyle Jones (#27x Joyner), 19. Davey Ray (#15J Wimmenauer). 2:33.837

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER: (15 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Tyler Edwards, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Zach Daum, 8. Kameron Key, 9. Bryce Massingill, 10. Frankie Guerrini, 11. Kevin Newton, 12. Gunnar Setser, 13. Hayden Reinbold, 14. Joel Myers Jr., 15. Briggs Danner, 16. Alex Karpowicz, 17. Cody Beard, 18. Glenn Styres, 19. Darin Naida, 20. Stephen Schnapf. NT

ALSO AT THE TRACK: Chris Baue (#36 Baue)

FEATURE: (39 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (6), 2. Jade Avedisian (5), 3. Chase McDermand (1), 4. Daison Pursley (2), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 6. Logan Seavey (12), 7. Gavin Miller (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (10), 9. Kameron Key (24), 10. Tyler Edwards (20), 11. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 12. Zach Daum (23), 13. Ryan Timms (16), 14. C.J. Leary (22), 15. Zach Wigal (17), 16. Kyle Cummins (11), 17. Emerson Axsom (19), 18. Kale Drake (3), 19. Justin Grant (8), 20. Mitchel Moles (18), 21. Kaylee Bryson (21), 22. Ethan Mitchell (14), 23. Shane Cottle (13), 24. Kyle Jones (25-P), 25. Jacob Denney (7), 26. Hayden Reinbold (26-P). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Daison Pursley, Laps 3-37 Chase McDermand, Laps 38-39 Cannon McIntosh.

**Justin Grant flipped on lap 25 of the feature.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-194, 2-Logan Seavey-180, 3-Robert Ballou-145, 4-Justin Grant-129, 5-C.J. Leary-125, 6-Kyle Cummins-117, 7-Chase Stockon-112, 8-Brady Bacon-111, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-103, 10-Matt Westfall-101.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 15, 2024 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Hangtown 100

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jacob Denney (12.302)

First Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jacob Denney

Second Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Justin Grant

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Last Chance Qualifier Winner: Zach Wigal

Hard Charger: Kameron Key (24th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Jade Avedisian

Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Race: Kale Drake (18th)

BC39 RESUMES SUNDAY AFTERNOON

WITH USAC MIDGET DOUBLEHEADER AT IMS

INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024) – Track preparation is underway at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 29, as the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows & Doors is scheduled to be the highlight this evening of a doubleheader for the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship.

Rain from Hurricane Helene forced the postponement of all action Friday and Saturday on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the famed IMS paved oval.

Friday’s originally scheduled program will take place first, starting with hot laps at 3 p.m., weather permitting. Heat races, qualifying races, a B main will follow, capped by a 30-lap feature at 5 p.m.

The BC39 program will start at 6:30 p.m. with hot laps, followed by the C and B Mains and Last Chance Race. The 39-lap BC39 feature is scheduled to start at 9 p.m., with the winner earning $20,039.

Parking opens at 12:30 p.m., with public gates open at 1:30 p.m.

All Saturday products (tickets, pit passes and parking) are valid today. Customers with only Friday products (tickets, pit passes and parking) were contacted by the IMS Ticket Office with options. Tickets for today are available for purchase on IMS.com. Customers with questions may contact the IMS Ticket Office at tickets@brickyard.com.

The Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows Doors continues to honor 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, sponsors of the event since its inception in 2018.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

September 28, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.771; 2. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.864; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.913; 4. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-15.033; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.110; 6. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-15.117; 7. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-15.122; 8. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.134; 9. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-15.139; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-15.180; 11. Brody Fuson, 51B, Van Meter-15.293; 12. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.295; 13. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-15.360; 14. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-15.971; 15. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-16.291; 16. Aaron Altaffer, 84, Altaffer-16.478.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / BILLSJERKY.NET / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Brody Fuson, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Cody Williams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Blake Bower, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Logan Williams. NT.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / WC FRIEND COMPANY / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Ryan Timmons, 3. David Gasper, 4. A.J. Bender, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Tanner Boul, 7. Aaron Altaffer, 8. Tommy Malcolm. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Cody Williams (6), 2. Brody Fuson (11), 3. R.J. Johnson (5), 4. David Gasper (2), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (3), 6. A.J. Bender (12), 7. Austin Williams (1), 8. Verne Sweeney (10), 9. Ryan Timmons (4), 10. Logan Wiliams (9), 11. Austin Grabowski (8), 12. Tanner Boul (14), 13. Blake Bower (13), 14. Elexa Herrera (15), 15. Aaron Altaffer (16), 16. Tommy Malcolm (7). NT. ---------------------------- **Aaron Altaffer flipped on lap 22 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 David Gasper, Laps 20-30 Cody Williams IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Brody Fuson (11 to 2)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: October 12 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

BC39 POSTPONED TO SUNDAY AT IMS

DUE TO CONTINUED WEATHER

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024) – Saturday’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows & Doors has been postponed until mid-afternoon Sunday, Sept. 29 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rain from Hurricane Helene continues to impact track preparations, causing postponement of today’s event.

“We are still committed to delivering this major event,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Right now, the track surface is sealed over. If we open the track up to begin to prepare it, and the rain that is forecasted today happens to fall during that process, water will get deep in the track and cause a significant challenge to get it prepped in the near future. Postponing to Sunday gives us the best chance for a successful event.”

Hot laps will start the program Sunday. There will be a doubleheader for the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship featuring Friday’s originally scheduled program first, which will be followed by Saturday’s originally scheduled program on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the famed IMS asphalt oval, weather permitting.

A detailed time schedule for Sunday’s events will be released soon.

All Saturday products (tickets, pit passes and parking) will be valid Sunday. Customers with only Friday products (tickets, pit passes and parking) were contacted by the IMS Ticket Office with options. Tickets for Sunday are available for purchase on www.IMS.com. Customers with questions may contact the IMS Ticket Office at tickets@brickyard.com.

The highlight of Sunday’s competition will be the 39-lap feature, which pays $20,039 to win and has become a must-win for any USAC Midget competitor since the inaugural event in 2018.

Chase McDermand won the 30-lap preliminary feature Thursday night at The Dirt Track at IMS. Local hero C.J. Leary made history by winning the inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational, the first time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars have raced at IMS.

The Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows & Doors continues to honor 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, sponsors of the event since its inception.

Visit www.IMS.com to buy tickets and pit passes or for more information.

RAIN WASHES OUT BC39 FRIDAY SHOW,

RACING RESUMES SATURDAY AT IMS

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Sept. 27, 2024) – Persistent rain and high winds from Hurricane Helene forced the postponement of all track activity on Friday, September 27, for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows & Doors at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A doubleheader for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship is planned for Saturday, September 28 at the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the famed paved oval at the Racing Capital of the World, weather permitting.

An update on the event schedule will be provided at 6 p.m. ET Friday, with more information released at 10 a.m. ET Saturday.

“Our priority is to ensure the safety of all participants and fans, and we are committed to delivering this major event over the next few days, if required,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “We will be doing everything in our power to ensure a successful event.”

Customers with Friday products (tickets, pit passes and parking) will be contacted by the IMS Ticket Office with options.

The highlight of Saturday’s competition will be the 39-lap feature, which pays $20,039 to win and has become a must-win for any USAC Midget competitor since the inaugural event in 2018.

Chase McDermand won the 30-lap preliminary feature Thursday night at The Dirt Track at IMS.

Local hero C.J. Leary made history by winning Thursday’s inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational, the first time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars have raced at IMS.

Visit www.IMS.com to buy tickets and pit passes or for more information.

DETERMINED MCDERMAND!

A FIRST-TIME USAC MIDGET WINNER

EMERGES AT BC39 OPENER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 26, 2024)………For Chase McDermand, Thursday night’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors opener was certainly a long time coming.

In what was the 24-year-old Springfield, Illinois native’s 48th career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship start, McDermand picked off 2023 BC39 opening night winner Thomas Meseraull just before the midway point, then led the remaining 16 laps to score his first career series victory.

For McDermand, a three-time Badger Midget Auto Racing Association champion in 2019-2020-2021, of all the places to collect a first USAC win, The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is especially special.

“To do it here at the BC39, granted it’s just a prelim night, but still, we beat the best of the best here tonight,” McDermand stated. “I’m just super happy for my team and all of our partners. We have so many people who allow us to do what we love.”

McDermand certainly hadn’t forgotten about his closest previous call to winning a USAC National Midget feature in 2022 at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway where an incident with eight laps to go left him dejected and emptyhanded. Two-and-a-half years later, he finally got to experience that long-awaited feeling to become the latest first-time series victor.

“This one has been a long time coming, ever since Port City a couple years ago when I got taken out while leading,” McDermand noted. “You can never take a win or a close win for granted because you just never know when the next one is coming. It took us a long time. I won some Xtreme Outlaw races, but I really wanted a USAC win.”

In fact, McDermand is the second first-time USAC National Midget feature winner this year and this month. Zach Wigal captured a victory on the opening night of September at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway.

McDermand entered the night with a previous best USAC finish of third, which just so happened to come during the opening night of the BC39 one year ago in 2023. One year later, on Thursday night, his self-owned Mulch Express of Wisconsin – McDermand Plumbing/Spike/Stanton SR-11x rolled off fourth on the grid.

Slotting into third by lap two, McDermand watched as Zach Daum led the opening lap before Meseraull took the low line to the front on the back straight during the second go-around on the 1/5-mile dirt oval. Lying in wait third in line while Meseraull and Daum duked it out for the lead, McDermand ripped the top in turns three and four around Daum to swipe second on lap 10.

Lap after lap, Meseraull cornered the market on the low line while McDermand worked diligently up top. Exiting turn two on the 14th circuit, Meseraull could plainly see McDermand’s car pulled completely alongside his own to the outside. Sensing the need to adjust on the fly for the next set of turns, Meseraull ran his line wide off turn four to protect his position. McDermand promptly altered his line to the bottom of turn one to snare the lead away from Meseraull.

“The line he was running kind of kept me from really getting all my momentum down the straightaways,” McDermand explained. “Once I was able to finally clear him, I felt like I could set my own pace and dictate the corner entry. I felt like I was better, and the car was super good tonight.”

As McDermand continued to command up front in the latter stages, Meseraull suddenly fell to fifth on lap 20-21 while Daum, Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Timms and Daison Pursley all began to surge. McIntosh zipped under Daum along the front straightaway coming to the white flag to secure second.

By the time the field hit turn three on the 30th and final lap, all hell had broken loose for the final lock-in spot for Saturday night’s $20,039-to-win finale. By the time this conglomeration of drivers and cars crossed the stripe, Daum had fallen from third to sixth while Pursley seemingly came out of nowhere to grab the third and final lock-in spot.

Meanwhile, up front, McDermand went unfettered to the checkered, 0.679 seconds ahead of McIntosh with Pursley third, Jacob Denney fourth and Meseraull fifth.

For Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), the runner-up result was his third career second place finish at the BC39 after slotting into the same spot during the 2022 finale and a 2023 prelim. On this night, he started eighth and moved up six spots to earn hard charger honors and secure a spot in the final night feature aboard his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/GearWrench – Mobil 1 – TRD/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

With seven laps to go, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) ran seventh. With two to go, he was still fifth. Coming to the white flag, he was running fourth on the outside looking in at the wheel of his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota. On the last lap, one final, last ditch effort placed him third and locked himself into Saturday’s main event. Those late-race heroics earned Pursley the night’s Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Briggs Danner's seventh place finish was not only the best of his USAC National Midget career to date. It also allowed the Allentown, Pa. racer to collect Rookie of the Race honors courtesy of Max Papis Innovations.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 26, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. J.J. Yeley (#3J Petty), 2. Chase McDermand (#40 McDermand), 3. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 4. Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Gunnar Setser (#43 Arnold), 6. Tyler Edwards (#14s Mounce-Stout), 7. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 8. Luke Hall (#74 Heitmeyer). 1:40.557

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Zach Daum (#16 Royal), 2. Steve Buckwalter (#0 Buckwalter), 3. C.J. Leary (#54 4 Kings), 4. Kameron Key (#21J TKH), 5. Trevor Cline (#55 Cline), 6. Glenn Styres (#0G Styres), 7. Kevin Cook (#77 Cook). NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Thomas Meseraull (#7x Engler), 3. Briggs Danner (#98 Schneider), 4. Devon Dobie (#23 Dobie), 5. Mariah Ede (#71E Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Adam Taylor (#7T ATM), 7. Todd Hobson (#75 Griffiths). NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 3. Shane Cottle (#44 4 Kings), 4. Joel Myers Jr. (#1 Crouch), 5. Kaylee Bryson (#58 Abacus), 6. Jeff Schindler (#8x Giddy Up). NT

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Trevor Cline, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Ryan Timms, 5. Gunnar Setser, 6. Steve Buckwalter. 2:06.385

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Mariah Ede, 5. J.J. Yeley, 6. Devon Dobie. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Kaylee Bryson, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Chase McDermand, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Glenn Styres, 6. Luke Hall, 7. Joel Myers Jr. 2:09.017

CAR IQ FOURTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Tyler Edwards, 4. Kameron Key, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Adam Taylor, 7. Jeff Schindler. NT

ELLIOTTS’ CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Edwards, 2. Steve Buckwalter, 3. Gunnar Setser, 4. Joel Myers Jr., 5. Luke Hall, 6. Glenn Styres, 7. Devon Dobie, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Kevin Cook, 10. Todd Hobson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chase McDermand (4), 2. Cannon McIntosh (8), 3. Daison Pursley (6), 4. Jacob Denney (5), 5. Thomas Meseraull (1), 6. Zach Daum (2), 7. Briggs Danner (10), 8. Shane Cottle (7), 9. Ryan Timms (3), 10. Kaylee Bryson (12), 11. Kameron Key (14), 12. Jerry Coons Jr. (11), 13. J.J. Yeley (17), 14. Tyler Edwards (16), 15. Hayden Reinbold (15), 16. Gunnar Setser (19), 17. Trevor Cline (9), 18. C.J. Leary (13), 19. Steve Buckwalter (18), 20. Joel Myers Jr. (20), 21. Luke Hall (21), 22. Glenn Styres (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Zach Daum, Laps 2-14 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 15-30 Chase McDermand.

**Dean Parker flipped during practice. Adam Taylor flipped during the fourth qualifier race.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1183, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1087, 3-Ryan Timms-1029, 4-Zach Daum-997, 5-Logan Seavey-947, 6-Jacob Denney-945, 7-Justin Grant-888, 8-Gavin Miller-844, 9-Zach Wigal-779, 10-Kale Drake-776.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-194, 2-Logan Seavey-174, 3-Robert Ballou-145, 4-Justin Grant-127, 5-C.J. Leary-117, 6-Kyle Cummins-115, 7-Chase Stockon-112, 8-Brady Bacon-111, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-103, 10-Matt Westfall-101.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 27-28, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (11.930)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: J.J. Yeley

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Zach Daum

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Trevor Cline

Rod End Supply Second Qualifier Winner: Jacob Denney

T.J. Forged Third Qualifier Winner: Kaylee Bryson

Car IQ Fourth Qualifier Winner: Shane Cottle

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tyler Edwards

Hard Charger: Cannon McIntosh (8th to 2nd)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Daison Pursley

MPI Rookie of the Race: Briggs Danner (7th)

C.J. HISTORY!

LEARY LEADS THE WAY AT IMS USAC SPRINT INVITATIONAL

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 26, 2024)………C.J. Leary has consistently run near the front of the field throughout the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season. Nonetheless, a fact that’s been stuck in his craw throughout much of the campaign is the absence of a victory, last winning with the series at Florida’s Ocala Speedway in February.

Even though Thursday night’s caution-free 20-lap inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway fell into the category of a non-points special event, victory was like a warm hug for the Greenfield, Ind. native and his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

And to do it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Well, that’s priceless.

“It’s pretty special,” Leary beamed. “I didn’t know if we knew how to win anymore; it’s been a long time.”

Starting seventh, Leary quickly moved up into the top-three by the third lap, then made his strike at the halfway point when he combed the bottom past Mitchel Moles on lap 11, then raced past racelong leader Daison Pursley on the back stretch on the 12th lap to snag the lead.

This was the first official sprint car race contested at the 1/5-mile dirt oval. Shhh. Don’t tell. But there was a trial run of USAC Sprint Car racing at the IMS dirt track in 2022, a test in which Leary and others gained critical notes to add to their notebook in order to be ready when the time came to return.

“I came here and tested two years ago,” Leary remembered. “I feel like that gave me a little bit of an edge. We knew what gear to run and knew a little bit of what to expect. We ran some small tracks this year like Action Track USA and Macon, so our short track program has gotten better.”

Leary is well-known for his prowess on the larger, fast tracks such as Eldora and Lawrenceburg where he has excelled extensively. But this year has admittedly been a bit of a struggle to find victory lane on any track regardless of shape or size. So, a win at this place at this particular time was a more than welcome addition to his personal win list.

“Typically, we’re a little bit better on the bigger racetracks,” Leary acknowledged. “But this year, we haven’t been good at anything. Even though it’s an invitational race, it’s super cool to be in victory lane. I’ve run here since the start of the BC39 (in 2018), and I’ve never really done any good. So, it feels good to win something.”

On a track in which many naysayers and doomsdayers casted their doubts on regarding passing and competitiveness, even Leary was down in the doldrums after finding out his starting position. However, the seventh starting position just proved to be the sweet spot for Leary to make his charge from, and it even came in a car that he had previously had not-so-kind thoughts on.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into this,” Leary admitted. “Honestly, when they redrew the seven (pill), we were contemplating on not even running. But we came out here to put on a show for the fans. We had a really good racecar, and this thing was dialed in. The last time this car ran was at Kokomo during Indiana Sprint Week (in late July). It did pretty poorly and I didn’t like it that night. So, I think my opinion has changed a little bit. It’s obviously pretty good.”

After Leary took over the lead, for the final nine circuits, he was forced to fend off USAC’s most recent National Sprint Car winner, Daison Pursley, who rim-rode the circumference of the dirt track located within the confines of turn three inside the world famous 2.5-mile “Brickyard” that surrounds it.

While Leary stuck low, Pursley’s high line couldn’t get him any closer. In turn four on the final lap, Pursley ran out of room and clobbered the wall, briefly lifting him airborne. While Pursley continued on, he was no match for Leary who closed out the race with a 1.102 second margin of victory over Pursley, while Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou and Kyle Cummins rounded out the top-five.

“We needed to make money,” Leary exclaimed. “I lost the transmission in my truck last week, so we’re going to have to pay for that. Hats off to (car owners) Broc (Garrett) and Doug (Dougherty) for sticking it out. I know it’s been a tough year, and we haven’t won as many as we wanted. But it’s not for a lack of effort. (Crewmen) Zack (Burks), my dad (Chuck Leary) and I have been pounding away in the shop, just trying to figure out what we’re missing and I think we might’ve caught on to something.”

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: September 26, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Stoops Sprint Car Invitational

FIRST QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-11.941; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-11.995; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.041; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.094; 5. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.252.

SECOND QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-11.784; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.786; 3. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.228; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.262; 5. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.384.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Chase Stockon. 1:40.202

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Kale Drake. 1:38.189

FEATURE: (20 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (7), 2. Daison Pursley (1), 3. Mitchel Moles (3), 4. Robert Ballou (5), 5. Kyle Cummins (4), 6. Logan Seavey (2), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 8. Kale Drake (10), 9. Chase Stockon (9), 10. Carson Garrett (8). 4:15.600

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Daison Pursley, Laps 12-20 C.J. Leary.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: October 11-12, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Greg Staab Memorial/Fall Nationals

Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO KEVIN HARVICK’S KERN RACEWAY
By Lance Jennings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2024... After a torrid battle at Perris, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will head to The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway this Saturday, September 28th. The “Bakersfield Bash” will be the third and final appearance of the season for USAC/CRA at the fast 1/3-mile oval. Located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 5:30pm, followed by Time Trials, with Racing scheduled at 7:00pm. For more event information and advance tickets, visit the track’s website at kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.
- TIRES & FUEL: Tires and fuel will be available at the track on race day. It is recommended that teams pre-order tires through Hoosier Tire West at 559-485-4612.

Since March 12, 2021, The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway has held five USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and five different drivers have claimed victory. R.J. Johnson won the “Golden Empire Clash” on June 8th and Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm topped the “Bob Vermeer and Narcie Ferreira Classic” on August 31st. The 1-lap track record of 14.106 was set by 10-Time Champion, “The Demon” Damion Gardner at the Kern debut and the track’s complete USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After finishing second to “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. last Saturday at Perris, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) has taken over the point lead. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson has a slim 3-point lead over the competition. At press time, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one semi-main win, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 46 feature laps led on the season. R.J. is currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine feature wins to his credit. The 2005 Rookie of the Year will be looking to extend his point lead with another win at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Heading to the sixteenth point race, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) is second in the point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm ran fourth last Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. To date, Tommy “Thunder” has four feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is tied with Robert Ballou, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven series wins. The veteran driver will have his sights on gaining valuable points with the Saturday night victory.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) ranks third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams raced from seventh to third at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has five heat race victories, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, eleven top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will have his sights on his first victory of the season.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is fourth in the championship point standings. Driving John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams finished tenth in last Saturday’s 30-lap feature. To date, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will have his sights on earning the first USAC/CRA victory of his career at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) is tied for fourth in the battle for the USAC/CRA championship. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender scored a seventh place finish last Saturday night. At press time, the former 360 Sprint Car Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner has one feature win, six heat race victories, ten top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking for the second USAC/CRA win of his career on Saturday.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Grant Sexton, Logan Calderwood, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Kaleb Montgomery, Ryan Timmons, "Flash” Jordan Hermansader, and more.

The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway is located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California. To get to the speedway, take Interstate-5 and exit at Enos Lane (CA 43, Exit 246) and drive to Raceway Blvd. The track is on the west side of the interstate. Adult tickets are $25, Kids Tickets (6-12) are $10, and Children (5& Under) are FREE. For more event information and advance tickets, visit kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson-998, 2. Tommy Malcolm-995, 3. Austin Williams-915, 4. Logan Williams-869, --. A.J. Bender-869, 6. David Gasper (R)-820, 7. Cody Williams-786, 8. Verne Sweeney-651, 9. Austin Grabowski-646, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-613, 11. Charles Davis Jr.-576, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-458, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-423, 14. Grant Sexton-344, 15. Logan Calderwood-329, 16. Matt Mitchell-328, 17. Brody Roa-307, 18. Matt McCarthy-254, 19. Ricky Lewis-233, 20. Jeff Dyer-230. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Charles Davis Jr., 2-Matt Mitchell, 2-R.J. Johnson, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Braden Chiaramonte, 1-David Gasper, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr., 1-Cody Williams.

KERN AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Damion Gardner – 14.016 (03/12/21)

KERN AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-Max Adams, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Speedway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Speedway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
September 7: Santa Maria Speedway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

USAC MIDGET FIELD REVEALED

FOR 6TH RUNNING OF THE BC39 AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 24, 2024)………The field for the 2024 Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors has been revealed as the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship takes on The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for three-straight nights during the sixth running of the event on September 26-27-28.

Fifty-nine cars and drivers are set for the event. The field was split in half with 30 drivers competing in Thursday’s opening night program at the 1/5-mile dirt oval while 29 drivers will contest the Friday night program. Both preliminary night programs will conclude with a 30-lap feature paying $5,000-to-win.

For Saturday night’s finale, the entire field will combine to chase after the top prize in a 39-lap main event paying $20,039-to-win. Past final night BC39 feature winners include Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021), Buddy Kofoid (2022) and Justin Grant (2023). Both Bacon and Grant will be competing in this year’s event.

Spectator tickets are on sale for the event at www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street. Competitors are to enter through the tunnel on 16th Street.

The BC39 will continue to honor the late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter, Bryan Clauson. It also will increase awareness of organ donation and encourage participation in the Indiana Donor Network Driven2SaveLives program, the title sponsor of the BC39 since the inaugural running in 2018.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Wednesday, September 25, with team parking. There will be no on-track activity on Wednesday, September 25.

On track action starts Thursday, September 26, beginning with the drivers meeting in the Performance Center near the dirt track in turn three at 3pm Eastern followed by a full program for midget racing and the inaugural Stoops USAC Sprint Car invitational featuring 10 cars and drivers competed in an exhibition event.

On Friday, September 27, night two of the BC39 will commence with a second full program featuring midget racing.

On both Thursday and Friday, the public gates will open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps set for 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies, heat races, qualifying races, the semi-feature and the feature event.

The finale of the BC39, on Saturday, September 28, will have the public gates opening at 4pm and midgets on track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with multiple C-Mains and Semi-Features followed by a Last Chance Race before concluding with the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.

THURSDAY BC39 ENTRY LIST

0G (R) Glenn Styres/Ohsweken, ON (Glenn Styres Racing)

1 (R) Joel Myers Jr./Santa Rosa, CA (Leighton Crouch)

3J J.J. Yeley/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

7T Adam Taylor/Wheatfield, IN (Adam Taylor Motorsports)

7x Thomas Meseraull/San Jose, CA (Tim Engler)

8x Jeff Schindler/Evansville, IN (Giddy Up Racing)

11p (R) Dean Parker/Newburgh, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)

14s Tyler Edwards/Salina, OK (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

16 Zach Daum/Pocahontas, IL (Royal Powersports)

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

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

23 (R) Devon Dobie/Wapakoneta, OH (Dennis Dobie)

25 Jacob Denney/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25B Steve Buckwalter/Royersford, PA (Brian Buckwalter)

40 Chase McDermand/Springfield, IL (Chase McDermand)

43 (R) Gunnar Setser/Columbus, IN (Kevin Arnold)

44 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (4 Kings Racing)

54 C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN (4 Kings Racing)

55 Trevor Cline/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline)

58 Kaylee Bryson/Muskogee, OK (Abacus Racing)

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

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

71K Cannon McIntosh/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

74 (R) Luke Hall/Ludlow Falls, OH (Kyle Heitmeyer)

75 (R) Todd Hobson/Clyde, VIC (Griffiths Motorsports)

77 Kevin Cook/Winchester, IN (Kevin Cook)

80 (R) Josh Hawkins/Whitehouse, TX (Josh Hawkins)

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

86 Daison Pursley/Locust Grove, OK (CB Industries)

98 (R) Briggs Danner/Allentown, PA (John Schneider)

(R) denotes a BC39 Rookie

FRIDAY BC39 ENTRY LIST

2 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3 (R) Darin Naida/Adrian, MI (Dan Binks)

3G Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing)

3p (R) Drake Edwards/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

4 (R) Adam Bolyard/Rushville, IN (Adam Bolyard Racing)

7B (R) Cody Beard/Huntingburg, IN (Beard Racing)

11s (R) Stephen Schnapf/Newburgh, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)

14 Kevin Thomas Jr./Cullman, AL (4 Kings Racing)

15J Davey Ray/Davenport, IA (Jeff Wimmenauer)

16TH (R) Kevin Newton/Farmersburg, IN (Second Law Motorsports)

19 (R) Alex Karpowicz/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

19A Mitchel Moles/Raisin City, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

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

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

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

27x Kyle Jones/Kennedale, TX (Joyner Motorsports)

36 Chris Baue/Indianapolis, IN (Bill Baue)

40x (R) Bryce Massingill/Troy, OH (Chase McDermand)

46 Kenney Johnson/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson)

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

57 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

63 (R) Frankie Guerrini/San Rafael, CA (F & F Racing)

67K Emerson Axsom/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

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

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

80H (R) Josh Hanna/Flint, TX (Josh Hawkins)

89 Zach Wigal/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

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

97K (R) Kale Drake/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

(R) denotes a BC39 Rookie

10 DRIVERS SET FOR BC39

USAC SPRINT CAR STOOPS INVITATIONAL

AT IMS ON SEPT. 26

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 23, 2024)………The driver roster for the Thursday night, September 26, inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been confirmed.

For the first time ever, USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars are coming to The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Stoops Sprint Car Invitational will take place on the 1/5-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 26, during the opening night of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors.

Invitations to compete in the first of its kind event were presented to top-10 drivers and entrants on the current 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point standings.

Entries were accepted by Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.).

The invitation-only non-points special event for USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars at IMS will feature two heat races followed by a 20-lap main event. The Thursday night portion of the BC39 will feature both sprint cars as well as a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

Brady Bacon (second in points) and Justin Grant (ninth in points) were among the invitees. However, both politely declined invitations to compete in the sprint car exhibition. Both drivers will be competing in the midget portion of the BC39 throughout the weekend. The top-10 in current driver & entrant points were invited to compete. If the invitation was declined, the next ranked driver and/or entrant in the standings was offered a spot, which was Chase Stockon in 11th.

Spectator tickets are on sale for the event at www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street. Competitors are to enter through the tunnel on 16th Street.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Wednesday, September 25, with team parking. There will be no on-track activity on Wednesday, September 25. On track action starts Thursday, September 26, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 3pm Eastern followed by midget and sprint car racing. On Friday, September 27, night two of the BC39 will commence with a second full program featuring midget racing.

On both Thursday and Friday, the public gates will open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps set for 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies, heat races, qualifying races, the semi-feature and the feature event.

The finale of the BC39, on Saturday, September 28, will have the public gates opening at 4pm and midgets on track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with the D-Main, multiple C-Mains and Semi-Feature before concluding with the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.

PURSLEY PERFECT!

DAISON DELIVERS SECOND ELDORA

USAC MIDGET WEEKEND WIN AT 4-CROWN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (September 21, 2024)………Just like déjà vu, Daison Pursley had all bases, and the field, covered during Saturday night’s 25-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship portion of the 42nd edition of the 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) had kicked off his weekend triumphantly at the 1/2-miled dirt oval with a victory during Friday night’s BeFour the Crowns Program in the seat of his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

Saturday night proved no different as Pursley once again thrashed the field after starting sixth on the grid. Pursley charged his way up to the front, then cleared defending 4-Crown midget winner Logan Seavey with a turn one slide job on the 10th lap. From there, Pursley led the remaining 16 circuits as he trekked away to finish his weekend an undefeated two-for-two in the midget at The Big E.

“You just can’t give an inch to any of these guys,” Pursley remarked regarding his competition. “When you get out of that rhythm, I feel like you slow down, so I was hammering it there as hard as I absolutely could for 25 good ones, and I felt like I did an okay job, I guess. It’s a phenomenal car to drive, like I always say, and I’m super thankful for the opportunity. It’s just rewarding when we get to park it in victory lane.”

It was the ninth career USAC National Midget feature win for the humble Pursley. Ironically, victory number nine tied Pursley with both his car owner, Chad Boat, and Chad’s father, Billy Boat, for 80th place on the all-time series win list.

Pursley’s win also continued CB Industries’ remarkable reign in USAC National Midget competition at Eldora. The Mooresville, North Carolina based team has now won six of the last seven feature events at the track dating back to 2021 with Chris Windom (3), Pursley (2) and Mitchel Moles (1) each notching scores.

Furthermore, Pursley’s back-to-back weekend wins at Eldora pushed his lead in the season-long USAC National Midget standings from 51 to 96, just like that in a blink of an eye as he pursues his first career series driving title.

After securing his second $15,000 check of the night, Pursley improved his then unblemished Eldora weekend record to three-for-three while pocketing $35,000 to that point. He also achieved his latest win after narrowly avoiding catastrophe on the opening lap.

On the initial green flag, original pole sitter Zach Wigal was docked one row after it was ruled that he jumped the start. With Wigal now slotted in third, that moved Zach Daum to the outside of the front row. When the green flag dropped for the second time, Daum made it priority number one to get to the bottom of the racetrack in turn one. At the same time, Wigal was going for the same piece of real estate, which created a calamity of epic proportions.

Following the Zach on Zach collision, Wigal began flipping upside down toward the outside turn one wall. Wigal’s car ricocheted into that of Cannon McIntosh who careened nose first into the outside wall. In all, eight drivers and cars were collected in the incident: Wigal, McIntosh, Kale Drake, Chris Windom, Kyle Jones, Thomas Meseraull, Hayden Reinbold and Michael Smith. All drivers walked away, but only Windom, Meseraull, Reinbold and Smith were able to restart.

All the while, Pursley narrowly missed McIntosh’s errant car as he escaped between McIntosh’s front bumper and the outside wall with little room to spare. With the field re-racked, Seavey jetted out to the lead while Pursley made quick work to slot into second by threading the needle around the topside of turns one and two to blitz from fourth to second past Jacob Denney and Kevin Thomas Jr.

By lap six, Pursley was applying the pressure to Seavey, and in turn one on the 10th lap, Pursley cleared him for good with a turn one slider before gaining full control of the race lead by the time he hit turn three. Ultimately, Pursley built his lead to a full straightaway margin of 6.7 seconds before the yellow flag was displayed for the slowing car of seventh running Jade Avedisian on lap 19, the victim of a flat right rear tire.

Despite the dissipation of his commanding lead, Pursley quickly reconstructed his advantage over the final few circuits, finishing off the masterpiece run 4.775 seconds ahead of the field as he crossed under the checkered flag.

Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) was masterful as well after achieving the biggest charge of the USAC National Midget season by advancing from 20th to second, making the final pass on Seavey for the runner-up spot just three laps from the finish line. For his efforts, Timms earned $1,000 in bonuses, first as the recipient of the Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move of the Race award as well as the champion of the 4-Crown Nationals weekend ProSource Passing Master title, gaining 26 spots on track over the course of the two nights of action.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished third in both the USAC Sprint and Midget features, while Kevin Thomas Jr. scored fourth and Chris Windom rounded out the top-five after being collected in the opening lap accident. After starting at the tail and driving his way back up through the field to fifth, Windom earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 21, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 42nd 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake (#97K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), 3. Zach Daum (#17 O'Dell), 4. Briggs Danner (#98 Schneider), 5. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 6. Thomas Meseraull (#7x Engler), 7. Luke Hall (#74 Heitmeyer), 8. Michael Smith (#76 Savage). 2:30.196

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 2. Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Drake Edwards (#3p Petty), 4. Chris Windom (#89x CBI), 5. Gavin Miller (#97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Kyle Jones (#27x Joyner), 7. Kayla Roell (#4K Roell). NT

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#14 4 Kings), 2. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 4. Jade Avedisian (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 6. Zach Wigal (#89 CBI). 2:33.755

ALSO AT THE TRACK: Matt Goodnight (#23 Simon)

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (6), 2. Ryan Timms (20), 3. Logan Seavey (2), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Zach Daum (3), 7. Justin Grant (9), 8. Jacob Denney (4), 9. Drake Edwards (17), 10. Gavin Miller (11), 11. Jade Avedisian (15), 12. Briggs Danner (13), 13. Hayden Reinbold (12), 14. Michael Smith (18), 15. Luke Hall (21), 16. Thomas Meseraull (16), 17. Zach Wigal (1), 18. Cannon McIntosh (5), 19. Kale Drake (8), 20. Kyle Jones (14), 21. Kayla Roell (19). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Logan Seavey, Laps 10-25 Daison Pursley.

**Zach Wigal flipped on lap 1 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-1133, 2-Cannon McIntosh-1037, 3-Ryan Timms-979, 4-Logan Seavey-947, 5-Zach Daum-947, 6-Jacob Denney-895, 7-Justin Grant-888, 8-Gavin Miller-844, 9-Zach Wigal-779, 10-Kale Drake-776.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-191, 2-Logan Seavey-174, 3-Robert Ballou-145, 4-Justin Grant-118, 5-C.J. Leary-117, 6-Kyle Cummins-115, 7-Chase Stockon-112, 8-Brady Bacon-111, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-103, 10-Mitchel Moles-93.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 26-27-28, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kale Drake

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Hard Charger: Ryan Timms (20th to 2nd)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Chris Windom

Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move of the Race: Ryan Timms

PURSLEY POWERS TO FIRST 4-CROWN

USAC SPRINT CAR VICTORY AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (September 21, 2024)………Twenty four hours after becoming a first-time Eldora Speedway USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget winner, Daison Pursley checked off another box by becoming a first-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner at the Rossburg, Ohio dirt oval.

The fifth-place starting Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) became the third different leader in the first one-third of Saturday night's 30-lap feature after he tracked down and slid his way past Kevin Thomas Jr. on the 10th lap, then ran away from the field to earn a $15,000 payday at the 42nd running of the 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO in his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

“This car was on rails on all night tonight,” Pursley praised. “Coming into this, I honestly thought this would be the hardest one to win. To click that one for the first feature of the night is cool. This is an unbelievable team to drive for, and once again, I’m just lucky enough to get to hold the steering wheel and take part in these victories.”

For Pursley, it was his second career points-paying USAC National Sprint Car victory, both of which have come this year at two of the most famed 1/2-mile dirt ovals in the world after also winning at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway on the first of June.

It was certainly no comfort cruise for Pursley, however, as he was on the chase for the first nine laps while pole sitter Stevie Sussex patrolled the field by pacing the first five circuits in what was the veteran’s first career start at the 4-Crown and his first time in the seat of a Baldwin-Fox Racing machine.

The lone caution of the feature occurred on the fifth lap when series Rookie and fourth-place running Kale Drake spun to a halt on the bottom of turn four. The entirety of the field scattered high and low to avoid head-on contact with the idle Drake but all managed to miss. Drake restarted at the tail and finished 18th.

On the horse following the restart was Kevin Thomas Jr. who shot to the bottom down around the inside concrete wall in turns three and four to surge past Sussex for the lead on lap six. Pursley followed suit past Sussex into second a lap later to place himself right within striking distance of the top spot.

After briefly pondering taking the high road around Thomas for a lap or two, Pursley recalculated and found a crack in the doorway on the bottom to slip past Thomas on the front straight away on lap 10 to snare the lead, and instantly pulled away.

Pursley continuously built his advantage to three, four and five seconds as he quickly reached lapped traffic. Undeterred, he was unrelenting as he maintained his pace and cemented his case as the class of the field on this night.

In the end, Pursley made mince meat of the field by crossing the stripe 5.434 seconds ahead of the competition as Kevin Thomas Jr., Logan Seavey, Kyle Cummins and Robert Ballou rounded out the top-five.

Pursley’s performance netted him his first career 4-Crown Nationals victory of any kind after capturing the USAC National Midget portion of the BeFour the Crowns on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led four laps to earn his best career 4-Crown Nationals result in what was his 12th start in the event dating back to 2009.

For Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the third-place finish was fruitful as it helped him extend his USAC National Sprint Car championship point lead from 74 to 86 with just four events remaining on the schedule. Furthermore, for his efforts, Seavey was the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night after recovering from an early-race near incident in which he almost backed himself into the turn one outside wall.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) also recovered from early hardship after his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports mount wasn’t able to fire for qualifying. Forced to swap the engine out, Moles ultimately made his way into the feature via the last transfer spot in the semi, then hustled from 24th to 15th in the feature to become the event’s hard charger. That earned him a $500 bonus for the Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move of the Race.

With his seventh place finish in the main event, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was able to maintain a slim six-point edge over Kevin Thomas Jr. in the battle for the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment title. One race remains in the 10-race series during the October 12 Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 21, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 42nd 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-15.536; 2. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-15.935; 3. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-16.130; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.174; 5. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.207; 6. Stevie Sussex, 5, Baldwin/Fox-16.207; 7. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.266; 8. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-16.272; 9. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.302; 10. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.327; 11. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.369; 12. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.450; 13. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-16.607; 14. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.612; 15. Trey Osborne, 11T, Osborne-16.622; 16. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.633; 17. Max Adams, 63, F & F-17.008; 18. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-17.009; 19. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-17.110; 20. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-17.152; 21. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-17.155; 22. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-17.181; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-17.208; 24. Scotty Weir, 21H, Hery-17.257; 25. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran-17.325; 26. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-17.364; 27. Steve Irwin, 0, Flying Zero-17.366; 28. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-17.520; 29. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.528; 30. Collin Ambrose, 36, Ambrose-17.558; 31. Travis Thompson, 7, Thompson-17.658; 32. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-17.791; 33. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-17.884; 34. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-17.936; 35. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-17.940; 36. Max Frank, 25, Middle Class-17.992; 37. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-18.029; 38. Keith Sheffer II, 86, Sheffer-18.101; 39. Bryce Dues, 23D, Dues-18.123; 40. Austin Cory, 00, Cory-18.208; 41. Jack James, 99, James-18.417; 42. Mike Haggenbottom, 51, Hoagie-18.481; 43. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-NT; 44. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Max Adams, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Saban Bibent, 6. Jake Swanson, 7. John Mollick, 8. Ryan Barr, 9. Brian Ruhlman, 10. Kody Swanson, 11. Jack James. 2:18.130

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Keith Sheffer II, 9. Aric Gentry, 10. Collin Ambrose, 11. Mike Haggenbottom. 2:18.838

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Kale Drake, 4. Hunter Maddox, 5. Trey Osborne, 6. Steve Irwin, 7. Mitchel Moles, 8. Paul Dues, 9. Travis Thompson, 10. Joey Amantea, 11. Bryce Dues. 2:23.576

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Nick Bilbee, 6. Scotty Weir, 7. Max Frank, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Nate Schank, 10. Austin Cory. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Scotty Weir, 2. John Mollick, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Kody Swanson, 7. Brian Ruhlman, 8. Steve Irwin, 9. Braxton Cummings, 10. Matt Goodnight, 11. Ryan Barr, 12. Keith Sheffer II, 13. Mike Haggenbottom, 14. Paul Dues, 15. Max Frank, 16. Joey Amantea, 17. Nate Schank, 18. Bryce Dues, 19. Jack James, 20. Aric Gentry, 21. Collin Ambrose, 22. Travis Thompson, 23. Austin Cory. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (5), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 3. Logan Seavey (7), 4. Kyle Cummins (2), 5. Robert Ballou (10), 6. C.J. Leary (6), 7. Brady Bacon (9), 8. Briggs Danner (11), 9. Matt Westfall (13), 10. Stevie Sussex (1), 11. Chase Stockon (8), 12. Justin Grant (16), 13. Jake Swanson (14), 14. Carson Garrett (12), 15. Mitchel Moles (24), 16. Trey Osborne (15), 17. Scotty Weir (22), 18. Kale Drake (4), 19. Max Adams (17), 20. Nick Bilbee (18), 21. John Mollick (23), 22. Hunter Maddox (21), 23. Chance Crum (20), 24. Saban Bibent (19). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Stevie Sussex, Laps 6-9 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 10-30 Daison Pursley.

**Nate Schank flipped during qualifying.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-186, 2-Logan Seavey-174, 3-Robert Ballou-145, 4-C.J. Leary-117, 5-Justin Grant-116, 6-Kyle Cummins-115, 7-Chase Stockon-112, 8-Brady Bacon-111, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-100, 10-Joey Amantea-93.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: October 11-12, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Fall Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (15.709)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (15.536)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Scotty Weir

Hard Charger: Mitchel Moles (24th to 15th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Logan Seavey

Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move of the Race: Mitchel Moles

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES:

September 21, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.544; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.587; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.600; 4. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.800; 5. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.821; 6. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.927; 7. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.972 8. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.998; 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.012; 10. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-17.025; 11. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-17.112; 12. Logan Calderwood, 4, Calderwood-17.139; 13. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.330; 14. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.343; 15. Stevie Rogers, 11, Burgeson/Rogers-17.396; 16. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-17.400; 17. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.459; 18. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-17.590; 19. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-17.708; 20. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-17.846; 21. Cal Smith, 39, Cal-Sun-18.472; 22. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Austin Grabowski, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Matt Mitchell, 4. Logan Williams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Jordan Hermansader, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Dan Taylor. 2:52.89.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Cody Williams, 2. Grant Sexton, 3. David Gasper, 4. Chris Gansen, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Jonas Reynolds, 7. A.J. Bender. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Logan Calderwood, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Stevie Rogers, 6. Brent Sexton, 7. Cal Smith. 2:56.48.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Charles Davis Jr. (2), 2. R.J. Johnson (4), 3. Austin Williams (7), 4. Tommy Malcolm (1), 5. Austin Grabowski (13), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (9), 7. A.J. Bender (8), 8. Jordan Hermansader (16), 9. Verne Sweeney (17), 10. Logan Williams (10), 11. Brent Sexton (18), 12. Cody Williams (5), 13. David Gasper (11), 14. Matt Mitchell (6), 15. Stevie Rogers (15), 16. Dan Taylor (22), 17. Jonas Reynolds (20), 18. Cal Smith (21), 19. Chris Gansen (3), 20. Logan Calderwood (12), 21. Grant Sexton (14), 22. Elexa Herrera (19). NT.
----------------------------
**Chris Gansen and Logan Calderwood flipped on lap 2 of the feature. David Gasper flipped on lap 26 of the feature

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 17-26 R.J. Johnson, Laps 27-30 Charles Davis Jr.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Austin Grabowski (13th to 5th)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: September 28 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California

PURSLEY WINS POLE FOR SATURDAY’S

USAC SILVER CROWN FEATURE AT ELDORA

By: Bryan Hulbert & Richie Murray

Rossburg, Ohio (September 20, 2024)………It was a banner night from start to finish for Locust Grove, Oklahoma’s Daison Pursley throughout Friday night’s BeFour the Crowns at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Prior to winning Friday’s 25-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature at the 1/2-mile dirt oval, Pursley earned the pole position and will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday night’s 4-Crown Nationals Silver Crown feature event.

During the USAC Silver Crown Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session, which took place on Friday night, Pursley earned his first career pole position with the series. The series Rookie’s time of 17.605 seconds aboard his Team AZ Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Apache Transportation – Oak Craft Cabinetry/DRC/Ott Chevy topped the field of 27.

Earning the point by 0.003 seconds, 2019 4-Crown Silver Crown winner Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) made it an all-Okie front row by putting the Chris Dyson Racing owned No. 9 second on the grid after recording the fastest lap in Dirt Draft Practice.

Series point leader Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Chase Dietz (York, Pa.) will make up the top-five starters in Saturday’s 50-lap event. Every driver and car in attendance was able to take a qualifying lap.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) will start eighth in the field. Seavey has won three consecutive USAC Silver Crown feature races during 4-Crown in 2021-2022-2023 and will aim to become the first driver to win four consecutive races with the series at Eldora on Saturday.

This Saturday night’s 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKTELCO at Eldora Speedway features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Kubota High Limit Racing Sprint Cars and the USAC Silver Crown National Championship. Front gates and pit gates open at Noon Eastern. A drivers autograph session will take place in the Fan Zone from 3-4pm. Hot laps begin at 6pm, followed by qualifying and racing.

General admission tickets are $40 for ages 14 & up and free for ages 13 and under. Reserved tickets are $45 for ages 14 & up and $10 for ages 13 and under. Pit passes are $50. It’s $85 for a two-day pit pass.

Advance tickets are on sale now at https://www.eldoraspeedway.com/event/42nd-4crown/

All four divisions at the 4-Crown will be shown LIVE and uninterrupted on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 20, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 42nd 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-17.605; 2. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-17.608; 3. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.682; 4. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-17.705; 5. Chase Dietz, 86, Lee-17.712; 6. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.757; 7. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.763; 8. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.838; 9. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.924; 10. Mark Smith, 01, L & M-17.958; 11. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-17.975; 12. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-17.976; 13. Zach Daum, 37, Felker-17.997; 14. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-18.108; 15. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-18.111; 16. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-18.112; 17. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-18.126; 18. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-18.232; 19. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-18.273; 20. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-18.292; 21. Mark Bitner, 4, Yeska-18.336; 22. Tom Savage, 38, Savage-18.360; 23. Matt Goodnight, 24, Haggenbottom-18.402; 24. Joe Trenca, 66, Karlsen-18.558; 25. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-18.679; 26. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-19.209; 27. Aric Gentry, 3, Simmons-19.427.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-675, 2-Justin Grant-663, 3-Logan Seavey-608, 4-C.J. Leary-528, 5-Kyle Steffens-438, 6-Kaylee Bryson-388, 7-Bobby Santos-366, 8-Gregg Cory-355, 9-Trey Osborne-354, 10-Dakoda Armstrong-329.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-182, 2-Logan Seavey-170, 3-Robert Ballou-140, 4-C.J. Leary-117, 5-Kyle Cummins-115, 6-Justin Grant-112, 7-Chase Stockon-112, 8-Brady Bacon-109, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-99, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

4-CROWN NATIONALS PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-8, 2-Zach Wigal-7, 3-Hayden Reinbold-6, 4-Logan Seavey-5, 5-Zach Daum-5, 6-Ryan Timms-5, 7-Kale Drake-4, 8-Cannon McIntosh-3, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-3, 10-Kyle Jones-3.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 21, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 42nd 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Brady Bacon (17.017)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (17.605)

BC39 ENTRY LIST REACHES 60

FOR USAC MIDGET RACES SEP. 26-27-28 AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 19, 2024)………The entry list for the 2024 Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors has hit the 60 mark!

On Thursday, USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winners Daison Pursley, Jacob Denney, Kyle Cummins and Zach Wigal became the latest entries for the September 26-27-28 event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

To date, this year’s BC39 field features a pair of past BC39 winners in Justin Grant (2023) and Brady Bacon (2018). USAC Triple Crown champions J.J. Yeley and Jerry Coons Jr. are as entered as is USAC national champion Logan Seavey and current USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship point leader Daison Pursley.

Overall, 22 drivers in the BC39 field to date own USAC national feature victories, including Kyle Cummins, Thomas Meseraull, Stephen Schnapf, Kevin Thomas Jr., Davey Ray, Zach Daum, Mitchel Moles, Jacob Denney, Shane Cottle, Kaylee Bryson, Ryan Timms, Emerson Axsom, Cannon McIntosh, Zach Wigal, Gavin Miller and Briggs Danner.

Early entry for the 2024 BC39 ends on Thursday, September 19. The entry fee increases from $75 to $150 after that date.

The event, consisting of three consecutive nights of full programs featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, will take place on September 26-27-28 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Teams can file their entry for the event at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2024-bc39, where they may also purchase grandstand tickets, pit and parking passes for the event.

Spectator tickets are also available at www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street. Competitors are to enter through the tunnel on 16th Street.

The event will continue to honor the late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Clauson. It also will increase awareness of organ donation and encourage participation in the Indiana Donor Network Driven2SaveLives program, the title sponsor of the BC39 since the inaugural running in 2018.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021), Buddy Kofoid (2022) and Justin Grant (2023) have captured victories in the first five editions of the BC39.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Wednesday, September 25, with team parking. There will be no on-track activity on Wednesday, September 25.

On track action starts Thursday, September 26, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 3pm Eastern. For both Thursday and Friday, September 26-27, 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 opening ceremonies, heat races, qualifying races, the semi-feature and the feature event.

The finale, on Saturday, September 28, 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.

ENTRY LIST: 2024 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 PRESENTED BY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS

(60 cars & drivers as of September 19, 2024)

0 (R) TBA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

0G (R) GLENN STYRES/Ohsweken, ON (Glenn Styres Racing)

1 (R) JOEL MYERS JR./Santa Rosa, CA (Leighton Crouch)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3 (R) DARIN NAIDA/Adrian, MI (Dan Binks Motorsports)

3G KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing)

3J J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

3p (R) DRAKE EDWARDS/Peoria, AZ (Petty Performance Racing)

4 (R) ADAM BOLYARD/Rushville, IN (Adam Bolyard Racing)

4K (R) KAYLA ROELL/Dillsboro, IN (Scott Roell)

7B (R) CODY BEARD/Huntingburg, IN (Beard Racing)

7T ADAM TAYLOR/Wheatfield, IN (Adam Taylor Motorsports)

7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (Tim Engler)

8x JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Giddy Up Racing)

11p (R) DEAN PARKER/Evansville, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)

11s (R) STEPHEN SCHNAPF/Newburgh, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)

14 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (4 Kings Racing)

14s TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

15J DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Jeff Wimmenauer)

16 ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Royal Power Sports)

16TH (R) KEVIN NEWTON/Farmersburg, IN (Second Law Motorsports)

19 (R) ALEX KARPOWICZ/Spring Branch, TX (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

19A MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)

21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports)

21J KAMERON KEY/Warrensburg, MO (TKH Motorsports)

21K KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Karter Sarff)

23 (R) DEVON DOBIE/Wapakoneta, OH (Dennis Dobie)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

27x KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Joyner Motorsports)

36 CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Bill Baue)

40 CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Chase McDermand)

40x (R) BRYCE MASSINGILL/Troy, OH (Chase McDermand)

43 (R) GUNNAR SETSER/Columbus, IN (Kevin Arnold)

44 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (4 Kings Racing)

46 KENNEY JOHNSON/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson)

54 (R) RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (4 Kings Racing)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

58 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Abacus Racing)

63 (R) FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (F & F Racing)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K 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)

71K CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

74 (R) LUKE HALL/Ludlow Falls, OH (Kyle Heitmeyer)

75 (R) TBA (Mike Griffiths)

75AU BRYAN STANFILL (Bakersfield, CA)

77 KEVIN COOK/Winchester, IN (Kevin Cook)

80 (R) JOSH HAWKINS/Whitehouse, TX (Josh Hawkins)

80H (R) JOSH HANNA/Flint, TX (Josh Hawkins)

80s DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (Josh Hawkins)

85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motorsports)

86 DAISON PURSLEY (Locust Grove, OK)

89 ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (CB Industries)

89x (R) TBA (CB Industries)

97 GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

97K (R) KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

98 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (John Schneider)

(R) represents a BC39 Rookie

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS HEADLINE SATURDAY SHOOTOUT AT PERRIS
By Lance Jennings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024... The cars and stars of the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will return to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, September 21st for their fifteenth championship round. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the event will also showcase the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, GAS Chassis PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, and PASSCAR Factory Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

USAC/CRA shows at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed and beware of online scammers with fake video links. Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 256 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-six different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all series drivers with 51 “home track” wins as Matt Mitchell (twice), David Gasper, A.J. Bender, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (twice), and “The Cadillac” Cody Williams have scored PAS wins during the campaign. Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

Heading to Perris, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) holds a slim 7-point lead over the competition. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm ran fifth at Santa Maria on September 7th. To date, Tommy “Thunder” has three four wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is tied with Robert Ballou, and “KTJ” Kevin Thomas Jr. with seven career triumphs and will be looking to continue his championship bid with a victory this Saturday night.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) enters Saturday’s event ranked second in the USAC/CRA championship chase. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson earned his second victory of the year at Santa Maria on September 7th. At press time, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year also has two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one semi-main win, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 36 feature laps led on the season. R.J. is currently tied with “The Macho Man” Brady Bacon, “Dynamite” David Cardey, and Richard Vander Weerd with nine series wins and will have his sights on taking over the point lead with a Perris victory.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) is third in the point standings. Racing Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams was the Santa Maria hard charger with a tenth to fourth place run. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has five heat race victories, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, ten top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led in the campaign. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will be looking for his first USAC/CRA victory of the year on Saturday.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits fourth in the USAC/CRA point chase. Piloting John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams placed third in the Santa Maria feature. At press time, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will have his sights on the first victory of his career at Perris Auto Speedway.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the chase for the championship. Driving the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender finished eighth in the September 7th main event at Santa Maria. To date, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has one feature win, six heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led on the season. A.J. will be looking for his second career win this Saturday night.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Grant Sexton, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Logan Calderwood, Matt Mitchell, Chris Gansen, Gary Marshall Jr., “Flash” Jordan Hermansader, Dan Taylor, Stevie Rogers, and more.

Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. Adult tickets are $30, Senior tickets (65 & over) are $25, Kids tickets (6 to 12) are $5, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. The Fairgrounds charges $10 for parking. Advance tickets are available and for more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Tommy Malcolm-927, 2. R.J. Johnson-920, 3. Austin Williams-844, 4. Logan Williams-821, 5. A.J. Bender-815, 6. David Gasper (R)-777, 7. Cody Williams-734, 8. Verne Sweeney-601, 9. Austin Grabowski-580, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-553, 11. Charles Davis Jr.-497, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-433, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-379, 14. Grant Sexton-314, 15. Brody Roa-307, 16. Logan Calderwood-300, 17. Matt Mitchell-281, 18. Matt McCarthy-254, 19. Ricky Lewis-233, 20. Jeff Dyer-230. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/ series-point-standings/cra-sprint

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Matt Mitchell, 2-R.J. Johnson, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Braden Chiaramonte, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr., 1-Cody Williams.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Tommy Malcolm, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Cody Williams, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

DISCOUNT USAC SILVER CROWN TICKETS

ON SALE NOW FOR OCT. 6 TERRE HAUTE RACE

Terre Haute, Indiana (September 17, 2024)………Discounted tickets are now on sale for the 21st running of the Sumar Classic USAC Silver Crown National Championship event on Sunday, October 6, at western Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

Right now, you can purchase tickets for the USAC-promoted 100-lap champ car event at Indiana’s only 1/2-mile dirt track at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/terre-haute-sumar-classic-

Advance tickets are on sale now – $20 grandstand seating and $10 for infield admission. Kids age 12 and under are free.

On the day of the race, tickets at the gate are $25 for grandstand seating and $15 for infield admission. Kids age 12 and under are free.

Witness the USAC Silver Crown heroes of today with past Sumar Classic winners Justin Grant (2018 & 2022), C.J. Leary (2016), Kody Swanson (2014) and Shane Cockrum (2015) in the field, plus reigning series champion Logan Seavey and more all battling a big field for all the glory.

Pit gates open at 2pm, grandstands open at 4pm Eastern and the engines roar to life at 5:30pm.

It's big cars on the big half-mile for 100 laps at Terre Haute on Sunday, October 6th. Make your plans now and tell your friends and family all about it!

HIGH 5!

THOMAS SCORES $20,000

USAC HAUBSTADT HUSTLER AT TRI-STATE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (September 14, 2024)………It’s safe to say that, over the years, no driver has accrued more success at Tri-State Speedway and the Haubstadt Hustler in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition than Kevin Thomas Jr.

And that was even before he set foot on the property of the southern Indiana 1/4-mile dirt oval on Saturday night.

That’s where Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) blitzed by Justin Grant for the lead in lapped traffic on the 14th circuit of the 40-lap main event to earn a hefty sum of $20,000 while extending his record of USAC National Sprint Car victories at Tri-State to eight and his Haubstadt Hustler win total to five. No other driver has more than two in the 17-year history of the event.

KTJ’s victory also marked a redemption on two different fronts. His last visit to Tri-State in early August began with a qualifying crash, which put him behind the proverbial eight ball all night. Furthermore, in late August during Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, Thomas saw a potential $50,000 payday go by the wayside when a radiator puncture forced him out of the race with 17 of 40 laps complete.

This time around, there was no doubt about it as Thomas put the stamp on his 44th career USAC National Sprint Car triumph, one behind 1968-1970-1975 series champion Larry Dickson for seventh place all-time. Meanwhile, it was Thomas’ fifth series win of the year, two of which have come at Tri-State after also winning this past May’s Spring Showdown.

In fact, only two drivers have captured victories in both the Spring Showdown and the Haubstadt Hustler within the same year. Daron Clayton achieved it once in 2014. However, Thomas has now completed the sweep of these two events on three distinct occasions in 2013, 2018 and now in 2024 while at the wheel of his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

On this night, it was “one for the thumb” so to speak as Thomas officially collected an entire handful of Haubstadt Hustler scores after previously mastering the course in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2021.

“Hats off to my guys. I was a little skittish today during qualifying. I was just being pretty cautious and making sure we got two laps,” referring to his Tri-State qualifying flip in August. “Whenever you talk about rebounding, these guys definitely know how to do that. It’s a blessing to be able to drive this thing.”

That’s no joke as Thomas’ latest win provided team owner Hank Byram’s Rock Steady Racing team with its third Haubstadt Hustler win after previously reigning in 2016 and 2019 with driver Kyle Cummins. Furthermore, Byram/Rock Steady’s 30th career USAC National Sprint Car victory on this night tied Don Siebert and Dick Hammond’s Gohr Distributing team for 16th place on the all-time list.

The race also resulted in a weekend sweep for the Mach-1 Chassis, which is pretty much piloted by just two drivers on the circuit – Kyle Cummins and Kevin Thomas Jr. Cummins and his Petty Performance Racing team were victorious on Friday night at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway and the Pennsylvania-based chassis was in top form again on Saturday night with Thomas at Tri-State while its constructor was in attendance to witness both wins first-hand.

“Mark Smith is here this week, and he told me before the race that he wanted to get his picture taken and not with his own phone,” Thomas quipped. “I’m glad he was here to be able to get a win. Hell, I think this car is a 2014. Kyle (Cummins) won about a million races in it, and it’s proven to be fast.”

While Thomas started fourth on the feature grid, outside front row starter Justin Grant shot out to the initial lead over pole sitter Robert Ballou. By lap two, however, Thomas was on the move, establishing himself in the second spot as he scooped under Ballou in turn three before going to work on Grant for the race lead.

Meanwhile, Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier Mitchel Moles was spying down Ballou for third on the fourth lap. As Moles ducked under in turn three, his right rear tire made contact with Ballou’s left front tire, sending Ballou skating up the racetrack. Moles went by for third as series point leader Logan Seavey followed suit to fourth, thus dropping Ballou all the way back to fifth in the blink of an eye.

Grant maintained a three to four car length grip over Thomas for much of the first half of the race. That is until lap 14 just after the frontrunners were beginning to work their way through traffic at the tail end of the field. As Grant entered turns three and four, his car suddenly bogged down, scrubbing his speed and allowing Thomas to freely drive by along the bottom to take over the lead.

“I felt good running behind him,” Thomas said of the situation. “But being good and passing somebody who is good are two different circumstances. Being able to run the right part of the racetrack whenever I’m alone by myself, that allows me to enter at the right speeds and I’m not trying to critique myself on whether that was faster or better. I can just go out there and naturally drive. Being out front allows you to do that. As I was trying to chase Justin, I got lucky in lapped traffic. He got a full hornet’s nest, and that didn’t help him there. I’m just glad we were able to pounce whenever we needed to and have the car to stay there.”

Moments later, on lap 16, 16th running Gunnar Setser, making his second career USAC National Sprint Car start, endured a vicious flip along the front straightaway as he raced side-by-side with KO Motorsports teammate Kayla Roell. As he attempted to avoid contact with her just under the flag stand, Setser veered left, which promptly dug his right rear tire into the track surface and sent him barrel-rolling five times into turn one. For Setser, it was his second flip of the night after also taking a tumble in virtually the same spot on the opening lap of the fourth heat race. Both times, he was able to walk away under his own power.

By halfway, Thomas had opened up his lead to 1.5 seconds over Grant and maintained roughly the same interval as he continued to make his pathway through lapped traffic. But on lap 32, the man who was chasing him, Grant, performed a half-spin in turn four. Brady Short (17th) had no time to avoid and collided into the left rear of Grant’s ride. Grant continued onward without stopping while Short’s race ended on the spot with heavy front end damage.

The incident also left Grant with lingering damage to his left rear shock, which he’d endure for the final nine laps. On the ensuing restart, Ballou took advantage of Grant’s misfortune by gliding underneath in turn four to grab the second spot. Grant subsequently took a precipitous drop all the way down to ninth by race’s end.

As Thomas led by 1.4 seconds and appeared headed to a comfortable outcome, the yellow flag suddenly stifled his pursuit. On lap 39, seventh running Kale Drake slid to a stop on the top side of turns three and four, erasing what would’ve been his best career USAC National Sprint Car run to date.

For the final two-lap shootout, Thomas utilized the upper line while Ballou was digging on the bottom. Ultimately, Thomas punctuated the 40th and final lap by crossing the stripe 0.390 seconds ahead of Ballou with Kyle Cummins third, Mitchel Moles fourth and Brady Bacon fifth.

However, an ongoing melee was underway behind the front runners at the finish line. Daison Pursley (11th) smashed into the outside turn four wall on the final corner, then bounced back directly into the path of Jadon Rogers who made contact with Pursley. Carson Garrett ramped over the left rear tire of the slowing Pursley while Kendall Ruble careened into the side of Garrett. Miraculously, no drivers got upside down in the accident as they all crossed the finish line in an unsavory manner.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) fell from second to fifth early, but soon found his groove thereafter. He worked his way back up to second during the waning laps to finish as the runner-up in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Deaton’s Waterfront Services/DRC/Ott Chevy. That earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night and also tied his best career Haubstadt Hustler result after finishing second in 2014. Furthermore, Ballou remains the only driver in contention to collect a payday for the NOS Energy Drink Trifecta. After finishing third at Kokomo in July and second on this night at Tri-State, a third-place or better run at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway on October 12 would earn him a $10,000 bonus.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) experienced a solid weekend after winning on Friday night at Circle City Raceway before finishing third at Tri-State in his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors - Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. Overall, it was Cummins’ seventh career Haubstadt Hustler podium finish.

Despite the tumultuous finish that saw him fly sideways under the checkered flag, Kendall Ruble (Vincennes, Ind.) was highly pleased with his performance that netted him hard charger honors after starting 24th and finishing 11th.

The event was also round eight of 10 in the third annual Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment series. With his fifth place result at Tri-State, Bacon retains a 22-point lead over Thomas with two events remaining on September 21 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway and October 12 at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 14, 2024 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 17th Haubstadt Hustler

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.216; 2. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-13.312; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.491; 4. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-13.505; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.557; 6. Carson Short, 21m, Edwards-13.589; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.591; 8. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.637; 9. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.670; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.700; 11. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-13.714; 12. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.752; 13. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.766; 14. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-13.776; 15. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.804; 16. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.825; 17. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-13.842; 18. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.848; 19. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-13.880; 20. Dustin Beck, 75, Henson/Rupp-13.922; 21. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.956; 22. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.056; 23. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.073; 24. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-14.087; 25. Sam Scott, 7s, Scott-14.091; 26. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-14.203; 27. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-14.233; 28. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-14.285; 29. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-14.319; 30. Nathan Seale, 1s, Seale-14.671; 31. Austin Hawkins, 5A, Hawkins-14.986; 32. Colton Booten, 2J, Pritchett-15.308.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Kendall Ruble, 7. Sam Scott, 8. Brandon Mattox. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Nathan Seale, 7. Carson Short. 2:14.315

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Brady Short, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Austin Hawkins, 7. Nate Schank. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Dustin Beck, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. J.J. Hughes, 6. Donny Brackett, 7. Colton Booten, 8. Gunnar Setser. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kendall Ruble, 2. Gunnar Setser, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Austin Hawkins, 6. Sam Scott, 7. Nathan Seale, 8. Nate Schank, 9. Aric Gentry, 10. Donny Brackett, 11. Carson Short, 12. Colton Booten. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 2. Robert Ballou (1), 3. Kyle Cummins (5), 4. Mitchel Moles (6), 5. Brady Bacon (8), 6. Logan Seavey (3), 7. C.J. Leary (7), 8. Chase Stockon (10), 9. Justin Grant (2), 10. Carson Garrett (16), 11. Kendall Ruble (24), 12. Daison Pursley (11), 13. Matt Westfall (15), 14. Jadon Rogers (17), 15. Kayla Roell (13), 16. Kale Drake (18), 17. J.J. Hughes (23), 18. Dustin Beck (19), 19. Brady Short (12), 20. Hayden Reinbold (14), 21. Hunter Maddox (21), 22. Joey Amantea (22), 23. Gunnar Setser (9), 24. Brandon Mattox (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Justin Grant, Laps 14-40 Kevin Thomas Jr.

**Gunnar Setser flipped during the fourth heat. Donny Brackett flipped during the semi. Nathan Seale flipped during the semi. Gunnar Setser flipped on lap 16 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2638, 2-Brady Bacon-2564, 3-Daison Pursley-2357, 4-C.J. Leary-2344, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2326, 6-Mitchel Moles-2318, 7-Robert Ballou-2234, 8-Justin Grant-2166, 9-Kyle Cummins-2154, 10-Carson Garrett-1628.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-544, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-522, 3-C.J. Leary-507, 4-Logan Seavey-499, 5-Daison Pursley-495, 6-Mitchel Moles-489, 7-Kyle Cummins-479, 8-Robert Ballou-452, 9-Justin Grant-440, 10-Chase Stockon-361.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-176, 2-Logan Seavey-169, 3-Robert Ballou-140, 4-C.J. Leary-117, 5-Kyle Cummins-115, 6-Justin Grant-112, 7-Chase Stockon-112, 8-Brady Bacon-109, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-99, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 21, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 42nd 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Logan Seavey (13.214)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles (13.216)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kendall Ruble

Hard Charger: Kendall Ruble (24th to 11th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Robert Ballou

ROAD TO REDEMPTION:

CUMMINS BOUNCES BACK TO WIN AT CIRCLE CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (September 13, 2024)………One week earlier, it was the cushion that tripped up Kyle Cummins while he was less than one lap away from a possible victory at Arkansas’s Texarkana 67 Speedway, resulting in him landing on his lid rather than celebrating another triumph.

Just six days later on a rare Friday the 13th affair at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway, Cummins prevailed on what he deemed was the hardest cushion he’s ever run in his life to win his second USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature of the year in his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors - Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

Cummins led all 30 laps from green to checkered, but endured repeated challenges throughout the distance, including a last lap, last turn effort from Logan Seavey to score his third career USAC National Sprint Car win at Circle City’s 1/4-mile dirt oval, tying Seavey for the most all-time, in what was a most demanding task.

“I’m very excited but I am mentally exhausted,” Cummins acknowledged. “That’s like the hardest cushion I’ve ever run in my life. Normally, I like it here, but (turn) one was weird, and I kept seeing Brady (Bacon) and Seavey there. To have that pressure behind you lap after lap, and to know I crashed the last time I was leading, puts a lot of pressure on you.”

Overall, Cummins’ latest victory was the 20th of his USAC National Sprint Car career, becoming the 35th driver in series history to notch at least 20 main event wins. This one was uber rewarding for Cummins, considering it came in such a redemptious manner, which required the first-year USAC Sprint Car team to unbend and straighten out the pieces in order to pick up where they left off.

“I think we’ve had a really good car since the start of Indiana Sprint Week,” Cummins said of the late-July event. “I was kind of excited and made some mistakes during Sprint Week. But this car is good, and it’s the one we ran at Texarkana. It was all bent up, but we bent it back and it seems to be pretty good. It’s been a long year, but we’ve finally found a package that allows me to race with these guys. If you’re not there to race, you don’t have a chance, and at least we’re racing with them.”

Track position was paramount, as it turned out, and proved to be pivotal from the get-go. On the initial green flag attempt, outside front row starter Bacon went topside around pole sitter Cummins to secure the lead. However, just before the completion of the lap, 16th starting Carson Garrett coasted to a stop on the back straightaway with a broken tie-rod.

However, with zero laps completed, Bacon’s lead was negated, and the lineup reverted back to factory settings with a complete side-by-side restart. On the second attempt, it was Cummins who got the upper hand on Bacon to lead the initial lap.

On the sixth circuit, amid a tussle for 13th, wheel-to-wheel contact between Daison Pursley and Shane Cottle triggered a three-car accident in turn three. Following the contact, Pursley spun backwards into turn three. As he slid up the racetrack, Jadon Rogers (15th) slammed into the side of Pursley. Todd Hobson (18th) also was unable to avoid and broadsided Rogers. The incident ended the evening for both Rogers and Hobson while Pursley was able to restart at the tail before making his way back up through the field for a 13th place result.

Cummins maintained roughly a three-car length lead nearing the halfway point of the 30-lap feature, even despite a sizable snag of the turn four cushion, which jackknifed him sideways as he fought through traffic. Nonetheless, it turned out to be no harm, no foul for Cummins at the time as he led a three-car breakaway on the topside just ahead of Bacon and Seavey.

As Bacon attempted to make a move on Cummins for the lead in turns one and two on the 19th lap, he lost grip through the middle of turn two, thus opening the door for Seavey to blast by for the second position entering turn three. The moment proved brief, however, as Bacon returned fire and slid Seavey back a half-lap later to retake second in turns one and two.

A yellow flag on lap 20 for the stopped car of Hunter Maddox in turn three erased Cummins 1/2-second lead with 10 laps remaining, but also broke up the conglomeration of traffic in front of the leaders for the time being.

With that said, it didn’t delete the possibility of hiccups along the way, and on lap 22, Bacon slipped over the cushion in turn two. As Bacon fought to regain control, Seavey breezed on by underneath on the back straight to become the new occupant of the runner-up spot, but still remained a 1/2-second out of the reach of Cummins’ race lead.

Throughout the final stretch, Seavey was able to inch his way closer and closer to Cummins and found himself just 2.5 car lengths behind the leader midway down the back stretch when he made his move by diving underneath Cummins to pull even through turns three and four. However, Cummins’ high side momentum proved too much to overcome as he put the finishing touches on a 0.444 second margin of victory.

“When I took the white flag, I messed up in turns three and four and I was getting really tight,” Cummins replayed. “I didn’t know if I was doing better at sliding myself and catching the cushion or not. On that last lap, I thought I got in and I’m like, “man, I didn’t get off good.” I couldn’t tell if I was hearing him or not, and when I got into three, I just kind of babied it knowing that if I didn’t push, I can at least come around him. It was going to be tight, but I think I was kind of being careful, but it wasn’t like it was that close.”

Behind Cummins at the finish line were runner-up Logan Seavey with Brady Bacon, Mitchel Moles and Shane Cottle completing the top-five. Ironically or not, the top-three of Cummins, Seavey and Bacon represented all three USAC National Sprint Car winners at Circle City in 2024.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) felt he might have been too patient for the first 20 or so laps, but in the end, he came on strong to finish as the runner-up after winning the previous two Circle City USAC Sprint Car races in 2024 aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Rockwell Security - Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) ran second for much of the race, but one bite of the cushion with nine laps to go took away his runner-up spot and relegated him back to third at the finish line in his Dynamics, Inc./Daredevil Brewing – Davis Brothers Trucking - Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) finished fourth, but started his night off as the Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier, which was the 14th of his USAC National Sprint Car career, equaling him with Billy Cassella, Tyler Courtney and Damion Gardner for 36th place all-time.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) has made it a habit of winning hard charger awards on the low line at dirt tracks across the nation, especially at Circle City. He did it once again on this night after starting 12th and finishing fifth.

What way to make an entrance for Gunnar Setser (Columbus, Ind.). Making his USAC National Sprint Car debut, Setser made a splash in his heat race with a last lap, last turn pass to earn the final transfer spot by mere inches. That move alone earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Of note, this occasion marked just the eighth USAC National Sprint Car event ever held on Friday the 13th. Past winners on the date include Jim Mahoney (Lakeside (Kan.) Speedway 1991), Billy Pauch (Williams Grove Speedway 1996), Brian Tyler (Toledo Speedway 2001), Daron Clayton (Gas City I-69 Speedway 2007), Bryan Clauson (Gas City I-69 Speedway 2012), Robert Ballou (Perris Auto Speedway 2015), Justin Grant (Terre Haute Action Track 2019) and now Kyle Cummins (Circle City Raceway 2024).

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 13, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.228; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.236; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.295; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.300; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.303; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.316; 7. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.319; 8. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.453; 9. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.461; 10. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.490; 11. Gunnar Setser, 5G, KO-12.535; 12. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.560; 13. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.584; 14. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-12.638; 15. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.659; 16. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.680; 17. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.703; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.710; 19. Harley Burns, 16K, Knight-12.726; 20. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.743; 21. Jack Hoyer, 11, Hoyer-12.852; 22. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.867; 23. Todd Hobson, 77, Wingo-12.886; 24. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.890; 25. Cale Coons, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.916; 26. Travis Thompson, 7, Thompson-12.921; 27. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-12.938; 28. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-13.043; 29. Noah Whitehouse, 00, Whitehouse-13.193.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jack Hoyer, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Noah Whitehouse, 8. Cale Coons. 2:09.638

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Travis Thompson. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Todd Hobson, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Harley Burns, 5. Gunnar Setser, 6. Sam Hinds, 7. C.J. Leary. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Zack Pretorius. 2:12.770

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Hunter Maddox, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Sam Hinds, 6. Travis Thompson, 7. Noah Whitehouse, 8. Cale Coons. 2:17.923

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (1), 2. Logan Seavey (3), 3. Brady Bacon (2), 4. Mitchel Moles (6), 5. Shane Cottle (12), 6. Chase Stockon (7), 7. Justin Grant (5), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 9. Joey Amantea (8), 10. Robert Ballou (14), 11. Kale Drake (9), 12. Gunnar Setser (15), 13. Daison Pursley (13), 14. C.J. Leary (11), 15. Matt Westfall (17), 16. Hayden Reinbold (21), 17. Jack Hoyer (10), 18. Chance Crum (24), 19. Carson Garrett (16), 20. Brandon Mattox (23), 21. Harley Burns (20), 22. Hunter Maddox (19), 23. Jadon Rogers (18), 24. Todd Hobson (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Kyle Cummins.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2577, 2-Brady Bacon-2498, 3-Daison Pursley-2313, 4-C.J. Leary-2284, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2246, 6-Mitchel Moles-2243, 7-Robert Ballou-2160, 8-Justin Grant-2112, 9-Kyle Cummins-2079, 10-Carson Garrett-1580.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-176, 2-Logan Seavey-169, 3-Robert Ballou-140, 4-C.J. Leary-117, 5-Kyle Cummins-113, 6-Justin Grant-112, 7-Chase Stockon-110, 8-Brady Bacon-106, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-96, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 14, 2024 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 17th Haubstadt Hustler

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Mitchel Moles (12.168)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles (12.228)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jack Hoyer

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Joey Amantea

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Kale Drake

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: C.J. Leary

Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (12th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Gunnar Setser

BC39 USAC SPRINT CAR

STOOPS INVITATIONAL DEBUTS AT IMS ON SEPT. 26

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 13, 2024)………For the first time ever, USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars are coming to The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

The inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational will take place on the 1/4-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 26, during the opening night of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors.

The invitation-only non-points special event for USAC National Sprint Cars at IMS will feature two heat races followed by a 20-lap main event.

“USAC Midgets have put on an incredible show at IMS since 2018, so we expect wheel-to-wheel action from sprint cars on The Dirt Track,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “The Stoops Sprint Car Invitational is another must-see dirt event at IMS as this division features great racing with some of the biggest stars of USAC.”

Invitations to compete in the first of its kind event were presented to top-10 teams on the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour. Confirmed entries so far have been received from Logan Seavey, Daison Pursley, C.J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr., Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins and Kale Drake.

The Thursday night portion of the BC39 will feature both sprint cars as well as a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

Spectator tickets are on sale for the event at www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street. Competitors are to enter through the tunnel on 16th Street.

On both Thursday and Friday, the public gates will open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps set for 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies, heat races, qualifying races, the semi-feature and the feature event.

The finale of the BC39, on Saturday, September 28, will have the public gates opening at 4pm and midgets on track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with the D-Main, multiple C-Mains and Semi-Feature before concluding with the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.

FRIDAY THE 13TH:

USAC SPRINT SEASON’S

FINAL CHAPTER AT CIRCLE CITY UP NEXT!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (September 11, 2024)………Circle City Raceway never disappoints when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship visits the 1/4-mile dirt oval located on the southeast side of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Time and time again, barnburners have been the name of the game, and this Friday night, September 13, past Circle City Raceway USAC Sprint Car winners Logan Seavey, Kyle Cummins, Brady Bacon, C.J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and more look to continue that trend, especially after how last September’s final lap ensued with a photo finish decided by a matter of a blink of an eye.

It’s round number 38 of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season, and here’s six appealing storylines to get you amped up for the weekend.

SEAVEY’S CIRCLE CITY STREAK

In this race last September at Circle City, all Logan Seavey led of the 30-lap feature was about the final 10 feet or so in pulling off an extraordinary victory after passing Shane Cottle around the outside on the last lap.

That finish was the first of Seavey’s three USAC National Sprint Car victories at Circle City, which makes him the winningest series driver in the short history of the track which dates back in this form to 2021. Nonetheless, he has proved dominant of late at Circle City, winning each of the past two series rounds at the track in May and July of this year.

It also just so happens to be the last place Seavey won a USAC National Sprint Car feature at, eight races and a month-and-a-half ago on July 31. His next USAC Sprint win would be historic as it would be number 14, which would tie Tom Bigelow’s all-time record series mark set in 1977.

COUNT ON COTTLE

One name missing thus far from Circle City’s winners list is Shane Cottle. However, when it comes to this place, Cottle doesn’t have very many equals despite the absence of a win for he and his Epperson Racing No. 2E.

He suffered heartbreak on the final lap of the September Circle City race in 2023 when he was passed on the final turn of the final lap by Logan Seavey, finishing second.

Cottle also owns finishes of 3rd twice here of late, including in July, and has started on the front row in all three of his starts at Circle City in 2024. In fact, he was even the fast qualifier for this race last fall. Watch for Cottle to be a contender once more, right around the bottom.

BACON MAKIN’ A PUSH

Brady Bacon is trying one last mad dash in his drive for five career USAC National Sprint Car championships. He enters Circle City on a string of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes with the series, including a victory in the most recent round at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway last Saturday night.

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) now trails Logan Seavey by 75 points in pursuit of the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car driving title and won the first series feature of this year at Circle City back in May of this year.

With 84 points maximum available during a night of racing, every point is critical for Bacon, and he can’t afford to slip now with a razor thin margin for error. After all, Seavey has nearly matched him every step of the way with 16 top-tens in his past 17 starts, thus preventing Bacon from gaining any valuable ground on him.

CUMMINS REACHING FOR REDEMPTION

Kyle Cummins sure sold some t-shirts with last Saturday’s performance at Texarkana’s $10,000-to-win feature. However, while he did unload some merch, he walked away emptyhanded without a trophy in his possession.

Redemption would sure be sweet for Cummins this Friday night at Circle City where he’s seemingly always in contention for the win or for the Mr. Excitement award.

Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) owns a pair of USAC National Sprint Car victories at Circle City, both in 2023, and finished fourth most recently at the track back in July. As the first year Petty Performance Racing team continues to jell, a victory at Circle City would sure be a feather in their cap.

MUSICAL CHAIRS LINED UP IN A CIRCLE

The combinations of victorious drivers and teams in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Circle City runs the gamut. As it turns out, the pieces of the puzzle are everywhere you look and these new-ish combinations now want to amalgamate their winning ways in concert.

Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports scored the first ever USAC National Sprint Car victory at Circle City in 2021. This Friday, RUM’s Mitchel Moles looks to take them back for his personal first score at the track.

C.J. Leary punctuated a victory at Circle City with Michael Motorsports in 2022, just as Kevin Thomas Jr. did with BGE Dougherty Motorsports that same year. Nowadays, Leary is in the BGE Dougherty stable as each party shoots for a return to Circle City’s winners’ circle as a team.

Meanwhile, Thomas Jr. is the wheelman for Rock Steady Racing, who twice won with Kyle Cummins at Circle City in 2023. Logan Seavey scored for 2B Racing at September’s Circle City race a year ago, a ride whose seat is now occupied by series Rookie Kale Drake.

The 2B had been driven earlier this season by Swanson at Circle City, after Swanson himself won at Circle City for Team AZ Racing in 2023. Daison Pursley will now try to take the Team AZ machine back to victory lane at Circle City.

Okay, now you can take a breath after reading that. Phew.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that this weekend’s Circle City date lands on Friday the 13th. This occasion will mark just the eighth USAC National Sprint Car event held on Friday the 13th over the years.

Oddly enough, three of them occurred on Friday, September 13, the same date of this weekend’s show. Jim Mahoney captured the first such event on this date at Kansas City, Kansas’ Lakeside Speedway on 9/13/1991. Billy Pauch answered with his first and only career USAC National Sprint Car victory on 9/13/1996 at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway. Justin Grant was the most recent victor on 9/13/2019 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track.

Additionally, Brian Tyler collected a score on Friday the 13th, 7/13/2001 at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway. Daron Clayton was triumphant at Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway on 7/13/2007 while Bryan Clauson performed likewise on 7/13/2012 and Robert Ballou achieved the same feat on 11/13/2015 at California’s Perris Auto Speedway.

RACE DETAILS:

On Friday, September 13, at Circle City, the program card features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets and UMP Modifieds.

General admission tickets will be available at the ticket booth the day of the event. Advance tickets are now on sale at www.circlecityraceway.com. General admission tickets for ages 13-64 are $30. General admission tickets for ages 6-12 are $15. General admission tickets for ages 5 and under are free. General admission tickets for Seniors 65+ & military are $28. Pit passes for ages 11 and older are $45 and two-day pit passes are $80. Pit passes are $45.

Pits open at 4pm Eastern, front gates open at 5:30pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm & engine heat at 6:15pm, followed by hot laps with qualifying and racing immediately following.

Friday’s Circle City Raceway event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2502, 2-Brady Bacon-2427, 3-Daison Pursley-2269, 4-C.J. Leary-2245, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2187, 6-Mitchel Moles-2172, 7-Robert Ballou-2114, 8-Justin Grant-2051, 9-Kyle Cummins-2002, 10-Carson Garrett-1548.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY

3-Logan Seavey

2-Kyle Cummins

1-Brady Bacon, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Tanner Thorson

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY

2021: Tanner Thorson (9/17)

2022: C.J. Leary (7/25) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/16)

2023: Jake Swanson (5/24), Kyle Cummins (5/25), Kyle Cummins (7/24) & Logan Seavey (9/15)

2024: Brady Bacon (5/22), Logan Seavey (5/23) & Logan Seavey (7/31)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 9/16/2022 - Mitchel Moles - 11.819 - 76.149 mph

10 Laps - 9/16/2022 - Jadon Rogers - 2:04.23 - 72.446 mph

12 Laps - 9/16/2022 - Jake Swanson - 2:39.26 - 67.814 mph

PAST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

SEPTEMBER 2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (2), 2. Chris Windom (1), 3. Jake Swanson (10), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. C.J. Leary (3), 6. Shane Cottle (5), 7. Emerson Axsom (9), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 9. Justin Grant (11), 10. Chase Stockon (12), 11. Jason McDougal (13), 12. Robert Ballou (20), 13. Koby Barksdale (14), 14. Matt Westfall (16), 15. Jadon Rogers (22), 16. Max Adams (7), 17. Brent Beauchamp (17), 18. Thomas Meseraull (8), 19. Brandon Mattox (21), 20. J.J. Hughes (15), 21. Ricky Lewis (18), 22. Travis Berryhill (19). NT

JULY 2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (8), 2. Justin Grant (12), 3. Brady Bacon (4), 4. Chase Stockon (7), 5. Jason McDougal (3), 6. Matt Westfall (16), 7. Shane Cottle (22), 8. Jake Swanson (5), 9. Robert Ballou (10), 10. Ryan Timms (6), 11. Dave Darland (18), 12. Matt McDonald (20), 13. Brandon Mattox (P-23), 14. Briggs Danner (2), 15. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 16. Emerson Axsom (9), 17. Brent Beauchamp (14), 18. Logan Seavey (19), 19. Brody Roa (21), 20. Dalton Stevens (17), 21. Mitchel Moles (11), 22. Kyle Cummins (13), 23. Scotty Weir (15). NT

SEPTEMBER 2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Thomas Meseraull (8), 4. C.J. Leary (3), 5. Matt Westfall (1), 6. Robert Ballou (15), 7. Mitchel Moles (6), 8. Emerson Axsom (5), 9. Jadon Rogers (9), 10. Jason McDougal (14), 11. Jake Swanson (13), 12. Logan Seavey (10), 13. Daison Pursley (19), 14. Koby Barksdale (16), 15. Max Adams (12), 16. Chase Stockon (21), 17. Anton Hernandez (7), 18. Kyle Shipley (17), 19. Brandon Mattox (23-P), 20. Matt McDonald (22), 21. J.J. Hughes (18), 22. Geoff Ensign (20), 23. Justin Grant (11). NT

MAY 24, 2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jake Swanson (4), 2. Kyle Cummins (3), 3. Brady Bacon (5), 4. Justin Grant (6), 5. Robert Ballou (1), 6. Mitchel Moles (8), 7. C.J. Leary (12), 8. Chase Stockon (10), 9. Daison Pursley (16), 10. Carson Garrett (7), 11. Emerson Axsom (17), 12. Rylan Gray (2), 13. Logan Seavey (9), 14. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 15. Scotty Weir (18), 16. Thomas Meseraull (19), 17. Jadon Rogers (15), 18. Matt Westfall (11), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 20. Tye Mihocko (20), 21. Tyler Hewitt (22), 22. Ricky Lewis (21). NT

MAY 25, 2023 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (2), 2. Jake Swanson (3), 3. Brady Bacon (8), 4. Emerson Axsom (7), 5. Matt Westfall (9), 6. Daison Pursley (14), 7. Chase Stockon (18), 8. Thomas Meseraull (5), 9. C.J. Leary (17), 10. Mitchel Moles (15), 11. Logan Seavey (19), 12. Tye Mihocko (12), 13. Justin Grant (6), 14. Robert Ballou (1), 15. Rylan Gray (13), 16. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 17. Jadon Rogers (21), 18. Dave Darland (20), 19. Carson Garrett (4), 20. Charles Davis Jr. (10), 21. Jake Scott (16), 22. Sterling Cling (22). NT

JULY 24, 2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (4), 2. Logan Seavey (3), 3. Shane Cottle (12), 4. Emerson Axsom (8), 5. Xavier Doney (1), 6. Carson Garrett (2), 7. Robert Ballou (10), 8. Jake Swanson (5), 9. C.J. Leary (9), 10. Daison Pursley (16), 11. Justin Grant (11), 12. Chase Stockon (13), 13. Joey Amantea (21), 14. Matt Westfall (22), 15. Brent Beauchamp (17), 16. Brady Bacon (6), 17. Brandon Mattox (15), 18. Braxton Cummings (19), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (20), 20. Sterling Cling (18), 21. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 22. Mitchel Moles (7). NT

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Shane Cottle (6), 3. Robert Ballou (14), 4. Kyle Cummins (4), 5. Brady Bacon (11), 6. Matt Westfall (7), 7. Justin Grant (5), 8. Mitchel Moles (15), 9. Emerson Axsom (19), 10. C.J. Leary (3), 11. Thomas Meseraull (20), 12. Brent Beauchamp (9), 13. Chance Crum (22), 14. Jake Swanson (10), 15. Daison Pursley (12), 16. Chase Stockon (17), 17. Brandon Mattox (16), 18. Jack Hoyer (21), 19. Kody Swanson (18), 20. Trey Osborne (13), 21. Jadon Rogers (8), 22. Carson Garrett (1). NT

MAY 22, 2024 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 3. Daison Pursley (14), 4. Robert Ballou (6), 5. Chase Stockon (9), 6. Mitchel Moles (8), 7. Jadon Rogers (11), 8. Ricky Lewis (10), 9. Chance Crum (20), 10. Matt Westfall (13), 11. Logan Seavey (21), 12. Carson Garrett (24), 13. Hunter Maddox (22), 14. Joey Amantea (18), 15. Justin Grant (4), 16. Jake Swanson (12), 17. Anton Hernandez (15), 18. Shane Cottle (1), 19. C.J. Leary (16), 20. Matt Goodnight (19), 21. Charles Davis Jr. (17), 22. Kyle Cummins (7), 23. Brent Beauchamp (23), 24. Harley Burns (2). NT

MAY 24, 2024 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (3), 2. Brady Bacon (5), 3. Daison Pursley (7), 4. Ricky Lewis (9), 5. Robert Ballou (8), 6. Kyle Cummins (1), 7. C.J. Leary (6), 8. Chase Stockon (10), 9. Carson Garrett (4), 10. Mitchel Moles (13), 11. Shane Cottle (2), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 13. Justin Grant (12), 14. Chance Crum (23), 15. Jake Swanson (18), 16. Jadon Rogers (14), 17. Matt Westfall (16), 18. Brent Beauchamp (20), 19. Brandon Mattox (17), 20. Joey Amantea (21), 21. Harley Burns (24), 22. Anton Hernandez (15), 23. Charles Davis Jr. (19), 24. Frankie Guerrini (22). NT

JULY 31, 2024 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 3. Shane Cottle (1), 4. Kyle Cummins (3), 5. Briggs Danner (12), 6. Brady Bacon (11), 7. Ricky Lewis (4), 8. Robert Ballou (10), 9. Carson Garrett (8), 10. Anton Hernandez (15), 11. Daison Pursley (9), 12. Matt Westfall (18), 13. Mitchel Moles (7), 14. Jake Swanson (19), 15. Chance Crum (21), 16. Todd Hobson (17), 17. Brayden Fox (14), 18. Chase Stockon (23), 19. Hunter Maddox (26-P), 20. Evan Mosley (22), 21. Joey Amantea (25-P), 22. Harley Burns (20), 23. Kale Drake (24), 24. Justin Grant (13), 25. Kyle Shipley (16), 26. C.J. Leary (6). NT

2-SEATER RIDES, SILENT AUCTIONS & MORE

TO BENEFIT USAC RACEAID DURING BC39

Speedway, Indiana (September 11, 2024)………USAC RaceAid will hold a multitude of functions and activities for you to enjoy during this year’s running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented By Avanti Windows & Doors on September 26-27-28 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Right now, you can bid on a chance to ride in a 2-seater sprint car around The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with USAC Hall of Famer and seven-time USAC national champion driver Levi Jones. Bids can be placed now at https://app.galabid.com/bc39auction/items. Bidding for one of the six available rides ends at Noon Eastern on Wednesday, September 25.

Furthermore, the first ever 50/50 raffle held at IMS will go to benefit USAC RaceAid and you. At each night of racing during the BC39, you can purchase tickets at the USAC apparel trailer or from individuals who will be walking around selling the tickets. The winner will be drawn after the semi-feature during Saturday night’s program. The winner does not need to be present to win.

Additionally, a silent auction will be held at the USAC apparel trailer throughout the BC39. Among the items are a signed helmet, which will be signed by all participating BC39 drivers as well as race-used victory lane boards, autographed banners and more from this year’s BC39.

For these events, all proceeds will directly benefit USAC RaceAid. Since 1959, the United States Auto Club Benevolent Foundation (now USAC RaceAid) has provided financial aid to the families of auto racing participants with ties to USAC who have been injured and/or need assistance.

USAC RaceAid also provides support to surviving family members with immediate and ongoing expenses. Over the years, the foundation has provided millions of dollars to help members and their families in times of need. The needs, whether small or large, never cease.

Spectator tickets are also available at www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street. Competitors are to enter through the tunnel on 16th Street.

The BC39 finale, on Saturday, September 28, 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.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

September 7, 2024 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Blake Bower, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.933; 2. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.089; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.093; 4. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.144; 5. Logan Calderwood, 4, Calderwood-14.186; 6. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.220; 7. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-14.228; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.266; 9. Bryce Eames, 50, Abeytia-14.291; 10. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-14.597; 11. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.621; 12. Stevie Rogers, 11, Burgeson/Rogers-14.664; 13. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-14.712; 14. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-15.139; 15. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-15.198.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / BILLSJERKY.NET / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER JR. FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Logan Calderwood, 3. Blake Bower, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Andrew Sweeney, 6. Bryce Eames, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Jon DeWees. NT.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / WC FRIEND COMPANY / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Austin Grabowski, 4. David Gasper, 5. Elexa Herrera, 6. Stevie Rogers, 7. Tommy Malcolm. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. R.J. Johnson (4), 2. David Gasper (1), 3. Logan Williams (5), 4. Austin Williams (10), 5. Tommy Malcolm (😎, 6. Austin Grabowski (3), 7. Andrew Sweeney (7), 8. A.J. Bender (11), 9. Verne Sweeney (13), 10. Bryce Eames (9), 11. Logan Calderwood (2), 12. Jon DeWees (15), 13. Stevie Rogers (12), 14. Elexa Herrera (14), 15. Blake Bower (6). NT.
----------------------------
**Tommy Malcolm flipped on lap 5 of the second heat race.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 David Gasper, Laps 18-30 R.J. Johnson
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Austin Williams (10 to 4)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: September 21 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

#51 R.J. Johnson. Photo by Lance Jennings

BACON WINS #50 FOR HOFFMAN,

PLUS $10,000 BIG ONES AT TEXARKANA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Texarkana, Arkansas (September 7, 2024)………Brady Bacon had multiple duels to face off against during the final laps of Saturday night’s Wingless Short Track Nationals at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway.

First, there was Kyle Cummins who controlled much of the second half of the 40-lap event and was leading Bacon when the white flag was displayed. Then there was the lapped traffic, which seemingly encompassed every spec of dirt across the entire width of the 1/4-mile dirt oval.

Through it all, Bacon emerged as the $10,000 victor to become the first driver to win multiple USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature events in The Natural State of Arkansas.

Back in 2012, Bacon scored what was his first career victory for the Hoffman team, which he now owns 50 of, down the road at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., truly a full circle event for the Broken Arrow, Okla. native. In fact, the 50 wins for Bacon as the driver of the Hoffman / Dynamics, Inc No. 69 is the most between any driver/entrant pairing in USAC National Sprint Car history.

In a race which featured six lead changes, including five during the final seven laps, Bacon took over the lead when Cummins biked on the turn two cushion, dug in and flipped upside multiple times. Upon the resumption, Bacon led the final two laps following a green-white-checker restart to earn the 58th overall victory of his USAC National Sprint Car career, four shy of Dave Darland’s all-time series record of 62.

“I knew traffic was going to be hard and I knew we were tight,” Bacon explained. “So, I was just hanging on for the first 15 laps or so. I knew the track would come to us, but it was going to be hard to pass, and it came down to the wire there.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. led the opening 18 laps from his outside front row starting position while pole sitter Cummins slotted into the second position. Just before the midway point, the duel between the pair was on. First, Cummins swept around the outside of Thomas briefly in turn three on lap 17. However, Cummins became boxed in behind a lapped car. Thomas promptly drove back under to reclaim the top spot.

However, Thomas’ lead proved to be short lived following that encounter. On lap 19, Cummins shot around the outside of Thomas off the exit of turn four to take over up front.

As Cummins worked through traffic to extend his lead on lap 25, he split between the cars of Anthony Nicholson and Justin Zimmerman to put them a lap down. It was a close call off turn four for Cummins who touched wheels with Zimmerman, but both continued on without interruption, harm or foul.

Meanwhile, Bacon, who had run third throughout much of the contest, slipped under Thomas for the runner-up spot in turns three and four on lap 28. However, Bacon remained 1.7 seconds behind Cummins who was steadily running away and hiding from all challengers.

If traffic did not exist, commutes from point A to point B would be so much smoother and simpler. But that’s not real life on the mean streets, nor is it on the racetrack, and Cummins soon reinforced that sad truth of life. As Cummins spied high and low to find a gap to escape through on his merry way, those gaps became smaller until they became non-existent.

During that time, Bacon was shaving off multiple tenths a lap, and by lap 35, he was in a position to pounce. Bacon scoured the bottom of turns one and two to scoot by Cummins for the top spot. In the meantime, Thomas re-entered the fray and slid across the nose of Cummins in turn three to briefly occupy second for a moment.

Undeterred, Cummins cut back under Bacon to retain the position at the stripe, and less than a full circuit later, on lap 37, Bacon found himself trapped behind Kale Drake on the bottom, which subsequently parted the seas for Cummins who cruised the high side back to the lead with just three laps remaining.

With the tail-end lead lap cars of Chase Howard, Kale Drake and Kyle Jones stacked three-wide from top-to-bottom, that left minimal wiggle room for Cummins to finish his work. Gliding through the middle of turns one and two, Cummins was in no man’s land as Bacon once again motored by on the low side to retake the lead with two laps remaining. Bacon encountered the same precarious position on lap 39 as he got bogged behind the same three-wide formation, while Cummins had free reign up top to blast past Bacon one more on the back straight, ultimately clearing him for the spot off turn four with the white flag in sight.

Traveling side-by-side into turn one, with Bacon low and Cummins high, fate was decided when Cummins smashed the curb, got his left side wheels airborne before landing back on all fours and pancaking the wall, sending Cummins flopping over twice. Cummins climbed out under his own power after the incident that turned the complexion of the race on a dime.

“That baby biked up on me; it hadn’t biked the whole race,” Cummins lamented. “We were just driving hard, and the lapped cars were hard to get around, and Brady got back around me. We were two-wide and three-wide, and it was wild up there. God, I hate it for my team. We were going to win $10,000 bucks. I’m here to race to win and I was giving it all she had. I went into that corner every lap just like that, and I thought it would come down and maybe I could save it. This one time got me a little bit.”

Cummins’ catastrophe set up a green-white-checker scenario to decide the race, pushing the total laps of the feature into a rare “overtime” period. However, just as soon as it got going, the going soon got stopped. On the lap 40 restart, Hunter Maddox, running 17th at the time, ramped over the left rear tire of R.J. Miller entering turn three, resulting in Maddox flipping wildly several times. Maddox walked away from the incident under his own power.

The second attempt at a GWC went much more smoothly for all, but especially for Bacon who launched forward with a much better restart than the time before. Without an imminent challenge, Bacon stepped away from the field with relative ease to cross the line 0.725 seconds ahead of the pack in his Dynamics, Inc./Davis Brothers Trucking - Tel-Star Communications/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

“On those green-white-checker restarts, you never know what’s going to happen, especially after we sit on the track and the tire gets cold and loses air,” Bacon demonstrated. “On the first one, I didn’t get a very good start. I saw KTJ on the bottom and I had too much time to think about what I was going to do on the next one, but obviously, we made the right choice, and we were able to stay out front and get the win. It’s good to win a little closer to home than I’m used to.”

Behind the front two of Bacon and Thomas, Logan Seavey crossed the line in third while Daison Pursley and Mitchel Moles finished fourth and fifth respectively to round out the top-five.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led the initial 18 laps of the main event, but felt he just didn’t pick the right lines at the right time to grab the win on this evening aboard his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. Still, it was a superb night for the veteran as he finished as the runner-up.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) began his night by setting a new one-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record at Texarkana with a time of 13.985 seconds during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. The 15th fast time of his career with the series tied him for 32nd all-time alongside Kenny Irwin Jr., Sammy Sessions and Brian Tyler. In the feature, the series point leader searched the surface high, low and everywhere in between to work his way past Pursley into the third spot on the final lap in his MPV Express – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy, which was his 12th top-five result in his last 14 series starts.

Kyle Jones (Kennedale, Texas) racked up several contingency awards throughout the course of the feature. He earned $500 as the ProSource Passing Master for the abbreviated weekend, going +13 combined between his heat race and the feature at Texarkana. He claimed another $100 bonus as the race’s hard charger, starting 22nd and finishing 10th. He also pocketed $200 as the top-finishing ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car Series driver.

Jason Howell (Fort Worth, Texas) put together a pretty solid night all around, finishing the feature as the 14th place finisher, which was the second highest placement by an ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car Series driver in Saturday night’s feature. For that performance, he picked up an extra $100 from ProSource.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) was the show from the get-go. Although his bid for a feature win came up short in heartbreaking fashion, he was spectacular throughout. Early on, he overcame engine issues to win his heat race on the last lap. That right there proved to be the night's Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 7, 2024 – Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, Arkansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.985 (New Track Record); 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.987; 3. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.158; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.170; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.177; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.220; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.335; 8. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.340; 9. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.484; 10. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-14.523; 11. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.559; 12. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.585; 13. Jason Howell, 72, Pack Rat-14.642; 14. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-14.656; 15. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.672; 16. Justin Zimmerman, #1, Zimmerman-14.696; 17. Keith Martin, 79, Hall-14.722; 18. Paul White, 1, Wade-14.767; 19. R.J. Miller, 34, Miller-14.856; 20. Anthony Nicholson, 16, Nicholson-14.885; 21. Kyle Jones, 79x, Hall-14.935; 22. Rhett Butler, 34R, Butler-15.587; 23. Ronny Howard, 44, Howard-15.638; 24. Brennon Marshall, 43, Miller-NT; 25. Colby Stubblefield, 2, Stubblefield-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Justin Zimmerman, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jason Howell, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. R.J. Miller, 8. Rhett Butler. 2:02.068

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Keith Martin, 6. Chase Howard, 7. Anthony Nicholson, 8. Ronny Howard. 2:00.129 (New Track Record)

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Hunter Maddox, 4. Kobe Simpson, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Kyle Jones, 7. Paul White. 2:03.372

FEATURE: (41 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (3), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 3. Logan Seavey (6), 4. Daison Pursley (4), 5. Mitchel Moles (5), 6. C.J. Leary (10), 7. Robert Ballou (8), 8. Justin Grant (9), 9. Matt Westfall (11), 10. Kyle Jones (22), 11. Kale Drake (7), 12. Kobe Simpson (12), 13. Anthony Nicholson (19), 14. Jason Howell (13), 15. R.J. Miller (18), 16. Kyle Cummins (1), 17. Paul White (21), 18. Hunter Maddox (14), 19. Chase Howard (17), 20. Rhett Butler (20), 21. Justin Zimmerman (15), 22. Keith Martin (16), 23. Ronny Howard (23). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 19-34 Kyle Cummins, Laps 35-36 Brady Bacon, Lap 37 Kyle Cummins, Lap 38 Brady Bacon, Lap 39 Kyle Cummins, Laps 40-41 Brady Bacon.

**Kyle Cummins flipped on lap 40 of the feature. Hunter Maddox flipped on lap 40 of the feature.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-176, 2-Logan Seavey-168, 3-Robert Ballou-136, 4-C.J. Leary-117, 5-Kyle Cummins-113, 6-Justin Grant-112, 7-Chase Stockon-109, 8-Brady Bacon-106, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-96, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

TEXARKANA USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kyle Jones-13, 2-C.J. Leary-6, 3-Anthony Nicholson-6, 4-Matt Westfall-4, 5-Kyle Cummins-4, 6-Paul White-4, 7-Brady Bacon-3, 8-Logan Seavey-3, 9-Robert Ballou-3, 10-Justin Grant-10.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 13, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Mitchel Moles (14.710)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (13.985)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kale Drake

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Hard Charger: Kyle Jones (22nd to 10th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Kyle Cummins

Texarkana ProSource Passing Master Champion: Kyle Jones (13)

Top Finishing ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car Driver: Kyle Jones (10th)

Second Best Finishing ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car Driver: Jason Howell (14th)

FRIDAY’S TEXARKANA USAC SPRINT OPENER RAINED OUT;

$10,000 ON THE LINE SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Texarkana, Arkansas (September 7, 2024)………Mother Nature claimed the victory during Friday night’s Wingless Short Track Nationals opener at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway.

Just as the first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship heat race was lining up, persistent heavy rain came and washed away the remainder of the evening’s racing activity.

Before the rain arrived, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) set a new one-lap USAC track record at the Texarkana 1/4-mile dirt oval. His time of 14.110 seconds in his Dynamics, Inc./Davis Brothers Trucking - Tel-Star Communications/Triple X/Rider Chevy broke the previous record of 14.311, set by Jake Swanson in 2023.

Additionally, Bacon’s fast time in the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session was the 53rd of his USAC National Sprint Car career, tying him with C.J. Leary for fourth most all-time.

The second and final night of the Wingless Short Track Nationals gets underway at Texarkana 67 Speedway on Saturday, September 7. A full racing program will be held for the USAC National Sprint Cars featuring qualifying, heat races, a semi-feature and concludes with a 30-lap feature event paying $10,000-to-win. The front gates will open at 5pm Central with hot laps starting at 7pm.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2024 – Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, Arkansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.110; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.117; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.159; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.160; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.171; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.250; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.271; 8. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.283; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.297; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.327; 11. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-14.411; 12. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.518; 13. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.521; 14. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-14.526; 15. Justin Zimmerman, #1, Zimmerman-14.628; 16. Jason Howell, 72, Pack Rat-14.827; 17. Paul White, 1, Wade-14.907; 18. Keith Martin, 79, Hall-14.989; 19. Anthony Nicholson, 16, Nicholson-15.111; 20. R.J. Miller, 34, Miller-15.379; 21. Brennon Marshall, 43, Miller-16.042; 22. Ronny Howard, 44, Howard-16.387; 23. Colby Stubblefield, 2, Stubblefield-NT; 24. Rhett Butler, 34R, Butler-NT; 25. Kyle Jones, 79x, Hall-NT.

REMAINDER OF EVENT RAINED OUT

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2429, 2-Brady Bacon-2349, 3-Daison Pursley-2200, 4-C.J. Leary-2183, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2112, 6-Mitchel Moles-2104, 7-Robert Ballou-2054, 8-Justin Grant-1995, 9-Kyle Cummins-1962, 10-Carson Garrett-1548.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-168, 2-Logan Seavey-146, 3-Robert Ballou-134, 4-C.J. Leary-113, 5-Kyle Cummins-108, 6-Justin Grant-107, 7-Chase Stockon-101, 8-Brady Bacon-99, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-96, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 7, 2024 – Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, Arkansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (14.523)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (14.110)

6 NEW MEMBERS HIGHLIGHT

2024 NATIONAL MIDGET AUTO RACING HALL OF FAME CLASS

By: Richie Murray

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 3, 2024)………Harry Conklin, Bob East, Bobby East, Junior Knepper, Ken Schrader and Jimmy Sams are the newest inductees into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, class of 2024.

The announcement was made during last Sunday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway, the home of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Harry Conklin notched 15 Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association championships as a car owner for drivers Jimmy LaManna, Steve Troxell, Sammy Sauer, Randy Roberts, Kenny Lewis and Gary Taylor. In a career spanning six decades, his cars won 140-plus Rocky Mountain features, including the inaugural Belleville Nationals with driver Eddie Jackson in 1978.

Bob East virtually owned USAC Midget racing throughout the 1990s and 2000s. As a constructor, his Beast midget chassis earned countless victories on both dirt and pavement at virtually every notable event in the sport. Under his role as chief mechanic for Steve Lewis’ and Terry Klatt’s teams, East earned 12 USAC National Midget titles and 150 wins.

His son, Bobby East, was one of the most prolific drivers of his era and a USAC National Midget champion in 2004. In 2001, he became the youngest USAC National Midget winner, at the time, at the age of 16. Bobby totaled 22 career USAC National Midget wins, including the Hut 100, the Belleville Nationals, Turkey Night, the Night Before the 500 and the Copper World Classic.

Walter “Junior” Knepper-owned cars earned 34 USAC National Midget victories with drivers Bob Wente, Tom Bigelow, Mel Kenyon and son, Steve Knepper between 1968-1997. Junior’s team captured the 1969 Night Before the 500 with Wente, plus the 1988 Belleville Nationals, the 1992 Hut 100, eight MARA titles and a SLARA crown, all with Steve in the seat.

Jimmy Sams was one of the early pioneers of motorsports photography. From the 1930s-1950s, he was a fixture at Kansas City area racetracks such as Olympic Stadium where he operated a photography concession. His images preserved the history of midget racing’s golden era. In the late 1940s, he also served as the president of the Kansas City Midget Auto Racing Association.

Ken Schrader is among the most accomplished race drivers of all time in a wide variety of disciplines. He scored 21 career USAC National Midget wins between 1980-1988 and achieved monumental triumphs with the series in the inaugural 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora in 1981, the Night Before the 500 at IRP in 1983 and on the Springfield Mile in 1984.

Furthermore, longtime Indianapolis Speedrome promoter John Stiles will be recognized with the inaugural National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Founder’s Award.

The 40th annual luncheon and induction ceremony for the six inductees will be held on Friday, January 17, 2025. The event will be held at Fair Meadow Hall at the Tulsa Fairgrounds in Oklahoma, adjacent to the Expo Center which will be hosting the Chili Bowl Nationals during the week.

For additional information on the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, contact Barb Hellyer at kingdoodlebug@sbcglobal.net.

CANNON RUMBLES!

McINTOSH MASTERS ANGELL PARK’S

FIREMEN’S NATIONALS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 2, 2024)………“I saw that trophy Zach (Wigal) was holding last night, and I was like, man, it would be nice to have one of those.”

When Cannon McIntosh hopped out of his car in victory lane following Monday night’s 39th Firemen’s Nationals, he embraced the moment, the opportunity, the check and the trophy that he had desired after finishing as the runner-up 24 hours earlier at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway.

McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) seized the moment this time around, heisting the lead from Wigal, the previous night’s winner, on the second lap, then stormed to his first victory at the 1/3-mile dirt oval at the controls of his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Gear Wrench – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

“Last night, we were so close,” McIntosh lamented. “I was running it with everything I had, and I felt like I got to (Wigal) there in traffic. He just got through a little bit better than me. But I was hungry for it tonight. Everyone I talked to before the race today, I told them I was going for it tonight, and that’s what we did. In qualifying, you want to be quick time but when you can qualify around the fifth or sixth spot, it’s huge because you get to start on the front row, and we just went all out from there. It definitely feels better to be back on the top step. Podiums are always great, but wins are amazing.”

Dating back to its inaugural edition in 1982, the Firemen’s Nationals features one of the most storied histories in all of midget racing. Boasting a list of past winners that includes eight inductees of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame and 11 USAC National champions, McIntosh is grateful to be the latest name added to the list.

With that said, to even have his name attached to a USAC National Midget triumph at Angell Park, well, that’s pretty special for McIntosh.

“It means a lot,” McIntosh exclaimed. “Before this weekend, I was watching the highlights from when Jeff Gordon won here (in 1990). He went pretty much four above (the cushion) and that’s all I did tonight.”

Cannon’s latest win was his first in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition since opening night in mid-May and was the eighth overall of his career with the series, which puts him in 84th place all-time alongside Brady Bacon, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr., Eddie Johnson, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner and Josh Wise.

During the heat races, Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports had foreshadowed their prowess across the board on this particular evening, with KKM drivers Gavin Miller, Ryan Timms and Kale Drake winning each of the three heat races. Not to be left out or undeterred, McIntosh and car owner Keith Kunz formulated a familiar plan of attack for the main event.

“Keith and I just thought really hard about what we were going to do, and I gave my input on what I was comfortable with after qualifying and the heat race,” McIntosh relayed. “We just went back to what we did last night. We had done something different in the heat race and we were still good, but with the track work, we went with our gut, and it worked.”

McIntosh started the 30-lap feature from the outside of the front row beside pole sitter Thomas Meseraull. However, it was last night’s winner, third-starting Wigal, who surged to the front on the opening lap when he scooted along the bottom of turns three and four to take over where he left off from the night before. Nonetheless, the tables were turned on the second go-around when Wigal entered turn three high, leaving an open path on the bottom for McIntosh to breeze on by and assume the lead.

Meanwhile, deep into the field, Logan Seavey was relegated to starting at the back of the pack after a broken pump drive shaft prevented him from recording a qualifying lap. Starting 22nd in the feature, Seavey had advanced five positions up to 17th by lap four but was contacted in the rear bumper by Frankie Guerrini in turn four, sending Seavey spinning backwards into the outside wall, albeit with light contact. Restarting at the tail once more, Seavey ultimately advanced +15 to finish seventh to earn both hard charger and Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night honors.

One lap following the resumption of the race, fifth running Meseraull biked on his entry into turn three, then broadsided the wall, which sent him helicoptering through the air multiple times before landing upside down. Meseraull eventually walked away after the accident, but his heavily damaged ride was towed to the pits with him still sitting in the seat, but officially out of the race.

While McIntosh was busy applying the gauntlet on the field to the tune of 1.6 seconds on the ensuing restart, Zach Wigal, Justin Grant and Daison Pursley were running three-wide for second. On the sixth circuit, Pursley slotted ahead of both drivers in a fourth-to-second grab-and-go on the back straight. Wigal, meanwhile, held on with all his might as he half-spun in turn three right in front of Grant, but kept on motoring, still in third, but a long way from the front where McIntosh had established control.

The night’s second and final red flag occurred on lap 11 when Frankie Guerrini (15th) cartwheeled four times at the exit of turn four. After the nasty tumble, Guerrini was able to walk away from the wreckage.

From halfway on, McIntosh was continuously hounded for the lead by Pursley who could never seem to get within a couple car lengths from the rear bumper of McIntosh. As the top two entered the tail end of the field with seven laps remaining, McIntosh nearly sailed it a little too high in turn four on lap 24, coming within a whisker of nailing the concrete. But it was no harm, no foul as McIntosh rooster-tailed the wall and raced away from Pursley once more, maintaining a 1/2-second lead in the process.

“I feel like the car was really good as the race went on and it actually got a little bit tighter as it went on,” McIntosh explained. “I was worried we’d get too free throughout the middle of the race, but the car just came to life as the fuel load kept burning off. I was just watching the laps click off and I saw Daison poke a nose about halfway and I knew I had to give it all from there. I just kept running hard and I didn’t really know what line he was running. Keith (Kunz) said he was keeping it up all the way around, but I stayed with the line I was running. I felt like it was good, and it obviously worked.”

All in all, McIntosh couldn’t be touched down the stretch as he closed out a 0.554 second margin of victory over runner-up Daison Pursley with Zach Wigal third, Ryan Timms fourth and Justin Grant rounding out the top-five.

Prior to the weekend, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) had made three career USAC National Midget starts at Angell Park. Those results came in the form of an 8th, 9th and 7th. One night earlier, he came home fifth, but in the weekend finale, he improved to second in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

“Our car was good tonight, and I felt like I had to try too many lines late in the race to try and catch Cannon because he was just fast enough in three and four where I couldn’t really gain on him or capitalize on one of his mistakes,” Pursley stated. “It’s just part of midget racing with how fast everybody is right now, but overall, it was a good weekend for the team.”

It was a career best weekend for Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio). After winning his first career USAC National Midget feature on Sunday night, Wigal finished his first Firemen's Nationals experience with back-to-back podiums. On Monday night, he raced to a third place result at the wheel of his CB Industries/Dave Knost Auto Outlet – S2 Cyber Security/Spike/Speedway Toyota. His 1st and 3rd finishes on back-to-back nights now stand as the two best USAC National Midget performances of his young career so far.

“(Car owner) Chad (Boat) had the car super hooked up and we were digging,” Wigal recalled. “It was a super technical track. It’s just super awesome that somebody with as little experience as me can come out and run with the best of the best.”

To begin the night, Pursley earned his sixth career USAC National Midget Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time. That tied him for 94th on the all-time list along with several drivers. Among them is his car owner, Chad Boat.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 2, 2024 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th Firemen’s Nationals

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-14.617; 2. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-14.813; 3. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.813; 4. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-14.840; 5. Rylan Gray, 87, RMS-14.852; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.866; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-14.867; 8. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-14.871; 9. Chase McDermand, 40, McDermand-14.874; 10. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.921; 11. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.957; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14, 4 Kings-14.957; 13. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.963; 14. Zach Daum, 16, Royal-14.995; 15. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-15.030; 16. Jakeb Boxell, 44, 4 Kings-15.163; 17. Will Armitage, 83, Fatt Right Foot-15.166; 18. Mariah Ede, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.167; 19. Frankie Guerrini, 8, Cornell-15.231; 20. Ricky Lewis, 4, 4 Kings-15.248; 21. Adam Taylor, 7T, ATM-15.592; 22. Cameron Weishoff, 55, Weishoff-16.356; 23. Daniel Whitley, 57A, RAB-NT; 24. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Gavin Miller, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Zach Wigal, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Jakeb Boxell, 6. Frankie Guerrini, 7. Cameron Weishoff, 8. Jade Avedisian. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Will Armitage, 6. Jacob Denney, 7. Rylan Gray, 8. Ricky Lewis. 2:04.262

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Mariah Ede, 6. Adam Taylor, 7. Chase McDermand, 8. Daniel Whitley. 2:04.108

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (2), 2. Daison Pursley (6), 3. Zach Wigal (3), 4. Ryan Timms (7), 5. Justin Grant (5), 6. Jacob Denney (10), 7. Logan Seavey (22), 8. Kale Drake (4), 9. Gavin Miller (8), 10. Chase McDermand (11), 11. Zach Daum (14), 12. Jade Avedisian (12), 13. Mariah Ede (18), 14. Rylan Gray (9), 15. Jakeb Boxell (16), 16. Will Armitage (17), 17. Adam Taylor (20), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 19. Cameron Weishoff (21), 20. Frankie Guerrini (19), 21. Ethan Mitchell (15), 22. Daniel Whitley (23), 23. Thomas Meseraull (1). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Zach Wigal, Laps 2-30 Cannon McIntosh.

**Thomas Meseraull flipped on lap 5 of the feature. Frankie Guerrini flipped on lap 11 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-985, 2-Cannon McIntosh-934, 3-Ryan Timms-876, 4-Zach Daum-826, 5-Logan Seavey-812, 6-Justin Grant-778, 7-Jacob Denney-774, 8-Gavin Miller-752, 9-Kale Drake-704, 10-Zach Wigal-688.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-176, 2-Logan Seavey-165, 3-Robert Ballou-135, 4-C.J. Leary-113, 5-Kyle Cummins-113, 6-Justin Grant-111, 7-Chase Stockon-109, 8-Brady Bacon-104, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-96, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 20-21, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 4-Crown Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daniel Whitley

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (14.617)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Gavin Miller

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Kale Drake

Hard Charger: Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Logan Seavey

DREAMS COME TRUE!

WIGAL WINS FIRST USAC MIDGET RACE

AT ANGELL PARK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 1, 2024)………”Some kids dream of winning the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals, but my dream is to be standing here.”

Zach Wigal’s dream came true on Sunday during the opening night of the 39th running of the Firemen’s Nationals at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway.

For the 17-year-old Belpre, Ohio native, it was his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory. In doing so, he became the seventh driver to win his first USAC National Midget feature at Angell Park, joining an outstanding group that includes Rich Vogler (1972), Dan Boorse (1987), Scott Hatton (2005), Ryan Durst (2006), Michael Pickens (2007) and Rico Abreu (2013).

But for Wigal, it represented even more. Moments prior to strapping in for the USAC Midget feature aboard his CB Industries/Dave Knost Auto Outlet – S2 Cyber Security/Spike/Speedway Toyota, Wigal had lost the lead during the final laps of the accompanying Badger Midget Auto Racing Association Midget feature, leaving him with a sour taste, but also with a little bit of redemption to take care of.

As it turned out, the Badger feature did more than simply add fuel to the fire and desire that was already burning within Wigal. It also showed him the fastest path to take around the 1/3-mile dirt oval, something that 22 of the 24 drivers in the USAC field didn’t have the advantage of knowing by running double-duty. Wigal and Brandon Waelti were the lone two to compete in both feature events.

“The Badger race helped a lot,” Wigal admitted. “The bottom went away during the Badger race, so I knew that before everybody else, which helped a lot. I’m just so thankful that (car owner) Chad (Boat) gave me such a nice car and (sponsor) Dave Knost gave me the opportunity to live my dream.”

Wigal’s recent growing pains had seemingly signaled that he was on the verge of this special moment. All that was required for the 2023 USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champion was to put together a clean and green run to the distance.

For example, during July’s Mid-America Midget Week, Wigal was arguably in a position to win on three different occasions. At Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway, he spun while running fourth. The following evening at Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds, he was the fastest qualifier and was running third in the feature when he spun to a halt. In the ensuing race two nights later, he led the initial 18 laps and held a healthy lead when he jumped the cushion and promptly fell all the way back to 12th.

This time around at Angell Park, Wigal was picture perfect for all 30 laps. Starting third, he challenged patiently as two drivers with brand new monarchial-themed teams paced the field for the first four laps. Outside front row starter Kevin Thomas Jr., making his debut for 4 Kings Racing, swiped the opening lap lead before pole sitter Zach Daum, also in his debut for the Royal Power Sports outfit, slid underneath Thomas in turns one and two to rip the lead away on the second go-around.

Meanwhile, Wigal took to the topside, where he had just been beaten minutes earlier in the Badget Midget main event. He used the high line to zip around the outside of Thomas in turn four on lap three to slot into the second position.

On lap five, Wigal stayed true to the upper groove and tracked down Daum in a hurry before hustling around the outside of him in turns three and four to corral the spot. By the time 18th running Jakeb Boxell coasted to a stop on the back straight on lap seven with a broken rocker arm, Wigal had shuffled away to a 1.27 second advantage before the caution. Cannon McIntosh took advantage of the lap eight restart to advance past Daum for the second spot on the low side of turn three.

The name of the game down the stretch was lapped traffic as Wigal held steady up front with a 1.4 second lead, which McIntosh succinctly cut in half with less than five laps remaining. At that point, Wigal had a tricky trek to navigate as he encountered the cars of Rylan Gray, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Kale Drake, all of whom occupied spots at the tail end of the lead lap.

After a slight blip that allowed McIntosh to edge minutely closer to Wigal’s No. 89, McIntosh also had his share of two and three-wide lapped traffic to navigate. But in the end, Wigal managed to separate himself from McIntosh by virtue of a lapped car in between the pair on the white flag lap.

From there, it was all gravy for Wigal as he pumped his fist outside of the cockpit as he neared the finish line, where he crossed 0.672 seconds ahead of McIntosh to become the first first-time winner of the 2024 USAC National Midget season. Logan Seavey finished third with Zach Daum fourth and series point leader Daison Pursley in fifth.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) has now finished 2nd, 3rd and 2nd in his three most recent USAC National Midget starts at the wheel of his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Gear Wrench – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota. He finished as the runner-up tonight with his best Angell Park result to date after previously finishing a best of 8th in 2023.

“I feel like I’ve always had really good speed here,” McIntosh explained. “It all starts with having a really good racecar, and right out of the gate, we had one. It really just comes down to me in the seat to go execute for 30 laps. I feel like I fired off right away and started right behind Zach. Obviously, he had a good pace, and I didn’t get cleared as quickly as he did, but still feel like I got through quickly. I was just holding it wide open there and trying to run him down. I was getting tight a couple times there through the middle of the race and adjusted my line. That’s when I started to run him down. I didn’t have much brake, so I just had to figure out how to drive it and just keep running it harder. That’s when I was able to start catching him.”

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) opened his night as the Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier for the 18th time in his USAC National Midget career, moving him past Dave Steele and Mike Streicher for sole possession of 29th place all-time. The defending Firemen’s Nationals champion’s return to a third-place finish to close out the night was a welcome return of sorts after the team had finished 16th or worse in three of its last four starts with their Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – MPV Express/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“It was nice just to have a smooth night at a place I like coming to,” a relieved Seavey sighed. “I just needed to be a touch better there, but obviously, it was a good start to the day. I got off and qualified well and got through my heat race well. I just needed to be a little better against the ledge in turns one and two. I didn’t really know where to be in three and four, so I kind of moved all over the racetrack. I felt I didn’t feel like I could gain. No matter what I did, I feel like I stayed even, then they’d get away from a little bit in traffic. Overall, it was a good, consistent night for us and nice to have everything go smoothly.”

In his first start for Cornell Racing Stables, Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, Calif.) made the biggest moves in the feature at the wheel of his Behling Racing Equipment – Signs of Life Graphics/Triple X/Stanton SR-11x. In all, Guerrini went +8 after starting 22nd and finishing 14th to earn hard charger honors.

“It was definitely a good ending to kind of a hard start of a night,” Guerrini acknowledged. “I put us behind in qualifying and that kind of hurts your whole night. Thanks to (car owner) Curt (Cornell) and the guys. They got it tuned up pretty good for the feature and it wasn’t too bad there.”

Wigal's move to win his first career USAC National Midget feature was swift and decisive. For that, he also earned accolades with the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 1, 2024 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th Firemen’s Nationals

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.427; 2. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.606; 3. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.697; 4. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-14.698; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14, 4 Kings-14.729; 6. Zach Daum, 16, Royal-14.740; 7. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.789; 8. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-14.792; 9. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.805; 10. Chase McDermand, 40, McDermand-14.849; 11. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-14.857; 12. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-14.878; 13. Mariah Ede, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.910; 14. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-14.945; 15. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-14.953; 16. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.007; 17. Rylan Gray, 87, RMS-15.058; 18. Ricky Lewis, 4, 4 Kings-15.118; 19. Jakeb Boxell, 44, 4Kings-15.200; 20. Will Armitage, 83, Fatt Right Foot-15.211; 21. Adam Taylor, 7T, ATM-15.531; 22. Frankie Guerrini, 8, Cornell-15.549; 23. Brandon Waelti, 3w, Waelti-15.573; 24. Cameron Weishoff, 55, Weishoff-16.312.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jade Avedisian, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Chase McDermand, 5. Zach Wigal, 6. Mariah Ede, 7. Frankie Guerrini. 1:59:52 (New Track Record)

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Rylan Gray, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Brandon Waelti, 8. Will Armitage. 2:01.136

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Gavin Miller, 6. Adam Taylor, 7. Cameron Weishoff, 8. Thomas Meseraull. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Wigal (3), 2. Cannon McIntosh (5), 3. Logan Seavey (6), 4. Zach Daum (1), 5. Daison Pursley (9), 6. Ryan Timms (8), 7. Gavin Miller (4), 8. Jacob Denney (15), 9. Jade Avedisian (7), 10. Justin Grant (10), 11. Kale Drake (16), 12. Rylan Gray (17), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 14. Frankie Guerrini (22), 15. Thomas Meseraull (12), 16. Ethan Mitchell (14), 17. Ricky Lewis (18), 18. Mariah Ede (13), 19. Adam Taylor (21), 20. Brandon Waelti (23), 21. Cameron Weishoff (24), 22. Chase McDermand (11), 23. Jakeb Boxell (19), 24. Will Armitage (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 2-4 Zach Daum, Laps 5-30 Zach Wigal.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-905, 2-Cannon McIntosh-856, 3-Ryan Timms-807, 4-Zach Daum-778, 5-Logan Seavey-754, 6-Jacob Denney-716, 7-Justin Grant-710, 8-Gavin Miller-698, 9-Kale Drake-643, 10-Zach Wigal-615.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-172, 2-Logan Seavey-150, 3-Robert Ballou-135, 4-C.J. Leary-113, 5-Kyle Cummins-113, 6-Justin Grant-111, 7-Chase Stockon-109, 8-Brady Bacon-104, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-96, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 2, 2024 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th Firemen’s Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Zach Wigal (14.604)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (14.427)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jade Avedisian

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

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

Hard Charger: Frankie Guerrini (22nd to 14th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Zach Wigal

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

August 31, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California – “Bob Vermeer & Narcie Ferreira Classic”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Blake Bower, 3F, Finkenbinder-14.348; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.439; 3. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.469; 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.628; 5. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-14.634; 6. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.635; 7. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-14.643; 8. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.645; 9. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-14.698; 10. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.786; 11. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.799; 12. Kaleb Montgomery, 3, Montgomery-14.831; 13. Logan Calderwood, 4, Calderwood-14.834; 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.890; 15. Jake Andreotti, 8M, May-14.943; 16. Jacob Tuttle, 69, Tuttle-14.986; 17. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-15.033; 18. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-15.133; 19. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-15.152; 20. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-15.179; 21. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-15.181; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-15.257; 23. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-15.324; 24. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-15.428; 25. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Dunkel-15.608; 26. Aaron Altaffer, 84, Altaffer-16.104; 27. Camie Bell, 29C, Bell-16.248.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER JR. FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 cars transfer to feature) 1. Logan Calderwood, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Jacob Tuttle, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Blake Bower, 6. David Gasper, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Tom Dunkel, 9. Jordan Hermansader. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 cars transfer to feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Logan Williams, 5. Cody Williams, 6. Ryan Timmons, 7. Blake Hendricks, 8. Aaron Altaffer, 9. Chris Ennis. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 cars transfer to feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Kaleb Montgomery, 4. Grant Sexton, 5. Brent Sexton, 6. Austin Grabowski, 7. Steve Hix, 8. Elexa Herrera, 9. Camie Bell. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, top 7 cars transfer to feature) 1. David Gasper, 2. Ryan Timmons, 3. Austin Grabowski, 4. Verne Sweeney, 5. Steve Hix, 6. Jordan Hermansader, 7. Aaron Altaffer, 8. Blake Hendricks, 9. Camie Bell, 10. Elexa Herrera, 11. Tom Dunkel, 12. Chris Ennis. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Tommy Malcolm (4), 2. Charles Davis Jr. (1), 3. Austin Williams (2), 4. David Gasper (10), 5. Blake Bower (6), 6. Kaleb Montgomery (12), 7. R.J. Johnson (3), 8. Jake Andreotti (15), 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (14), 10. Austin Grabowski (7), 11. Verne Sweeney (20), 12. Logan Calderwood (13), 13. Brent Sexton (18), 14. Jacob Tuttle (16), 15. Jordan Hermansader (19), 16. Aaron Altaffer (22), 17. A.J. Bender (11), 18. Logan Williams (17), 19. Cody Williams (5), 20. Grant Sexton (9), 21. Steve Hix (21), 22. Ryan Timmons (8). NT.
----------------------------
**A.J. Bender flipped on lap 27 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Davis, Laps 17-19 Malcolm, Lap 20 Davis, Lap 21 Malcolm, Laps 22-28 Davis, Laps 29-30 Malcolm.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Verne Sweeney (20 to 11)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: September 7 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California

TED TALK:

6 STORYLINES FOR SATURDAY’S

70TH USAC TED HORN 100 AT Du QUOIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Du Quoin, Illinois (August 31, 2023)………The most magical mile of them all is the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.

That’s been true since the day it was built and remains true all these decades later as the USAC Silver Crown National Championship makes its annual once-a-year pilgrimage to the southern Illinois dirt mile for the Ted Horn 100.

The Ted Horn 100 dates to the year 1948 when the three-time AAA National champion in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and namesake of the race, lost his life on the very same Du Quoin track that the brave souls of today still try to conquer.

It’s the most tenured dirt race on the Silver Crown slate, celebrating its 70th running this Saturday, August 31, during the daylight hours of the early morning and afternoon with the sight of the Ferris wheel and the smell of deep fried fair food entrenched into the atmosphere’s backdrop.

Let’s celebrate with six of the key champ car storylines you should be watching this Saturday at Du Quoin!

A SIX PACK OF TED HORN WINNERS

Six past Ted Horn 100 winners are represented in this Saturday’s Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.

Defending Ted Horn 100 winner Justin Grant leads a cast of 33 USAC Silver Crown entries this weekend at the one-mile dirt oval. Grant’s main nemeses in the championship in the 2024 series title fight are Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), a two-time winner of the event in 2010 and 2017, as well as Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), a victor of the race in 2022.

Two-time Ted Horn 100 winner Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) grew up and resides just down the road from the Magic Mile where he won back-to-back in 2014-15. Peru, Indiana’s Russ Gamester, the 1997 race winner, is the most experienced in the field with 23 Ted Horn 100 starts dating back to 1989. Elkhart, Illinois’ Chris Urish (2013) scored his first and only Silver Crown win on the Du Quoin Mile as well.

Interestingly, for four of the six past winners in Saturday’s field, their Du Quoin win also marked their first career USAC Silver Crown victory. That includes Swanson, Cockrum, Gamester and Urish who all hold The Magic Mile near and dear to their hearts.

GRANT CAN SEE FOR MILES

Only once in the past 15 years has a driver swept to champ car victories on both the Illinois dirt miles in a single season. After scoring at the Springfield Mile two weeks ago, Justin Grant has the opportunity to achieve this feat.

On 22 occasions, a AAA or USAC Champ Car driver has won at both the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in the same calendar year: Tony Bettenhausen (1951), Sam Hanks (1953), Jimmy Bryan (1955-56), Johnny Thomson (1958), A.J. Foyt (1964 & 1967), Al Unser (1970), Mario Andretti (1973-74), Gary Bettenhausen (1983), Jack Hewitt (1986-87-93), Chuck Gurney (1989-94-96), Paul White (2001), J.J. Yeley (2002), Tracy Hines (2006), Brian Tyler (2008) and Chris Windom (2018).

Furthermore, after winning at Du Quoin a year ago in 2023, Grant also has the chance to become the first driver in a decade to win there in consecutive years. The only drivers to do that include Tony Bettenhausen (1949-51), Sam Hanks (1953-54), Jimmy Bryan (1955-56), A.J. Foyt (1960-61-63-64), Al Unser (1969-70), Mario Andretti (1973-74), Gary Bettenhausen (1980), Gary Bettenhausen (1982-83), Jack Hewitt (1986-87), Tracy Hines (2005-06) and Shane Cockrum (2014-15).

3-HORSE RACE FOR THE TITLE

With four races remaining in the USAC Silver Crown season, the championship race is tight between point leader Kody Swanson, second-running Justin Grant and third-place Logan Seavey.

If you think you’ve seen these characters up front in the title race before, you’re right and you don’t have to look back too far. These same drivers finished 1-2-3 in the 2023 final standings with Seavey the champ, Swanson second and Grant in third.

Additionally, these same three finished 1-2-3 in the most recent USAC Silver Crown race at Springfield on August 17 with Grant winning, Swanson second and Seavey third.

All three have also won with the USAC Silver Crown series at Du Quoin, making the tussle for position between the three paramount this coming weekend.

Entering Du Quoin, Swanson holds the upper hand in the standings by just 21 points over Grant with Seavey in third, 58 points back as he seeks his first series victory of 2024.

A FOND FAREWELL TO BATEMAN RACING

This Saturday’s Ted Horn 100 marks the farewell of one USAC Silver Crown racing’s longest tenured teams – Bateman Racing. Team principal Patty Bateman recently announced that this would be the final appearance for the familiar No. 55 at Du Quoin, located less than a half-hour away from the Bateman residence in Murphysboro, Ill.

Bateman Racing made its USAC Silver Crown debut in September of 1982 with Patty’s husband, Randy Bateman, at the wheel. Randy was a longtime competitor with the series through the 2015 season before Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis claimed his life in 2017.

Patty soldiered on with the team, which finished a best of 4th at Du Quoin in 2016 with driver Casey Shuman and again in 2021 with Jerry Coons Jr. behind the wheel. Coons also gave the team its best ever Silver Crown finish of 2nd at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track in 2022.

On Saturday, Coons will attempt to earn a first win at Du Quoin for both him and the Bateman Racing team, a victory that would surely bring the house down.

CLOSE TO CLOSING IT OUT

Oftentimes, one must experience the agony of defeat to truly appreciate the thrill of victory. A number of drivers have found that to be the case over the years.

Justin Grant, Chris Windom, Logan Seavey and Shane Cottle are among the group of drivers who’ve previously finished second at the Ted Horn 100 before ultimately winning the race in their career.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) finished second in last year’s edition at Du Quoin after leading the opening lap. The year before, in 2022, he was leading with seven laps remaining when the driveline broke on him.

A little good fortune would be a welcome sight for both car Leary and car owner Terry Klatt on Saturday, both of whom have long chased that elusive first Ted Horn 100 victory.

A FIRST CLASS OPPORTUNITY

Although the streak of three consecutive first-time USAC Silver Crown winners on dirt ended at Springfield with Justin Grant’s score, it’s never too late to start a new streak.

No track on the USAC Silver Crown schedule has seen more first-time USAC Silver Crown winners break through than Du Quoin. Since the series’ inception in 1971, 14 different drivers have earned their first career Silver Crown victory at The Magic Mile and this year’s class is hellbent on trying to make that 15.

Top veterans are included in this group are USAC National Sprint Car winners Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), plus Kyle Steffens (Saint Charles, Mo.), a modified winner on the Du Quoin mile. Also in this group are Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.), Casey Buckman (Chandler, Ariz.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.). Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.) and Jimmy Light (West Springfield, Pa.).

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) is already a USAC Silver Crown winner (at Port Royal, Pa.) as he prepares to take on Du Quoin for the first time. Fellow Rookies in the field seeking their shot at both a first Du Quoin and first Silver Crown win include the likes of Rookie point leader Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio), plus USAC National Sprint Car winners Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.) along with Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Aric Gentry (Robards, Ky.), Danny Jennings (Norman, Okla.), Saban Bibent (Cincinnati, Ohio), Kip Hughes (North Enid, Okla.) and Knoxville Raceway Hall of Famer Don Droud Jr. (Lincoln, Neb.), who is making his Silver Crown debut.

RACE DETAILS:

The 70th running of the Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 30th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for DIRTcar Modifieds.

Registration and pit gates open at 7am Central. Grandstands and ticket office open at 9am. USAC Silver Crown practice is slated to run from 10-11:10am. USAC Silver Crown qualifying is scheduled for 11:30am followed by DIRTcar Modified hot laps and qualifying at 12:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown qualifying race at 12:30pm. DIRTcar Modified heats are on tap at 1pm followed by the USAC Ted Horn 100 feature at 2pm.

Tickets will be available on race day or by calling the Du Quoin Fair office at 618-542-1535. Info and tickets can also be obtained by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200. Advance tickets are $25 for ages 12 and up and $10 for children age 11 and under. Race day tickets at the gate are $30 for ages 12 and up and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-members ages 12 and up. Pit passes for children age 11 and under are $20.

The Ted Horn 100 can be watched live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

2024 TED HORN 100 ENTRY LIST: (33)

07 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (John Tosti)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

3 ®ARIC GENTRY/Robards, KY (Tim Simmons)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 ®DON DROUD JR./Lincoln, NE (Cornell Racing Stables)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 ®BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

21 ®DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (John Haggenbottom)

25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports – Eddie Sachs Jr.)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

48 ®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)

60 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

61 ®DANNY JENNINGS/Norman, OK (David Grace Motorsports)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

88 ®SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

97 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

118 JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Wingo Brothers Racing)

119 ®MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

160 ®KIP HUGHES/North Enid, OK (Kip Hughes)

177 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)

777 ®DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-608, 2-Justin Grant-587, 3-Logan Seavey-550, 4-C.J. Leary-499, 5-Kaylee Bryson-388, 6-Kyle Steffens-386, 7-Bobby Santos-366, 8-Trey Osborne-337, 9-Dakoda Armstrong-329, 10-Gregg Cory-316.

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT Du QUOIN:

1 Lap - 9/5/2004 - Tyler Walker - 29.138 - 123.550 mph

10 Laps - 9/10/1994 - George Snider - 5:14.78 - 114.366 mph

12 Laps - 9/4/1989 - Tom Bigelow - 6:29.73 - 110.846 mph

15 Laps - 9/1/2002 - Brian Tyler - 7:53.24 - 114.107 mph

100 Laps - 9/7/1992 - Johnny Parsons - 56:03.00 - 107.047 mph

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

AAA/USAC CHAMP CAR WINNERS AT Du QUOIN:

1948: Lee Wallard & Johnnie Parsons

1949: Tony Bettenhausen

1951: Tony Bettenhausen & Tony Bettenhausen

1952: Chuck Stevenson

1953: Sam Hanks

1954: Sam Hanks

1955: Jimmy Bryan

1956: Jimmy Bryan

1957: Jud Larson

1958: Johnny Thomson

1959: Rodger Ward

1960: A.J. Foyt

1961: A.J. Foyt

1963: A.J. Foyt

1964: A.J. Foyt

1965: Don Branson

1966: Bud Tingelstad

1967: A.J. Foyt

1968: Mario Andretti

1969: Al Unser

1970: Al Unser

1971: George Snider

1972: Tom Bigelow & A.J. Foyt

1973: Mario Andretti

1974: Mario Andretti

1975: Tom Bigelow

1976: Bubby Jones

1977: Tom Bigelow

1978: Pancho Carter

1979: Billy Vukovich

1980: Gary Bettenhausen & Gary Bettenhausen

1981: Rich Vogler

1982: Gary Bettenhausen

1983: Gary Bettenhausen

1984: Joe Saldana

1985: Rick Hood

1986: Jack Hewitt

1987: Jack Hewitt

1988: Gary Bettenhausen

1989: Chuck Gurney

1990: Jeff Swindell

1991: Stevie Reeves

1992: Johnny Parsons

1993: Jack Hewitt

1994: Chuck Gurney

1995: Johnny Parsons

1996: Chuck Gurney

1997: Russ Gamester

1998: Jimmy Sills

1999: Tony Elliott

2000: Kasey Kahne

2001: Paul White

2002: J.J. Yeley

2003: Rich Tobias Jr.

2004: Tyler Walker

2005: Tracy Hines

2006: Tracy Hines

2007: Shane Cottle

2008: Brian Tyler

2009: Rained Out

2010: Kody Swanson

2011: Kyle Larson

2012: Rained Out

2013: Chris Urish

2014: Shane Cockrum

2015: Shane Cockrum

2016: Chris Windom

2017: Kody Swanson

2018: Chris Windom

2019: Jacob Wilson

2020: Not Held

2021: Brian Tyler

2022: Logan Seavey

2023: Justin Grant

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

AAA/USAC CHAMP CAR WINS AT Du QUOIN:

6-A.J. Foyt

5-Gary Bettenhausen

3-Mario Andretti, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Chuck Gurney & Jack Hewitt

2-Jimmy Bryan, Shane Cockrum, Sam Hanks, Tracy Hines, Johnny Parsons, Kody Swanson, Brian Tyler, Al Unser & Chris Windom

1-Don Branson, Pancho Carter, Shane Cottle, Tony Elliott, Russ Gamester, Justin Grant, Rick Hood, Bubby Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jud Larson, Kyle Larson, Johnnie Parsons, Stevie Reeves, Joe Saldana, Logan Seavey, Jimmy Sills, George Snider, Chuck Stevenson, Jeff Swindell, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad, Rich Tobias Jr., Chris Urish, Rich Vogler, Bill Vukovich, Tyler Walker, Lee Wallard, Rodger Ward, Paul White, Jacob Wilson & J.J. Yeley

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

Du QUOIN USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:

4-Jerry Coons Jr.

3-Kody Swanson

2-Gary Bettenhausen, Shane Cottle, Dave Darland, Chuck Gurney, Jack Hewitt, Larry Rice, Jimmy Sills, Al Unser & Tyler Walker

1-Mark Alderson, Mario Andretti, Teddy Beach, Donnie Beechler, Tom Bigelow, Ed Carpenter, Pancho Carter, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cockrum, Tyler Courtney, Larry Dickson, Bobby East, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Kasey Kahne, Arnie Knepper, Lee Kunzman, Johnny Parsons, George Snider, Jeff Swindell, Rich Vogler, Billy Vukovich, Greg Weld & Jacob Wilson

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

PAST Du QUOIN USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS:

1971 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. George Snider (4), 2. Greg Weld (1), 3. Billy Vukovich (3), 4. Bill Puterbaugh (13), 5. Arnie Knepper (5), 6. Don Hawley (16), 7. Bob Harkey (18), 8. Johnny Rutherford (14), 9. A.J. Foyt (10), 10. Ronnie Burke (17), 11. Joe Saldana (15), 12. Salt Walther (24), 13. Lee Kunzman (6), 14. Merle Bettenhausen (9), 15. Larry Cannon (20), 16. Jimmy Caruthers (7), 17. Mario Andretti (3), 18. Carl Williams (23), 19. Jim Malloy (22), 20. Tom Bigelow (12), 21. Larry Dickson (2), 22. Ralph Liguori (21), 23. Sammy Sessions (11), 24. Bruce Walkup (19). 1:03:24.82

MAY 1972 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tom Bigelow (3), 2. Arnie Knepper (1), 3. Carl Williams (8), 4. Pancho Carter (15), 5. Johnny Parsons (12), 6. Joe Saldana (13), 7. Jerry Karl (16), 8. Rick Muther (18), 9. Bud Tingelstad (14), 10. A.J. Foyt (9), 11. Jackie Howerton (6), 12. Sammy Sessions (10), 13. Billy Vukovich (2), 14. Jim McElreath (4), 15. Bob Evans (17), 16. Jimmy Caruthers (5), 17. Lee Kunzman (7), 18. Don Hawley (20), 19. George Snider (11), 20. Bruce Walkup (19). 1:07:52.80

SEPTEMBER 1972 FEATURE: (Scheduled for 100 laps, called for rain at 52 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. A.J. Foyt (3), 2. Arnie Knepper (4), 3. Jigger Sirois (2), 4. George Snider (11), 5. Bill Puterbaugh (7), 6. Rollie Beale (8), 7. Johnny Rutherford (9), 8. Al Unser (5), 9. Ronnie Burke (14), 10. Joe Saldana (12), 11. Sammy Sessions (17), 12. Carl Williams (21), 13. Greg Weld (13), 14. Lee Kunzman (1), 15. Jimmy Caruthers (19), 16. Ralph Liguori (24), 17. Tom Bigelow (15), 18. Johnny Parsons (10), 19. Dick Tobias (23), 20. Don Nordhorn (20), 21. Bob Harkey (18), 22. Pancho Carter (6), 23. Karl Busson (22), 24. Larry Dickson (16). NT

1973 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Mario Andretti (2), 2. Billy Engelhart (6), 3. Tom Bigelow (11), 4. Lee Kunzman (10), 5. Al Unser (1), 6. Arnie Knepper (15), 7. Bill Puterbaugh (13), 8. Johnny Parsons (4), 9. Gary Bettenhausen (16), 10. Johnny Rutherford (21), 11. Jerry Miller (19), 12. Joe Saldana (17), 13. Darl Harrison (22), 14. Bob Evans (18), 15. Mel Cornett (14), 16. Ronnie Burke (24), 17. Billy Vukovich (3), 18. A.J. Foyt (7), 19. Billy Shuman (12), 20. John Hubbard (9), 21. Larry Dickson (20), 22. Billy Cassella (8), 23. Don Nordhorn (23), 24. Curt Waters (5). NT

1974 FEATURE: (Scheduled for 100 laps, called for rain at 52 laps)1. Mario Andretti (1), 2. Tom Bigelow (2), 3. Al Unser (7), 4. A.J. Foyt (4), 5. Pancho Carter (5), 6. George Snider (8), 7. Arnie Knepper (13), 8. Jimmy Caruthers (11), 9. Larry Cannon (17), 10. Rollie Beale (12), 11. Johnny Parsons (14), 12. Billy Vukovich (9), 13. Billy Engelhart (15), 14. Joe Saldana (24), 15. Billy Cassella (22), 16. Darl Harrison (16), 17. Greg Weld (6), 18. Mike Gregg (18), 19. Bob Evans (23), 20. Jackie Howerton (3), 21. Sheldon Kinser (19), 22. Bob Harkey (20), 23. Bill Puterbaugh (21), 24. Steve Lotshaw (10). 38:56.00

1975 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tom Bigelow (2), 2. Larry Rice (7), 3. Sammy Sessions (4), 4. Jimmy Caruthers (16), 5. Arnie Knepper (12), 6. Steve Chassey (8), 7. Darl Harrison (13), 8. Jim Hurtubise (22), 9. Tommy Astone (21), 10. Bruce Walkup (9), 11. James McElreath (23), 12. Jackie Howerton (17), 13. Billy Vukovich (18), 14. Jerry Miller (15), 15. Larry Dickson (24), 16. Rollie Beale (20), 17. Al Unser (1), 18. Gary Bettenhausen (5), 19. Spike Gehlhausen (6), 20. Sheldon Kinser (11), 21. Jim McElreath (19), 22. Pancho Carter (3), 23. Billy Cassella (14), 24. Joe Saldana (10). 1:04:40.30

1976 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bubby Jones (3), 2. Larry Dickson (5), 3. Jim McElreath (9), 4. Larry Rice (10), 5. Johnny Parsons (23), 6. Jim Hurtubise (6), 7. James McElreath (12), 8. Billy Cassella (24), 9. Jerry Miller (17), 10. Ronnie Burke (21), 11. Clark Templeman (13), 12. Joe Saldana (4), 13. Tom Bigelow (1), 14. Bobby Olivero (22), 15. Sheldon Kinser (7), 16. Chuck Gurney (16), 17. George Snider (8), 18. Gary Irvin (15), 19. Pancho Carter (2), 20. Jan Opperman (20), 21. Roy Hicks (18), 22. Jackie Howerton (19), 23. Sleepy Tripp (14), 24. Dana Carter (11). NT

1977 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tom Bigelow (4), 2. Gary Bettenhausen (11), 3. Billy Cassella (3), 4. Billy Vukovich (2), 5. Larry Rice (10), 6. George Snider (12), 7. Bubby Jones (9), 8. Eddie Leavitt (15), 9. Jim Hurtubise (8), 10. Larry Moore (20), 11. Dean Shirley (14), 12. Roy Hicks (21), 13. Jerry Miller (5), 14. Thad Dosher (17), 15. Al Unser (7), 16. Jackie Howerton (23), 17. Sheldon Kinser (6), 18. Arnie Knepper (22), 19. Johnny Parsons (18), 20. Steve Chassey (19), 21. James McElreath (13), 22. Rich Vogler (16), 23. Pancho Carter (31), 24. Rollie Beale (24). 59:30.80

1978 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Pancho Carter (2), 2. Billy Vukovich (11), 3. George Snider (3), 4. Larry Dickson (12), 5. Billy Cassella (16), 6. Jim McElreath (5), 7. Bubby Jones (20), 8. Steve Cannon (9), 9. Larry Rice (1), 10. Chuck Gurney (6), 11. Robert Smith (22), 12. Ron Shuman (24), 13. Lynn Paxton (18), 14. Mark Alderson (10), 15. Dana Carter (17), 16. Duke Cook (23), 17. Mike Johnson (21), 18. Sheldon Kinser (8), 19. Gary Bettenhausen (14), 20. Tom Bigelow (4), 21. Kramer Williamson (15), 22. Junior Parkinson (7), 23. Arnie Knepper (13), 24. Billy Engelhart (19). 1:05:38.00

1979 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Billy Vukovich (1), 2. Bill Puterbaugh (11), 3. Larry Dickson (19), 4. Larry Rice (5), 5. Billy Engelhart (22), 6. Pancho Carter (3), 7. Steve Cannon (21), 8. Bobby Adkins (16), 9. Paul Pitzer (9), 10. Rich Vogler (13), 11. Steve Chassey (2), 12. Billy Cassella (10), 13. Robert Smith (23), 14. Jerry Miller (14), 15. Dana Carter (18), 16. Gary Bettenhausen (4), 17. Sheldon Kinser (6), 18. Tom Bigelow (17), 19. Junior Parkinson (24), 20. Joe Saldana (7), 21. Bobby Olivero (20), 22. Bob East (15), 23. Chuck Gurney (12), 24. Bubby Jones (8). NT

MAY 1980 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 2. Pancho Carter (4), 3. Bobby Olivero (11), 4. Ron Shuman (5), 5. Steve Chassey (10), 6. Steve Cannon (17), 7. Dean Shirley (16), 8. Bob Frey (22), 9. Bill Burks Jr. (21), 10. Larry Dickson (1), 11. Larry Gates (19), 12. Gary Hieber (20), 13. Joe Saldana (6), 14. Mike Gregg (7), 15. Robert Smith (8), 16. Eddie Leavitt (12), 17. Lealand McSpadden (18), 18. Rich Vogler (3), 19. Sheldon Kinser (13), 20. Bill Puterbaugh (9), 21. Larry Rice (15), 22. Mack McClellan (24), 23. George Snider (14), 24. Jerry Miller (23), 25. Billy Vukovich (25). 1:00:12.60

AUGUST 1980 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 2. Pancho Carter (7), 3. Rich Vogler (1), 4. Larry Dickson (11), 5. Rich Leavell (9), 6. Chris Cumberworth (17), 7. Kramer Williamson (21), 8. Lennie Waldo (26), 9. Larry Rice (8), 10. Tom Bigelow (4), 11. Gary Hieber (27), 12. Steve Cannon (13), 13. Gary Irvin (19), 14. Frankie Schneider (24), 15. Jack Hewitt (14), 16. Jerry Miller (15), 17. Sammy Swindell (16), 18. Bill Burks Jr. (22), 19. George Snider (10), 20. Joe Saldana (6), 21. Paul Pitzer (23), 22. Steve Chassey (5), 23. Bill Tyler (18), 24. Larry Gates (20), 25. Jan Opperman (25), 26. Bobby Olivero (3), 27. Ron Shuman (12). 1:00.17.00

1981 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Rich Vogler (6), 2. Tom Bigelow (8), 3. George Snider (9), 4. Jack Hewitt (7), 5. Bill Tyler (12), 6. Joe Saldana (16), 7. Jerry Nemire (14), 8. Johnny Parsons (5), 9. Jerry Miller (18), 10. Paul Pitzer (10), 11. Ken Schrader (11), 12. Jerry Weeks (21), 13. Larry Rice (3), 14. Jeff Bloom (15), 15. Sheldon Kinser (20), 16. Sleepy Tripp (13), 17. Jim McElreath (19), 18. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 19. Mark Alderson (#59) (24), 20. Billy Engelhart (1), 21. Bobby Olivero (4), 22. Gary Hieber (17), 23. Tracy Potter (23), 24. Arnie Knepper (22). 1:01:13.00

1982 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 2. Steve Chassey (4), 3. Bobby Olivero (3), 4. Billy Engelhart (10), 5. Rick Hood (8), 6. Larry Rice (17), 7. Mark Alderson (7), 8. Joe Saldana (15), 9. Mike Peters (18), 10. Jerry Weeks (12), 11. Steve Kinser (14), 12. Ken Schrader (13), 13. Joe McCarthy (19), 14. Bob Cicconi (24), 15. George Snider (9), 16. Keith Kauffman (5), 17. Mike Gregg (6), 18. Jerry Nemire (16), 19. Rich Vogler (21), 20. Sheldon Kinser (2), 21. Chuck Amati (11), 22. Duke Cook (23), 23. Dana Carter (22), 24. Ron Shuman (20), 25. Tom Bigelow (25). NT

1983 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 2. Chuck Gurney (11), 3. Ken Schrader (4), 4. George Snider (12), 5. Billy Engelhart (9), 6. Steve Kinser (19), 7. Ron Shuman (2), 8. Larry Rice (3), 9. Ronnie Burke (15), 10. Gary Hieber (14), 11. Rich Vogler (24), 12. Billy Vukovich (27), 13. Jerry Nemire (13), 14. Bud Wilmot (30), 15. Steve Siegel (22), 16. Sheldon Kinser (5), 17. Tom Bigelow (10), 18. Mike Winblad (20), 19. Jack Hewitt (7), 20. Mike Johnson (28), 21. Larry Dickson (16), 22. Larry Martin (23), 23. Steve Chassey (8), 24. Bobby Olivero (18), 25. Randy Bateman (25), 26. Mark Alderson (21), 27. Joe Saldana (29), 28. Bob Cicconi (17), 29. Jim McElreath (26), 30. Rick Hood (6). NT

1984 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Joe Saldana (4), 2. Ron Shuman (8), 3. Johnny Parsons (9), 4. Dave Blaney (12), 5. Steve Chassey (2), 6. Manny Rockhold (26), 7. Gary Irvin (7), 8. Keith Campbell (27), 9. Gary Hieber (20), 10. Jim Moughan (25), 11. Rick Hood (15), 12. Tom Bigelow (21), 13. Bill Hudson (36), 14. Sheldon Kinser (3), 15. Warren Mockler (34), 16. Billy Vukovich (10), 17. Bud Wilmot (28), 18. Gary Bettenhausen (6), 19. Chuck Gurney (1), 20. Bob Cicconi (32), 21. Jack Hewitt (14), 22. Larry Martin (13), 23. Randy Bateman (33), 24. Jerry Russell (22), 25. Danny Milburn (16), 26. Larry Rice (11), 27. Bobby Olivero (30), 28. Jerry Nemire (23), 29. Ken Schrader (5), 30. Mike Johnson (18), 31. Steve Cannon (19), 32. Billy Engelhart (24), 33. Arnie Knepper (35), 34. Mark Alderson (17), 35. Jim McElreath (31), 36. Joe McCarthy (29). 1:33:13.07

1985 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Rick Hood (1), 2. Chuck Gurney (2), 3. Steve Chassey (10), 4. Sheldon Kinser (4), 5. Kramer Williamson (16), 6. Bobby Olivero (15), 7. John Andretti (11), 8. Jack Hewitt (25), 9. Steve Butler (21), 10. Paul Clark (22), 11. Danny Milburn (18), 12. Larry Rice (9), 13. Jerry Russell (12), 14. Bob Cicconi (28), 15. Rick Salem (20), 16. Dave Blaney (7), 17. Gary Irvin (19), 18. Randy Bateman (30), 19. George Snider (6), 20. Joe Saldana (3), 21. Duke Cook (17), 22. Mark Alderson (26), 23. Jerry Nemire (27), 24. Rich Vogler (8), 25. Gary Hieber (23), 26. Billy Engelhart (13), 27. Duke DeRosa (29), 28. Greg Staab (24), 29. Gary Bettenhausen (5), 30. Ken Schrader (14). 58:58.93

1986 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (11), 2. Steve Butler (9), 3. George Snider (7), 4. Tom Bigelow (6), 5. Paul Clark (12), 6. Jerry Russell (26), 7. Gary Hieber (22), 8. Bob East (13), 9. Greg Staab (25), 10. Bobby Olivero (18), 11. Warren Mockler (21), 12. Manny Rockhold (19), 13. Leon Gentry (27), 14. Jack Ziegler (32), 15. Randy Standridge (30), 16. Larry Rice (10), 17. Brent Kaeding (20), 18. Kenny Jacobs (2), 19. Gary Bettenhausen (3), 20. Steve Chassey (4), 21. Rick Hood (8), 22. Andy Hillenburg (15), 23. Mark Alderson (16), 24. Chuck Gurney (1), 25. Billy Engelhart (14), 26. Rich Vogler (5), 27. Danny Milburn (23), 28. Jerry Nemire (31), 29. Kevin Koch (24), 30. Bobby Adkins (17), 31. Paul Huntington (29), 32. Jeff Bloom (28). 1:01:41.00

1987 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (18), 2. Kenny Jacobs (4), 3. Jeff Swindell (1), 4. Steve Butler (21), 5. Rick Hood (5), 6. Steve Chassey (15), 7. Larry Rice (7), 8. Mark Alderson (10), 9. Rusty McClure (9), 10. George Snider (14), 11. Palmer Crowell (16), 12. Jeff Bloom (12), 13. Tom Bigelow (24), 14. Manny Rockhold (20), 15. Kevin Koch (23), 16. Terry Kawell (29), 17. Paul Huntington (26), 18. Jim Whiteside (30), 19. Jerry Nemire (25), 20. Andy Hillenburg (2), 21. Tony Elliott (11), 22. Bob Cicconi (13), 23. Gary Hieber (19), 24. Paul Clark (6), 25. Bob Frey (22), 26. Jim Childers (8), 27. Steve Cannon (27), 28. Greg Staab (28), 29. Ron Dunstan (17), 30. Rich Vogler (3). NT

1988 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (3), 2. Kenny Jacobs (11), 3. George Snider (1), 4. Steve Butler (28), 5. Jim Childers (4), 6. Mark Alderson (10), 7. Andy Hillenburg (6), 8. Larry Rice (5), 9. Tray House (9), 10. Gary Hieber (12), 11. Bob Frey (23), 12. Jeff Bloom (7), 13. Jim Mahoney (21), 14. Greg Staab (15), 15. Jerry Nemire (18), 16. Gary Irvin (26), 17. Tony Elliott (8), 18. Lou Cicconi Jr. (32), 19. Palmer Crowell (25), 20. Billy Vukovich III (27), 21. Paul Huntington (19), 22. Rusty McClure (13), 23. Ray Joe Fager (22), 24. Dave Feese (12), 25. Dean Billings (17), 26. Manny Rockhold (29), 27. Chuck Gurney (2), 28. Jack Hewitt (31), 29. Ron Dunstan (20), 30. Steve Chassey (16), 31. Bill Tyler (30), 32. Johnny Parsons (14). NT

1989 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chuck Gurney (4), 2. Rich Vogler (3), 3. Jimmy Sills (1), 4. Tony Elliott (8), 5. Jim Mahoney (7), 6. Mark Alderson (13), 7. Andy Hillenburg (10), 8. Danny Smith (18), 9. Jim McElreath (9), 10. Walt Kennedy (19), 11. Dave Feese (20), 12. Greg Staab (14), 13. Johnny Parsons (23), 14. Larry Rice (27), 15. Steve Butler (12), 16. Danny Milburn (15), 17. Tom Bigelow (22), 18. Bob Cicconi (16), 19. Donnie Beechler (32), 20. Russ Gamester (29), 21. Jack Hewitt (6), 22. Manny Rockhold (28), 23. Gary Bettenhausen (11), 24. Ron Dunstan (21), 25. George Snider (2), 26. Terry Kawell (31), 27. Gary Irvin (25), 28. Warren Mockler (26), 29. Rick Hood (5), 30. Gary Hieber (24), 31. Jerry Nemire (17), 32. Mike Thomas (30). 57:29.03

1990 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jeff Swindell (2), 2. Chuck Gurney (3), 3. Jimmy Sills (14), 4. Andy Hillenburg (25), 5. Jerry Russell (12), 6. Stevie Reeves (23), 7. Mark Alderson (1), 8. Dave Feese (21), 9. Eric Gordon (7), 10. Tom Bigelow (16), 11. Warren Mockler (13), 12. Danny Milburn (26), 13. Walt Kennedy (18), 14. Bill Kojis (19), 15. Gary Irvin (11), 16. Johnny Parsons (9), 17. Kevin Whitesides (31), 18. Jerry Nemire (32), 19. Rick Hood (27), 20. Jack Hewitt (24), 21. Ron Dunstan (20), 22. Chip Thomas (30), 23. Rusty McClure (10), 24. Larry Rice (22), 25. Stan Fox (8), 26. Greg Staab (28), 27. Wally Pankratz (6), 28. George Snider (17), 29. Gary Hieber (4), 30. Jeff Gordon (5), 31. Russ Gamester (29), 32. Steve Chassey (15). NT

1991 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Stevie Reeves (2), 2. Steve Butler (12), 3. Stan Fox (3), 4. Jeff Gordon (5), 5. Chuck Gurney (14), 6. Russ Gamester (6), 7. Johnny Parsons (4), 8. Eric Gordon (30), 9. Jim Mahoney (21), 10. Wally Pankratz (24), 11. Chip Thomas (18), 12. Larry Dickson (19), 13. Billy Boat (22), 14. Tray House (17), 15. Warren Mockler (9), 16. Gary Hieber (11), 17. Randy Bateman (26), 18. Ronnie Burke (23), 19. Tony Elliott (13), 20. Jimmy Sills (1), 21. Mark Alderson (25), 22. Bill Kojis (27), 23. Dave Feese (28), 24. Jeff Swindell (15), 25. George Snider (8), 26. Jerry Nemire (29), 27. Jerry Russell (7), 28. Steve Chassey (16), 29. Greg Staab (10), 30. Danny Smith (20). NT

1992 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Johnny Parsons (1), 2. Tony Elliott (2), 3. Stan Fox (3), 4. Tony Stewart (9), 5. George Snider (11), 6. Steve Butler (4), 7. Jeff Swindell (6), 8. Eric Gordon (14), 9. Chip Thomas (21), 10. Jim Mahoney (19), 11. Joe Gaerte (20), 12. Gary Hieber (13), 13. Russ Gamester (5), 14. Rocky Hodges (25), 15. Stevie Reeves (18), 16. Wally Pankratz (24), 17. Lealand McSpadden (17), 18. Steve Chassey (15), 19. Jim McElreath (26), 20. Jimmy Brewer (27), 21. Chuck Gurney (8), 22. Rick Hood (12), 23. Perry Ferrell (28), 24. Jerry Russell (16), 25. Larry Dickson (23), 26. Jack Hewitt (10), 27. Steve Knepper (30), 28. Tray House (29), 29. Ron Shuman (22), 30. Jimmy Sills (7). 56:03.00

1993 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (1), 2. Jeff Swindell (2), 3. Ron Shuman (3), 4. Mike Bliss (21), 5. Chuck Gurney (8), 6. Tony Elliott (5), 7. Steve Butler (11), 8. Tray House (12), 9. Eric Gordon (14), 10. Larry Dickson (26), 11. Mark Alderson (30), 12. Greg Staab (19), 13. Randy Bateman (22), 14. Ron Dunstan (28), 15. Lee Dunn (29), 16. Jim Whiteside (18), 17. Tony Stewart (10), 18. Stevie Reeves (20), 19. Wally Pankratz (25), 20. Jim Keeker (24), 21. Donnie Beechler (16), 22. Jerry Nemire (23), 23. Jimmy Sills (13), 24. Tom Bigelow (27), 25. Johnny Parsons (17), 26. Chip Thomas (7), 27. Gary Hieber (6), 28. George Snider (4), 29. Randy Tolsma (9), 30. Perry Ferrell (15). NT

1994 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chuck Gurney (8), 2. Eric Gordon (4), 3. Tony Stewart (26), 4. Randy Tolsma (6), 5. Chip Thomas (3), 6. Jimmy Sills (22), 7. Gary Bettenhausen (25), 8. Kenny Irwin Jr. (11), 9. Stan Fox (24), 10. Gary Hieber (28), 11. Rocky Hodges (21), 12. Mike Bliss (17), 13. Andy Michner (10), 14. Dave Darland (15), 15. Tray House (14), 16. Rusty McClure (19), 17. Bill Rose (13), 18. Jerry Nemire (30), 19. Robby Flock (29), 20. Randy Bateman (27), 21. Kevin Doty (20), 22. Tony Elliott (1), 23. Kevin Thomas (7), 24. Lealand McSpadden (12), 25. Page Jones (2), 26. Jack Hewitt (18), 27. Johnny Parsons (5), 28. Doug Kalitta (16), 29. Donnie Beechler (9), 30. Jack Runyon (23). NT

1995 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Johnny Parsons (2), 2. Donnie Beechler (1), 3. Dave Darland (20), 4. Jack Hewitt (14), 5. Billy Boat (12), 6. Tony Stewart (19), 7. Jimmy Sills (10), 8. Rocky Hodges (18), 9. Robby Flock (15), 10. Tray House (11), 11. Gary Hieber (9), 12. Richard Griffin (23), 13. Dan Drinan (17), 14. Eric Gordon (4), 15. Jerry Nemire (28), 16. Bill Rose (25), 17. Tony Elliott (21), 18. Cary Faas (3), 19. Jim Keeker (16), 20. John Heydenreich (26), 21. Kevin Thomas (24), 22. Dave Steele (27), 23. Russ Gamester (7), 24. Chuck Gurney (6), 25. George Snider (#111) (30), 26. Kenny Irwin Jr. (13), 27. Jack Runyon (22), 28. Ronnie Burke (29), 29. Chuck Leary (5), 30. Kevin Doty (8). NT

1996 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chuck Gurney (4), 2. Ryan Newman (2), 3. Johnny Parsons (10), 4. Tony Elliott (5), 5. Tony Stewart (25), 6. Donnie Beechler (8), 7. Dave Darland (24), 8. Kevin Thomas (9), 9. Cary Faas (17), 10. Gary Hieber (26), 11. Billy Engelhart (15), 12. Steve Knepper (21), 13. Rip Williams (19), 14. Rick Hood (23), 15. Brian Hayden (29), 16. Brian Tyler (7), 17. Jimmy Sills (16), 18. Eric Gordon (30), 19. Robby Flock (22), 20. Rusty McClure (18), 21. Tracy Hines (14), 22. Dan Drinan (3), 23. Jack Hewitt (1), 24. Bill Rose (13), 25. Russ Gamester (20), 26. John Heydenreich (12), 27. Kenny Irwin Jr. (11), 28. George Snider (28), 29. Dave Steele (27), 30. Chip Thomas (6). NT

1997 FEATURE (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Russ Gamester (3), 2. Dave Darland (1), 3. Tony Stewart (22), 4. Ron Shuman (7), 5. Jimmy Sills (21), 6. Jim Keeker (15), 7. Kevin Thomas (25), 8. Jack Hewitt (23), 9. John Heydenreich (27), 10. Robby Flock (16), 11. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (14), 12. Ryan Newman (24), 13. Eric Gordon (26), 14. Bill Rose (10), 15. Gary Hieber (20), 16. J.J. Yeley (28), 17. Terry Pletch (30), 18. Donnie Beechler (12), 19. Randy Bateman (19), 20. Rod Holshouser (11), 21. Ronnie Burke (8), 22. Chuck Leary (9), 23. Brian Tyler (13), 24. Chuck Gurney (2), 25. Dave McGough (29), 26. Tracy Hines (5), 27. Rusty McClure (6), 28. Ricky Logan (18), 29. Johnny Parsons (4), 30. Kenneth Nichols (17). 1:05:30.00

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jimmy Sills (5), 2. Tracy Hines (15), 3. Donnie Beechler (8), 4. George Snider (1), 5. J.J. Yeley (3), 6. Tony Elliott (12), 7. Chuck Leary (14), 8. Brian Tyler (9), 9. Derek Davidson (23), 10. Ron Smoker (18), 11. Jerry Coons Jr. (24), 12. Gary Hieber (20), 13. Dave Darland (13), 14. Jason Leffler (7), 15. Jack Hewitt (6), 16. Terry Babb (17), 17. Russ Gamester (10), 18. Rusty McClure (16), 19. Kenneth Nichols (22), 20. Eric Gordon (27), 21. Wally Pankratz (33), 22. John Heydenreich (30), 23. Robby Flock (4), 24. Ryan Newman (11), 25. Mike Mosley Jr. (31), 26. Rod Holshouser (21), 27. Al Thomas (32), 28. Jackie Burke (25), 29. Chuck Gurney (2), 30. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (19), 31. Bill Baue (26), 32. Kaylene Verville (29), 33. Ronnie Franklin (28). NT

1999 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Elliott (4), 2. Dave Darland (1), 3. Eric Gordon (2), 4. Jimmy Sills (7), 5. Brian Tyler (13), 6. Chuck Gurney (3), 7. Russ Gamester (11), 8. Jay Drake (6), 9. J.J. Yeley (17), 10. Bill Rose (16), 11. Rich Tobias Jr. (15), 12. Tom Capie (19), 13. Ryan Newman (9), 14. Jack Hewitt (5), 15. Randy Bateman (12), 16. Donnie Lehmann (14), 17. Craig Dori (26), 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (18), 19. Jimmy Stinson (24), 20. Todd Kane (22), 21. Tracy Hines (8), 22. Bill Baue (25), 23. Robin Bank (28), 24. Chuck Leary (10), 25. Terry Babb (27), 26. Gary Hieber (23), 27. Donnie Beechler (20), 28. Cary Faas (21), 29. Bill Schemonia (30), 30. Tad Roach (29). NT

2000 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kasey Kahne (1), 2. J.J. Yeley (6), 3. Dave Darland (3), 4. Russ Gamester (5), 5. Tracy Hines (7), 6. Ed Carpenter (9), 7. Robby Flock (11), 8. Brian Tyler (18), 9. Donnie Beechler (17), 10. Paul White (13), 11. Gary Hieber (23), 12. Brad Fox (19), 13. Jack Hewitt (10), 14. Tony Elliott (2), 15. Donnie Lehmann (26), 16. Jerry Coons Jr. (24), 17. Brad Noffsinger (14), 18. Johnny Parsons (22), 19. Craig Dori (30), 20. John Heydenreich (16), 21. Terry Pletch (25), 22. Ryan Newman (12), 23. Chuck Leary (21), 24. Bill Rose (8), 25. Jimmy Sills (20), 26. Jason Leffler (15), 27. Randy Bateman (27), 28. Dana LaLiberte (29), 29. Tom Capie (4), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (28) 58:10.02

2001 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Paul White (14), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 3. Russ Gamester (10), 4. Rich Tobias Jr. (23), 5. Dave Steele (9), 6. Aaron Fike (5), 7. Derek Davidson (25), 8. Brian Tyler (13), 9. Tony Elliott (12), 10. Eric Gordon (20), 11. Robby Flock (17), 12. Michael Lewis (16), 13. Dave Darland (4), 14. Jason McCord (19), 15. Brad Fox (11), 16. Bill Rose (27), 17. Hud Cone (29), 18. Brad Noffsinger (22), 19. Matt Westfall (30), 20. Ricky Shelton (6), 21. J.J. Yeley (2), 22. Tracy Hines (7), 23. Jack Hewitt (24), 24. John Heydenreich (21), 25. Jon Stanbrough (8), 26. Levi Jones (15), 27. Bud Kaeding (3), 28. Jackie Burke (26), 29. Dane Carter (28), 30. Ed Carpenter (18). NT

2002 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (5), 2. Russ Gamester (7), 3. Jay Drake (2), 4. Dave Darland (19), 5. Paul White (10), 6. Tracy Hines (16), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 8. John Heydenreich (15), 9. Dave Steele (18), 10. Derek Davidson (17), 11. Brad Noffsinger (26), 12. Carl Edwards (20), 13. Jason McCord (28), 14. John Starks (11), 15. Nick Lundgreen (12), 16. Dane Carter (30), 17. Matt Westfall (25), 18. George White (4), 19. Rich Tobias Jr. (8), 20. Travis Rilat (27), 21. Johnny Parsons (24), 22. Jonathan Vennard (3), 23. Jason Leffler (6), 24. Michael Lewis (13), 25. Ed Carpenter (1), 26. Brian Tyler (21), 27. Gary Hieber (22), 28. Tony Elliott (23), 29. Roger Rager (9), 30. Terry Babb (29). NT

2003 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Rich Tobias Jr. (25), 2. Donnie Beechler (16), 3. J.J. Yeley (2), 4. Kevin Huntley (21), 5. Tracy Hines (8), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 7. Dave Darland (4), 8. Ron Gregory (14), 9. Russ Gamester (18), 10. Johnny Parsons (15), 11. Jason McCord (22), 12. A.J. Fike (12), 13. Dane Carter (20), 14. Rod Holshouser (27), 15. Brad Noffsinger (10), 16. Teddy Beach (1), 17. Tyler Walker (11), 18. Aaron Fike (9), 19. Matt Westfall (19), 20. Nick Lundgreen (23), 21. Tony Elliott (13), 22. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (26), 23. Randy Bateman (29), 24. Jerry Nemire (30), 25. Dave Steele (5), 26. John Heydenreich (6), 27. Wes Miller (28), 28. Tom Capie (24), 29. Roger Rager (3), 30. Levi Jones (17). NT

2004 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Walker (1), 2. Brian Tyler (10), 3. Tracy Hines (3), 4. Kevin Huntley (6), 5. Paul White (8), 6. Dave Darland (9), 7. Jon Stanbrough (7), 8. Bud Kaeding (18), 9. Tony Elliott (11), 10. Shane Hollingsworth (12), 11. A.J. Fike (16), 12. Russ Gamester (22), 13. Tom Capie (5), 14. Aaron Pierce (17), 15. John Heydenreich (15), 16. Rich Tobias Jr. (23), 17. Dave Steele (21), 18. Jason McCord (14), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 20. Chris Urish (27), 21. Jim Moughan (28), 22. Hud Cone (25), 23. Donnie Beechler (24), 24. Alex Shanks (29), 25. Sport Allen (26), 26. Davey Ray (13), 27. Nelson Stewart (30), 28. Boston Reid (19), 29. Johnny Parsons (20), 30. Matt Westfall (4). 1:02:14.00

2005 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (5), 2. Brian Tyler (20), 3. Tyler Walker (1), 4. Jon Stanbrough (3), 5. Dave Darland (19), 6. John Heydenreich (21), 7. A.J. Fike (16), 8. Nick Lundgreen (23), 9. Dave Steele (6), 10. Levi Jones (10), 11. Kevin Huntley (7), 12. Tom Capie (15), 13. Rich Tobias Jr. (13), 14. Paul White (22), 15. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (14), 16. Randy Bateman (25), 17. Josh Wise (#59) (33), 18. Teddy Beach (11), 19. Davey Ray (32), 20. Johnny Parsons (17), 21. Chappy Knaack (30), 22. Jason McCord (9), 23. Cole Carter (4), 24. Alex Shanks (24), 25. Bill Rose (8), 26. Kyle Steffens (26), 27. Hud Cone (28), 28. Justin Allgaier (18), 29. Shane Hollingsworth (12), 30. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 31. Danny Long (31), 32. Mat Neely (27), 33. Tony Elliott (29). NT

2006 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (1), 2. Shane Cottle (3), 3. Josh Wise (4), 4. Bud Kaeding (21), 5. Mat Neely (5), 6. Paul White (8), 7. Brian Tyler (20), 8. Jay Drake (2), 9. Russ Gamester (16), 10. Chappy Knaack (28), 11. Dave Steele (10), 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (7), 13. Aaron Pierce (9), 14. Levi Jones (15), 15. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (#00x) (32), 16. A.J. Fike (26), 17. Dereck King (29), 18. Alex Shanks (30), 19. Roger Rager (12), 20. Jeff Swindell (25), 21. Shane Hollingsworth (23), 22. Justin Allgaier (17), 23. Donnie Beechler (13), 24. Dickie Gaines (27), 25. Tom Capie (19), 26. Dave Darland (11), 27. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 28. Johnny Parsons (22), 29. Ray Bull (14), 30. Randy Bateman (18), 31. Teddy Beach (24), 32. Tim Siner (31). 1:09:50.78

2007 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cottle (1), 2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (4), 3. Bud Kaeding (2), 4. Dave Darland (7), 5. Jon Stanbrough (8), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 7. Mat Neely (25), 8. Ron Gregory (3), 9. Shane Hollingsworth (15), 10. Levi Jones (12), 11. Kevin Huntley (11), 12. Mike Murgoitio (17), 13. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (22), 14. Justin Allgaier (19), 15. Billy Wease (10), 16. Johnny Parsons (24), 17. Tim Barber (28), 18. Dereck King (29), 19. Donnie Beechler (13), 20. Hud Cone (26), 21. Tim Siner (30), 22. Aaron Pierce (6), 23. Cameron Dodson (31), 24. Chappy Knaack (20), 25. Paul White (16), 26. Tom Capie (9), 27. Ray Bull (27), 28. Russ Gamester (21), 29. Brian Tyler (18), 30. John Heydenreich (23), 31. Roger Rager (32), 32. Randy Bateman (5). NT

2008 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (6), 2. Dave Darland (4), 3. Shane Cottle (1), 4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (3), 5. Mat Neely (14), 6. Tom Capie (10), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (23), 8. A.J. Fike (12), 9. Derek Hagar (22), 10. Kevin Huntley (16), 11. Bud Kaeding (13), 12. Tracy Hines (15), 13. Levi Jones (7), 14. Randy Bateman (2), 15. Donnie Beechler (5), 16. Joey Moughan (20), 17. Russ Gamester (9), 18. Chris Urish (8), 19. Chappy Knaack (18), 20. J.J. Yeley (24), 21. Shane Hollingsworth (11), 22. Dustin Morgan (17), 23. Patrick Bruns (21), 24. Johnny Parsons (19). NT

2009: RAINED OUT

2010 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (16), 2. Jon Stanbrough (2), 3. Todd Kane (26), 4. Shane Hmiel (11), 5. Dave Darland (9), 6. Brian Tyler (13), 7. Jeff Swindell (6), 8. Bobby East (4), 9. John Heydenreich (23), 10. Levi Jones (3), 11. A.J. Fike (8), 12. Bud Kaeding (10), 13. Bryan Clauson (7), 14. Shane Cottle (12), 15. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 16. Brad Kuhn (18), 17. Tom Capie (22), 18. Russ Gamester (19), 19. Justin Carver (28), 20. Tracy Hines (14), 21. Chris Urish (27), 22. Bill Rose (24), 23. Terry Babb (25), 24. Randy Bateman (20), 25. Shane Hollingsworth (17), 26. Tanner Swanson (15), 27. Mike Hess (5), 28. Coleman Gulick (21). NT

2011 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (4), 2. Levi Jones (2), 3. Tracy Hines (6), 4. Brian Tyler (11), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 6. Darren Hagen (12), 7. Derek Hagar (15), 8. Bud Kaeding (9), 9. Bryan Clauson (1), 10. Tanner Swanson (8), 11. Jon Stanbrough (10), 12. Dave Darland (18), 13. John Heydenreich (16), 14. Mike Hess (20), 15. Chris Urish (21), 16. Chris Windom (14), 17. Shane Cockrum (22), 18. Donnie Beechler (19), 19. Shane Hollingsworth (7), 20. Kellen Conover (23), 21. Bobby East (13), 22. Kody Swanson (5), 23. Jerry Bruce (24), 24. Russ Gamester (17), 25. Zach Daum (25). NT

2012: RAINED OUT

2013 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Urish (9), 2. Bobby East (3), 3. A.J. Fike (11), 4. Shane Cockrum (6), 5. Taylor Ferns (7), 6. Chris Windom (5), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 8. Christopher Bell (4), 9. Russ Gamester (8), 10. Miranda Throckmorton (10), 11. Tiffany Wyzard (13), 12. Kody Swanson (14), 13. Patrick Lawson (12), 14. Tracy Hines (15), 15. Robert Ballou (2). NT

2014 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cockrum (5), 2. Levi Jones (13), 3. Brady Bacon (12), 4. Tracy Hines (10), 5. A.J. Fike (8), 6. Russ Gamester (11), 7. Chris Urish (14), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 9. Bobby East (1), 10. Steven Russell (16), 11. Randy Bateman (15), 12. Patrick Lawson (17), 13. Kody Swanson (2), 14. Chris Windom (22), 15. Zach Daum (6), 16. Dave Darland (4), 17. Chris Fetter (19), 18. Jake Simmons (18), 19. Caleb Armstrong (7), 20. C.J. Leary (9), 21. Robbie Ray (21), 22. Jackie Burke (20), 23. Terry James (23). NT

2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cockrum (5), 2. Chris Windom (7), 3. Kody Swanson (1), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Casey Shuman (8), 6. Shane Cottle (11), 7. A.J. Fike (6), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 9. David Byrne (17), 10. Rick Hood (16), 11. Chris Urish (30), 12. Austin Nemire (19), 13. Steven Russell (20), 14. Chris Fetter (14), 15. Rich Tobias Jr. (18), 16. Patrick Lawson (21), 17. Terry James (22), 18. J.C. Bland (24), 19. Levi Jones (9), 20. Aaron Pierce (2), 21. Brian Tyler (13), 22. Joey Moughan (23), 23. Dave Darland (10), 24. Steve Buckwalter (15), 25. Danny Long (25), 26. Kenny Gentry (28), 27. Charles Davis Jr. (26), 28. Jacob Wilson (4), 29. Jackie Burke (27), 30. Terry Babb (29). 1:07:37.02

2016 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (9), 2. Jeff Swindell (4), 3. Kody Swanson (1), 4. Casey Shuman (21), 5. Shane Cockrum (5), 6. Brady Bacon (15), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (16), 8. Brian Tyler (11), 9. Joe Liguori (13), 10. David Byrne (8), 11. Zach Daum (24), 12. Chris Urish (28), 13. Bill Rose (33), 14. J.C. Bland (20), 15. Patrick Lawson (25), 16. A.J. Fike (7), 17. Matt Goodnight (26), 18. Terry James (29), 19. Justin Grant (2), 20. Steve Buckwalter (23), 21. Davey Ray (10), 22. Austin Nemire (18), 23. Danny Long (30), 24. Aaron Pierce (14), 25. Shane Cottle (6), 26. Jacob Wilson (17), 27. C.J. Leary (3), 28. Terry Babb (19), 29. Joey Moughan (12), 30. Kenny Gentry (31), 31. Jackie Burke (27), 32. Chris Fetter (22), 33. Tad Roach (32). 1:16:02.864

2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (8), 2. Shane Cockrum (7), 3. Jeff Swindell (6), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 6. Justin Grant (10), 7. Shane Cottle (15), 8. Brian Tyler (13), 9. Mark Smith (11), 10. Casey Shuman (24), 11. Hunter Schuerenberg (9), 12. Dave Darland (12), 13. Dakota Jackson (18), 14. David Shain (17), 15. Joey Moughan (5), 16. Aaron Pierce (3), 17. Chris Urish (26), 18. Joss Moffatt (20), 19. Ken Schrader (21), 20. J.C. Bland (23), 21. Matt Goodnight (28), 22. Austin Nemire (14), 23. Danny Long (31), 24. Chris Windom (4), 25. Patrick Bruns (19), 26. Robert Ballou (32), 27. Terry Babb (29), 28. David Byrne (16), 29. Keith Burch (30), 30. Johnny Petrozelle (27), 31. Steve Buckwalter (22), 32. Patrick Lawson (25). 1:10.00.890

2018 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (8), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 3. Shane Cockrum (14), 4. Justin Grant (9), 5. Kody Swanson (12), 6. David Byrne (6), 7. C.J. Leary (3), 8. Austin Nemire (17), 9. Joey Moughan (15), 10. Kyle Robbins (7), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (25), 12. Bill Rose (22), 13. Chris Dyson (26), 14. Tyler Courtney (11), 15. Shane Cottle (16), 16. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 17. Jacob Wilson (1), 18. Joe Liguori (13), 19. Keith Burch (28), 20. Patrick Lawson (21), 21. Brady Bacon (4), 22. Matt Goodnight (20), 23. Chris Urish (10), 24. Austin Mundie (19), 25. Terry Babb (29), 26. Brian Tyler (24), 27. Korey Weyant (30), 28. J.C. Bland (27), 29. Russ Gamester (23), 30. Jeff Swindell (18). NT

2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jacob Wilson (6), 2. Justin Grant (8), 3. Tyler Courtney (1), 4. Jeff Swindell (13), 5. Brady Bacon (2), 6. Chris Windom (9), 7. David Byrne (10), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 9. Chad Kemenah (4), 10. Matt Goodnight (12), 11. Casey Buckman (15), 12. Jimmy Light (11), 13. Kyle Steffens (22), 14. Kody Swanson (#2) (29), 15. Austin Mundie (17), 16. Chris Urish (7), 17. John Heydenreich (25), 18. A.J. Fike (21), 19. Travis Welpott (18), 20. Kyle Robbins (23), 21. Brian Tyler (19), 22. Bill Rose (28), 23. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 24. Dallas Hewitt (20), 25. Eric Gordon (16), 26. Ronnie Wuerdeman (31), 27. Mike Haggenbottom (14), 28. Terry Babb (24), 29. Dave Berkheimer (26), 30. C.J. Leary (30), 31. Austin Nemire (27). NT

2020: NOT HELD

2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (11), 2. Logan Seavey (4), 3. Jake Swanson (9), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (19), 5. Shane Cockrum (2), 6. Shane Cottle (7), 7. David Byrne (10), 8. Kyle Robbins (5), 9. Matt Goodnight (15), 10. Terry Babb (13), 11. Carmen Perigo (22), 12. Patrick Lawson (21), 13. Kyle Steffens (18), 14. Casey Buckman (16), 15. Kyle Cummins (20), 16. Nick Bilbee (25), 17. Kody Swanson (1), 18. Aaron Pierce (12), 19. Dave Berkheimer (27), 20. Matt Westfall (6), 21. Ken Schrader (14), 22. Dallas Hewitt (3), 23. Jason McDougal (17), 24. Travis Welpott (23), 25. Korey Weyant (24), 26. Austin Nemire (8), 27. Danny Long (26), 28. Chris Fetter (28), 29. Justin Grant (29). NT

2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Shane Cockrum (1), 3. Kody Swanson (10), 4. Patrick Bruns (8), 5. Casey Buckman (23), 6. Travis Welpott (21), 7. C.J. Leary (2), 8. Brian Tyler (15), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 10. Matt Westfall (12), 11. A.J. Fike (7), 12. Chase Stockon (16), 13. Tye Mihocko (17), 14. Jason McDougal (13), 15. Gregg Cory (26), 16. Chris Urish (14), 17. Dave Berkheimer (27), 18. Shane Cottle (3), 19. Patrick Lawson (18), 20. Kyle Robbins (11), 21. Justin Grant (5), 22. Brian Ruhlman (22), 23. Danny Long (28), 24. Davey Ray (6), 25. Cary Oliver (29), 26. Kyle Steffens (19), 27. Dallas Hewitt (20), 28. Korey Weyant (24), 29. Chris Fetter (25), 30. Jake Swanson (30). NT

2023 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Kody Swanson (8), 4. Shane Cockrum (11), 5. Logan Seavey (5), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (4), 7. Emerson Axsom (12), 8. Wayne Johnson (26), 9. Taylor Ferns (18), 10. Kyle Steffens (10), 11. Chris Urish (15), 12. Korey Weyant (16), 13. Chris Fetter (13), 14. Chase Stockon (6), 15. Dave Berkheimer (23), 16. Trey Burke (14), 17. Davey Ray (3), 18. Mario Clouser (9), 19. Casey Buckman (17), 20. Russ Gamester (22), 21. Ryan Thomas (27), 22. Danny Long (24), 23. Kaylee Bryson (19), 24. Patrick Lawson (21), 25. Shane Cottle (7), 26. A.J. Fike (20), 27. Tom Paterson (29), 28. John Tosti (25), 29. Tim Simmons (28). 1:01:36.96

VERMEER & FERREIRA CLASSIC ON TAP FOR USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS AT KERN
By Lance Jennings

AUGUST 27, 2024... The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will resume their chase for the championship this Saturday, August 31st, at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. Also featuring Mini Stocks, the “Bob Vermeer and Narcie Ferreira Classic” is the second of three appearances for the non-winged USAC/CRA sprints at the fast 1/3-mile oval. Located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 5:30pm, followed by Time Trials, with Racing scheduled at 7:00pm. For more event information and advance tickets, visit the track’s website at kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.
- TIRES & FUEL: Tires and fuel will be available at the track on race day. It is recommended that teams pre-order tires through Hoosier Tire West at 559-485-4612.

On August 17th at Perris Auto Speedway, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams won a hard fought “Brother Brett Classic” to become the ninth winner of the season over A.J. Bender, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and R.J. Johnson.

This Saturday’s event at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway honors Bob Vermeer and Narcie Ferreira. Vermeer was a car owner with the original California Racing Association and fielded entries most notably for Tony “The Tiger” Simon and “The Ripper” Rip Williams. Ferreira was a longtime supporter, sponsor, and car owner when he partnered with Johnny Vermeer in the early days of USAC/CRA.

Since March 12, 2021, The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway has held four USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and four different drivers have claimed victory. R.J. Johnson won the “Golden Empire Clash” on June 8th and 10-time series champion, “The Demon” Damion Gardner set the 1-lap track record of 14.106 at the Kern debut. The complete USAC/CRA win list at Kern is at the end of this release.

Heading to the thirteenth point race, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) holds a slim 8-point lead over the competition. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm charged from eighth to third at Perris on August 17th. To date, Tommy “Thunder” has three feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 80 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is tied with “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, “Bullet” Blake Miller, and Jake Swanson with six triumphs and will be looking to continue his title run by adding the “Bob Vermeer and Narcie Ferreira Classic” to his resume.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) is ranked second in the championship point standings. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson won the special “Brother Brett Trophy Dash” at Perris on August 17th before scoring fifth in the main event. At press time, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one semi-main win, eleven top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led on the season. R.J. is currently tied with “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland, “Super” Rickie Gaunt, Justin Grant, and “Showtime” Danny Sheridan with eight feature wins and will have his sights on another win at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

After running second in the Perris “Brother Brett Classic,” A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) has climbed to third in the USAC/CRA point chase. Driving the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender has one feature win, four heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and 44 feature laps led in the campaign. The former 360 Sprint Car Turkey Night Grand Prix Winner will be looking for the second USAC/CRA win of his career this Saturday night.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits fourth in the championship chase. Piloting John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams finished sixth in the August 17th race at Perris Auto Speedway. To date, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will have his sights on earning the first USAC/CRA victory of his career at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) is fifth in the chase for the championship. Racing Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams raced from eleventh to seventh in the “Brother Brett Classic.” At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will be looking for his first victory of the year on Saturday.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Braden Chiaramonte, Blake Bower, Jon DeWees, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Camie Bell, Tyler Hatzikian, Heath Holdsclaw, Blake Hendricks, Tom Dunkel, and Aaron Altaffer are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Grant Sexton, Chris Gansen, “Flash” Jordan Hermansader, Tanner Boul, Chris Ennis, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), In Memory of Wiley Miller Sr. and Wiley Miller Jr., Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Tommy Malcolm-789, 2. R.J. Johnson-781, 3. A.J. Bender-721, 4. Logan Williams-713, 5. Austin Williams-704, 6. Cody Williams-700, 7. David Gasper (R)-639, 8. Verne Sweeney-511, 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-500, 10. Austin Grabowski-467, 11. Charles Davis Jr.-424, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-384, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-338, 14. Brody Roa-307, 15. Grant Sexton-286, 16. Matt Mitchell-281, 17. Matt McCarthy-254, 18. Ricky Lewis-233, 19. Jeff Dyer-230, 20. Logan Calderwood-203. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Braden Chiaramonte, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr., 1-Cody Williams

KERN AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Damion Gardner – 14.016 (03/12/21)

KERN AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-Max Adams, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Cody Williams)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

FIRST TO 4!

GRANT COLLECTS $35,000,

BECOMES FIRST 4-TIME SMACKDOWN CHAMP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 24, 2024)………Simply put, over the course of the 13-year history of Elliott’s Custom Trailer & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway, no one has done it better than Justin Grant.

On Saturday night, the Ione, California native ascended to even greater heights after leading the final 10 circuits of the 40-lapper to become the first four-time Smackdown champion, duplicating the feat he had previously achieved in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

In the process, Grant earned his record-extending 11th career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory at the Kokomo 1/4-mile dirt oval to earn a $35,000 payday - $30,000 for winning the race and an extra $500 for each of the 10 laps he led down the stretch.

Grant also moved up another notch in the record books. His 53rd overall USAC National Sprint Car victory moved him past Tom Bigelow and into sole possession of third-place all-time on the series’ win list in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

Speaking of which, TOPP Motorsports also surpassed Steve Stapp for the third most career wins as an entrant in USAC National Sprint Car history. The team now stands at 51 series victories, trailing only Dynamics, Inc./Hoffman Auto Racing with 139 and Tony Stewart Racing with 71.

Overall, nine of Grant’s 11 career USAC National Sprint Car victories at Kokomo have come during Smackdown – seven prelim triumphs and four final nighters. Yet perhaps none of them have come in as unorthodox fashion as it did in his latest winning performance.

“I just absolutely love this place,” Grant exclaimed. “I’ve never spent that much time on the bottom of this place, but it’s all right. It’s nice to know we can do that too!”

It has admittedly been a trying year for Grant, who’s been stuck in the lower half of the series point standings for much of the year due to seven finishes of 20th or worse, and currently stands eighth, 430 points out of the lead, practically putting him out of contention for a third consecutive USAC National Sprint Car driving title.

However, Grant has still managed to win eight series races, second most in the series. But once Smackdown came around, Grant was once again in top form, winning his Thursday prelim, finishing third in the Friday prelim and capping off the weekend with another championship belt after starting fifth on the grid and after a bit of work by the him and the crew to make sure all facets were buttoned up to go after a repeat Smackdown score and a win in the opening race of the 2024 NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta.

“We swapped motors from this car to our spare car, went through it, then changed a bunch and did everything,” Grant explained. “We just weren’t happy with where we were at and went to work today to try and be a little better, and it sure paid off. I’ve had some rough spells this year, but I wake up every day and I get to be a racecar driver for a living and that’s incredible to me. I love it.”

Initially, 2016 Smackdown champion Kevin Thomas Jr. had the dominant hand as he broke out to a two second lead by lap 10 after starting from the outside of the front row. However, while slicing his way through lapped traffic on lap 18, his car suddenly went up in smoke on the back straightaway, forcing him into the infield with what Thomas diagnosed as a puncture in the radiator.

“I had a great racecar, and I felt like I could’ve won that race,” a dejected Thomas stated. “Obviously, you don’t want to speak for what hasn’t happened but it’s tough to have $50 grand slip through your fingers like that or at least not have an opportunity to race it out to your abilities, but that is racing. This (stuff) ain’t fair.”

Despite finishing 23rd, Thomas still walked away from the night with $10,000 in earnings for leading the initial 17 laps on top of his $1,500 start money. However, it was of little consolation as Mitchel Moles became the new race leader just prior to the halfway point on lap 18. Earlier in the evening, Moles made a Cinderella run as the lowest seed (#8) in the King of the Hill duels, beating his competition in dramatic fashion to score the title.

However, at this juncture in the race, Grant was already finding his groove as he slotted into the second spot and began his pursuit of Moles with just a little more than half the race remaining.

“If I tried to pedal at all, I’d lose all my grip,” Grant pointed out. “I kind of found that while bombing and trying to pass guys into three. I could run in twice as hard as I thought I could and then make twice as much grip when I got there. The first time I did that – I think it was when I was getting by (Daison Pursley) – I was like, ‘oh, we’re really, really good.’ We started marching back forward, and we got a break there with (Thomas) blowing up. But I think our car was really good. It would’ve been a great race between us; he’s awfully good at scrumming the middle like that, but I’ve been getting better and better at it.”

Moles continued to pace the field through the backend of the field, but by lap 25, Grant was right on the heels of the Moles. On lap 31, Grant found daylight in turn one with a wide open lane on the bottom to surge past Moles and assume his new, but familiar spot as the Smackdown Saturday night race leader.

In a race that had gone clean and green throughout the first 33 laps, the action was halted for the first and only time on the 34th lap when 14th running Ricky Lewis snagged the turn two cushion, ramped up the wall and flipped upside down. It was a fairly close call for Grant as he was running side-by-side with Lewis at the moment of the incident, which Lewis walked away from without harm.

Grant had held a 0.876 second lead before the red, but during the ensuing laps after the restart with seven to go and a clear track ahead, Grant was unflappable. Turning his fastest lap of the race with three to go, Grant ultimately extended his advantage to 1.747 seconds at the finish line over Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou and Logan Seavey with C.J. Leary rounding out the top-five.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) electrified the crowd with an astonishing run through King of the Hill earlier in the evening. After leading 13 laps and finishing as the runner-up in the feature, it was a career best Smackdown night for Moles en route to a 19,000 payday aboard his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

Third-place finisher Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) completed the weekend with his best Smackdown championship night result since 2017. His result also marked his third-straight top-five finish on the final night of Smackdown at the wheel of his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Deaton’s Waterfront Services/DRC/Ott Chevy.

Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.) earned a $1,000 reward courtesy of Crume-Evans Insurance as the 2024 Smackdown Rookie of the Year. Drake finished 10th in the feature, his best career USAC National Sprint Car result to date.

Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) passed a total of 25 cars throughout the three nights of Smackdown. No driver passed more than Rogers who collected a $500 bonus as Smackdown's ProSource Passing Master.

Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) is just getting started. This weekend, he made his USAC National Sprint Car debut, and on Saturday night, he was on the cusp of gaining the final transfer spot in the semi-feature before coming up one position short. For that, he collected a $300 bonus from The Frolic Bar & Grill as the first non-transferring driver.

Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) pocketed an extra $200 courtesy of J & J Trucking as the night's hard charger, and also earned himself a new right rear Hoosier Tire for taking the final transfer spot in the semi-feature. Hunter Maddox (Bedford, Ind.) also received a new right rear Hoosier Tire as the winner of the C-Main.

It was a superb Smackdown kind of night for Brayden Clark (Tipton, Ind.) who advanced from fifth to first to win the semi-feature and make his way into his first Smackdown feature field. For his performance, he also earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night. Plus, he picked up another $100 bonus as the recipient of the ProSource Hard Work award.

For the second consecutive night, Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) ranked as the top finishing local driver in the field. Currently fourth in Kokomo Speedway’s point standings, Adams raced to an 11th place finish in the feature after starting back in 18th.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 24, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Annual Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Briggs Danner (#39 Hogue), 2. Stevie Sussex (#77s Sturgeon), 3. Brandon Mattox (#28 Mattox), 4. Todd Hobson (#77 Wingo), 5. Brayden Clark (#4c Clark), 6. Frankie Guerrini (#G3 F & F), 7. Cody Williams (IN) (#26 Williams), 8. Michael Daugherty (#3.14 Daugherty), 9. Saban Bibent (#98 Wedgewood). 2:14.954

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle (#2E Epperson), 2. Ricky Lewis (#41 Stensland), 3. Max Adams (#63 F & F), 4. Hayden Reinbold (#19 Reinbold-Underwood), 5. Matt Westfall (#33m Marshall), 6. Rylan Gray (#06 Gray), 7. Austin Hawkins (#5A Hawkins), 8. David Gasper (#04 Burton). NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Kale Drake (#2B 2B Racing), 2. Jake Swanson (#47 Eades), 3. Trey Osborne (#11T Osborne), 4. Kyle Shipley (#4u AJR), 5. Kobe Simpson (#21K Simpson), 6. Weston Gorham (#71w Gorham), 7. Matt Goodnight (#39G Goodnight), 8. Jack James (#99 James). 2:16.785

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins (#3p Petty), 2. Carson Garrett (#15 BGE Dougherty), 3. Jack Hoyer (#57H Hazen), 4. Jadon Rogers (#66 Amati), 5. Chase Stockon (#5s KO), 6. Cody Williams (CA) (#92 Sertich), 7. Hunter Maddox (#24m Maddox), 8. Max Frank (#25 Middle Class). NT

FIRST BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #8 Mitchel Moles (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood) defeats #1 Justin Grant (#4 TOPP). 41.080

SECOND BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #5 C.J. Leary (#15x BGE Dougherty) defeats #4 Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics). 41.005

THIRD BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #6 Robert Ballou (#12 Ballou) defeats Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus). 41.767

FOURTH BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #2 Kevin Thomas Jr. (#3R Rock Steady) defeats #7 Daison Pursley (#21AZ Team AZ). 41.212

FIRST BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL SEMIFINAL: (3 laps) #8 Mitchel Moles defeats #5 C.J. Leary. 40.920

SECOND BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL SEMIFINAL: (3 laps) #2 Kevin Thomas Jr. defeats #6 Robert Ballou. 40.553

BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL FINAL: (3 laps) #8 Mitchel Moles defeats #2 Kevin Thomas Jr. 40.612

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Hunter Maddox, 2. David Gasper, 3. Cody Williams (IN), 4. Max Frank, 5. Saban Bibent, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Jack James, 8. Michael Daugherty, 9. Austin Hawkins. 2:26.478

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brayden Clark, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Todd Hobson, 7. Kyle Shipley, 8. David Gasper, 9. Cody Williams (CA), 10. Hunter Maddox, 11. Weston Gorham, 12. Max Frank, 13. Cody Williams (IN), 14. Kobe Simpson, 15. Frankie Guerrini, 16. Rylan Gray. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (5), 2. Mitchel Moles (1), 3. Robert Ballou (4), 4. C.J. Leary (3), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Brady Bacon (7), 7. Kyle Cummins (12), 8. Daison Pursley (8), 9. Shane Cottle (10), 10. Kale Drake (11), 11. Max Adams (18), 12. Jake Swanson (15), 13. Briggs Danner (9), 14. Stevie Sussex (13), 15. Matt Westfall (24), 16. Carson Garrett (16), 17. Brandon Mattox (17), 18. Chase Stockon (22), 19. Trey Osborne (19), 20. Ricky Lewis (14), 21. Brayden Clark (21), 22. Jack Hoyer (20), 23. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 24. Jadon Rogers (23). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 18-30 Mitchel Moles, Laps 31-40 Justin Grant.

**Ricky Lewis flipped on lap 34 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2415, 2-Brady Bacon-2333, 3-Daison Pursley-2190, 4-C.J. Leary-2170, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2097, 6-Mitchel Moles-2092, 7-Robert Ballou-2043, 8-Justin Grant-1985, 9-Kyle Cummins-1952, 10-Carson Garrett-1548.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-168, 2-Logan Seavey-147, 3-Robert Ballou-135, 4-C.J. Leary-113, 5-Kyle Cummins-113, 6-Justin Grant-111, 7-Chase Stockon-105, 8-Brady Bacon-100, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-96, 10-Joey Amantea-92.

FINAL SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XIII PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Jadon Rogers-25, 2-Jake Swanson-19, 3-Justin Grant-18, 4-Briggs Danner-18, 5-Nate Schank-18, 6-Brady Bacon-15, 7-Ricky Lewis-15, 8-Robert Ballou-14, 9-Shane Cottle-14, 10-Max Adams-14.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 5, 2024 – RPM Speedway – Crandall, Texas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Crume-Evans Insurance Smackdown Rookie of the Year: Kale Drake (10th)

Smackdown ProSource Passing Master Champion: Jadon Rogers (25)

Bill & Sandy Wever & The Grandkids King of the Hill Champion: Mitchel Moles

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (13.008)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Briggs Danner

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Shane Cottle

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kale Drake

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Hunter Maddox

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Brayden Clark

Hoosier Tire Last Semi-Transfer: Matt Westfall

The Frolic Bar & Grill First Non-Transfer: Hayden Reinbold

ProSource Hard Work: Brayden Clark

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Matt Westfall (24th to 15th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Brayden Clark

Jeff’s Jam-It-In Storage Top Local Driver: Max Adams (11th)

FRIDAY PAYDAY:

KTJ RETURNS TO USAC SMACKDOWN

VICTORY LANE AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 23, 2024)………In recent years, the second night of Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown has been a honey hole of sorts for Kevin Thomas Jr.

In 2021 and 2022, the Cullman, Alabama racer captured back-to-back second night victories during the event at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway. After a one-year aberration in 2023, Thomas was back in winner’s circle following Friday night’s second round Smackdown performance in his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

Thomas started his race from the outside of the front row and was never headed for the entirety of the 30-lap distance, scoring a dominant victory, which was the sixth of his USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship career at the 1/4-mile, five of which have occurred during Smackdown.

Overall, it was yet another major milestone in the career of KTJ. His 43rd career USAC National Sprint Car triumph moved him past 1974 and 1976 series champion Duane “Pancho” Carter for eighth place on the all-time series win list.

In his first season with Rock Steady Racing, Thomas has netted the team four feature victories, and in the process, provided car owner Hank Byram his 29th career USAC National Sprint Car win as an entrant, tied for 18th all-time alongside Paul Leffler.

It’s been quite a turnaround for Thomas in the past month at Kokomo. During July’s USAC Indiana Sprint Week round, while battling for second, he soon found himself upside down after contact with the turn four wall and fence. In the aftermath, Thomas returned to the track behind the wheel of “Frankencar,” a machine featuring a patchwork of mismatched pieces and panels assembled together.

“We were looking like a mixed bag of tricks there at the end of Indiana Sprint Week,” Thomas recalled. “We had different body panels from different cars, but it was still fast. We put a nice new body on that car, and it’s done us very well.”

There were no such worries tonight as Thomas did most of his work on the bottom half of the racing surface from the get-go, and nobody was able to get under his skin or underneath him throughout the entire duration.

“I do prevail a little bit better when it’s a little more patient and technical on the bottom,” Thomas explained. “Tonight, it wasn’t necessarily technical, but we’ve got a good racecar whenever it comes to being able to rotate, get squared up and get down the straightaway at a good rate of speed.”

As KTJ held the initial serve on the opening lap, Thursday’s opening night Smackdown winner Justin Grant was surging under pole sitter Anton Hernandez for second place in turn three on the second lap.

Behind those two, the jockeying for position was frenzied, but resulted in a bit of heartburn for fourth running Robert Ballou who was contacted in the rear bumper by the fifth place car driven by Mitchel Moles in between turns three and four, which sent Ballou spinning to a stop. The eighth running car of Daison Pursley was unable to avoid the melee and careened into the side of Ballou’s car. After time spent in the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area, both Ballou and Pursley restarted at the tail and proceeded to finish eighth and 13th, respectively.

Moles, who set fast time during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying to kick off the night, rolled past Hernandez for the third spot with a turn one low side dive on lap five. Series point leader Logan Seavey followed suit to fourth a half lap later in turns three and four as Hernandez fell back to fifth.

Hernandez’s night became even more weary on lap 11 when he and Briggs Danner tangled amid a battle for fifth, sending both spinning in turn four. Kyle Cummins (7th) found no place to turn and slammed into the side of Danner, sending both Cummins and Danner flipping upside down. Cummins returned to finish 11th while Danner was done for the evening. Hernandez restarted at the tail and finished 15th.

On the lap 11 restart, Moles pounced his way to the second position as he snuck under Grant for the spot entering turn three. However, even just one lap following the restart, Moles still had a full second of ground to make up and chase down KTJ to contend for the race lead.

Thomas maintained a decisive one second interval through the middle stages before wedging himself between the 20th and 21st place cars of Hayden Reinbold and Jack Hoyer in turn one on lap 20 to escape with his breathing room intact. That is until 10th running Harley Burns flipped wildly, 3.5 times to be precise, entering turn three on the 20th lap. Burns walked away from the incident after what had been his best Smackdown run to date.

From there onward, Thomas remained untouched up front as he perused the bottom in precision-like fashion to prevail by 0.991 seconds over Mitchel Moles, Justin Grant and Brady Bacon with C.J. Leary rounding out the top-five.

“Hats off to my guys,” Thomas complimented. “I am one difficult dude to deal with whenever I’m slow. They stick by me every moment of the day. It’s a testament to what they do with their race team and making the changes to make me happy, which isn’t easy, but I do know what I want in a racecar. We’re getting there, and I’m super glad that we got a win tonight, which I assume locks us into Saturday. We can go watch a concert and I don’t have to drive home pissed off. It’s been a good weekend for us and I’m proud of everybody.”

Thomas did, in fact, lock himself into Saturday night’s $30,000-to-win feature event at Kokomo as well as the King of the Hill duels. Justin Grant is the top-point earner of the weekend and is locked in along with Thomas, Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon, C.J. Leary, Robert Ballou, Daison Pursley and Mitchel Moles.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) flipped upside down on lap one of Thursday’s opening night Smackdown feature. On Friday, he bounced back to finish as the runner-up for his best career USAC result at Kokomo in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

“I felt like we were going to be really good last night if I had just made it through those first couple of laps,” Moles lamented. “But I want to say ‘I’m sorry’ to Robert (Ballou). I got kind of bombarded there and he was sideways in front of me trying to stick the bottom, and I got bombarded by the guys in front of me. I thought I had a little room and tagged him and spun him out. That’s not how I like to race, and I apologize to them and their whole team. They all work really hard to get out here like all of us. My guys gave me a great racecar, and it was great all night. We just made a little mistake there early in the race last night and it hurt us.”

One night after notching the win, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) came back with another strong run, finishing third in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy. Although his streak of four consecutive Smackdown victories dating back to the 2023 was ended, he still placed himself as the number one overall seed entering Saturday’s weekend finale.

“Tonight, everybody was fired off on the bottom and the top was really, really dirty,” Grant explained. “It was fast around the bottom there and I just let the middle of the race get away from me. I made the right decisions with the shocks under the last red (flag) and felt like we had as good of a car as anybody the last 10 laps. In the middle of the race, I wasn’t as on it as I needed to be. Our car is really good, but I was concerned about the middle portion of the race. You’d like to win but I felt pretty good about my car at the end.”

Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) notched several awards for his Friday night performance. He earned $200 as the J & J Trucking Hard Charger as he made his way from 24th to 9th. Earlier in the night, he picked up an extra $100 as the ProSource Hard Work award recipient. Just to make his way into the feature lineup, he advanced from 12th to 4th in the Semi, earning the final transfer spot on the last lap to earn himself a new Hoosier right rear tire.

On the other side of the equation, Kyle Shipley (Phoenix, Ariz.) experienced heartbreak on the last lap when the final transfer spot in the semi-feature slipped from his grip. As a consolation, he earned a $300 reward as the first non-transfer courtesy of The Frolic Bar & Grill.

Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) earned accolades as Friday's top local driver in the feature field as the native Californian, who now makes his home in Indiana, finished 10th, earning a $100 bonus from Jeff's Jam-It-In Storage.

Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.) made a nifty move to steal a victory on the final lap of the semi-feature. That earned the veteran racer the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 23, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Annual Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.626; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.640; 3. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.746; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.844; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.897; 6. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.897; 7. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.907; 8. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.913; 9. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.913; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.917; 11. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.923; 12. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.953; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.008; 14. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.010; 15. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.027; 16. Trey Osborne, 11T, Osborne-13.085; 17. Cody Williams, 92, Sertich-13.119; 18. Max Adams, 63, F & F-13.138; 19. Jake Swanson, 47, Eades-13.174; 20. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.179; 21. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.191; 22. Jack Hoyer, 57H, Hazen-13.194; 23. Todd Hobson, 77, Wingo-13.220; 24. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.223; 25. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-13.226; 26. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-13.259; 27. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-13.264; 28. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.296; 29. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-13.314; 30. Luke Hall, 23s, Simon-13.334; 31. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-13.338; 32. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.353; 33. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-13.373; 34. Max Frank, 25, Middle Class-13.421; 35. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.441; 36. Brayden Clark, 4c, Clark-13.445; 37. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-13.447; 38. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.471; 39. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.566; 40. David Gasper, 04, Burton-13.596; 41. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.611; 42. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-13.646; 43. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-13.664; 44. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-13.678; 45. Jack James, 99, James-13.981; 46. Colin Grissom, 00, Grissom-14.063; 47. Michael Daugherty, 3.14, Daugherty-14.221; 48. Austin Hawkins, 5A, Hawkins-14.263; 49. James Boice, 69x, Boice-15.376.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Trey Osborne, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Anton Hernandez, 5. Kyle Shipley, 6. Rylan Gray, 7. Colin Grissom, 8. Brayden Clark, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Ricky Lewis. 2:14.198

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Briggs Danner, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jack Hoyer, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Saban Bibent, 7. Cody Williams, 8. Joey Amantea, 9. Weston Gorham, 10. Michael Daugherty. 2:12.824

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Todd Hobson, 4. Max Adams, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Austin Hawkins, 10. Braydon Cromwell. 2:12.950

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Kale Drake, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Nate Schank, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Max Frank, 10. James Boice. 2:14.891

STEEL-IT FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Frankie Guerrini, 6. Luke Hall, 7. David Gasper, 8. Carson Garrett, 9. Jack James. 2:11.421

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Brayden Clark, 2. Kobe Simpson, 3. Matt Goodnight, 4. Weston Gorham, 5. Max Frank, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Jack James, 8. Austin Hawkins, 9. Michael Daugherty. 2:18.245

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Stevie Sussex, 3. Frankie Guerrini, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Kyle Shipley, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Cody Williams, 8. Nate Schank, 9. Zack Pretorius, 10. Rylan Gray, 11. Matt Westfall, 12. Brayden Clark, 13. Kobe Simpson, 14. Luke Hall, 15. David Gasper, 16. Matt Goodnight, 17. Weston Gorham, 18. Ricky Lewis, 19. Saban Bibent. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 2. Mitchel Moles (6), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Brady Bacon (13), 5. C.J. Leary (9), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Shane Cottle (16), 8. Robert Ballou (4), 9. Jadon Rogers (24), 10. Max Adams (17), 11. Kyle Cummins (14), 12. Jake Swanson (18), 13. Daison Pursley (10), 14. Trey Osborne (8), 15. Anton Hernandez (1), 16. Kale Drake (12), 17. Stevie Sussex (11), 18. Brandon Mattox (15), 19. Frankie Guerrini (21), 20. Jack Hoyer (19), 21. Hayden Reinbold (23), 22. Harley Burns (22), 23. Briggs Danner (7), 24. Todd Hobson (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.

**Briggs Danner & Kyle Cummins flipped on lap 11 of the feature. Harley Burns flipped on lap 20 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2357, 2-Brady Bacon-2278, 3-Daison Pursley-2141, 4-C.J. Leary-2109, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2074, 6-Mitchel Moles-2025, 7-Robert Ballou-1979, 8-Justin Grant-1915, 9-Kyle Cummins-1900, 10-Carson Garrett-1517.

SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XIII POINTS: (Top-8 locked into Saturday night’s feature) 1-Justin Grant-694, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-664, 3-Logan Seavey-652, 4-Brady Bacon-648, 5-C.J. Leary-644, 6-Robert Ballou-644, 7-Daison Pursley-642, 8-Mitchel Moles-615.

SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XIII PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Jadon Rogers-24, 2-Briggs Danner-18, 3-Nate Schank-18, 4-Jake Swanson-16, 5-Justin Grant-14, 6-Brady Bacon-14, 7-Ricky Lewis-14, 8-Robert Ballou-13, 9-Shane Cottle-13, 10-Mitchel Moles-11.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 24, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Annual Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XIII

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (12.865)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles (12.626)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Trey Osborne

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Briggs Danner

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Steel-It Fifth Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Brayden Clark

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Brandon Mattox

Hoosier Tire Last Semi-Transfer: Jadon Rogers

The Frolic Bar & Grill First Non-Transfer: Kyle Shipley

ProSource Hard Work: Jadon Rogers

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Jadon Rogers (24th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Brandon Mattox

Jeff’s Jam-It-In Storage Top Local Driver: Max Adams (10th)

A GRAND OPENING FOR GRANT!

JG SCORES SMACKDOWN OPENER AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 22, 2024)………“I love racing at Kokomo Speedway.”

Those words uttered by Justin Grant in the immediate afterglow of his latest USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victory on Thursday night at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway may very well be the understatement of the century.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) charged from his seventh starting position, then roared past racelong leader Logan Seavey on the 20th circuit of the 30-lap feature, then led the remaining 11 laps on the 1/4-mile dirt oval to score the opening night victory of Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XIII.

Not only does Grant have a fondness for Kokomo Speedway itself, the same could be said for the Smackdown opener. In fact, Thursday night’s triumph was the fourth consecutive year that Grant has stood in victory lane following the opening race of Smackdown weekend.

Furthermore, it’s Grant’s fourth consecutive win overall during Smackdown, extending his streak after winning all three nights in succession during the 2023 event. His latest Smackdown feature score extends his record to eight wins during the event.

As a matter of fact, no driver has won more USAC National Sprint Car feature events at Kokomo than Grant, who notched his record-setting 10th on Thursday, which pushed him to the top of the list ahead of the great Dave Darland.

Continuing the avalanche of noteworthy record-making and record-breaking accomplishments, Grant’s 52nd career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory moved him into a tie for third place all-time alongside 1978 series champion Tom Bigelow.

For a guy like Grant, it’s become routine to win at Kokomo. Yet, on the same token, each win remains routinely special for the driver of the TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

“It’s absolutely incredible,” Grant exclaimed. “Kokomo is the first place I drove a 410 sprint car for Jeff Walker who is my crew chief now. It’s been a special, special place to me over the years and I’ve been so fortunate to win races here. I thought this was the coolest racetrack in the world when I moved to Indiana, and to be able to win any race here is incredible to me. Dave Darland is an absolute titan and a hero of the sport. He’s a guy I idolized and a guy who helped me out a lot here. To surpass him here for USAC wins is incredible. I don’t have the proper words for it, but it sure means an awful lot. I love racing at Kokomo Speedway, and I’m just honored I get to do it.”

Grant had endured a funky season, for lack of a better term, which has proved to be perfectly imperfect. His seven USAC National Sprint Car feature wins have been counterbalanced by seven finishes of 20th or worse thus far in 2024, which has him mired ninth in series points after a pair of consecutive championship runs in the two preceding years of 2022 and 2023. Nonetheless, the team has stuck together and rallied to win two of their past three USAC Sprint starts in August.

“It's been a rocky, rocky year but we keep squeezing out wins,” Grant stated. “We’ve actually got the same number of wins as we did last year at this point, but that’s due to (this crew). I’d burrow myself in a whole and quit if it wasn’t for those guys. They’ve got a lot more confidence in me than I do on a lot of days, and today was another one of those days. I didn’t do a very good job qualifying, but they kept me pumped up all day, kept me digging and kept me in the fight and positive. I just can’t thank them enough.”

Speaking of rocky, the initial start of the night’s feature was exactly that. The green flag was quickly followed by the red flag after third-starting Mitchel Moles biked on his entry into turn three, sending him flipping several times up the racetrack and directly into the path of sixth-starting Brady Bacon who also stopped. Moles’ night was finished while Bacon restarted at the tail and came back to finish eighth.

On the resumption, Seavey scurried out to the lead from his outside front row starting spot to gain the upper hand on pole starter C.J. Leary. Seavey quickly established an eight car length lead and maintained that distance throughout the first half of the race.

By that point, however, Grant had now reached Leary's rear bumper in the battle for the runner-up position. On lap 18, Grant managed to scoot under Leary to take over second at the exit of turn four before setting his sights on slicing into Seavey’s healthy full second advantage.

A yellow flag moments later on lap 19 assisted Grant in that regard as the result of a six-car stack-up in between turns one and two. The incident was triggered by contact between Bacon and Jadon Rogers on the bottom of turn one amid their pursuit for the 11th position. Rogers got the worst end of the deal, spinning sideways and subsequently collecting a train of cars that included Kale Drake, Max Adams, Harley Burns, Brandon Mattox and Carson Garrett, all of whom stopped in the collision.

One lap after the ensuing restart, Grant found his way to the front, sliding Seavey for the lead in turn four on the 20th lap, then instantly began to stretch out his advantage over Seavey to several car lengths with a mere 10 laps to go. In doing so, Grant grabbed the lead by using the bottom side of the racetrack, atypical of his rim-riding style at the bullring.

“I think everybody was focused on hammering the top, and I was really able to run the bottom, which is rare for me here,” Grant admitted. “Normally, I’m the guy waiting for the top to get cleaned off and then I can make some ground. I was really able to get off the middle of two really good, then I just kept chasing the pile. It was almost Haubstadt-y. I just chased the pile around in three and four and was able to make up a lot of ground using that without the treacherousness of the curb. The guys who did try to come to the bottom had to slow down to grab it, and I felt like you could just float across there. Our car was really good, so it allowed me to do that.”

Grant went unblemished down the stretch as he pulled away to a 2.028 second victory over Daison Pursley, Briggs Danner and Seavey while Robert Ballou rounded out the top-five.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) took over second place with a late-race surge on lap 23 as he drove under Seavey for the spot in turns one and two aboard his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy. In three USAC starts in 2024 at Kokomo, Pursley hasn't finished worse than fourth. He won June’s Indiana Midget Week round, then finished fourth during Indiana Sprint Week and was second on Thursday in the Smackdown opener.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) started mid-pack, but he sure wasn't intent on staying there. Rolling off 14th, he picked his way through the field to move into a podium spot late as he raced by Seavey on lap 27 to slot into the third position where he’d go on to finish in his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Boulevard Truck Repair/DRC/Rider Chevy. That earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, Calif.) had a fine ride, starting 24th on the grid before making his all the way up to finish 10th in the main event, earning himself a $200 bonus as the J & J Trucking Hard Charger.

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) earned his way into the feature lineup with style. He made a late race pass in the semi-feature to secure the fourth and final transfer spot, which presented him him a brand new right rear Hoosier Tire.

Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) overcame a 30th place qualifying time to win his heat race and transfer his way into the feature. Unfortunately, after running as high as ninth in the feature, an accident dropped him to 19th at the finish line. Despite the unheralded ending, his performance netted him Hard Work honors for the evening.

Jack Hoyer (Frankfort, Ind.) was the recipient of the night's "Top Local" award courtesy of Jeff's Jam-It-In Storage. The parameters for the local driver award entail a driver who is currently inside the top-20 of the 2024 Kokomo Speedway points, but is not inside the top-20 of the USAC standings. Hoyer ran as high as 12th and finished 16th in what was his first career Smackdown feature start.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recorded his 40th career fast qualifying time in USAC National Sprint Car competition on this night. That moved him past Levi Jones for sixth place on the all-time list.

The 50 cars on hand were a Sprint Car Smackdown record for a single night, breaking the previous record of 46 entries set on the opening night of the 2023 event.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 22, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Annual Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XIII

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.782; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.817; 3. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.901; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.901; 5. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.902; 6. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.908; 7. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.968; 8. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.971; 9. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.988; 10. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.013; 11. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.030; 12. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.139; 13. Trey Osborne, 11T, Osborne-13.142; 14. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.148; 15. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.148; 16. Jake Swanson, 47, Eades-13.153; 17. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.159; 18. Max Adams, 63, F & F-13.161; 19. Luke Hall, 23s, Simon-13.181; 20. Jack Hoyer, 57H, Hazen-13.187; 21. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-13.197; 22. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.211; 23. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-13.230; 24. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.297; 25. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-13.341; 26. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.345; 27. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.348; 28. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.364; 29. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-13.379; 30. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-13.400; 31. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.408; 32. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-13.411; 33. Cody Williams, 92, Sertich-13.413; 34. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-13.419; 35. Austin Hawkins, 5A, Hawkins-13.428; 36. Todd Hobson, 77, Wingo-13.429; 37. Parker Frederickson, 34, Frederickson-13.430; 38. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-13.438; 39. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-13.462; 40. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-13.486; 41. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-13.486; 42. Colin Grissom, 00, Grissom-13.548; 43. David Gasper, 04, Burton-13.602; 44. Brayden Clark, 4c, Clark-13.724; 45. Aaron Davis, 11, Davis-13.724; 46. Max Frank, 25, Middle Class-13.787; 47. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.802; 48. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-13.827; 49. Jack James, 99, James-14.317; 50. Michael Daugherty, 3.14, Daugherty-14.335.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Harley Burns, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Kobe Simpson, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Rylan Gray, 8. Kyle Shipley, 9. Todd Hobson, 10. Max Frank. 2:14.053

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Colin Grissom, 8. Parker Frederickson, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Joey Amantea. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Anton Hernandez, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Kale Drake, 4. Max Adams, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Cody Williams, 8. David Gasper, 9. Nate Schank, 10. Matt Goodnight. 2:13.579

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Luke Hall, 6. Brayden Cromwell, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Brayden Clark, 9. Saban Bibent, 10. Jack James. 2:13.931

STEEL-IT FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Jack Hoyer, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Weston Gorham, 6. Frankie Guerrini, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Aaron Davis, 9. Austin Hawkins, 10. Michael Daugherty. 2:17.580

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Kyle Shipley, 2. Brayden Clark, 3. Nate Schank, 4. David Gasper, 5. Aaron Davis, 6. Todd Hobson, 7. Saban Bibent, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Joey Amantea, 11. Jack James, 12. Max Frank, 13. Michael Daugherty. 2:16.860

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Trey Osborne, 5. Weston Gorham, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Kyle Shipley, 10. Braydon Cromwell, 11. Luke Hall, 12. Rylan Gray, 13. Cody Williams, 14. Hayden Reinbold, 15. Nate Schank, 16. Brayden Clark, 17. Zack Pretorius, 18. Colin Grissom, 19. David Gasper. 2:42.697

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (7), 2. Daison Pursley (4), 3. Briggs Danner (14), 4. Logan Seavey (2), 5. Robert Ballou (13), 6. C.J. Leary (1), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 8. Brady Bacon (6), 9. Jake Swanson (19), 10. Ricky Lewis (24), 11. Stevie Sussex (9), 12. Carson Garrett (15), 13. Brandon Mattox (18), 14. Kyle Cummins (5), 15. Trey Osborne (17), 16. Jack Hoyer (21), 17. Kale Drake (22), 18. Kobe Simpson (23), 19. Jadon Rogers (11), 20. Hunter Maddox (25-P), 21. Harley Burns (8), 22. Max Adams (20), 23. Anton Hernandez (10), 24. Shane Cottle (16), 25. Mitchel Moles (3). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Logan Seavey, Laps 20-30 Justin Grant.

**Joey Amantea flipped during the second heat. Hunter Maddox flipped during the second heat. Aaron Davis flipped after the checkered flag during the C-Main. Mitchel Moles flipped on lap 1 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2291, 2-Brady Bacon-2209, 3-Daison Pursley-2097, 4-C.J. Leary-2043, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1996, 6-Mitchel Moles-1945, 7-Robert Ballou-1919, 8-Kyle Cummins-1854, 9-Justin Grant-1840, 10-Carson Garrett-1507.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-168, 2-Logan Seavey-146, 3-Robert Ballou-134, 4-C.J. Leary-109, 5-Justin Grant-107, 6-Kyle Cummins-105, 7-Chase Stockon-101, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-95, 9-Joey Amantea-92, 10-Brady Bacon-90.

SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XIII PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Briggs Danner-15, 2-Ricky Lewis-14, 3-Jake Swanson-10, 4-Justin Grant-9, 5-Robert Ballou-9, 6-Nate Schank-9, 7-Kyle Shipley-8, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-6, 9-Carson Garrett-5, 10-Brandon Mattox-5.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 23-24, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Annual Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XIII

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Logan Seavey (13.042)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr. (12.782)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Harley Burns

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Stevie Sussex

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Anton Hernandez

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Steel-It Fifth Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Kyle Shipley

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Hoosier Tire Last Semi-Transfer: Trey Osborne

ProSource Hard Work: Jadon Rogers

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Ricky Lewis (24th to 10th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Briggs Danner

Jeff’s Jam-It-In Storage Top Local Driver: Jack Hoyer (16th)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES!

USAC SPRINTS INVADE KOKOMO FOR 30-GRAND

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 21, 2024)………The spotlight, the prestige, the glory, the atmosphere and the intensity.

It all hits a fever pitch during Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XIII at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway this Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, August 22-23-24.

Since Smackdown’s inaugural edition in 2012, those traits have been ingrained in the event, and this year is no exception with record payouts, numerous bonuses and a talented field hovering around 50 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship drivers and cars that are set for the battle of all battles for three consecutive nights on the quarter-mile dirt oval.

Smackdown is a bucket list item for fans to attend. It’s a bucket list item for drivers and teams to win. The ever-brewing excitement is palpable, and the storylines are in abundance. Let’s hit with you six of the biggest storylines for the 13th installment of Sprint Car Smackdown 2024 right now.

AN ABUNDANCE OF PAST SMACKDOWN WINNERS

Past final night Smackdown winners in this weekend’s field include Kevin Thomas Jr. (2016), Justin Grant (2018-21-23) and Kyle Cummins (2022), all of whom are also past Kokomo Speedway track champions as well: Thomas Jr. (2016), Grant (2017-19-21) and Cummins (2022).

Each of the three have also won their share of Smackdown prelim night features throughout the years: Thomas Jr. (three in 2016-21-22), Cummins (two in 2020) and Justin Grant (four in 2021-22-23-23).

Grant is currently tied with Dave Darland and Tyler Courtney as the winningest final night driver in Smackdown history with three wins apiece. Grant already owns the record for most overall Smackdown wins with seven combined between prelims and the final night.

Four other drivers in this year’s Smackdown field have won a prelim or two but are still vying for their first Smackdown final night triumph: Robert Ballou (2015), Chase Stockon (2015), C.J. Leary (2016-17) and USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leader Logan Seavey (2019).

RICHEST RICHES OF THE YEAR

Justin Grant’s take home pay for leading the final 29 laps en route to victory on the final night of Smackdown 2023 totaled $44,500. His base pay of $30,000 for winning the feature was supplemented by adding a cool $500 per each lap led throughout the course of the feature.

This Saturday’s finale will continue with Smackdown Saturday night not only being the richest USAC Sprint Car race of the year, but also the richest ever in the state of Indiana. A pair of $6,000-to-win preliminaries set the stage on Thursday and Friday night followed by the $30 Grand finale on Saturday night. That being said, leading all 40 laps and winning on Saturday would net a driver a $50,000 payday.

Just four years ago, the final night of Smackdown paid $10,000-to-win. By 2021, it hit $15,000. In 2022, the $15,000 winner’s share was boosted even further by an extra $20,000 in lap money, which Kyle Cummins collected all for himself.

Additionally, Smackdown XIII Saturday night this year will pay $1,500 to start, which is the largest payout for start money on the USAC National Sprint Car calendar during the 2024 season.

A RECORD CAR COUNT!

The largest car count in the history of Sprint Car Smackdown stands at 46, which was set one year ago during the opening night of the event in 2023.

Thus far, there are nearly 50 confirmed entries for the event, consisting of drivers from 11 different United States and two countries. Indiana leads the way with 18 entries, while representation in the event also hails from California (11), Ohio (4), Arizona (3), Oklahoma (3), Texas (3), Pennsylvania (2), Alabama (1), Colorado (1), Illinois (1) and Missouri (1).

International representation in the field is brought to us courtesy of Australia’s Todd Hobson from Clyde, Victoria.

Overall, three states have captured a Smackdown final night victory. Eight belong to Indiana’s Bryan Clauson (2012), Dave Darland (2013-14-15), Indiana’s Tyler Courtney (2017-19-20) and Kyle Cummins (2022). Three have went to the state of California: Justin Grant (2018-21-23). Alabama has grabbed one win in the event: Kevin Thomas Jr. (2016).

SMACKDOWN ROOKIE BREAKDOWN

One of the finest Smackdown Rookie classes ever will be on hand to take in their first ever appearances in the event with a list of no less than 14 drivers at press time who possess a background of success and a pedigree that makes it a fantastically strong crop.

Among the first timers for 2024 are top USAC National Sprint Car Rookie Hunter Maddox (Bedford, Ind.); 2023 Bloomington Speedway champ Harley Burns; first-time USAC Sprint Car competitor Hayden Reinbold; newcomer Kale Drake.

There’s also an influx of west coast talent making their foray to Smackdown, including 2024 USAC CRA winners Cody Williams and David Gasper, plus USAC Western States Midget winner Frankie Guerrini and Saban Bibent, a winner at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.

Todd Hobson brings representation from his native Australia while Luke Hall, Weston Gorham, Colin Grissom, Michael Daugherty and Aaron Davis all will take in their first Smackdown experience.

Past Smackdown Rookies of the Year include Brady Bacon (4th in 2013), Kyle Cummins (10th in 2014), Kody Swanson (9th in 2015 Semi), Tyler Thomas (10th in 2016), Josh Hodges (14th in 2017), Jason McDougal (4th in 2018), Max Adams (14th in 2019), Buddy Kofoid (5th in 2020), Tanner Thorson (2nd in 2021), Mitchel Moles (12th in 2022) and Briggs Danner (6th in 2023).

TRIFECTA OPENER

Smackdown XIII is also the kickoff for the second edition of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta in which USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competitors will be racing for major prizes across three marquee events in the state of Indiana in August, September and October.

The Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown is up first followed by the $20,000-to-win Haubstadt Hustler at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, September 14. Another $20,000 winner’s share is posted for the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway, set to go on Saturday, October 12.

Winning all three Trifecta events in 2024 would net a driver a bonus of up to $30,000. The top driver finishing all three races in second place or better will receive a $20,000 payout. The top driver finishing all three races in third place or better will receive a $10,000 payout.

At the end of the three races during the USAC NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta, a driver could earn a potential $100,000 prize when all is said and done.

IT’S WORTH THE PAIN TO BE KING OF THE HILL

Smackdown preliminary events on Thursday, August 22 and Friday, August 23 will be comprised of complete programs for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, culminating in 30-lap feature races each night. At the conclusion of Friday night’s program, the top-8 in overall Smackdown points will be locked into Saturday night’s main event.

On the third and final night, Saturday, August 24, a 40-lap feature will close out the spectacular weekend in grand fashion, which will be preceded by heat races for all drivers not locked in and will be lined up in order of each driver’s best points night.

The unique “King of the Hill” bracket-style tournament of two-car duels for locked-in drivers takes place afterward and determines the first four rows of the feature. The semi-feature will provide the final chance for drivers to lock themselves into a coveted spot for the A-Main.

Past winners of the King of the Hill include Tracy Hines (2012), Chase Stockon (2013), Brady Bacon (2014-15-20), Tyler Courtney (2016-19), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017), Justin Grant (2018 & 2023), Tanner Thorson (2021) and C.J. Leary (2022).

RACE DETAILS

This weekend at Kokomo Speedway, gates open at 3pm Eastern on Thursday and at 4pm on Friday/Saturday. Cars will hit the track at 6:30pm on Thursday/Friday and at 6pm on Saturday.

On Thursday/Friday, general admission tickets are $30 with kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members (all ages).

On Saturday, general admission tickets are $35 with kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $40 for members and $45 for non-members (all ages).

Reserved Seating is offered as a 3-Day Pass at $85. To purchase, call Kokomo Speedway at (779) 230-1310.

As far as the off-track activities at Kokomo, on Thursday, Kick It for Karaoke will be held after the races in the Turn 5 Bar. On Friday, a cornhole tournament will be held at 1pm outside turn four. The popular non-stop party band, The Flying Toasters, will perform immediately following the checkered flag at the stage outside turn four. On Saturday, the Riley Kids Auction & Kickball game will take place between Noon-2pm.

All three nights of racing during Smackdown will be shown live on FloRacing at www.flosports.link/usac.

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

EXPECTED 2024 SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XIII ENTRIES:

00 (R) COLIN GRISSOM/Anderson, IN (Colin Grissom)

04 (R) DAVID GASPER/Goleta, CA (Jerry Burton)

06 RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Brothers)

1 NATE SCHANK/Santa Rosa, CA (Nate Schank)

2B (R) KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (2B Racing)

2E SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Epperson Racing)

G3 (R) FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (F & F Racing)

3p KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Petty Performance Racing)

3R KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Rock Steady Racing)

3.14 (R) MICHAEL DAUGHERTY/Lafayette, IN (Michael Daugherty)

4 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (TOPP Motorsports)

4c BRAYDEN CLARK/Tipton, IN (Clark Racing)

4u KYLE SHIPLEY/Phoenix, AZ (AJR Motorsports)

4x BRAYDON CROMWELL/Lone Jack, MO (Mike Cromwell)

5 ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX (Baldwin-Fox Racing)

5s CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (KO Motorsports)

9z ZACK PRETORIUS/Yorktown, IN (Jeff Pretorius)

11 (R) AARON DAVIS/Windfall, IN (Jeff Davis)

11T TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Trey Osborne Racing)

12 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Ballou Motorsports)

15 CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (BGE Dougherty Motorsports)

15x C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (BGE Dougherty Motorsports)

16 (R) HARLEY BURNS/Brazil, IN (Britt Aero Racing)

19 (R) HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21AZ DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing)

21K KOBE SIMPSON/Bonham, TX (Kevin Simpson)

23s (R) LUKE HALL/Ludlow Falls, OH (Simon Racing)

24m (R) HUNTER MADDOX/Bedford, IN (Hunter Maddox)

28 BRANDON MATTOX/Terre Haute, IN (Brandon Mattox Racing)

33m MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Ray Marshall Motorsports)

34 PARKER FREDERICKSON/Kokomo, IN (Parker Frederickson)

39 BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (Hogue Racing Enterprises)

39G MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)

41 RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Stensland Motorsports)

47 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (Tom Eades)

53 BRAYDEN FOX/Avon, IN (Fox Brothers Racing)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

57H JACK HOYER/Frankfort, IN (Paul Hazen)

63 MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (F & F Racing)

66 JADON ROGERS/Worthington, IN (Amati Racing)

69 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Dynamics, Inc.)

71w (R) WESTON GORHAM/Colleyville, TX (Gorham Racing)

77 (R) TODD HOBSON/Clyde, VIC, AU (Wingo Brothers Racing)

77s STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Tyler Sturgeon Racing)

88J JOEY AMANTEA/Mt. Pocono, PA (JPA Racing)

92 (R) CODY WILLIAMS/Norco, CA (Tom & Laurie Sertich)

98 (R) SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Wedgewood Motorsports)

99 JACK JAMES/Harlan, IN (Jack James)

(R) represents a Sprint Car Smackdown Rookie

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

ALL-TIME SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN WINNERS:

2012: Bryan Clauson (8/23), Chris Windom (8/24) & Bryan Clauson (8/25)

2013: Bryan Clauson (8/22), Dave Darland (8/23) & Dave Darland (8/24)

2014: Jon Stanbrough (8/22), Dave Darland (8/23) & Dave Darland (8/24)

2015: Robert Ballou (8/27), Chase Stockon (8/28) & Dave Darland (8/29)

2016: Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/25), C.J. Leary (8/26) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/27)

2017: C.J. Leary (8/24), Tyler Courtney (8/25) & Tyler Courtney (8/26)

2018: Tyler Courtney (8/23), Tyler Thomas (8/24) & Justin Grant (9/27)

2019: Thomas Meseraull (8/22), Logan Seavey (8/23) & Tyler Courtney (8/24)

2020: Kyle Cummins (8/27), Kyle Cummins (8/28) & Tyler Courtney (8/29)

2021: Justin Grant (8/27), Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/28) & Justin Grant (8/28)

2022: Justin Grant (8/25), Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/26) & Kyle Cummins (8/27)

2023: Justin Grant (8/24), Justin Grant (8/25) & Justin Grant (8/26)

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

KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:

9-Dave Darland & Justin Grant

8-Tony Elliott

6-Tyler Courtney & Kyle Cummins

5-Kevin Thomas Jr.

4-Bryan Clauson & C.J. Leary

3-Jack Hewitt, Thomas Meseraull, Jon Stanbrough & Chris Windom

1-Robert Ballou, Tom Bigelow, Chad Boat, Jay Drake, Russ Gamester, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Kelly Kinser, Cory Kruseman, Brad Marvel, Hunter Schuerenberg, Logan Seavey, Dean Shirley, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas, Tyler Thomas, Rich Vogler & J.J. Yeley

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

KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS:

1981: Tom Bigelow (7/22)

1982: Rich Vogler (7/21)

1983: Dean Shirley (7/20)

1984: Jack Hewitt (7/11)

1985: Jack Hewitt (8/4)

1989: Jack Hewitt (6/25)

1990: Russ Gamester (6/24)

1991: Kelly Kinser (6/23) & Tony Elliott (8/25)

1992: Tony Elliott (6/28)

1993: Dave Darland (6/27)

1995: Tony Elliott (7/5)

1996: Tony Elliott (6/30) & Brad Marvel (7/28)

1997: Kevin Thomas (6/15) & J.J. Yeley (7/20)

1998: Tony Elliott (7/19) & Tony Elliott (8/9)

1999: Cory Kruseman (7/25) & Tony Elliott (8/8)

2000: Jay Drake (7/23)

2001: Tony Elliott (7/29)

2003: Bud Kaeding (7/23)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (7/16)

2007: Jon Stanbrough (7/15)

2008: Dave Darland (7/13)

2009: Chad Boat (7/12)

2010: Bryan Clauson (4/18) & Levi Jones (7/11)

2011: Hunter Schuerenberg (7/9)

2012: Dave Darland (7/16), Bryan Clauson (8/23), Chris Windom (8/24) & Bryan Clauson (8/25)

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/13), Bryan Clauson (8/22), Dave Darland (8/23) & Dave Darland (8/24)

2014: Dave Darland (7/12), Jon Stanbrough (8/22), Dave Darland (8/23) & Dave Darland (8/24)

2015: Chris Windom (8/26), Robert Ballou (8/27), Chase Stockon (8/28) & Dave Darland (8/29)

2016: Kyle Cummins (7/9), Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/25), C.J. Leary (8/26) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/27)

2017: Thomas Meseraull (7/8), C.J. Leary (8/24), Tyler Courtney (8/25) & Tyler Courtney (8/26)

2018: Thomas Meseraull (7/24), Tyler Courtney (8/23), Tyler Thomas (8/24) & Justin Grant (9/27)

2019: Chris Windom (7/20), Thomas Meseraull (8/22), Logan Seavey (8/23) & Tyler Courtney (8/24)

2020: C.J. Leary (7/25), Kyle Cummins (8/27), Kyle Cummins (8/28), Tyler Courtney (8/29) & Tyler Courtney (9/26)

2021: Justin Grant (7/24), Justin Grant (8/27), Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/28) & Justin Grant (8/28)

2022: Justin Grant (7/26), Justin Grant (8/25), Kevin Thomas Jr. (8/26), Kyle Cummins (8/27) & Kyle Cummins (9/30)

2023: C.J. Leary (7/22), Justin Grant (8/24), Justin Grant (8/25) & Justin Grant (8/26)

2024: Kyle Cummins (7/27)

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/26/2022 - C.J. Leary - 12.284

3 Laps - 8/27/2022 - C.J. Leary - 39.543

6 Laps - 7/23/2003 - Mike Spencer - 1:32.52

8 Laps - 7/13/2013 - Tyler Hewitt - 1:49.60

10 Laps - 8/26/2017 - Chris Windom - 2:10.23

12 Laps - 8/22/2014 - Dave Darland - 2:41.06

15 Laps - 8/27/2016 - Tyler Thomas - 3:28.93

30 Laps - 8/23/2019 - Logan Seavey - 6:48.92

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

SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN KING OF THE HILL WINNERS

2012: Tracy Hines defeated Thomas Meseraull

2013: Chase Stockon defeated Dave Darland

2014: Brady Bacon defeated Dave Darland

2015: Brady Bacon defeated Chase Stockon

2016: Tyler Courtney defeated Thomas Meseraull

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr. defeated Tyler Thomas

2018: Justin Grant defeated Dave Darland

2019: Tyler Courtney defeated C.J. Leary

2020: Brady Bacon defeated C.J. Leary

2021: #4 Tanner Thorson defeated #6 Kevin Thomas Jr.

2022: #2 C.J. Leary defeated #1 Kyle Cummins

2023: #1 Justin Grant defeated #3 C.J. Leary

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

PAST SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

2013: Brady Bacon (4th)

2014: Kyle Cummins (10th)

2015: Kody Swanson (9th in Semi)

2016: Tyler Thomas (10th)

2017: Josh Hodges (14th)

2018: Jason McDougal (4th)

2019: Max Adams (14th)

2020: Buddy Kofoid (5th)

2021: Tanner Thorson (2nd)

2022: Mitchel Moles (12th)

2023: Briggs Danner (6th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS

NAMED DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 PRESENTING SPONSOR

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 20, 2024)………Avanti Windows & Doors will serve as the presenting sponsor for the 2024 edition of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 26-27-28.

The three-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event has quickly become one of the crown jewels of the sport. This year’s sixth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by Avanti Windows & Doors at the 1/4-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the world famous 2.5-mile paved oval will pay $20,039-to-win.

Jerry Petty, CEO of Avanti, is heavily involved in several facets of USAC racing. He owns a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car team for driver Kyle Cummins and owns a USAC Western States Midget team for driver Drake Edwards. Avanti is also the title sponsor of both the USAC CRA and USAC Western States Midget series. Furthermore, Avanti is also the title sponsor of the annual Corn Belt Clash featuring the USAC National Sprint Cars at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.

In addition to his sponsorship of the Driven2SaveLives BC39, Petty will be fielding a pair of entries at the event for Edwards and four-time USAC national driving champion, J.J. Yeley.

Petty grew up in the shadow of Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz. and to this day, remains a resident of Litchfield Park, Arizona. However, for several years, “life happened,” as he quipped, and he was away from the sport until about four seasons ago. But the racing bug never completely left him.

“When I got back into it, I just saw everything NOS was doing, and I wanted Avanti to be in every part of it,” Petty explained. “I just wanted to get our name out there. It’s exciting to be the presenting sponsor for the biggest midget race USAC has; that’s cool. For me personally, it’s a passion. I just want to help dirt track and open wheel racing.”

Petty’s involvement in the Driven2SaveLives BC39 came naturally after recently watching FloSports’ documentary on the life of Bryan Clauson, Chasing 200, which detailed the life and racing career of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 race’s namesake. After watching the film, as Petty put it, it became an easy choice to sign on as the presenting sponsor of the event.

The event will continue to honor the late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Clauson. It also will increase awareness of organ donation and encourage participation in the Indiana Donor Network Driven2SaveLives program, title sponsor since the inaugural running in 2018. Tickets for the 2024 running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 can be purchased now at http://IMS.com/BC39.

On-track action for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 begins with full racing programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 26, and Friday, September 27. The finale, on Saturday, September 28, will feature the main events, concluding with a 39-lap feature paying $20,039-to-win. Additional information on the event can be found at www.TheBC39.com.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

August 17, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Brother Brett Classic”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.512; 2. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.721; 3. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-16.866; 4. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.959; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-17.012; 6. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.124; 7. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.152; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-17.177; 9. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-17.215; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.308; 11. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-17.515; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.594; 13. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-17.757; 14. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.790; 15. Jordan Hermansader, 71, Martin-18.121; 16. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-18.130; 17. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-18.190; 18. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-18.432; 19. Cal Smith, 39, Cal-Sun-18.961; 20. Tyler Hatzikian, 27, Hatzikian-NT.

BROTHER BRETT TROPHY DASH: (four 3-lap dashes) 1. R.J. Johnson-10pts., 2. Matt McCarthy-8pts., 3. Logan Williams-4pts., 4. Cody Williams-2pts.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER JR. FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Cody Williams, 2. Verne Sweeney, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Kyle Edwards, 5. Elexa Herrera, 6. Jonas Reynolds, 7. Cal Smith. 2:58.60.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Tanner Boul, 7. Tyler Hatzikian. 3:03.38.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all cars transfer to feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Matt McCarthy, 3. David Gasper, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Jordan Hermansader, 6. Dan Taylor. 3:06.04.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Cody Williams (6), 2. A.J. Bender (1), 3. Tommy Malcolm (8), 4. Charles Davis Jr. (2), 5. R.J. Johnson (5), 6. Logan Williams (3), 7. Austin Williams (11), 8. David Gasper (9), 9. Verne Sweeney (10), 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12), 11. Kyle Edwards (7), 12. Austin Grabowski (14), 13. Elexa Herrera (13), 14. Jordan Hermansader (15), 15. Matt McCarthy (4), 16. Dan Taylor (18), 17. Tyler Hatzikian (20), 18. Tanner Boul (17), 19. Jonas Reynolds (16), 20. Cal Smith (19). NT.
----------------------------
**Jonas Reynolds flipped on lap 15 of the feature. Matt McCarthy flipped on lap 21 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 A.J. Bender, Lap 10 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 11-16 A.J. Bender, Laps 17-21 Cody Williams, Laps 22-29 A.J. Bender, Lap 30 Cody Williams.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Cody Williams (6 to 1)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: August 31 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California

Photo by A.J. Johnson / P1 Racing Images

A PERFECT DAY:

GRANT SWEEPS BETTENHAUSEN 100

AT THE SPRINGFIELD MILE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 17, 2024)………The Illinois State Fairgrounds have and always will occupy a special place in the racing career of Justin Grant.

The Ione, California driver’s first career USAC Silver Crown victory of any kind arrived at the Springfield Mile in 2017. Three years later in 2020, Grant clinched his first USAC Silver Crown driving championship with a podium run at the historic dirt oval.

His latest score on Saturday afternoon tasted just as sweet as he delivered his second career Springfield triumph aboard his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/DRC/Speedway Chevy in the 61st running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza.

Grant’s performance may have been among the most dominating in the six-decade history of the Bettenhausen 100. Grant executed a complete sweep of the festivities, timing in as the quickest overall in Dirt Draft Practice before promptly going out and laying down the fastest lap in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying. To close out the day, he became the first driver to lead all 100 miles of the Bettenhausen 100 from start to finish since Kody Swanson a decade ago in 2014.

To kick off the day, Grant tied the record for most pole positions at the Bettenhausen 100 dating back to its inaugural running in 1961. Grant’s third pole position in the event tied him with him Greg Weld, Jerry Coons Jr. and Kody Swanson for number one all-time.

Later in the day, Grant etched his name in the books as the 13th driver to capture multiple Bettenhausen 100 victories in his career, joining an all-star cast featuring Chuck Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Jack Hewitt, Brian Tyler, Mario Andretti, Dave Darland, Kody Swanson, Al Unser, Gary Bettenhausen, A.J. Fike, Jim Hurtubise and Bobby Olivero.

In the present, however, Grant’s victory arrived at Springfield on the heels of a second place finish just about 15 hours earlier on the pavement of World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., which has closed the gap to 21 between him and point leader Kody Swanson in the pursuit of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown championship.

Grant has had a firm grip of late on the Illinois dirt miles in USAC Silver Crown competition, leading 199 of the past 200 laps between his victory last September at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds and his latest triumph in Springfield. With seven top-four results in 10 series starts this season, they’ve been close to breaking through. But on Saturday, it wasn’t close anymore. Finally, it was “all cigar.”

“We won the Du Quoin race at the end of last year, and then to come here and win at the Springfield Mile, it feels really good,” Grant exclaimed. “We’ve been coming alive here of late, but it’s been good all year. We’ve been racking them up here lately and it feels really rewarding. We kind of lost some speed for a year or two but we’ve worked really hard to get it back, and (team owner) Ron Hemelgarn has given us all the resources we need, and (crew chief) Dennis (LaCava) worked really, really hard to get us back here.”

Furthermore, Grant also tied an all-time record by notching feature wins in all three USAC national divisions in 2024: Silver Crown, AMSOIL Sprint and NOS Energy Drink Midget. This year marks the sixth time he’s achieved the feat in his career, tying Dave Steele for number one on the list. It’s also the fourth straight year Grant has won races in all three series, one shy of Steele’s record run of five consecutive seasons between 2001-2005.

Grant’s Springfield score was the sixth win of his USAC Silver Crown career, moving him to 20th on the list alongside Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader and Al Unser. His 10th career Silver Crown pole award elevated him to seventh place all-time on the same line as Bobby East and Rich Vogler.

As far as the race itself, it was, for all intents and purposes, an immaculate run for Grant that was perfectly clean, neat and tidy, free from any flaws, mistakes or mishaps. The same fate didn’t present itself to his challengers who were among the 40 cars on hand for the event. On the third lap, Korey Weyant and Steve Gennetten touched wheels in turn three as the two jockeyed for the 18th position. As a result, both drivers careened into the outside wall with Gennetten flipping over. Both drivers climbed out of their cars without injury, but severely dejected.

The major mover throughout the first half of the 100-miler was Shane Cockrum. Despite qualifying 15th, he was relegated to the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying Race due to missing his spot in qualifying by three or more positions. After winning the qualifying race, the 2022 Bettenhausen 100 winner started 25th in the feature and had worked his way up to seventh by lap 49.

Shane Cottle had run a close second to Grant for the first 61 miles before trouble befell him on lap 62. That’s the moment when his car went up in smoke, ending his bid for a first career Bettenhausen 100 victory after finishing as the runner-up in each of the two most recent editions in 2022-2023. Cottle’s exodus moved Swanson up to the second position in the running order with 39 laps remaining.

Just five laps later, with Cockrum running sixth, his monster run also went up in a blaze of smoke on the 67th lap., thus knocking him out the race as the yellow flag flew for his slowly coasting machine. Despite his early exit, Cockrum was rewarded for his +19 efforts with the Inferno Armor Move of the Day. It seemed fitting for Cockrum, whose full-time job is his role as the fire chief of the city of Benton, Illinois.

In the waning laps, all Grant had to do was maintain his pace and successfully navigate his way around a bit of lapped traffic. His one second lead briefly dissipated on lap 88 as he fought his way past the 19th and 18th place cars of Dave Berkheimer and Chris Fetter, respectively, on the back straight. That allowed Swanson to close to within three car lengths of Grant for the top spot. Yet, it only proved to be momentary, as Grant cleared the pair and subsequently reclaimed his interval, and then some, to the tune of nearly three seconds.

“We had an amazing car,” Grant proclaimed. “The thing was an absolute rocket ship, and I could carry so much speed through the center of the corner and not slip the tires at all. I kept trying to slow my lap times down a little bit and the only way I could do it was just to crawl through the center of the corner, and I didn’t feel like it was using any tire to go this fast. We still had a bunch of tire left.”

When Grant triumphantly flashed across the finish line for the 100th and final time during the afternoon, he was 3.835 seconds to the good, prevailing over Kody Swanson with Logan Seavey, Jerry Coons Jr. and Brady Bacon rounding out the top-five.

“It feels really good to come out of here with a win,” a satisfied Grant stated. “To beat Kody, he’s awfully good at this stuff. He’s one of my best friends in the whole world, but we go out and race each other tooth and nail and have a good time.”

The top-three in the current USAC Silver Crown standings just so happened to finish one-two-three at Springfield. The point leader, Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif., maintained his 21-point advantage over Grant with a second place result in his Doran-Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Wilke Orthodontics – Glenn Farms/Maxim/Hampshire Chevy.

“We just had to be faster,” Swanson stated. “You never know when you’re catching them. It could be just because he’s letting you. But I’m really proud of this Doran-Binks Racing team. To continue to try to get better on the dirt is something I’ve been struggling with. But the effort has been there. I’m really thankful to have a good run, but I still want to win. We had a great run, had a great car, but Justin did a good job, and he put it on us there.”

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has become accustomed to finishing on the podium at Springfield. On Saturday, he registered his fourth consecutive top-three finish in the event following a 2nd in 2021, a 3rd in 2022, a 1st in 2023 and a 3rd in 2024 at the wheel of his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/Bloomington Bison – DiaEdge – STIDA.com/DRC/Felker Chevy.

“When you start 10th like that, you have to get them early,” Seavey explained. “When everyone is trying to figure out what pace you can run, you’ve really got to go by quickly. Once they figure the pace, it’s so much harder to pass them and you have to run even harder to pass them. I got to sixth pretty quickly and then I had to run really hard there to go by Brady (Bacon) and Jerry (Coons Jr.) and I could feel pretty quickly that I blistered my right rear tire just making those two passes. I just did what I had to do to get up there and used my stuff up as much I could just to get there. I feel like that’s what hurt us there toward the end and allowed those guys to get away. (Crew chief) Ronnie Gardner did a great job with the racecar. We just started a little bit too far back.”

There's a reason why Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was USAC's National ProSource Passing Master champion a year ago and stands as the current point leader this year as well. He knows how to find his way to the front. After qualifying, his crew changed the right rear tire on their Team AZ Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Apache Transportation – Oak Craft Cabinetry/DRC/Ott Chevy, forcing them to start near the back. In what was his first run on a one-mile dirt track, he started 28th and finished ninth, the best result by a USAC Silver Crown Rookie in the event.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 17, 2024 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – 61st Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-31.641; 2. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-31.974; 3. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-32.081; 4. Shane Cottle, 121, Swanson-32.177; 5. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-32.409; 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-32.693; 7. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-32.765; 8. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-32.880; 9. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-32.911; 10. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-33.010; 11. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-33.026; 12. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-33.055; 13. Chris Urish, 177, Urish-33.066; 14. Saban Bibent, 88, Fetter-33.144; 15. Shane Cockrum, 97, Lein-33.224; 16. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-33.227; 17. Steve Gennetten, 03, Gennetten-33.313; 18. Jimmy Light, 118, Wingo-33.358; 19. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-33.385; 20. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-33.597; 21. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-33.780; 22. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-33.783; 23. Matt Goodnight, 24, Haggenbottom-34.123; 24. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-34.185; 25. Tom Savage, 38, Savage-34.361; 26. Ken Schrader, 14, McQuinn-34.370; 27. Trey Burke, 07, Tosti-34.412; 28. Danny Jennings, 61, Grace-34.457; 29. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-35.357; 30. Dave Peperak, 777, Peperak-35.373; 31. Aric Gentry, 3, Simmons-35.789; 32. Danny Long, 44, Long-35.874; 33. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-51.208; 34. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-NT; 35. Kip Hughes, 160, Hughes-NT; 36. Mario Clouser, 60, Legacy/Wilson-NT; 37. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-NT; 38. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-NT; 39. Joey Moughan, 29, MSP-NT; 40. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-NT.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cockrum, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Trey Burke, 4. Danny Jennings, 5. Dave Berkheimer, 6. Ken Schrader, 7. Aric Gentry, 8. Dave Peperak, 9. Danny Long, 10. Kip Hughes, 11. Gregg Cory. 6:47.513

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Kody Swanson (2), 3. Logan Seavey (10), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 5. Brady Bacon (5), 6. Carmen Perigo (11), 7. Matt Westfall (8), 8. Kyle Steffens (7), 9. Daison Pursley (28), 10. Chase Stockon (12), 11. Russ Gamester (19), 12. Danny Jennings (30), 13. Matt Goodnight (21), 14. Briggs Danner (25), 15. Trey Osborne (3), 16. Kaylee Bryson (9), 17. Jimmy Light (17), 18. Chris Fetter (20), 19. Dave Berkheimer (27), 20. Saban Bibent (14), 21. Shane Cockrum (24), 22. Shane Cottle (4), 23. Mitchel Moles (15), 24. Nathan Moore (22), 25. Tom Savage (23), 26. Steve Gennetten (16), 27. Korey Weyant (18), 28. Trey Burke (26), 29. Chris Urish (13), 30. C.J. Leary (29-P), 31. Mario Clouser (#14) (31). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Justin Grant.

**Steve Gennetten flipped on lap 3 of the feature.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-166, 2-Logan Seavey-146, 3-Robert Ballou-126, 4-C.J. Leary-109, 5-Kyle Cummins-105, 6-Justin Grant-101, 7-Chase Stockon-101, 8-Joey Amantea-92, 9-Brady Bacon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-90.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 31, 2024 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Ted Horn 100

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (29.548)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (31.641)

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Qualifying Race Winner: Shane Cockrum

Hard Charger: Daison Pursley (28th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Shane Cockrum

ARMSTRONG CAPITALIZES LATE,

WINS USAC SILVER CROWN SHOWDOWN AT WWT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Madison, Illinois (August 16, 2024)………With two laps to go, Dakoda Armstrong was nearly resigned to the fact that he was going to finish second. With one lap to go, he was just about resigned to the fact that he was going to run out of fuel.

Neither of these things came to fruition during Friday night’s Ranken Technical College USAC Silver Crown Showdown Presented By Welsch Heating & Cooling at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

And that suited the New Castle, Indiana native just fine, thank you.

The third-starting Armstrong led the initial 41 circuits of the 60-lap, 75-mile main event before giving way to pole sitter Kody Swanson on lap 42. Swanson proceeded to lead the next 17 laps, and with two to go, held a comfortable three second lead. But that’s just when the unthinkable happened.

Swanson’s car became fully engulfed in a plume of white smoke that suddenly shot out from underneath the hood entering turn three. As Swanson slid to a stop, his chance at agolden opportunity to become a two-time winner at the 1.25-mile paved oval dissipated in the cloud that emanated from his ride.

With a green-white-checkered restart awaiting with two laps remaining, at one point, Armstrong felt his fuel tank running dry and took subsequent action that turned out to be a false alarm.

“We got double lucky because, on the last green-white-checkered, the car was completely stumbling,” Armstrong explained. “We’re just going so fast; I just didn’t want anyone to run me over. I literally stuck my hand out the window off turn two because I was on the floor and the thing was dead. But somehow, it just busted back to life and had just enough fuel to keep rolling.”

As it turned out, Grant’s car was also suffering the same fate during the final laps, and he was unable to get close enough to mount a bid for the win. When all was said and done, Armstrong was at the top of the scoring pylon, 0.720 seconds ahead of the field as a winner once again in his C & A Motorsports/Meristem Crop Performance – Armstrong Farms/Beast/Stanton Chevy.

After racking up four 10th place finishes in four USAC Silver Crown starts during the 2023 campaign, Armstrong returned with a vengeance this year, especially of late, finishing first, second and first in his past three outings.

“It’s just a testament to how good (crew chief) Kevin (Besecker) gets these cars,” Armstrong praised. “Last year, we ran 10th every race. We just bought a car and raced it. Then he said, ‘I’m just going to scrap the whole thing and we’re going to do it how we do all our other stuff.’ We’ve been fast each and every week and I feel like we have a shot to win. I still feel like we’re a little behind (Kody) and those guys. He’s on another level, but we’re trying to make them sweat.”

Ironically, Armstrong’s first two career USAC Silver Crown victories have come at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway in June, and now his latest triumph came in the city of Madison, Ill. Yet, after returning to the series following a 14-year hiatus a year ago, this is one Madison that Armstrong had zeroed in on from the start.

“At the beginning of the year, this is one we circled,” Armstrong admitted of WWT Raceway. “I wanted to come back here, and I knew with all the experience I have in NASCAR Xfinity and Trucks, at this place, I have a little bit of an advantage. But these guys are good here too, so it’s tough.”

Armstrong was strong early and was able to thwart every advance made by Swanson throughout the first half of the race and beyond. But Swanson knew he wasn’t going to completely rid himself of the Jaws theme music that seemingly follows the competitors when Swanson is within range.

“I had a really good start there,” Armstrong recalled. “I knew, at the end, Kody was going to be so strong. I kind of decided about 20 laps in that I was going to get as much speed as I could. He slowly reeled me in, and I really didn’t have much in the car there at the end; it got so free. Those guys were so good on the long run. I thought we were going to come home second there.”

Two-thirds of the way through the race, Swanson turned the intensity up another notch. On the 41st lap, he ran his fastest lap of the race to that point. On the very next go around on lap 42, Swanson raced underneath Armstrong off turn two to take over up front. With clear air and no traffic in sight, Swanson bested his previous mark by recording the fastest lap of the whole deal on the 43rd trip.

But it turned out to be all for naught when Swanson fell by the wayside with two laps remaining, opening the proverbial door for Armstrong to strike and prevail over Justin Grant, Kaylee Bryson and C.J. Leary with Bobby Santos rounding out the top-five.

“I’m really lucky that we were there,” said the opportune Armstrong. “The car was really good early, especially from last year with all the changes we made. We’ve been so much better each and every week. This thing was a rocket ship all night, especially down the straightaways. I’m glad we were able to capitalize.”

Seventh starting Justin Grant’s (Ione, Calif.) runner-up result was his best USAC Silver Crown finish on a pavement track since winning at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway three years earlier in July of 2021. In the process, Grant, in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/Beast/Speedway Ford, whittled Swanson’s series point lead down from 55 to 30.

On the GWC restart, Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) hustled from fifth to third in a span of two laps and nearly came within a whisker of finishing second in her Sam Pierce/Sam Pierce Chevrolet – AP Driver Development – RE Technologies/Beast/Chevy. Her third place run was the best of her USAC Silver Crown career on pavement, topping her sixth place finish at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway in 2023. That performance earned her the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) bounced back from every obstacle thrown his way this evening. He came back from a broken U-joint in practice to qualify second. Then a failure to launch at the start of the race forced him to begin his quest from the 14th position. From there, Santos went to work, passing nine cars in all to finish fifth to pick up hard charger honors for the night.

Swanson’s Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying run of 30.239 seconds broke the series track record at WWT Raceway, and subsequently, set a new speed record average of 148.814 mph in recording the fastest lap ever turned by a traditional USAC Silver Crown car in the 54-year history of the series. On the run, Swanson bested the former mark of 146.699 mph, set by none other than himself in 2022.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 16, 2024 – World Wide Technology Raceway – Madison, Illinois – 1.25-Mile Paved Oval – Ranken Technical College Silver Crown Showdown Presented By Welsch Heating & Cooling

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-30.239 (New Track Record); 2. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-30.577; 3. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-30.704; 4. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-30.721; 5. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-30.865; 6. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-31.176; 7. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-31.270; 8. Nathan Byrd, 40, Legacy/Wilson-31.300; 9. Mario Clouser, 60, Legacy/Wilson-31.348; 10. Davey Hamilton Jr., 14, Hamilton-31.600; 11. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-31.711; 12. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-32.039; 13. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-32.384; 14. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-33.731; 15. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-36.731; 16. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-37.125.

FEATURE: (60 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dakoda Armstrong (3), 2. Justin Grant (6), 3. Kaylee Bryson (5), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Bobby Santos (14), 6. Mario Clouser (8), 7. Nathan Byrd (7), 8. Logan Seavey (4), 9. Kyle Steffens (10), 10. Bryan Gossel (12), 11. Patrick Lawson (11), 12. Kody Swanson (1), 13. Gregg Cory (13), 14. Davey Hamilton Jr. (9), 15. Nathan Moore (16), 16. Dave Berkheimer (15). 46:58.536

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-41 Dakoda Armstrong, Laps 42-58 Kody Swanson, Laps 59-60 Dakoda Armstrong.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-541, 2-Justin Grant-511, 3-Logan Seavey-486, 4-C.J. Leary-486, 5-Bobby Santos-366, 6-Kaylee Bryson-357, 7-Kyle Steffens-357, 8-Dakoda Armstrong-337, 9-Gregg Cory-306, 10-Trey Osborne-304.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-147, 2-Logan Seavey-139, 3-Robert Ballou-126, 4-C.J. Leary-109, 5-Kyle Cummins-105, 6-Justin Grant-101, 7-Chase Stockon-99, 8-Joey Amantea-92, 9-Brady Bacon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-90.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 17, 2024 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – 61st Bettenhausen 100

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (30.626)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (30.239)

Hard Charger: Bobby Santos (14th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Kaylee Bryson

THURSDAY'S RED HILL SALUTE TO LEVI JONES

USAC SPRINT EVENT CANCELED

Sumner, Illinois (August 14, 2024)………A forecast calling for thunderstorms on race day has forced cancellation of the Thursday night, August 15, Salute to Levi Jones program featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, Illinois.

The 3/8-mile dirt oval in southeastern Illinois was set to host the series’ first visit to Red Hill in 26 years to honor the seven-time USAC national driving champion and series official who was recently announced as an inductee to the USAC Hall of Fame. Jones, who was born and raised in nearby Olney, Ill., made his first career USAC National Sprint Car start at Red Hill in 1998.

Both Illinois USAC Silver Crown National Championship events this weekend remain on as scheduled. USAC Silver Crown racing will be in action on Friday night, August 16, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. before traveling to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. on Saturday, August 17.

The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season resumes with Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown XIII on August 22-23-24 at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway. The event culminates with Saturday night’s $30,000-to-win, $1500-to-start finale.

Furthermore, the September 19 TBA event has been removed from both the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget schedules.

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO PERRIS FOR BROTHER BRETT CLASSIC
By Lance Jennings

AUGUST 13, 2024... Fresh off a hard fought battle at Santa Maria, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will return to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, August 17th. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the “Brother Brett Classic” will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, GAS Chassis PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, and PASSCAR Street Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

USAC/CRA shows at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed and beware of online scammers with fake video links. Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Last Saturday night at Santa Maria, rookie contender Braden Chiaramonte led all 30-laps to score the first USAC/CRA win of his career over Kaleb Montgomery, Logan Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, and R.J. Johnson.

This Saturday’s show at Perris Auto Speedway honors “Brother” Brett Taylor, who passed away at the age of 66 earlier this year. “Brother Brett,” who was everyone’s friend in the pit area, was known throughout short track racing in Southern and Central California. In addition, he was a mainstay with a local Ventura County high school football team and the Police and Fire Departments in Ventura County.

Led by Perris and Ascot infield announcer Chris Holt, over $4,000 in purse money has been raised earlier this week for a special “Brother Brett Trophy Dash.” For the fastest four qualifiers that accept the challenge, the event consists of four 3-lap rotating dashes where points are earned. In addition, an extra $1,000 will go to the winner of the 30-lap main event by Mike Grosswendt from All Coast Construction.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 255 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-five different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all series drivers with 51 “home track” wins and Matt Mitchell has won the February 24th season opener and the May 25th “Salute to Indy.” David Gasper added his name to the record books on March 16th, A.J. Bender joined the winner’s list on April 27th, and Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm topped the June 22nd and July 13th shows. Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

Entering the twelfth point race, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) holds a slim 5-point lead over the competition. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm won Santa Maria’s second heat race and charged from fourteenth to seventh in the main event. At press time, Tommy “Thunder” has three feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 80 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy is tied with “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, “Bullet” Blake Miller, and Jake Swanson with six career triumphs and will be looking to continue his title run with another win at Perris.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) heads to Perris ranked second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson raced from ninth to fifth at Santa Maria. To date, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one semi-main win, ten top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led on the season. R.J. is currently tied with “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland, “Super” Rickie Gaunt, Justin Grant, and “Showtime” Danny Sheridan with eight USAC/CRA wins and will have his sights the Saturday night victory.

After running third at Santa Maria, Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) has climbed to third in the championship chase. Piloting John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will be looking to score the first USAC/CRA victory of his career at Perris Auto Speedway.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) sits fourth in the chase for the championship. Racing Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams won Santa Maria’s third heat race and placed twenty-fourth after an early flip ended his night. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led in the campaign. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will be looking for his first victory of the year on Saturday.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender claimed an eighth place finish at Santa Maria. To date, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has one feature win, three heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led on the season. A.J. will have his sights on claiming the second USAC/CRA win of his career at the “Brother Brett Classic.”

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Braden Chiaramonte, Blake Bower, Jon DeWees, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Camie Bell, Tyler Hatzikian, Heath Holdsclaw, Blake Hendricks, Tom Dunkel, and Aaron Altaffer are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Grant Sexton, Matt Mitchell, Chris Gansen, Gary Marshall Jr., Chris Bonneau, Jonas Reynolds, Tanner Boul, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), In Memory of Wiley Miller Sr. and Wiley Miller Jr., Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Tommy Malcolm-717, 2. R.J. Johnson-712, 3. Logan Williams-649, 4. Austin Williams-647, 5. A.J. Bender-645, 6. Cody Williams-616, 7. David Gasper (R)-584, 8. Verne Sweeney-458, 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-452, 10. Austin Grabowski-424, 11. Charles Davis Jr.-354, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-343, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-338, 14. Brody Roa-307, 15. Grant Sexton-286, 16. Matt Mitchell-281, 17. Ricky Lewis-233, 18. Jeff Dyer-230, 19. Matt McCarthy-210, 20. Logan Calderwood-203The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/ series-point-standings/cra-sprint

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Braden Chiaramonte, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Tommy Malcolm, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Jason York.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Braden Chiaramonte)
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Brother Brett Classic)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

40 USAC SILVER CROWN CARS ENTERED

FOR SATURDAY'S SPRINGFIELD 100-MILER!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 13, 2024)………Forty USAC Silver Crown drivers and cars are entered for this Saturday’s 61st running of the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt mile oval on August 17.

The Springfield Mile will host five past Bettenhausen 100 winners in this Saturday’s field, including defending victor, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.). Kingsburg, California’s Kody Swanson (2014-15-21) also returns to the driver lineup as will Benton, Illinois’ Shane Cockrum (2022); Ione, California’s Justin Grant (2017); and Peru, Indiana’s Russ Gamester (1998).

The list of past Bettenhausen 100 runner-up finishers in this weekend’s drivers’ slate consists of Fenton, Missouri’s Ken Schrader (1982); Tucson, Arizona’s Jerry Coons Jr. (2001-02-03) and Kansas, Illinois’ Shane Cottle (2022-23). Other drivers vying to improve upon their past top-five finishes in the race will see the likes of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (4th in 2020); Pleasant Hill, Ohio’s Matt Westfall (5th in 2002 & 2004); St. Charles, Missouri’s Kyle Steffens (5th in 2021); and Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Kaylee Bryson (5th in 2022).

Six more drivers in this weekend’s field have at least one top-10 on their Bettenhausen 100 resume: Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary (6th in 2015); Springfield, Illinois’ Joey Moughan (9th in 2018); Stoystown, Pennsylvania’s Carmen Perigo (9th in 2021); Auburn, Illinois’ Mario Clouser (8th in 2023); Fort Branch, Indiana’s Chase Stockon (9th in 2022); and Elkhart, Illinois’ Chris Urish (10th in 2012).

The makeup of Bettenhausen 100 veterans returning to this Saturday’s driver lineup brings Edwardsville, Illinois’ Patrick Lawson (12th in 2017); Winchester, Indiana’s Matt Goodnight (14th in 2017); West Springfield, Pennsylvania’s Jimmy Light (15th in 2020); Troy, Missouri’s Chris Fetter (15th in 2014); Bonne Terre, Missouri’s Danny Long (16th in 2022); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Dave Berkheimer (17th in 2022); Kaufman, Texas’ Nathan Moore (18th in 2021); Fort Collins, Colorado’s Bryan Gossel (19th in 2020); Springfield, Illinois’ Korey Weyant (19th in 2021); Raisin City, California’s Mitchel Moles (21st in 2023); Clinton, Indiana’s Dave Peperak (27th in 2021) and Shelbyville, Indiana’s Gregg Cory (30th in 2022).

The Bettenhausen 100 Rookie list for 2024 is comprised of Steve Gennetten (Gravois Mills, Mo.), John Tosti (High Ridge, Mo.), Aric Gentry (Robards, Ky.), Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Tom Savage (Red Lion, Pa.), Danny Jennings (Norman, Okla.), Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio), Kip Hughes (North Enid, Okla.) and Saban Bibent (Cincinnati, Ohio), who is making his first ever appearance in a USAC Silver Crown car this weekend. The most recent Bettenhausen 100 Rookie to win the event was Cole Whitt in 2009.

RACE DETAILS:

On Saturday, August 17, in Springfield, Illinois, pits and registration open at 7am Central with the ticket office and grandstands opening at 9am, the drivers meeting at 9:30am, practice from 10am-11am, Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by the qualifying race at 12:30pm, pre-race ceremonies at 1:30pm and the 100-lap main event at 2pm.

Tickets will be available on race day or by calling the State Fair office at 217-782-1979. Info and tickets can also be obtained by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200.

Advance tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. At the gate on race day, adults are $30 and $10 for children 11 and under. Infield tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for children age 6-11 and free children age 5 & under. Pit passes are $35 for USAC members and $40 for non-members. Infield parking is $5 for those parking in the infield with no infield or pit passes. All drivers/pit crews should enter through gate 7 or 8. The infield tunnel is gate 6.

Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

2024 BETTENHAUSEN 100 ENTRY LIST

03 (R) STEVE GENNETTEN/Gravois Mills, MO (Steve Gennetten)

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

07 (R) JOHN TOSTI/High Ridge, MO (John Tosti)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

3 (R) ARIC GENTRY/Robards, KY (Tim Simmons)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

14 KEN SCHRADER/Fenton, MO (McQuinn Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

21 (R) DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

29 JOEY MOUGHAN/Springfield, IL (MSP Motorsports)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

38 (R) TOM SAVAGE/Red Lion, PA (Savage Motorsports)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)

60 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

61 (R) DANNY JENNINGS/Norman, OK (David Grace/David Grace Motorsports)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

88 (R) SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

97 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

118 JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Wingo Brothers Racing)

119 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

121 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Mark Swanson Encore Team)

160 (R) KIP HUGHES/North Enid, OK (Kip Hughes)

177 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

ENTRY LIST!

MEET THE USAC SILVER CROWN FIELD

FOR WWT RACEWAY AUGUST 16

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Madison, Illinois (August 12, 2024)………For the 11th time, USAC Silver Crown National Championship racing will take a trip to the biggest, boldest and fastest circuit on the USAC Silver Crown trail this Friday, August 16.

Nineteen drivers and cars are entered for the Ranken Technical College Silver Crown Showdown Presented By Welsch Heating & Cooling at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois for the 60-lap, 75-mile extravaganza on the 1.25-mile paved oval.

Among the entries are three past WWT Raceway Silver Crown winners: Franklin, Massachusetts’ Bobby Santos (2013 & 2014); current series point leader Kingsburg, California’s Kody Swanson (2022); and defending victor, Boise, Idaho’s Davey Hamilton Jr. (2023).

Past top-five WWT Silver Crown finishers looking to upgrade to a first career victory this Friday night at the St. Louis area oval are Ione, California’s Justin Grant (3rd in 2023); Auburn, Illinois’ Mario Clouser (3rd in 2022); defending series champion, Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey (4th in 2023; and Goodyear, Arizona’s Nathan Byrd (5th in 2022).

A handful more who have previously raced their way into a top-10 result at WWT are returning to the fray this Friday, including Peru, Indiana’s Russ Gamester (6th in 1999); Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Kaylee Bryson (7th in 2023); Fort Collins, Colorado’s Bryan Gossel (8th in 2022); Shelby Township, Michigan’s Taylor Ferns (9th in 2022); Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary (10th in 2022); and New Castle, Indiana’s Dakoda Armstrong (10th in 2023).

Returning to WWT Raceway after making previous starts at the track are Edwardsville, Illinois’ Patrick Lawson (12th in 2014 & 2016); Kaufman, Texas’ Nathan Moore (13th in 2023); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Dave Berkheimer (17th in 2022) and Shelbyville, Indiana’s Gregg Cory (18th in 2022).

Looking to make their first main event start at WWT Raceway are Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.) and Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.).

RACE DETAILS

The Ranken Technical College Silver Crown Showdown Presented by Welsch Heating & Cooling features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois on Friday, August 16.

Silver Crown Hauler Parking will take place from 8-10am Central time, followed by Silver Crown practice from 1:05-1:50pm, Silver Crown Qualifying starting at 4:40, followed by the 60-lap, 75-mile Silver Crown main event at 9pm.

General admission tickets are $30 (early bird), $35 (advance) and $40 (at gate). General admission tickets for ages 15 and under are free. Free tickets for ages 15 & under will only be available at the gate or by contacting WWT Raceway directly in advance to hold tickets at will call. Advance tickets are on sale now at: https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/indycar.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

14 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Davey Hamilton Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 8/19/2022 - Kody Swanson - 30.675 - 146.699 mph

60 Laps - 6/25/2016 - Tanner Swanson - 44:33.031 - 101.009 mph

80 Laps - 6/14/2014 - Bobby Santos - 49:46.000 - 120.563 mph

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

2-Bobby Santos

1-Pat Abold, Davey Hamilton Jr., Tracy Hines, Ryan Newman, Dave Steele, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson & J.J. Yeley

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

1997: Pat Abold (9/14)

1998: J.J. Yeley (10/17)

1999: Ryan Newman (7/30)

2000: Tracy Hines (5/7)

2001: Dave Steele (8/25)

2013: Bobby Santos (6/1)

2014: Bobby Santos (6/14)

2016: Tanner Swanson (6/25)

2022: Kody Swanson (8/19)

2023: Davey Hamilton Jr. (8/27)

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

PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

1997 FEATURE (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Pat Abold (2), 2. Dave Steele (5), 3. Dan Drinan (10), 4. Kenny Irwin Jr. (25), 5. Robby Flock (6), 6. Tony Stewart (4), 7. Jimmy Sills (3), 8. Dave Darland (21), 9. Ryan Newman (12), 10. Mike Gregg (26), 11. Russ Gamester (17), 12. Jim Keeker (19), 13. Brian Tyler (22), 14. Ronnie Burke (30), 15. Eric Gordon (23), 16. Wally Pankratz (27), 17. Chuck Gurney (11), 18. Jason McCord (29), 19. Gary Irvin (24), 20. Donnie Beechler (13), 21. Bentley Warren (20), 22. Jack Hewitt (7), 23. Chuck Leary (1), 24. Ricky Logan (28), 25. Mike Bliss (9), 26. Kevin Thomas (14), 27. Davey Hamilton (8), 28. Johnny Parsons (16), 29. Gary Hieber (18), 30. Tracy Hines (15). NT

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (17), 2. Tracy Hines (12), 3. Ryan Newman (2), 4. Jason Leffler (3), 5. Bentley Warren (8), 6. Jason McCord (14), 7. Brad Armstrong (15), 8. Davey Hamilton (9), 9. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (18), 10. Pat Abold (27), 11. Eric Gordon (19), 12. Derek Davidson (22), 13. Dave Darland (20), 14. Johnny Parsons (29), 15. Rebel Jackson Jr. (26), 16. Brian Tyler (10), 17. Jimmy Sills (6), 18. Mike Brooks (28), 19. Robby Flock (11), 20. Gary Hieber (25), 21. Doug Didero (24), 22. Dave Steele (1), 23. Kevin Bloomstran (30), 24. Jack Hewitt (16), 25. Jerry Coons Jr. (23), 26. Chet Fillip (21), 27. Stevie Reeves (13), 28. Dan Drinan (5), 29. Russ Gamester (4), DQ. Chuck Leary (7). 56:47.64

1999 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Newman (6), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (8), 3. Jack Hewitt (1), 4. Gary Hieber (18), 5. Tracy Hines (5), 6. Russ Gamester (7), 7. Bentley Warren (15), 8. Brad Noffsinger (12), 9. Jimmy McCune (17), 10. Dave Darland (20), 11. Robby Flock (14), 12. Todd Kane (19), 13. Chuck Leary (2), 14. Brian Gerster (21), 15. Paul White (23), 16. Tony Elliott (4), 17. Tom Capie (27), 18. Rebel Jackson Jr. (16), 19. J.J. Yeley (26), 20. Brian Paulus (9), 21. Jason Leffler (3), 22. Brian Tyler (13), 23. Randy Bateman (30), 24. Chet Fillip (11), 25. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (24), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 27. Keith Butler (28), 28. Jimmy Sills (10), 29. Jason McCord (22), 30. Jay Drake (25). 59:46.88

2000 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (4), 2. Jason Leffler (6), 3. Brad Noffsinger (1), 4. J.J. Yeley (5), 5. John Heydenreich (26), 6. Jack Hewitt (15), 7. Dan Drinan (12), 8. Jimmy McCune (27), 9. Russ Gamester (8), 10. Brian Paulus (20), 11. Dave Darland (11), 12. Jay Drake (16), 13. Brian Gerster (18), 14. Billy Whittaker (22), 15. Todd Kane (23), 16. Jimmy Kite (28), 17. Bobby McMahan (24), 18. Kasey Kahne (17), 19. Tom Capie (29), 20. Jimmy Sills (7), 21. Jon Herb (14), 22. Bud Kaeding (3), 23. Paul White (2), 24. Chet Fillip (21), 25. Tony Elliott (30), 26. Brian Tyler (10), 27. Ed Carpenter (13), 28. Jason McCord (25), 29. Ryan Newman (9), 30. Gary Hieber (19). NT

2001 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (1), 2. Tracy Hines (10), 3. Mike Bliss (7), 4. Paul White (8), 5. Brian Tyler (6), 6. J.J. Yeley (2), 7. Ed Carpenter (11), 8. Kasey Kahne (9), 9. Bud Kaeding (14), 10. Chet Fillip (26), 11. Gary Hieber (27), 12. John Heydenreich (19), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (17), 14. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (22), 15. Jason McCord (15), 16. Rich Tobias Jr. (21), 17. Tom Capie (16), 18. A.J. Fike (18), 19. Robby Flock (24), 20. Dave Darland (4), 21. Derek Davidson (20), 22. Eric Butze (28), 23. Jay Drake (12), 24. Tony Elliott (13), 25. Bentley Warren (30), 26. Michael Lewis (23), 27. Dane Carter (25), 28. John Nervo (29), 29. Aaron Fike (3), 30. Russ Gamester (5). 51:14.28

2013 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (5), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Chris Windom (1), 4. Brian Tyler (10), 5. Jacob Wilson (7), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 7. Levi Jones (6), 8. Bobby East (2), 9. Shane Hollingsworth (11), 10. A.J. Fike (4), 11. David Byrne (15), 12. Zach Daum (12), 13. Jarett Andretti (9), 14. Tracy Hines (14), 15. Aaron Pierce (13), 16. Randy Bateman (16). NT

2014 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (5), 2. Tracy Hines (1), 3. Bobby East (3), 4. Caleb Armstrong (7), 5. Kody Swanson (12), 6. Jarett Andretti (4), 7. Cale Thomas (9), 8. Chris Windom (13), 9. Tanner Swanson (2), 10. David Byrne (6), 11. Randy Bateman (10), 12. Patrick Lawson (11), 13. Jacob Wilson (8). 49:46.000

2016 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Austin Nemire (4), 4. David Byrne (6), 5. Joe Liguori (9), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Casey Shuman (8), 8. Hunter Schuerenberg (12), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 10. Shane Cottle (11), 11. Kody Swanson (2), 12. Patrick Lawson (10), 13. Tad Roach (13). 44:33.031

2022 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Davey Hamilton Jr. (7), 3. Mario Clouser (5), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Nathan Byrd (12), 6. Kyle Robbins (11), 7. Eric Gordon (14), 8. Bryan Gossel (17), 9. Taylor Ferns (6), 10. C.J. Leary (9), 11. Bobby Santos (2), 12. Brian Tyler (8), 13. Travis Welpott (15), 14. Derek Bischak (10), 15. Patrick Lawson (13), 16. Logan Seavey (4), 17. Dave Berkheimer (19), 18. Gregg Cory (16), 19. Tom Paterson (18), 20. Mike McVetta (20). 1:07:32.395

2023 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Davey Hamilton Jr. (6), 2. Bobby Santos (3), 3. Justin Grant (9), 4. Logan Seavey (2), 5. Derek Bischak (7), 6. Trey Burke (11), 7. Kaylee Bryson (10), 8. Kyle O'Gara (8), 9. Mario Clouser (5), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (13), 11. Taylor Ferns (12), 12. Bryan Gossel (17), 13. Nathan Moore (19), 14. Kody Swanson (1), 15. Travis Welpott (18), 16. Matt Westfall (14), 17. Nathan Byrd (#11) (22), 18. Mike McVetta (16), 19. C.J. Leary (4), 20. Tom Paterson (20), 21. Aaron Pierce (15), 22. Patrick Lawson (21). 1:05:05.708

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES: August 10, 2024 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.337; 2. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-13.347; 3. Chase Johnson, 17, Dunkel-13.426; 4. Kaleb Montgomery, 3, Montgomery-13.443; 5. Blake Bower, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.509; 6. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-13.535; 7. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-13.540; 8. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-13.560; 9. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-13.605; 10. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-13.688; 11. Brody Fuson, 51B, Van Meter-13.774; 12. Bryce Eames, 50, Abeytia-13.798; 13. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-13.799; 14. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-13.811; 15. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-13.831; 16. Davey Pombo, 38, Pombo-13.940; 17. Brody Roa, 8M, May-13.982; 18. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-13.997; 19. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-14.217; 20. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.260; 21. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-14.312; 22. Heath Holdsclaw, 33, Holdsclaw-14.472; 23. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-14.679; 24. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-14.730.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Braden Chiaramonte, 3. Davey Pombo, 4. Kaleb Montgomery, 5. Cody Williams, 6. Andrew Sweeney, 7. Jonas Reynolds, 8. Heath Holdsclaw. NT

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Grant Sexton, 3. Brody Fuson, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Blake Bower, 6. A.J. Bender, 7. Austin Grabowski, 8. Jon DeWees. NT

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Brent Sexton, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Logan Williams, 6. Bryce Eames, 7. David Gasper, 8. Elexa Herrera. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions) 1. Braden Chiaramonte (1), 2. Kaleb Montgomery (4), 3. Logan Williams (2), 4. Cody Williams (6), 5. R.J. Johnson (9), 6. Blake Bower (3), 7. Tommy Malcolm (14), 8. A.J. Bender (7), 9. Brody Roa (17), 10. David Gasper (21), 11. Austin Grabowski (20), 12. Bryce Eames (12), 13. Verne Sweeney (13), 14. Brent Sexton (18), 15. Heath Holdsclaw (22), 16. Elexa Herrera (24), 17. Chase Johnson (5), 18. Davey Pombo (16), 19. Jonas Reynolds (19), 20. Jon DeWees (23), 21. Andrew Sweeney (10), 22. Brody Fuson (11), 23. Grant Sexton (8), 24. Austin Williams (15). NT.

**Austin Williams flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Chase Johnson flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Braden Chiaramonte.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: David Gasper (21 to 10)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Tommy Malcolm-717, 2-R.J. Johnson-712, 3-Logan Williams-649, 4-Austin Williams-647, 5-A.J. Bender-645, 6-Cody Williams-616, 7-David Gasper-584, 8-Verne Sweeney-458, 9-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-452, 10-Austin Grabowski-424.

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: August 17, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Brother Brett Classic at the California Racers Hall of Fame Night”

PHOTO: Braden Chiaramonte & Team in Santa Maria victory circle. Photo by A.J. Johnson / P1 Racing Images

SURGICAL SWANSON DISSECTS

USAC SILVER CROWN FIELD AT JENNERSTOWN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Jennerstown, Pennsylvania (August 10, 2024)………Kody Swanson’s one and only previous visit to Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway came in a late model back in 2021 and concluded with an unsavory encounter with the outside wall and a torn up racecar to boot.

From famine to feast, the Kingsburg, California racer’s next trip to Jennerstown on Saturday night was about as polar opposite as it comes in the high stakes world of motorsports during the USAC Silver Crown debut at the .522-mile paved oval.

Swanson started from the pole position and led all 100 laps in succession after recently having surgery to remove two screws from his left foot following an offseason accident away from the racetrack. It was Swanson’s record-extending 44th career USAC Silver Crown win and his fourth series triumph of the season. In fact, 17 of his 44 career series victories have come after capturing the pole position and leading every lap.

On pavement tracks alone in his Silver Crown career, Swanson has now won 29 times at eight different venues in his USAC Silver Crown career. Swanson’s mark of eight different pavement tracks won at are now tied for the most all-time alongside Dave Steele and Brian Tyler.

In adding another victory to his tally, Swanson also padded his current championship point lead to the tune of a 55-point margin. Swanson’s first open wheel appearance at Jennerstown also resulted in the 15th different track he’s won at in his career with the series, dirt and pavement combined, which is already an all-time record.

“The beauty of Silver Crown racing is you’ve got to adapt, and I think that’s the part that’s most fun about it,” Swanson noted. “We run dirt races, we run pavement, we run big tracks, we run little ones and tricky ones in between. That’s the part I love.”

Interestingly enough, USAC’s most recent event held at Jennerstown came 55 years earlier in a 1969 midget race won by Bob Tattersall when the track surface was dirt. Swanson’s path to victory on Saturday night was paved with $10,000 in rewards after starting from the pole position for the record-extending 52nd time of his career.

Swanson’s qualifying run provided him with a one-lap Silver Crown track record at eight different tracks: Kansas’ Belleville High Banks, Iowa Speedway, Illinois’ World Wide Technology Raceway, Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, Indiana’s Salem Speedway and Winchester Speedway, Ohio’s Toledo Speedway and now Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway.

For Swanson and his Doran-Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Wilke Orthodontics – Glenn Farms/Beast/Lanci Ford, it was a masterful turnaround from the practice session 24 hours earlier. Swanson’s best lap of Friday’s test was a mere 18.314 seconds, which would’ve put him mid-pack in Saturday’s field. Needless to say, there was nothing mid-pack about Swanson on when all was said and done.

“It was a mess yesterday and even today,” Swanson explained. “We borrowed the series’ scales to check the thing on the lift and tried to just keep working on it. These guys stuck with me and I’m really thankful it worked out. You never know if it will be good or not. When I was getting into the car to start the feature, I said, ‘I guess we’ll find out.’ I didn’t know if we were making the right decisions or not, but the effort was there and that’s all you can ask. As a driver, it’s your job to put your helmet on and go out and try to get it with whatever kind of car you’ve got. I’m really thankful tonight that this one was as good as it was.”

When the green flag dropped, Swanson established the early lead as Logan Seavey slotted into second and Dakoda Armstrong held strong in third. However, early race troubles befell eighth running Kaylee Bryson on lap seven as she suddenly slowed with a clutch issue, ultimately coasting to a stop on the back straightaway on lap nine and finishing her night abruptly with a 15th place result.

The most major incident of the race occurred on lap 29 as the frontrunners began to bear down on the tail end of the field. Entering turn one, sixth running Tyler Roahrig and 14th place Nathan Moore hooked bumpers, sending Moore spinning into the outside turn one wall, ending his evening with a 14th place result.

On the ensuing lap 33 restart, Armstrong edged ahead of Seavey on the outside for the second position in turns one and two. However, Seavey was able to shake off the pressure for the time being to recollect the spot. Armstrong continued to press Seavey for the next nine circuits until lap 42 when he charged under Seavey on the back straight to elevate into the runner-up spot.

At the moment, Swanson remained 1.2 seconds ahead as the race hit the halfway point. However, further back, 10th starting Taylor Ferns began to surge. Running seventh on lap 50 of 100, she blitzed past Roahrig for sixth on lap 52, past C.J. Leary for fifth on lap 65 and by Justin Grant for fourth in turn two on lap 68.

With 30 to go, Swanson’s primary challenger was Armstrong, the only driver to deny Swanson a Silver Crown pavement victory through the first five events thus far in 2024. Armstrong whittled Swanson’s lead down to three tenths while the pair navigated their way through traffic. However, Swanson got the word from above that he had company, and thus, he took matters into his own hands.

“As Dakoda was coming, I’ve got a great spotter who said, ‘hey, he’s closing and he’s doing this different,’” Swanson recalled of his spotter/wife Jordan Swanson announcing into his two-way radio communication. “Immediately, I knew what I had and what I was struggling with, so I started moving around. That’s the fun part about tracks like this. There are so many characteristics to them that you just move around and find something else you like. I ran a line I hadn’t run in two days, but it seemed to work and it kind of stabilized for a little while. It gave me a chance to figure out what I needed to do next and try to take advantage of lapped traffic to get away a little bit.”

In the aftermath, Swanson had broken open his lead to 1.27 seconds as he ably put fellow championship contenders Grant and Leary a lap down during the waning moments. All the while, Swanson's lead ballooned to 2.149 seconds and never wavered from that moment onward.

At the finish line, Swanson crossed the line 3.907 seconds ahead of Dakoda Armstrong, Logan Seavey, Taylor Ferns and Bobby Santos who rounded out the top-five.

Following his first career Silver Crown victory in June at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.) once again finished inside the top-two, scoring a runner-up result at Jennerstown in his C & A Motorsports/Meristem Crop Performance – Armstrong Farms/Beast/Stanton Chevy.

Fresh off his first USAC Indiana Sprint Week championship a week ago, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) once again landed on the podium of a USAC Silver Crown race in his second straight start aboard his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/DiaEdge Mitsubishi Materials – STIDA.com/Beast/Felker Chevy. After scoring a second on the dirt at Kansas’ Salt City Speedway in July, the defending series champion landed a third in his debut on the pavement at Jennerstown.

Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) put on a show at Jennerstown as she raced her way from her 10th starting spot to a fourth place finish. Her plus-6 performance earned her hard charger honors en route to her best finish of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season behind the wheel of her Taylor Ferns Racing/Bradford Allen – Mobil 1 – Motorsports Safety Group/Beast/Stanton Mopar. With those efforts in mind, Ferns was earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS: August 10, 2024 – Jennerstown Speedway – Jennerstown, Pennsylvania – .522-Mile Paved Oval – Silver Crown Showdown

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-18.019 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-18.033; 3. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-18.049; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-18.062; 5. Tyler Roahrig, 41, Newman-18.088; 6. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-18.102; 7. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-18.163; 8. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-18.176; 9. Nathan Byrd, 40, Legacy/Wilson-18.308; 10. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-18.317; 11. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-18.340; 12. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-18.617; 13. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-18.991; 14. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-19.614; 15. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-19.767; 16. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-27.633.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Dakoda Armstrong (3), 3. Logan Seavey (2), 4. Taylor Ferns (10), 5. Bobby Santos (8), 6. C.J. Leary (6), 7. Justin Grant (4), 8. Nathan Byrd (9), 9. Kyle Steffens (11), 10. Trey Osborne (12), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (14), 12. Gregg Cory (13), 13. Tyler Roahrig (5), 14. Nathan Moore (15), 15. Kaylee Bryson (7), 16. Dave Berkheimer (16). 34:11.01 (New Track Record)

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Kody Swanson.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-499, 2-Justin Grant-444, 3-Logan Seavey-437, 4-C.J. Leary-425, 5-Bobby Santos-308, 6-Trey Osborne-304, 7-Taylor Ferns-296, 8-Kaylee Bryson-293, 9-Kyle Steffens-291, 10-Gregg Cory-269.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-147, 2-Logan Seavey-139, 3-Robert Ballou-126, 4-C.J. Leary-109, 5-Kyle Cummins-105, 6-Chase Stockon-99, 7-Justin Grant-97, 8-Joey Amantea-92, 9-Brady Bacon-90, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-90.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 16, 2024 – World Wide Technology Raceway – Madison, Illinois – 1.25-Mile Paved Oval – Ranken Technical College Silver Crown Showdown Presented By Welsch Heating & Cooling

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (18.000)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (18.019)

Hard Charger: Taylor Ferns (10th to 4th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Taylor Ferns

TOMMY MALCOLM LEADS USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS TO SANTA MARIA
By Lance Jennings

AUGUST 6, 2024... After a break in the schedule, the chase for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship will resume this Saturday, August 10th, at Santa Maria Speedway. When the CRA Sprints last saw action on July 13th at Perris Auto Speedway, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm earned his third consecutive win over A.J. Bender, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, fast qualifier R.J. Johnson, and “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr.

Promoted by the Pombo Family, the eleventh point race will also showcase the IMCA SportMods, NMRA TQ Midgets, and Hobby Stocks. Located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California, the pit gates at "The West's Best Short Track" will open at 1:00pm, front gates open at 4:00pm, time trials at 5:00pm, and racing will begin at 6:00pm. For more information, visit the track’s website at santamariaspeedway.net or call 310.493.4900.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Santa Maria Speedway has been a popular stop for non-winged sprint car racing since their opening night on May 31, 1964 when Hal Minyard took the checkered flags with the original CRA. The 1/3-mile facility has held thirty USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm won the last Santa Maria visit on July 6th’s “Doug Fort Memorial.” “The Demon” Damion Gardner and “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa are tied for the series lead with four victories at “The West’s Best Short Track” and “Bullet” Blake Miller set the 1-lap qualifying record of 13.230 on June 14, 2008. The complete Santa Maria USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

With three consecutive victories, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) has regained the point lead by a slim eight point advantage. Piloting Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm also has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 80 feature laps led on the season. Tommy is tied with “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, “Bullet” Blake Miller, and Jake Swanson with six career triumphs and will be looking to continue his title run with another Santa Maria victory.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson was the fast qualifier and scored fourth at Perris on July 13th. At press time, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one semi-main win, nine top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led to his credit. R.J. is currently tied with “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland, “Super” Rickie Gaunt, Justin Grant, and “Showtime” Danny Sheridan with eight USAC/CRA wins and will have his sights on the victory at Santa Maria.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) sits third in the chase for the championship. Racing Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17 Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams placed third in the July 13th feature at Perris. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has three heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led in the campaign. “The Big Game Hunter” is tied with Matt Mitchell with eleven series wins and will be looking for his first victory of the year this Saturday night.

After finishing second to Tommy Malcolm on July 13th, A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) has climbed to fourth in the championship standings. Piloting the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has one feature win, three heat race victories, six top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led on the season. A.J. will have his sights on claiming the second USAC/CRA win of his career at Santa Maria.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA point chase. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams scored thirteenth at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds on July 13th. At press time, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will be looking to score his first USAC/CRA victory this Saturday night.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Braden Chiaramonte, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Jon DeWees, Blake Bower, Camie Bell, Tyler Hatzikian, Blake Hendricks, Tom Dunkel, and Aaron Altaffer are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Grant Sexton, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Ryan Timmons, “The Rattlesnake” Andrew Sweeney, Kaleb Montgomery, Davey Pombo, Anthony Pombo, Brody Fuson, and more.

Santa Maria Speedway is located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California. Adult tickets are $30, Senior, Military, and Student tickets are $28, Kids tickets (6 to 12) are $10, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit the track’s website at santamariaspeedway.net or call 310.493.4900.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Tommy Malcolm-657, 2. R.J. Johnson-649, 3. Austin Williams-616, 4. A.J. Bender-588, 5. Logan Williams-580, 6. Cody Williams-545, 7. David Gasper (R)-539, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-452, 9. Verne Sweeney-413, 10. Austin Grabowski-381, 11. Charles Davis Jr.-354, 12. Elexa Herrera (R)-311, 13. Brent Sexton (R)-297, 14. Matt Mitchell-281, 15. Grant Sexton-256, ---. Brody Roa-256, 17. Ricky Lewis-233, 18. Jeff Dyer-230, 19. Matt McCarthy-210, 20. Logan Calderwood-203. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

SANTA MARIA AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Blake Miller – 13.230 (06/14/08)

SANTA MARIA AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Damion Gardner, 4-Brody Roa, 3-Ryan Bernal, 2-Max Adams, 2-Rickie Gaunt, 2-Cory Kruseman, 2-Mike Spencer, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Tyler Brown, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Garrett Hansen, 1-Mike Kirby, 1-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Blake Miller, 1-Danny Sheridan, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Rip Williams.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Brother Brett Classic at California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

ENTRY LIST:

JENNERSTOWN’S USAC SILVER CROWN

DEBUT UP NEXT AUG. 10

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Jennerstown, Pennsylvania (August 6, 2024)………It’s been 55 years since USAC last made a visit to Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway. That May 1969 midget event was captured by Bob Tattersall in a field which featured four present-day USAC Hall of Fame inductees.

However, Jennerstown hasn’t seen anything like what’s on its way this Saturday, August 10, as the USAC Silver Crown National Championship makes its maiden voyage to the .522-mile paved oval in the southwestern portion of the Keystone State.

Today’s stars of USAC racing are among the 18 entries for the 100-lap, 52.2-mile debut at Jennerstown. It’s a field that includes a trio of past USAC Silver Crown champs such as seven-time titlist and current point leader Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), 2020 champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and defending series king, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.).

All three champs will be joined by 2024 first-time USAC Silver Crown winners Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) and Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.). Bryson scored on dirt at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks in May while Armstrong defeated the field at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway in June.

Fellow Silver Crown winners Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) have all won pavement races with the series. However, all will be vying for their first Silver Crown win of the season.

Series veterans Mike Haggenbottom (Levittown, Pa.) and Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) will be representing their home land at their home state track.

Four others who currently rank inside the top-10 of the Silver Crown standings are hungry to edge up closer to the top of the pylon. Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) is the top Rookie in the series to this point and resides fifth in the standings. Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.) stands eighth in points while Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) is fresh off a run with the IndyNXT series. She sits ninth in Crown points at the moment. Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), the 2022 series Rookie of the Year, ranks 10th.

Four more will be making their Pennsylvania pavement debuts with the Silver Crown series. Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.) has made starts with NASCAR’s Xfinity Series in 2024. Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.) is a two-time winner of the Little 500 Sprint Car race at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway. Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) will make the tow up from the Lone Star State. Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio) was the 2023 500 Sprint Tour Rookie of the Year.

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

RACE DETAILS

A USAC Silver Crown practice will be held at Jennerstown Speedway from 6-8pm on Friday, August 9.

Race day will follow on Saturday, August 10, with the Silver Crown Showdown featuring the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, plus Martella's Pharmacies Late Models & Integrity Coatings Chargers. Front gates will open at 4pm Eastern with cars on track at 6pm. Tickets are just $20 with admission for kids age 12 and under free!

Advance tickets are available now at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/jennerstownspeedway/4946/event/1373982. Tickets will also be available at the gate on race day.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-423, 2-Justin Grant-392, 3-Logan Seavey-373, 4-C.J. Leary-370, 5-Trey Osborne-261, 6-Kaylee Bryson-260, 7-Bobby Santos-250, 8-Kyle Steffens-245, 9-Taylor Ferns-235, 10-Gregg Cory-230.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINTS: 1-Doran-Binks Racing #77-423, 2-Hemelgarn Racing #91-392, 3-Rice Motorsports/Abacus Racing #22-373, 4-Klatt Enterprises #6-316, 5-BCR Group #81-261, 6-Sam Pierce #26-260, 7-DJ Racing #98-250, 8-Steffens Motorsports #08-245, 9-Taylor Ferns Racing #555-235, 10-Williams-Cory Racing #32-230.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINTS: 1-Trey Osborne-261, 2-Nathan Moore-205, 3-Daison Pursley-128, 4-Jackson Macenko-127, 5-Briggs Danner-87, 6-Mitchel Moles-74, 7-Chase Dietz-55, 8-Alex Bright-49, 9-Danny Jennings-46, 10-Kip Hughes-33.

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

2024 JENNERSTOWN SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes-Nick Bohanon Racing)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

55 YEARS LATER,

USAC & JENNERSTOWN MEET AGAIN SATURDAY

…FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH SILVER CROWN!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Jennerstown, Pennsylvania (August 7, 2024)………It’s been 20 years to the month since the USAC Silver Crown National Championship last competed on pavement in the state of Pennsylvania.

This weekend marks the return of the series to the asphalt at a Keystone State venue, and this time, it’s for the first time, on Saturday night, August 10.

For the first time ever, Jennerstown Speedway will host the champ cars on its .522-mile paved oval, which first welcomed racing events in 1930 on the south edge of the town with a population of roughly 677.

The world of USAC racing converges upon the borough this weekend, and here are the storylines to keep your eyes and ears affixed to!

SANTOS WITH A JENNERSTOWN WINNING PEDIGREE

Bobby Santos is the only driver in this weekend’s field who possesses winning experience at Jennerstown Speedway.

The 12-time USAC Silver Crown winner achieved two feature victories with the Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Car Series in 2019 and 2022. In 2018, Santos (Franklin, Mass.) was also the fastest qualifier in a winged sprint car, topping out at a 15.550 second lap around the .522-mile paved oval.

Santos is also the lone driver in the field who competed on pavement with the USAC Silver Crown series in Pennsylvania, at Nazareth Speedway in 2004. However, his involvement in a lap 33 accident ended his day early with a finish of 30th.

JENNERSTOWN EXPERIENCED

Bobby Santos isn’t the only driver to own previous Jennerstown experience. However, he does appear to be the only driver with previous open wheel experience at the place.

Seven-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) enters as the point leader by 31 markers in the 2024 title race. Back in 2021, Swanson competed in a pavement late model during the Motor Mountain Masters but dropped out early after 46 laps. Swanson has won 28 times on seven different pavement tracks in his USAC Silver Crown and aims to add Jennerstown this weekend.

During the early 1990s, Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) was a regular competitor on the American Speed Association (ASA) Stock Car circuit, making three Jennerstown starts in 1992-93-94. Of the only five previous pavement USAC Silver Crown races held in Pennsylvania, Gamester is among the winners. He scored at Nazareth back in 2001.

KODY LEADS A FOUR HORSE RACE

Of course, points are crucial at any and all points throughout the year, but especially when it comes to this August. Four USAC Silver Crown races are on tap this month, including two on pavement and two on dirt.

At press time, it appears to be a four horse race for the title with three past Silver Crown champions among the group. Kody Swanson leads the squad with 423 points. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), the 2020 series champ, is his closest challenger at the moment, 31 points behind.

Defending series titlist Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) stands third, 50 points back from the leader. C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) remains only 53 points from the top as he seeks a first Silver Crown title.

Interestingly, from this bunch, only Swanson has won a Silver Crown race thus far this year. A win by any of the four would be pivotal for their title hopes, especially at this juncture.

THE ROOKIE RUN

The other points race to keep an eye on is the battle for Rookie of the Year. Trey Osborne currently owns a 56-point lead in that department over Nathan Moore.

Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) has cemented himself as a force over his past couple of series starts on each surface. On the pavement of Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, he drove it home fourth. In his next outing on dirt, Osborne put his ride on the podium for the first time in his career with a third place result on the dirt at Salt City Speedway.

Moore (Kaufman, Texas) also made his best career run at Salt City, finishing eighth after starting 16th to earn hard charger honors. Like Osborne, for Moore, Jennerstown will present a brand new, first-time racing experience.

GOING FOR 4-STRAIGHT FIRST-TIME WINNERS

This USAC Silver Crown season has been both fascinating and unpredictable. Through the first seven races of the season, four brand new first-time series winners have emerged: Kaylee Bryson (Belleville), Daison Pursley (Port Royal), Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (Salt City).

That’s the most in a single season since 2010, and we’re only halfway through the 2024 campaign.

More than half of this weekend’s field is seeking their first career Silver Crown win. Among them are Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) and Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), both of whom have finished on the podium in their USAC Silver Crown career.

Top series Rookies Trey Osborne and Nathan Moore are also among the group as are Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio), Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.), Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Mike Haggenbottom (Levittown, Pa.) and Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.).

IT’S BEEN AWHILE, JENNERSTOWN

Yes, it’s been 20 years since the most recent USAC Silver Crown race in the state of Pennsylvania, but it’s also been 55 years since USAC last competed at Jennerstown Speedway.

The surface was dirt when the USAC National Midgets invaded Jennerstown on May 4, 1969. Bob Tattersall led all 40 laps in his Jack Stroud owned Honker II to win over Chuck Arnold, Tommy McAndrews, Mel Kenyon and Bob Wente. Tattersall went on to win the championship that same year. Kenyon was the fastest qualifier at a time of 22.940. The trophy dash was won by Wente while Kenyon, Jerry Karl, Arnold and Bill Renshaw captured heat race victories. Mel Cornett scored a victory in the semi-feature.

Of the aforementioned five previous pavement Silver Crown races held in Pennsylvania, all of them were contested at Nazareth Speedway between 1999-2004. Jason Leffler won in 1999, Tracy Hines in 2000, Russ Gamester in 2001, Kasey Kahne in 2003 and Tyler Walker in 2004.

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

RACE DETAILS

A USAC Silver Crown practice will be held at Jennerstown Speedway from 6-8pm on Friday, August 9.

Advance tickets are available now at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/jennerstownspeedway/4946/event/1373982. Tickets will also be available at the gate on race day.

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

2024 JENNERSTOWN SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes-Nick Bohanon Racing)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

KTJ COLLECTS 2024 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PASSING MASTER TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 4, 2024)………Kevin Thomas Jr.’s mastery of passing throughout the 2024 edition of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing accrued 58 positions advanced throughout the seven-race series.

That netted the Cullman, Ala. driver the Indiana Sprint Week ProSource Passing Master championship, which calculated passes made by each driver in all heat races, C-mains, semi-feature and feature events. Of note, provisional starters once again did not receive points toward the passing master standings.

Thomas joins past Indiana Sprint Week Passing Masters Stevie Sussex (2021) and Shane Cottle (2022 & 2023) as a recipient of the award.

KTJ’s pursuit of the Passing Master title basically boiled down to one roller coaster night in the penultimate round at Tri-State Speedway. After a massive qualifying flip took his car out of action, another car from the Rock Steady Racing stable was rolled out of the trailer. Thomas took it from there, charging from 20th to 3rd in the semi, then lined up 24th for the feature where he proceeded to drive it across the finish line to 7th.

The 34 positions advanced from that single night vaulted Thomas from 14th in the Passing Master standings to first, from 18 passes throughout the first five events of ISW to 52 entering Sunday’s finale at Bloomington Speedway. Thomas added six more passes there on the red clay for good measure to finish off a topsy-turvy week that concluded with a $500 bonus.

“It has been a roller coaster, that’s for sure,” Thomas said. “Our team just didn’t quit. We’re down two cars and probably an engine after yesterday, but they put in the hours all week and some all-nighters. I’ve driven three racecars in seven nights, so that just shows you what we’re capable of and what we can bounce back from. Their ability to rebound is quite incredible. It wasn’t the week we wanted but we know we can dig down deep when we need to.”

Two-time ISW Passing Master champ Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) took second with 54. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was third at 46. Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) scored fourth with 41. Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) rounded out the top-five with 40 positions advanced during the week.

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

2024 PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINTS

POS PTS DRIVER HOMETOWN

1 58 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama

2 54 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Illinois

3 46 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

4 41 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Indiana

5 40 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, California

6 38 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Indiana

7 37 Logan Seavey, Sutter, California

8 31 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Oklahoma

9 30 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Indiana

10 29 Anton Hernandez, Arlington, Texas

11 28 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, California

12 26 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Washington

26 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Indiana

26 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Indiana

15 25 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, California

16 24 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Indiana

17 23 Kale Drake, Collinsville, Oklahoma

23 Kobe Simpson, Bonham, Texas

19 21 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colorado

21 Evan Mosley, Lapel, Indiana

21 19 Justin Grant, Ione, California

22 18 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pennsylvania

18 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Arizona

18 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Indiana

25 17 Sam Hinds, Westfield, Indiana

26 16 Max Adams, Loomis, California

16 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania

16 Troy Carey, Tullamore, New South Wales

29 15 Kyle Shipley, Phoenix, Arizona

30 14 Donny Brackett, Fort Branch, Indiana

31 13 Harley Burns, Brazil, Indiana

13 Geoff Ensign, Sebastopol, California

13 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

34 12 Carson Short, Marion, Illinois

35 11 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Indiana

36 10 Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio

10 Nate Schank, Santa Rosa, California

38 9 Jack Hoyer, Frankfort, Indiana

39 8 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Illinois

8 Kyle Johnson, Greencastle, Indiana

8 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

8 Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Indiana

8 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, California

44 7 Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Indiana

7 Nathan Seale, Fort Branch, Indiana

46 6 Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, Indiana

6 Frankie Guerrini, San Rafael, California

6 Todd Moule, Heathcote, Victoria

49 5 Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, Arizona

5 R.J. Johnson, Laveen, Arizona

5 Jake Scott, Morgantown, Indiana

5 Sam Scott, Patoka, Indiana

5 Scotty Weir, Marion, Indiana

54 4 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Indiana

4 Xavier Doney, Odessa, Missouri

4 Brayden Fox, Avon, Indiana

57 3 Gabriel Gilbert, Greenwood, Indiana

3 Weston Gorham, Colleyville, Texas

3 Austin Hawkins, Sumner, Illinois

3 Matt Thompson, Bloomington, Indiana

3 Travis Thompson, Brazil, Indiana

3 Daniel Whitley, Ferndale, California

63 2 James Boyd, Villa Park, Illinois

2 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Indiana

2 Todd Hobson, Clyde, Victoria

2 Seth Parker, West Terre Haute, Indiana

2 Brady Short, Bedford, Indiana

68 1 Stan Beadles, Owensville, Indiana

1 Dustin Beck, Petersburg, Indiana

1 Colton Booten, Marion, Illinois

1 Brayden Clark, Tipton, Indiana

1 Michael Daugherty, Lafayette, Indiana

1 Aaron Davis, Windfall, Indiana

1 Aric Gentry, Robards, Kentucky

1 Colin Grissom, Anderson, Indiana

1 Tyler Hewitt, Marion, Indiana

1 Stevie Sussex, Tempe, Arizona

1 Cody Williams, Rensselaer, Indiana

79 0 Collin Ambrose, Owensboro, Kentucky

0 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

0 Wyatt Burks, Topeka, Kansas

0 Daylan Chambers, Bowling Green, Indiana

0 Dan Clodfelter, Rockville, Indiana

0 Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, Missouri

0 Bryce Dues, Russia, Ohio

0 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Indiana

0 J.J. Hughes, Jasper, Indiana

0 Justin Meneely, Brazil, Indiana

0 Andrew Prather, Martinsville, Indiana

0 Kendall Ruble, Vincennes, Indiana

0 Adyn Schmidt, Haubstadt, Indiana

0 Stephen Schnapf, Newburgh, Indiana

0 Shawn Westerfeld, Guilford, Indiana

0 Reed Whitney, Jasper, Indiana

DANNER DELIVERS FIRST USAC ISW WIN AT BLOOMINGTON,

SEAVEY SECURES ISW TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bloomington, Indiana (August 4, 2024)………One year ago, Bloomington Speedway very nearly became the home of Briggs Danner’s first career victory during NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing.

After leading the initial 14 laps of the 2023 round of the series at the 1/4-mile red clay oval, the Allentown, Pa. racer went on to finish second. But this time around, he was adamant to not let déjà vu repeat itself despite heavy pressure down the stretch of Sunday night’s Bob & Sheldon Kinser Memorial ISW finale at Bloomington, which had been rescheduled following a rain out two nights earlier on Friday.

Meanwhile, a triumphant beginning was bookended by an unexpectedly eventful evening that nearly spelled disaster for Logan Seavey. Despite a lap 11 accident in which he flipped and suffered extensive front end damage, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) returned to the field and soldiered on to a 15th place result to finish off his first career Indiana Sprint Week championship by a 13-point margin.

As far as Danner, he finally broke through for his first career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature win during the Eastern Storm opener in June of this year on his home soil of Pennsylvania at Grandview Speedway. Since that point, Danner had led four USAC National Sprint Car feature races and was in contention to win all of them.

The tales of recent heartache for Danner and his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Boulevard Truck Repair/DRC/Rider Chevy have been devastating. Danner was leading on the final lap in June at Williams Grove Speedway when he ran out of fuel. At Port Royal Speedway, he bounced off the turn two wall while leading with eight laps to go and was forced to bow out with damage. At Action Track USA, he finished second to Logan Seavey in a photo finish, just .043 seconds behind at the stripe. Just earlier this week at Lawrenceburg Speedway, he was leading with 13 laps to go when he pulled into the infield under caution with an engine issue.

Close but no cigar had become an unwanted mantra for the team throughout the week. That is, until Sunday night, when Danner became the first Pennsylvanian to win an Indiana Sprint Week feature in the 37-year history of the series which dates back to 1988.

“I’m just super happy for the guys and for everybody involved. We’ve been so close so many times, and to give that away late would’ve been really hard. We’re happy to get that one under our belt and happy to win in Indiana.”

Danner started his 30-lap quest from the outside of the front row and slipped under pole sitter Rylan Gray to establish the race lead from the word ‘go.’ Daison Pursley followed into second past Gray in turn three on lap four while Seavey slotted into third in the same manner on the fifth go around.

On the 10th lap, while working lapped traffic, Danner skidded up atop the lip of turn four, losing all his ground to Pursley who closed up and even pulled ahead of Danner on entry into turns one and three. However, Danner was able to eke out enough momentum to stave off Pursley’s charge, managing to keep Pursley’s pursuit at bay by a half car length at the stripe on the completion of lap 10. Moments later, the caution was displayed for ninth running Robert Ballou who came to a stop backwards in turn two. Ballou was able to restart and finish 16th.

On the 11th restart, seemingly, the on-track activity was going to take a brief breather due to the absence of lapped traffic. However, that notion quickly proved to be incorrect. Seavey, the Indiana Sprint Week point leader who was running third at the moment, snagged the turn four cushion and tumbled over the banking, resulting in extensive front end damage to his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

“I just really feel like an idiot,” Seavey admonished himself. “My car was really good, and I thought I was a bit better than the two up front. I was just trying to take my time, but I got in there at a bad angle, and as I was looking for the cushion, Daison hit it and got tight, and I was out of the gas and didn’t know where I was at on the racetrack. I tried to throttle up to save it and I just yarded myself even further off the racetrack.”

Seavey carried a fairly comfortable ISW point lead of 44 into the feature, and merely needed an 18th place finish or better to clinch the title. Now, after all that had transpired, that entire scenario completely hung in the balance. However, during the red flag period, a massive community of teams came together to assist the Abacus Racing crew on their repairs, which were extensive on the front end. When all was said and done, repairs were made and Seavey returned to the track, albeit at the back of the field with 20 laps remaining. What at first may have seemed like a longshot return became a reality as the result of the old proverb, “it takes a village.”

“To everybody in the pits who helped out, that was unbelievable to see,” a thankful Seavey acknowledged. “There were like 50 people around our pit. (Once I got back on track), I knew I just needed to go by a few (cars) and I feel like I went by quite a few of them right away.”

Still, for Seavey’s championship to slip away, he had to finish 19th or worse while Bacon had to win. Or else. A runner-up finish for Bacon wasn’t going to cut it as the points stood, and now the pressure was on to perform for Seavey to reach that threshold of 18th while Bacon had to win.

On the second attempt at a lap 11 restart, Pursley took grasp of the moment and shot past Danner on the low side of turn three. Nonetheless, in the ensuing laps, negotiating lapped traffic quickly became paramount. On lap 20, Danner swung to the outside of Pursley on the back straightaway. On the bottom, Pursley became boxed in by Weston Gorham (25th) and Frankie Guerrini (24th), while up top, Danner discovered a clear path to the lead. That one particular moment unfolded in a split second, and essentially, foretold the story of the eventual outcome.

”I think Daison made a few less mistakes than I did, but in traffic, I was able to put myself in a good position to get it back,” Danner explained. “But I did not want to see that late race restart come.”

What Danner is alluding to is a turn two tangle between Kyle Cummins (19th) and Guerrini (20th) that necessitated a yellow flag on lap 28, just three short laps from the finish line, and came just moments after Danner thwarted Pursley’s attempt to overthrow him from the top spot by driving around Pursley’s slider attempt in turns one and two which saw them go three-wide through the corner along with the lapped car of Joey Amantea on the low line.

Now, with a clear line of vision in front of him due to the absence of lapped traffic, Danner also had an inkling on what the plan behind him was going to look like for the final three laps of green, and he was ready to meet the challenge.

“I knew Daison was going to slide me into one if he could,” Danner acknowledged. “I just had to get a good start and not make mistakes. It’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself and it was a tricky curb to run.”

Danner met the pressure and delivered a response as cool as the other side of the pillow, disallowing Pursley to even get close enough to pose a challenge to his reign at the top of the scoring pylon. Danner finished off the performance with a 0.953 second margin of victory over Daison Pursley, Brady Bacon, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Rylan Gray.

Meanwhile, for the 15th place finishing Seavey, it was a contrasting kaleidoscope of pride and a tinge of disappointment at the same time due to the task becoming more cumbersome than first anticipated. But considering this is a brand new team taking in its first Indiana Sprint Week experience, perspective shows just how much of an accomplishment this truly is.

“We really didn’t know what to expect coming into the year,” Seavey admitted. “We built this brand new team and clicked off 13 wins right away. I just feel like an idiot because there’s no reason we didn’t get 14 tonight and I was the reason, so that feels really bad. It just sucks to give away wins because these wins are really hard. I was just trying to be patient, but it bit me last night and it bit me really hard tonight. But overall, this is really special and shows what this team is truly made of. They had to dig really hard. It surely wasn’t perfect, but we got it done.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) passed 58 cars throughout the course of the seven-race Indiana Sprint Week series. That earned KTJ top honors as the Indiana Sprint Week ProSource Passing Master.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) advanced 20th to 7th in the feature to pick up J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors for the feature which was worth a cool $200. His plus-13 movement through the field also earned him a $177 7th place feature finisher bonus from Spire Motorsports.

Sam Hinds (Westfield, Ind.) charged his way into his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature field. Hinds climbed from 9th to 5th in his heat race to transfer into the feature, and with it, he was honored with the ProSource Hard Work award.

Daniel Whitley (Ferndale, Calif.) was on the cusp of transferring into his first career USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature when, midway through the semi-feature, he was forced out with a flat tire. However, for his misfortune, Whitley received a new right rear Hoosier Tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

Entering Bloomington, Rylan Gray’s best career USAC National Sprint Car feature finish was 12th. On this night, he brought home a career best result of 5th. For that performance, he earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 4, 2024 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing / Bob & Sheldon Kinser Memorial

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.755; 2. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-11.802; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.922; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-11.940; 5. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-11.996; 6. Max Adams, 63, F & F-12.009; 7. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.016; 8. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.039; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.055; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.108; 11. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.118; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.128; 13. Logan Calderwood, 4J, Ford-12.135; 14. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.157; 15. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.166; 16. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.194; 17. Stephen Schnapf, 39F, Three Chet's-12.247; 18. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.252; 19. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.266; 20. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.271; 21. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-12.337; 22. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.338; 23. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-12.375; 24. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-12.383; 25. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.396; 26. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.403; 27. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-12.438; 28. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-12.443; 29. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-12.458; 30. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.545; 31. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.592; 32. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-12.626; 33. Daniel Whitley, 04, Burton-12.653; 34. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-12.669; 35. Matt Thompson, 26T, Thompson-12.735; 36. Evan Mosley, 27, Barkdull-12.738; 37. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.782; 38. Todd Moule, 26AU, Moule-12.992; 39. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.056.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Frankie Guerrini, 6. Daniel Whitley, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Gabriel Gilbert, 9. Stephen Schnapf, 10. Logan Calderwood. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Brayden Fox, 5. Sam Hinds, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Max Adams, 8. Todd Moule, 9. Chance Crum, 10. Kale Drake. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Hunter Maddox, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Anton Hernandez, 7. Carson Garrett, 8. Matt Thompson, 9. Kyle Shipley, 10. Troy Carey. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Rylan Gray, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Weston Gorham, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Evan Mosley, 9. Harley Burns. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Max Adams, 3. Weston Gorham, 4. Kobe Simpson, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Kale Drake, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Todd Moule, 9. Matt Thompson, 10. Troy Carey, 11. Evan Mosley, 12. Logan Calderwood, 13. Anton Hernandez, 14. Kyle Shipley, 15. Daniel Whitley, 16. Carson Garrett, 17. Harley Burns. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Briggs Danner (2), 2. Daison Pursley (3), 3. Brady Bacon (6), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 5. Rylan Gray (1), 6. C.J. Leary (9), 7. Mitchel Moles (20), 8. Chase Stockon (13), 9. Shane Cottle (15), 10. Justin Grant (12), 11. Jadon Rogers (19), 12. Ricky Lewis (10), 13. Max Adams (11), 14. Kobe Simpson (22), 15. Logan Seavey (5), 16. Robert Ballou (14), 17. Hunter Maddox (8), 18. Joey Amantea (21), 19. Kyle Cummins (4), 20. Matt Westfall (18), 21. Kale Drake (25-P), 22. Sam Hinds (24), 23. Brayden Fox (16), 24. Frankie Guerrini (17), 25. Weston Gorham (23). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Briggs Danner, Laps 11-19 Daison Pursley, Laps 20-30 Briggs Danner.

**Chance Crum flipped during the second heat. Carson Garrett flipped during the semi. Logan Seavey flipped on lap 11 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2225, 2-Brady Bacon-2150, 3-Daison Pursley-2024, 4-C.J. Leary-1981, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1934, 6-Mitchel Moles-1915, 7-Robert Ballou-1855, 8-Kyle Cummins-1809, 9-Justin Grant-1762, 10-Carson Garrett-1461.

FINAL NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-512, 2-Brady Bacon-499, 3-Kyle Cummins-448, 4-Daison Pursley-444, 5-Mitchel Moles-436, 6-Briggs Danner-395, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-386, 8-Robert Ballou-361, 9-C.J. Leary-353, 10-Shane Cottle-351.

FINAL USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-58, 2-Shane Cottle-54, 3-Brady Bacon-46, 4-Kyle Cummins-41, 5-Mitchel Moles-40, 6-Chase Stockon-38, 7-Logan Seavey-37, 8-Daison Pursley-31, 9-Jadon Rogers-30, 10-Anton Hernandez-29.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 15, 2024 – Red Hill Raceway – Sumner, Illinois – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Salute to Levi Jones

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Carson Garrett (11.846)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (11.755)

Spire Motorsports 7th Fastest Qualifier: Briggs Danner

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Hunter Maddox

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Ricky Lewis

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Mitchel Moles (20th to 7th)

Spire Motorsports 7th Place Feature Finisher: Mitchel Moles

ProSource Hard Work: Sam Hinds

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Rylan Gray

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Daniel Whitley

TRI-ING TIMES:

GRANT ENDS SKID TO WIN AGAIN AT TRI-STATE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (August 3, 2024)………For Justin Grant, months and months of frustration led up to Saturday night’s penultimate round of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Tri-State Speedway.

The root of the consternation was evident in the results. Entering the night, Grant (Ione, Calif.) hadn’t won a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature since the month of May. Since that point in time, a 16-race stretch had produced no wins and an uncharacteristic average finish of 11th.

Furthermore, throughout his first five ISW starts, Grant had drudged through with an average finish of 18th and a best result of 10th at Terre Haute, which had the 2022 ISW champ mired all the way down to 14th place in the standings.

Needless to say, times were rough for Grant and company, and they desperately needed a reprieve from the agitation they had endured for months on end with their TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

The 1/4-mile dirt oval in Haubstadt, Indiana provided the landscape for a bounce back as Grant started from the outside of the front row and was cruising as the leader for the first 18 laps. But alas, Grant felt like he gave away the race when Mitchel Moles briefly took the point just after the halfway mark. But when all was said and done, Grant made it abundantly clear this night was going to be different.

Two laps after seemingly seeing his chance at winning going by the wayside, Grant fought his way back past Moles, then was forced to fend off his repeated attacks down the stretch to reach Indiana Sprint Week victory lane for the first time this week and for the 10th time in his career, moving himself into fourth place all-time behind only Dave Darland (20), Jon Stanbrough (16) and Cory Kruseman (12).

But most importantly, Grant’s 51st career USAC National Sprint Car feature win represented so much more. It represented the tireless work that Jeff Walker, Nic Mansker, Kevin Birchmeier and Grant himself have put into turning the ship around and standing tall again in victory circle where Grant has taken the TOPP No. 4 now on 43 occasions dating back to 2018.

“It feels really, really good,” Grant exhaled. “It’s been a really, really rough go since about May, and we’ve worked very hard to get me comfortable in the car, to get things feeling right again, and I’ve worked these guys to death. I’m super thankful to them and their efforts.”

As fate had it, the 30-lap feature came down to a pair of teams, one of whom directly assisted the other on race day to overcome its struggles, so that they could get back on track and provide the entertainment that was witnessed on Saturday night.

“In the video we did earlier this week about teams helping each other out, and how we said all the USAC teams are really good at doing that, I said the first one to help me out would be Bunyan (Dylan Cook) and the 19AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports) guys,”

Grant explained of the team that Moles competes for. “Tonight, they loaned me some parts to fix what we’ve been fighting all along. Now, I’m sure they wish they wouldn’t have. But that’s a testament to these USAC guys and this whole group we race with, not only for how competitive they all are and how good they all are, but also for how much we all want to go out and beat each other in the race.”

While Grant established the early lead, sixth starting Moles was eating up ground in his pursuit to the front as he worked his way into the runner-up spot by lap 12 when he charged past Seavey entering turn three. By then, the frontrunners were heavily invested in lapped traffic with Grant hustling to retain his half-second lead as the race crossed the halfway point.

On the 18th lap, lapped traffic didn’t exactly work in Grant’s favor. As he closed in on the then 18th place running car of Shane Cottle on the back straight, Grant had his path blocked, allowing Moles to drive past and assume his new position at the top of the pylon.

Moments later, after the leaders had already crossed the stripe to complete lap 19, Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier Briggs Danner (9th) veered across the back straightway with a knocked out front end. That sent him right into the path of the oncoming Robert Ballou (14th). Ballou was unable to avoid the damaged car of Danner, going nose first into Danner’s left rear, which sent Ballou spinning to a stop while Danner’s helpless machine continued into the infield before ultimately coasting to a stop. Danner’s race ended on the spot with a 22nd place result while Ballou restarted and finished 11th.

Upon the lap 19 restart, Grant quickly found his second wind. Engaging with Moles in a sudden slider fest, the duo unofficially swapped the lead three different times during a two-lap span on laps 19-20 before Grant turned to the bottom to charge past Moles on the 20th lap.

Trouble ensued on the 25th lap that spelled disaster for the two-car BGE-Dougherty Motorsports bunch. C.J. Leary (4th) biked on his entry into turn three, sending him careening into the outside wall and flipping over. A tick of the clock later, his teammate, Carson Garrett (6th) broadsided Leary, knocking both team cars out of the race in one fell swoop, resulting in a 19th place finish for Leary and a 20th for Garrett.

With five laps remaining, the goal for Grant was imperative – keep Moles behind him. Grant’s tactic was to slide himself, a time-tested maneuver of which Grant noted its effectiveness, “It’s hard to slide me if I’m sliding myself.”

“I watched when Mitchel won down here (in June); he could make massive speed circling the top,” Grant laid out. “My stuff’s never really been that good at making speed circling the top here. I’m really good at scrumming the middle and hooking the infield tires. It’s not really the way it was tonight, though. It started getting slicked up there and I knew that the top was better. I kept seeing Mitchel’s nose, so I just went into defense with slider line, slider line, slider line. I was banging the cushion, getting a run and aiming for the first infield tire, then repeating and repeating. I’m like, ‘okay, I’ve got to do it 15 more times, 14 more times, 12 more times, 10 more times,’ counting it down, so we would be able to hold those guys off.”

After staying true to his plan for alps 25-26-27, Grant and Moles’ duel took a breather when Kale Drake (11th) got into the turn three and four wall before coming to a rest, thus ending his night. With three to go and another restart awaiting, Grant stuck to the playbook and thwarted each and every shot Moles fired at him.

Grant made all the right moves on the final three-lap shootout to defeat Moles by roughly three car lengths to the tune of a margin of 0.272 seconds. Logan Seavey completed the all California podium by grabbing third with Kyle Cummins fourth and Daison Pursley fifth in a wild scramble at the finish line that saw Cummins spin sideways in front of the pack at the exit of turn four before continuing on.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) led a pair of laps en route to his best finish of Indiana Sprint Week 2024 aboard his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) not only maintained, but extended his Indiana Sprint Week point lead from 38 to 46 in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Meanwhile, a promising night turned to dejection for Xavier Doney (Odessa, Mo.). Running third and in a transfer spot during the semi-feature, he got into the wall and flipped upside down. For his hard luck, he received a right rear Hoosier Tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

The night for C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) certainly didn't end the way he wanted it to. It started off well, however, by qualifying seventh fastest overall in a field of 42 cars. For that, he earned a $177 bonus from Spire Motorsports.

As for Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), what more can you say about his effort to tough it out after a vicious qualifying crash seemingly derailed his night? Returning for the semi-feature in a backup Rock Steady Racing car, Thomas started 20th in the 12-lapper and finished third. In the feature, he once again started dead last, 24th, and managed drive to as high as fifth before slotting into seventh at the finish line. In the end, he racked up numerous awards on the night, including the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night, plus J & J Trucking Hard Charger, Pro Source Hard Work and Spire Motorsports 7th place finisher honors.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 3, 2024 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-13.193; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.197; 3. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.345; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-13.380; 5. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-13.381; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.391; 7. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.431; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.463; 9. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.487; 10. Adyn Schmidt, 12s, Schmidt-13.538; 11. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-13.578; 12. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-13.610; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.630; 14. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.689; 15. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.779; 16. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.798; 17. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.810; 18. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.843; 19. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-13.849; 20. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-13.860; 21. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.862; 22. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-13.883; 23. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-13.898; 24. Reed Whitney, 87, Whitney-13.900; 25. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.915; 26. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-13.960; 27. Carson Short, 21m, Edwards-14.029; 28. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.082; 29. Dustin Beck, 75, Hensen/Rupp-14.114; 30. Collin Ambrose, 36, Ambrose-14.169; 31. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-14.202; 32. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-14.238; 33. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.256; 34. Stan Beadles, 84, Beadles-14.313; 35. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-14.317; 36. Michael Daugherty, 3.14, Daugherty-14.414; 37. Sam Scott, 7s, Scott-14.498; 38. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-14.730; 39. Nathan Seale, 1s, Seale-14.751; 40. Colton Booten, 2J, Pritchett-14.827; 41. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-NT; 42. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Dustin Beck, 8. Braydon Cromwell, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Sam Scott, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Adyn Schmidt, 6. Harley Burns, 7. Xavier Doney, 8. Stan Beadles, 9. Kyle Shipley, 10. Collin Ambrose. 2:15.116

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Brady Short, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Carson Short, 5. J.J. Hughes, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Aric Gentry, 8. Rylan Gray, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Nathan Seale. 2:18.327

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Kale Drake, 4. Donny Brackett, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Reed Whitney, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Troy Carey, 9. Colton Booten, 10. Michael Daugherty. 2:17.027

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Aric Gentry, 5. Reed Whitney, 6. Harley Burns, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Dustin Beck, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Rylan Gray, 11. Braydon Cromwell, 12. Nathan Seale, 13. Sam Scott, 14. Troy Carey, 15. Hunter Maddox, 16. Michael Daugherty, 17. Stan Beadles, 18. Xavier Doney, 19. Colton Booten, 20. Kyle Shipley. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Mitchel Moles (6), 3. Logan Seavey (4), 4. Kyle Cummins (13), 5. Daison Pursley (8), 6. Brady Bacon (12), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (24), 8. Shane Cottle (15), 9. Jadon Rogers (5), 10. Chase Stockon (18), 11. Robert Ballou (14), 12. Brady Short (10), 13. Matt Westfall (16), 14. Carson Short (23), 15. Donny Brackett (20), 16. Charles Davis Jr. (17), 17. Kale Drake (11), 18. Adyn Schmidt (9), 19. C.J. Leary (3), 20. Carson Garrett (1), 21. J.J. Hughes (21), 22. Briggs Danner (7), 23. Aric Gentry (19), 24. Brandon Mattox (22). NT

**Kendall Ruble flipped during practice. Kevin Thomas Jr. flipped during qualifying. Xavier Doney flipped during the semi. C.J. Leary flipped on lap 25 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Justin Grant, Laps 19-20 Mitchel Moles, Laps 21-30 Justin Grant.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2182, 2-Brady Bacon-2074, 3-Daison Pursley-1947, 4-C.J. Leary-1918, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1865, 6-Mitchel Moles-1858, 7-Robert Ballou-1817, 8-Kyle Cummins-1777, 9-Justin Grant-1712, 10-Carson Garrett-1451.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-469, 2-Brady Bacon-423, 3-Kyle Cummins-416, 4-Mitchel Moles-379, 5-Daison Pursley-367, 6-Robert Ballou-323, 7-Briggs Danner-321, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-317, 9-Shane Cottle-299, 10-C.J. Leary-290.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-146, 2-Logan Seavey-139, 3-Robert Ballou-126, 4-C.J. Leary-106, 5-Kyle Cummins-105, 6-Justin Grant-95, 7-Chase Stockon-94, 8-Joey Amantea-89, 9-Brady Bacon-87, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-87.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-52, 2-Shane Cottle-48, 3-Kyle Cummins-40, 4-Brady Bacon-40, 5-Logan Seavey-34, 6-Chase Stockon-31, 7-Anton Hernandez-29, 8-Ricky Lewis-28, 9-Daison Pursley-26, 10-Chance Crum-26.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 4, 2024 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing / Bob & Sheldon Kinser Memorial

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.068)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Briggs Danner (13.193)

Spire Motorsports 7th Fastest Qualifier: C.J. Leary

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Daison Pursley

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Kevin Thomas Jr. (24th to 7th)

Spire Motorsports 7th Place Feature Finisher: Kevin Thomas Jr.

ProSource Hard Work: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Xavier Doney

BACON CONQUERS TERRE HAUTE,

WINS FIRST USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RACE IN 3 YEARS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (August 1, 2024)………When it comes to competing at the Terre Haute Action Track, some drivers are simply more comfortable in daring the famed dirt oval than their peers.

The list of those who have conquered the Hoosier State’s lone 1/2-mile dirt oval in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition is a venerable list of who’s who in the annals of the sport.

Brady Bacon is among those few who fit that category, and on Thursday night, he tamed the beast once more for the fourth time in his USAC career to score the victory in round five of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing.

“This place deserves respect regardless of the track conditions, which probably did play into the hands of the veterans a little bit more,” Bacon stated. “People who are comfortable have seen it similar to this here before and are just more comfortable making laps here because it’s a pretty intimidating place and it can be tricky.”

The aforementioned track conditions dominated the discussion early after rainfall deluged the surface at Terre Haute. Working literally all day, promoter Joe Spiker and his crew were able to pump a Lake Superior’s worth of moisture out and get the track whipped back into raceable shape for the evening’s festivities, which were delayed for more than an hour from its original time slot.

“Hats off to the track crew,” Bacon praised. “I didn’t think we were going to get this one in, but they worked hard and got it to be a racy track, almost a little racier than when it’s up around the fence because it’s easier to make mistakes up top. It was nice to have a little bit of a bottom to run this time, which the rain obviously helped with, but the track crew did as good of a job as they could given the circumstances and we were able to get another night of Indiana Sprint Week in that didn’t look like we were supposed to.”

Perhaps the most stunning tidbit to emerge from Bacon’s latest USAC National Sprint Car triumph is the fact that it had been more than three seasons since the Broken Arrow, Okla. native had found victory lane during an Indiana Sprint Week feature in his Dynamics, Inc./Spankins Motorsports – Davis Brothers Trucking – Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Bacon’s latest performance was one of his finest, however, as he started fourth in the 30-lap feature, then raced by Chase Stockon for the lead with just eight laps remaining to earn the 57th win of his USAC National Sprint Car career, which brought him to within five of Dave Darland’s all-time record win total of 62.

Initially, pole starter Kyle Cummins broke out to the opening lap lead with outside front row starter Chase Stockon in tow. However, Bacon made quick work to slot into the second position as he slipped underneath Stockon in turn two on the third lap and then began to draw in closer to Cummins for the lead.

Meanwhile, the majority of the crowds’ eyes were collectively affixed to Robert Ballou. Initially slated to start 12th, Ballou pulled into the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area prior to the green flag. When he returned to the track, he was relegated to the tail of the pack in 24th. Undeterred, Ballou utilized the extreme top side, right up against the outside guardrail that he literally constructed a couple years ago, to advance 10 spots within the first five laps, into the top-10 by lap eight and into the top-five by lap 16 where he ultimately finished following a masterful drive.

Also on the move was Stockon who advanced to second by driving around the outside of Bacon in turn two on lap seven. By the midway point, Stockon was draped all over Cummins for the race lead as he continuously poked a nose to the outside of Cummins for several laps to no avail. Finally, on lap 18, Stockon surged around the outside of Cummins in turn four for the top spot, his first time leading laps in a USAC National Sprint Car feature since February at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

“Chase got up on the wheel and showed us the line,” Bacon revealed. “I didn’t really want to go up there that early because I knew it was going to be tight with full fuel. As the track ran in, we were really good up there. I was a little bit better diamonding off turns three and four, but he was about even pace with me. There was less of a chance making a mistake on the cushion.”

Bacon followed suit to second as he clung to the inside guardrail to slip past Cummins in turns three and four on lap 19. Seven tenths of a second was the margin calculated between Stockon and Bacon at that moment. Nonetheless, Bacon steadily inched closer and closer toward Stockon’s back bumper.

On lap 23, Stockon’s four wheels just got enough over a ridge in turns three and four, which upset the car and sent him high, wide and off the line. Bacon immediately capitalized and drove under to the lead.

“We were able to move around a lot and capitalize on mistakes to get the lead and hang on to it,” Bacon reflected. “It got a little dicey in lapped traffic but that’s part of it and you had to run hard tonight.”

That moment proved to be the pivotal move for Bacon who pushed his lead to 2.156 seconds by race’s end as he crossed the stipe for his fifth career USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature triumph ahead of Chase Stockon, Kyle Cummins, Logan Seavey and Robert Ballou.

Despite leading late and finishing as the runner-up, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) was stoked about their performance to conclude the night. In his KO Motorsports/Banded Ag – Superior Tank & Trailer – Dewig Meats – AMSOIL/DRC/Fisher Chevy, Stockon led a total of five laps and finished second for his best USAC result since June 2022 at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) had his car tightened up to run the bottom, which aided him in leading a race-high 17 laps at Terre Haute. In the final tally, Cummins wound up third in his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy, his first career top-five Indiana Sprint Week run at Terre Haute.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) advanced 17th to 9th in the feature to earn J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors. Indeed, Robert Ballou did restart at the tail and go on to finish fifth. However, he went to the work area prior to the start of the feature and his official starting position remained 12th.

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) made it a successful Terre Haute USAC debut. In what was his first USAC Sprint feature start since February at Florida's Ocala Speedway, when all was said & done, "Tall" had earned the ProSource Hard Work Award.

For Nate Schank, Thursday was a good night to celebrate his 22nd birthday. Schank (Santa Rosa, Calif.) earned his first USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature start by going outside to grab the final transfer spot on the last lap of the semi. He blew out the candles on his big day as Inferno Armor’s Fire Move of the Night recipient.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 1, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing / Don Smith Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-19.639; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-19.962; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-20.023; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-20.067; 5. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-20.245; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-20.248; 7. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-20.283; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-20.297; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-20.317; 10. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-20.335; 11. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-20.342; 12. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-20.387; 13. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-20.391; 14. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-20.454; 15. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-20.533; 16. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-20.537; 17. Max Adams, 63, F & F-20.542; 18. Jack Hoyer, 11, Hoyer-20.551; 19. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-20.577; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-20.589; 21. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-20.715; 22. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-20.748; 23. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-20.824; 24. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-20.830; 25. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-20.842; 26. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-20.851; 27. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-20.871; 28. Trey Osborne, 11T, Osborne-20.963; 29. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-20.981; 30. Kevin Newton, 14N, 2nd Law-21.037; 31. Logan Calderwood, 4c, Ford-21.050; 32. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-21.140; 33. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-21.291; 34. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-21.441; 35. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-21.568; 36. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-21.862; 37. Dan Clodfelter, 19c, Clodfelter-21.960; 38. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Anton Hernandez, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Kayla Roell, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Dan Clodfelter. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Jack Hoyer, 7. Nate Schank, 8. Jadon Rogers, 9. Kevin Newton. 2:47.253

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Nick Bilbee, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Kyle Shipley, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Frankie Guerrini. 2:46.203

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Brandon Mattox, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Justin Grant, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Xavier Doney, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Troy Carey. 2:47.735

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Trey Osborne, 4. Nate Schank, 5. Xavier Doney, 6. Jack Hoyer, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Hunter Maddox, 9. Kevin Newton, 10. Frankie Guerrini, 11. Rylan Gray, 12. Kobe Simpson, 13. Troy Carey, 14. Logan Calderwood. 4:14.852

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (4), 2. Chase Stockon (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (1), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Robert Ballou (12), 6. Mitchel Moles (6), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 8. Briggs Danner (10), 9. Daison Pursley (17), 10. Justin Grant (11), 11. Kale Drake (13), 12. C.J. Leary (15), 13. Shane Cottle (16), 14. Carson Garrett (20), 15. Matt Westfall (9), 16. Nick Bilbee (14), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (19), 18. Joey Amantea (8), 19. Nate Schank (23), 20. Trey Osborne (24), 21. Brandon Mattox (21), 22. Max Adams (7), 23. Ricky Lewis (18), 24. Anton Hernandez (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Kyle Cummins, Laps 18-22 Chase Stockon, Laps 23-30 Brady Bacon.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2097, 2-Brady Bacon-2002, 3-C.J. Leary-1873, 4-Daison Pursley-1871, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1797, 6-Mitchel Moles-1768, 7-Robert Ballou-1760, 8-Kyle Cummins-1696, 9-Justin Grant-1624, 10-Carson Garrett-1404.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-384, 2-Brady Bacon-351, 3-Kyle Cummins-335, 4-Daison Pursley-291, 5-Mitchel Moles-289, 6-Briggs Danner-278, 7-Robert Ballou-266, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-249, 9-Ricky Lewis-246, 10-C.J. Leary-245.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-143, 2-Logan Seavey-138, 3-Robert Ballou-123, 4-C.J. Leary-106, 5-Kyle Cummins-96, 6-Justin Grant-94, 7-Joey Amantea-89, 8-Chase Stockon-86, 9-Brady Bacon-81, 10-Carson Garrett-76.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-41, 2-Brady Bacon-33, 3-Logan Seavey-32, 4-Anton Hernandez-29, 5-Ricky Lewis-28, 6-Kyle Cummins-27, 7-Chance Crum-26, 8-Chase Stockon-23, 9-Daison Pursley-22, 10-Kayla Roell-21.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 2, 2024 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing / Bob & Sheldon Kinser Memorial

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Mitchel Moles (19.967)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles (19.639)

Spire Motorsports 7th Fastest Qualifier: Briggs Danner

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Max Adams

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Joey Amantea

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Robert Ballou

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Daison Pursley (17th to 9th)

Spire Motorsports 7th Place Feature Finisher: Kevin Thomas Jr.

ProSource Hard Work: Trey Osborne

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Nate Schank

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Kyle Shipley

BAKER’S DOZEN!

SEAVEY ROLLS TO USAC SPRINT WIN #13

AT CIRCLE CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (July 31, 2024)………For some, the number 13 is an undesirable and unlucky numeral of sorts. However, for Logan Seavey in particular, the number 13 fits neither of those categories. Instead, it represents one of the most historic seasons in the history of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition.

The Sutter, Calif. native entered rarefied air during Wednesday night’s fourth round of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway.

There, Seavey took over the lead once and for all with seven laps remaining en route to his 13th victory of the USAC National Sprint Car season aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Seavey is now just one of three drivers to achieve at least 13 wins during a single USAC National Sprint Car season, joining Tom Bigelow (14 in 1977), J.J. Yeley (13 in 2003) and Robert Ballou (13 in 2015). Seavey now sits just one victory shy of the all-time single season series record of 14 set by Bigelow in 1977.

In the meantime, Seavey has won six of his past seven series starts, including three of the first four rounds of USAC Indiana Sprint Week. Funny enough, he’s the first driver since himself in 2021 to capture wins in three of the first four rounds of ISW. Amid all the hubbub, Seavey pushed his ISW point lead to 44 markers over Brady Bacon with three events remaining.

Furthermore, Seavey’s latest triumph was the 23rd of his USAC National Sprint Car career, equaling him with C.J. Leary and Roger McCluskey for 28th on the all-time list.

Lining up on the outside of the front row for the 30-lap feature, Seavey initially fell back to third on the opening lap as Ricky Lewis darted into the second spot in turn four while pole sitter Shane Cottle nestled into his groove up front to lead the initial seven circuits.

By lap six, Seavey had hustled his way back into second by dipping under Lewis in turn one, then made a beeline toward Cottle and the race lead. Kyle Cummins followed suit to second a lap later as he worked his way under Lewis to slot into third behind Seavey.

For the next two trips around Circle City’s 1/4-mile dirt oval, Seavey wound it up on the top while Cottle paced around the bottom. By lap eight, Seavey had tracked down Cottle and raced around the outside of him in turn four to beat Cottle at the line by 0.012 seconds.

Fifth running C.J. Leary fell by the wayside shortly thereafter on lap nine as he slowed dramatically on the back straight, which necessitated a yellow flag, prematurely finishing the night of the 2019 Indiana Sprint Week champion with a 26th place result.

By the midway point, Seavey, followed by the emerging Kevin Thomas Jr., plus Cottle and Kyle Cummins, had reached the thick of lapped traffic. On lap 19, the close quarters nearly caught the frontrunners as 19th running Kyle Shipley flipped upside down in turn four right in the path of Seavey who veered left to successfully avoid contact. Shipley walked away unscathed, but his race was finished.

When racing reconvened for the lap 20 restart, Thomas took full advantage of the newfound opportunity. Thomas slid Seavey in turns three and four to swipe the top spot. However, Seavey quickly countered the move and grabbed the top spot back from Thomas on the bottom of turn one. As Seavey slid up the surface in turn two on lap 21, Thomas once again cut back under off turn two to reassume the position.

At that moment in time, Seavey felt that might’ve been the decisive moment for his race’s fate.

“I honestly thought I gave it away on that restart,” Seavey revealed. “I was getting really loose, and I felt like I got myself where I needed to be. I ran one horrendous lap there on that restart. I just ran right through the middle, and I didn’t get aggressive against the cushion or protect the bottom. I ran exactly where you can’t run on the racetrack and KTJ went right by me. I thought that was it, and with the way he was sliding himself, it was going to be really hard to get a run.

On lap 22, a three-car stack-up in turn one halted the action as Harley Burns (19th), Kale Drake (20th) and Justin Grant (21st) all found themselves interconnected and stopped, promptly ending all three drivers’ evenings on the spot.

The ensuing restart saw Thomas enter low in turns one and three, then let his ride glide to the top of turns two and four, thus preventing Seavey from attempting a slide job. On lap 24, however, Seavey was able to get to the inside of Thomas on the entry into turn one. By the time the pair reached the exit of turn two, Seavey had positioned himself in prime position to make a run. There, Seavey drag raced alongside Thomas down the length of the back straightaway and edged ahead in turn three to linquish a lead he wouldn’t relinquish the remainder of the way.

“He slipped up one little bit and I really shoved it in there,” Seavey said of his pass on Thomas for the lead. “I heard him lift fairly late and it was one of those deals where, if he didn’t lift right then, I was going to be all over the brakes trying not to crash us both. He cut me a little of a break there. I thought he was going to get back under me with as much as he lifted.”

Once reestablishing the lead, Seavey’s voyage to victory was interrupted by a yellow flag that resulted when Mitchel Moles (6th) was found stopped backwards at the exit of turn four on lap 25. Following shortly after, amid the battle for the 14th position, contact between Joey Amantea and Chance Crum on lap 27 resulted in Amantea getting into the outside back straightaway wall, then enduring a series of several vicious flips before landing in turn three. Amantea climbed out and walked away from the incident, then had some choice words to share about the situation over the track’s public address system.

A little bit of time under the red flag situation allowed Seavey to make a few more adjustments to get himself dialed in for the final stretch run.

“It just gave me some time to work on my car a little bit with my knobs,” Seavey explained. “Once I got back to the lead, I didn’t need a lot, but I knew I was going to protect, so I was able to tighten myself up a lot compared to how I need my car to run the cushion. I ran a little bit of defense, which I don’t like to do, but with the racetrack the way it was, I was able to tighten myself up enough to run through the black like that and pick up the cushion. You’re looking at who’s behind you to see if there’s a guy who’s really good at pounding the top, then maybe you might loosen yourself back up and try to get going on the top. I knew where KTJ was good, and once he got to the lead, I saw his line and I knew if I could just take his line away, it would be really hard for him to pass me back.”

Long story short, Seavey did not get passed back. Instead, he pulled away following the lap 27 restart to become the first three-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Circle City. Kevin Thomas Jr. crossed the line in second, 2.038 seconds back, with Shane Cottle third, Kyle Cummins fourth and Briggs Danner fifth.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) got back on track after his first three rounds of Indiana Sprint Week resulted in finishes of 9th, 21st and 20th, a destroyed racecar and another night plagued by a mechanical issue. On this night, he led four laps and finished as the runner-up in his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) led the opening seven laps of the feature before finishing third in his Epperson Racing/Epperson Painting – PPG Paints – M2 Bearings/DRC/Speedway Chevy. It was the veteran racer’s second consecutive third-place result during Indiana Sprint Week at Circle City.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) is back in his realm. Twenty-four hours earlier, he suffered the ultimate heartache when engine woes sidelined him while leading the feature. He got back in the groove at Circle City with a top-five run and he did it after starting 12th. The plus-seven effort made him the night's hard charger.

Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.) qualified 30th and was buried deep in the field throughout the program. In the end, Drake worked his way into the feature lineup via a sixth to second place run in the semi. For that, he was rewarded with the ProSource Hard Work award.

Scotty Weir (Marion, Ind.) entered the event as one of the very few drivers to qualify for all three features thus far during Indiana Sprint Week. However, Circle City was not his night. He missed out on making the main event, but he didn't miss out on picking up a new right rear Hoosier Tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

Australia's Todd Hobson entered the night having never competed in an Indiana Sprint Week feature. The Clyde, Victoria native changed that at Circle City by earning Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night accolades.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 31, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-11.957; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.120; 3. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.144; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.172; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.208; 6. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.221; 7. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.238; 8. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.246; 9. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.275; 10. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.315; 11. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.325; 12. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.359; 13. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.413; 14. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-12.489; 15. Todd Hobson, 77, Wingo-12.490; 16. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.494; 17. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-12.502; 18. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.526; 19. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.529; 20. Jake Swanson, 24, Simon-12.530; 21. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-12.538; 22. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.567; 23. Evan Mosley, 27, Barkdull-12.583; 24. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-12.604; 25. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.606; 26. Kevin Newton, 14N, 2nd Law-12.609; 27. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-12.609; 28. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.630; 29. Logan Calderwood, 4c, Ford-12.630; 30. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.656; 31. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-12.684; 32. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.704; 33. Trey Osborne, 11T, Osborne-12.709; 34. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.724; 35. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.731; 36. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-12.745; 37. Scotty Weir, 47x, Eades-12.748; 38. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-12.793; 39. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.799; 40. Jack Hoyer, 11x, Hoyer-12.811; 41. R.J. Johnson, 77s, Sturgeon-12.811; 42. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.851; 43. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-12.875; 44. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-12.935; 45. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.435; 46. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.509.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Harley Burns, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Anton Hernandez, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Trey Osborne, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. R.J. Johnson, 11. Hunter Maddox, 12. Xavier Doney. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Kyle Shipley, 7. Kale Drake, 8. Brent Beauchamp, 9. Kevin Newton, 10. Matt Goodnight, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Rylan Gray. 2:09.648

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Evan Mosley, 5. Brayden Fox, 6. Frankie Guerrini, 7. Joey Amantea, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Gabriel Gilbert, 10. Kayla Roell, 11. Todd Hobson. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Kobe Simpson, 7. Jack Hoyer, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Jadon Rogers, 10. Sam Hinds, 11. Charles Davis Jr. NT

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Kevin Newton, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Rylan Gray, 6. Sam Hinds, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Troy Carey, 11. Charles Davis Jr., 12. Xavier Doney. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Todd Hobson, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Kyle Shipley, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Jack Hoyer, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Frankie Guerrini, 10. Kevin Newton, 11. Logan Calderwood, 12. Brandon Mattox, 13. R.J. Johnson, 14. Scotty Weir, 15. Brent Beauchamp, 16. Jadon Rogers, 17. Trey Osborne. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 3. Shane Cottle (1), 4. Kyle Cummins (3), 5. Briggs Danner (12), 6. Brady Bacon (11), 7. Ricky Lewis (4), 8. Robert Ballou (10), 9. Carson Garrett (8), 10. Anton Hernandez (15), 11. Daison Pursley (9), 12. Matt Westfall (18), 13. Mitchel Moles (7), 14. Jake Swanson (19), 15. Chance Crum (21), 16. Todd Hobson (17), 17. Brayden Fox (14), 18. Chase Stockon (23), 19. Hunter Maddox (26-P), 20. Evan Mosley (22), 21. Joey Amantea (25-P), 22. Harley Burns (20), 23. Kale Drake (24), 24. Justin Grant (13), 25. Kyle Shipley (16), 26. C.J. Leary (6). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Shane Cottle, Laps 8-19 Logan Seavey, Laps 20-23 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 24-30 Logan Seavey.

**Kyle Shipley flipped on lap 19 of the feature. Joey Amantea flipped on lap 27 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2026, 2-Brady Bacon-1920, 3-C.J. Leary-1827, 4-Daison Pursley-1819, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1737, 6-Mitchel Moles-1701, 7-Robert Ballou-1698, 8-Kyle Cummins-1624, 9-Justin Grant-1577, 10-Carson Garrett-1362.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-313, 2-Brady Bacon-269, 3-Kyle Cummins-263, 4-Daison Pursley-239, 5-Briggs Danner-225, 6-Mitchel Moles-222, 7-Ricky Lewis-220, 8-Robert Ballou-204, 9-C.J. Leary-199, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-189.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-137, 2-Daison Pursley-135, 3-Robert Ballou-116, 4-C.J. Leary-103, 5-Kyle Cummins-96, 6-Justin Grant-93, 7-Joey Amantea-89, 8-Chase Stockon-86, 9-Brady Bacon-78, 10-Carson Garrett-70.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-37, 2-Logan Seavey-29, 3-Ricky Lewis-28, 4-Anton Hernandez-27, 5-Chance Crum-26, 6-Brady Bacon-25, 7-Kyle Cummins-24, 8-Chase Stockon-22, 9-Jadon Rogers-19, 10-Rylan Gray-17.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 1, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing / Don Smith Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Brady Bacon (12.058)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (11.957)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Todd Hobson

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Briggs Danner (12th to 5th)

ProSource Hard Work: Kale Drake

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Todd Hobson

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Scotty Weir

COTTLE UPS USAC ISW PASSING MASTER POINT LEAD AT LAWRENCEBURG

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (July 30, 2024)………Shane Cottle, the two-time and defending USAC Indiana Sprint Week Passing Master champion, is well on his way to capturing a third-straight crown in 2024.

Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) passed 17 more cars during Tuesday night’s USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at Lawrenceburg, nearly doubling his output which now stands at 36 passes made entering round four of ISW at Circle City Raceway on Wednesday night, July 31.

Cottle stands ahead of the pack by 10 positions with Logan Seavey (-10) second, Ricky Lewis (-11) third and Anton Hernandez (-14) fourth while Chance Crum and Kyle Cummins, both of whom are tied for fifth, 16 points back.

ProSource is rewarding the driver who advances the most total positions throughout NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Midget Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing with a $500 bonus. The Passing Master points encompass all heat races, C-mains, semi-feature and feature events. Stevie Sussex (Tempe, Ariz.) was the champion in 2021 while Cottle captured the crown in both 2022 and 2023.

Four events remain on the 2024 Indiana Sprint Week calendar at Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 31 followed by dates at the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, August 1; Bloomington Speedway on Friday, August 2; and the finale at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August 3.

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

2024 PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINTS

(After Round #3 of 7 entering Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 31)

PTS / DRIVER

36-Shane Cottle

26-Logan Seavey

25-Ricky Lewis

22-Anton Hernandez

20-Chance Crum & Kyle Cummins

18-Jadon Rogers

17-Brady Bacon

16-Kayla Roell & Chase Stockon

15-Max Adams, Charles Davis Jr., Brandon Mattox & Evan Mosley

14-Kyle Shipley

13-Geoff Ensign, Daison Pursley & Kobe Simpson

12-Harley Burns

10-Robert Ballou, Ryan Barr, Rylan Gray, Sam Hinds, C.J. Leary & Kevin Thomas Jr.

9-Donny Brackett & Mitchel Moles

8-Mario Clouser, Briggs Danner, Carson Garrett & Kyle Johnson

7-Justin Grant

6-Nick Bilbee & Troy Carey

5-Jake Scott

4-Xavier Doney, Kale Drake, Brayden Fox, Kevin Newton, Zack Pretorius & Matt Westfall

3-Joey Amantea, Austin Hawkins, Jack Hoyer, Hunter Maddox, Nate Schank, Jake Swanson & Travis Thompson

2-James Boyd, Logan Calderwood, Matt Goodnight, Frankie Guerrini & Seth Parker

1-Brent Beauchamp, Brayden Clark, Aaron Davis, Colin Grissom, Tyler Hewitt, Stevie Sussex, Scotty Weir & Cody Williams

0-Wyatt Burks, Braydon Cromwell, Michael Daugherty, Bryce Dues, Gabriel Gilbert, Ivan Glotzbach, Weston Gorham, Andrew Prather, Shawn Westerfeld & Daniel Whitley

DIRTY DOZEN:

SEAVEY WINS #12 AT THE BURG,

TAKES OVER USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK LEAD

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (July 30, 2024)………Throughout his first 11 feature victories of the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season, Logan Seavey hadn’t had to start as far back as he did during Tuesday night’s round of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Rolling off 11th, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) picked his way through the pack to take over the lead just after the halfway mark before briefly losing the top spot on a late restart only to regain it back once and for all – all while enduring a vibration from a mud-packed right rear wheel, mind you – to earn his 12th series score of the season.

Seavey had previously won the Lawrenceburg round of Indiana Sprint Week in 2021 amid a three-race victory streak during at that moment in time. In the present, Seavey has now won five of his past six USAC National Sprint Car starts, and finished second in the other, proving his confidence that he can win anywhere and everywhere at any time. Lawrenceburg, as it turns out, is no exception either.

“I just love this place,” Seavey exclaimed after driving his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy to the win. “I have so much confidence here. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t worried starting 11th, but I know I can win from back there and my car can do it too. (Crewmen) Ronnie (Gardner) and Kirk (Simpson) do a great job, and for everybody who works on this thing and gets us to the racetrack, it’s really cool to get them back to victory lane.”

Seavey’s 12th USAC National Sprint Car victory of the year places him in rarified air as one of only six drivers to reach the dozen win mark within a single season. Tom Bigelow has held the record since his 14-win campaign in 1977. J.J. Yeley and Robert Ballou each notched 13 wins in their championship seasons of 2003 and 2015, respectively. Larry Dickson (1968) and Pancho Carter (1976) also reached the 12-win mark.

For Seavey’s ongoing historic season, must we remind you that it’s still only July? Seavey not only extended his point lead not only in the USAC National Sprint Car standings, but he also took over the number one position of the Indiana Sprint Week point pylon while also ascending to the top of the season’s USAC National ProSource Passing Master tally.

His plus-10 performance marked the deepest charge to win an Indiana Sprint Week feature in more than five years, since Shane Cottle advanced from 18th to win at Gas City in 2019. Furthermore, Seavey became the first driver to win a USAC National Sprint Car main event after transferring out of the semi-feature since Kyle Cummins during the ISW round at Bloomington in 2022. Seavey also became the first driver to win both the semi and the feature in a single night of USAC National Sprint Car competition since Brady Bacon did so at Florida’s Ocala Speedway in 2020.

Throughout the course of the feature, seven lead changes took place among four drivers. The seven lead swaps are tied for the most ever in a USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature, equaling the exchanges from Lincoln Park (2001), Bloomington (2016) and Kokomo (2022).

Seavey entered the season with 10 career USAC National Sprint Car wins but has now more than doubled that output in 2024 to 22, which moved him past Greg Weld on the list and into a tie with Rick Hood, Bubby Jones and Sammy Sessions for 30th place all-time.

While Seavey was getting settled into his inside sixth row starting spot for the feature, Justin Grant and Mitchel Moles were set to take off from the front row. However, on the pace laps while lining up for the main event, Moles pulled off to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area due to a broken mag box. Relegated to the tail of the field for the start, Moles made a nice recovery by working himself all the way up to a seventh place finish by the end of the night.

Grant established the initial lead while Kyle Cummins briefly held second before being shuffled back to fourth on lap two. By lap three, he had found his groove once again and drove around the outside of both C.J. Leary and Briggs Danner at the exit of turn four to regain the runner-up spot.

On lap six, disaster struck as Cummins slid into turn one alongside Grant in the battle for the race lead. The two cars touched wheels, sending now former ISW point leader Cummins toppling over and Grant spinning to a stop. Meanwhile, in trying to avoid the incident, seventh running Kyle Shipley contacted the outside wall and flipped as well. Cummins was quite apologetic about the incident and accepted full blame. Cummins and Shipley were able to walk away while Grant restarted and finished 17th.

Upon the restart, Danner was the biggest benefactor as he slid up in front of Leary in turn one on the seventh lap to take over the lead. Seavey followed Danner in tow and drove under Bacon for third on the front straight, then made his move on Leary for second by diving low in turn three on the 13th circuit.

Entering traffic near the midway point, Danner became hung up behind fellow Pennsylvanian and 20th running Joey Amantea on the back straightaway. Seavey ably capitalized and swiped the lead from Danner with a low side charge under both Danner and Amantea in turn three on lap 15. Seavey remained in touch, then turned the tables on Seavey who was attempting to put Jadon Rogers down a lap in turn three. Danner dove low to take the spot and lead lap 17, a move which proved to be short lived as the caution flew shortly thereafter for ninth running Max Adams who stopped in turn one with a shredded right rear tire on lap 18.

Shockingly, under the caution, Danner pulled into the infield with an apparent engine issue, ending his bid for a first career Indiana Sprint Week triumph. Thus, Seavey became the new race leader with 13 laps to go. From there, Seavey masterfully broke away from the field and constructed a half-straight lead over Leary with 10 laps to go. However, the red flag was displayed once more for seventh running Kale Drake who tagged the wall in turns one and two and flipped over on lap 25. He was able to walk away.

Just before the red flag, with seven laps to go, Seavey’s right rear wheel cover dislodged itself in turn two. With dirt and mud freely able to enter the wheel, it created a vibration that caught Seavey’s attention.

“I couldn’t see after those first few laps,” Seavey explained. “I felt it shaking and I knew I was in trouble. You lose a lot of grip trying to take off on restarts, but once you get up to speed, it doesn’t seem to affect it as much. Actually, after a lap or two, I filled the whole wheel full of mud and it calmed it down a little bit there. It wasn’t vibrating as bad those last three or four laps.”

Nonetheless, during the first laps following the restart with six laps remaining, it appeared to have a detrimental effect on Seavey. Leary’s turn one slide job on Seavey during the lap 25 restart put Leary back out front with the lap count waning. Undeterred, Seavey fired back and responded with authority to reassume the lead from Leary with his own turn one slider on the very next go around.

“Luckily, there was a little bit of grip on exit to where you could cross over a slider,” Seavey recalled. “You had to pick up the cushion really hard, but when I saw C.J. back there, I picked it up really good.”

Seavey instantly pulled away but was reeled in on the final lap when Charles Davis Jr. (12th) slowed in between turns three and four, thus erasing Seavey’s 1.54 second lead and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Seavey raced away unscathed during the final two-lap dash to cement a 1.247 second margin of victory over Leary, Bacon, Robert Ballou and Daison Pursley.

For runner-up C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), it was like a win for him and his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy. With a new front clip welded to his chassis following a flip at Kokomo on Saturday, Leary bounced back for his best finish of 2024 Indiana Sprint Week thus far. Earlier in the night, Leary posted his 52nd career Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time in USAC National Sprint Car competition, moving him past Brady Bacon for fourth all-time.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) remained in the Indiana Sprint Week title hunt with his third consecutive top-five finish in the series, tallying a third-place result at Lawrenceburg in his Dynamics, Inc./Hampshire & Son Auto Service - Davis Brothers Trucking - Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) possesses a plethora of laps around Lawrenceburg in his sprint car career. On this night, he used that experience to make the biggest advancement in the feature, starting 19th and finishing sixth to earn J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors.

Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) worked hard to get into the feature lineup. He started eighth in his heat, spun early, restarted at the tail, then drove back to a fourth place result to make his way into the main event. For that, he earned the ProSource Hard Work award.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), carrying an on-board camera for the FloRacing broadcast, gave race fans an eyeful when he made a fantastic move to drive from third to first on the opening turn of the opening lap of his heat race win. With that, he was the recipient of the Inferno Armor USA Fire Move of the Night.

Hunter Maddox (Bedford, Ind.) didn't exactly have the kind of night he was looking for. During the semi-feature, the leading USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year contender clipped a turn four infield tire and flipped over. It was a rough and tumble night with a premature ending, but he walked away from the event with a new right rear Hoosier tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 30, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.952; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.119; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.168; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.272; 5. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-14.332; 6. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.334; 7. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.347; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.380; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.389; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.396; 11. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.407; 12. Shawn Westerfeld, 4J, Fischesser/Owen-14.408; 13. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.466; 14. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-14.491; 15. Max Adams, 63, F & F-14.492; 16. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.527; 17. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.550; 18. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-14.645; 19. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-14.657; 20. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-14.694; 21. Scotty Weir, 47x, Eades-14.705; 22. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-14.721; 23. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.725; 24. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-14.781; 25. Jack Hoyer, 11, Hoyer-14.831; 26. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-14.913; 27. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.924; 28. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.954; 29. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-15.069; 30. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-15.125; 31. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-15.193; 32. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.278; 33. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-15.299; 34. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.506; 35. Evan Mosley, 27, Barkdull-15.628; 36. Logan Calderwood, 4c, Ford-15.812; 37. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-15.844; 38. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-16.581.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Scotty Weir, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Nick Bilbee, 6. Jack Hoyer, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Kale Drake, 10. Zack Pretorius. 2:02.304

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Shipley, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Logan Seavey, 8. Hunter Maddox, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Troy Carey. 2:00.441

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Max Adams, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Anton Hernandez, 7. Evan Mosley, 8. Xavier Doney, 9. Ryan Barr. 2:01.990

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Chance Crum, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Justin Grant, 6. Shawn Westerfeld, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Joey Amantea. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Kale Drake, 4. Anton Hernandez, 5. Jack Hoyer, 6. Xavier Doney, 7. Rylan Gray, 8. Ryan Barr, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Evan Mosley, 11. Shawn Westerfeld, 12. Joey Amantea, 13. Zack Pretorius, 14. Kobe Simpson, 15. Troy Carey, 16. Logan Calderwood, 17. Hunter Maddox, 18. Brandon Mattox. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (11), 2. C.J. Leary (6), 3. Brady Bacon (5), 4. Robert Ballou (7), 5. Daison Pursley (14), 6. Ricky Lewis (19), 7. Mitchel Moles (2), 8. Carson Garrett (15), 9. Shane Cottle (22), 10. Nick Bilbee (16), 11. Anton Hernandez (23), 12. Matt Westfall (10), 13. Chase Stockon (8), 14. Joey Amantea (25-P), 15. Chance Crum (20), 16. Jadon Rogers (17), 17. Justin Grant (1), 18. Charles Davis Jr. (24), 19. Kale Drake (12), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 21. Scotty Weir (21), 22. Briggs Danner (3), 23. Max Adams (18), 24. Kyle Cummins (4), 25. Kyle Shipley (9). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Justin Grant, Lap 6 C.J. Leary, Laps 7-14 Briggs Danner, Laps 15-16 Logan Seavey, Lap 17 Briggs Danner, laps 18-24 Logan Seavey, Lap 25 C.J. Leary, Laps 26-31 Logan Seavey.

**Hunter Maddox flipped during the semi. Kyle Cummins & Kyle Shipley flipped on lap 6 of the feature. Kale Drake flipped on lap 25 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1948, 2-Brady Bacon-1858, 3-C.J. Leary-1794, 4-Daison Pursley-1770, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1659, 6-Mitchel Moles-1656, 7-Robert Ballou-1641, 8-Kyle Cummins-1553, 9-Justin Grant-1547, 10-Carson Garrett-1308.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-235, 2-Brady Bacon-207, 3-Kyle Cummins-192, 4-Daison Pursley-190, 5-Mitchel Moles-177, 6-C.J. Leary-166, 7-Briggs Danner-163, 8-Ricky Lewis-158, 9-Robert Ballou-147, 10-Chance Crum-124.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-136, 2-Daison Pursley-135, 3-Robert Ballou-114, 4-C.J. Leary-103, 5-Kyle Cummins-96, 6-Justin Grant-93, 7-Joey Amantea-89, 8-Chase Stockon-81, 9-Brady Bacon-73, 10-Carson Garrett-70.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-36, 2-Logan Seavey-26, 3-Ricky Lewis-25, 4-Anton Hernandez-22, 5-Kyle Cummins-20, 6-Chance Crum-20, 7-Jadon Rogers-18, 8-Brady Bacon-17, 9-Chase Stockon-16, 10-Kayla Roell-16.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 31, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Logan Seavey (14.489)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (13.952)

Spire Motorsports 7th Fastest Qualifier: Mitchel Moles

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kyle Shipley

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

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

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Ricky Lewis (19th to 6th)

ProSource Hard Work: Charles Davis Jr.

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Robert Ballou

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Hunter Maddox

Spire Motorsports 7th Place Feature Finisher: Mitchel Moles

LAWRENCEBURG’S SUNDAY USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK ROUND RAINED OUT,

POSTPONED TO TUESDAY

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (July 28, 2024)………Afternoon showers and saturated grounds have forced postponement of Sunday night’s NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing round at Lawrenceburg Speedway on July 28.

The event has been rescheduled for Tuesday night, July 30, and will feature only the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship. No support divisions will be on hand. The drivers’ meeting is scheduled for 5:45pm Eastern with hot laps set for 6:30.

General admission tickets are $30, kids 7-12 are $10, children 6 and under are free. Pit passes are $40. Kids 10 and under are $15. Advance tickets are on sale now at https://www.lawrenceburgspeedway.com/.

For fans who can’t make it to the track in person, the event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

Five events remain on the 2024 Indiana Sprint Week calendar at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Tuesday, July 30; followed by dates at Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 31; the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, August 1; Bloomington Speedway on Friday, August 2; and the finale at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August 3.

SPRINT WEEK SWEEP!

CUMMINS CALLS HIS SHOT & WINS AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (July 27, 2024)………Twenty-four hours earlier, Kyle Cummins called his shot while standing in the infield following a runner-up finish at Lincoln Park Speedway.

In that moment, Cummins declared over the track public address system, “I told (my crew) that if we can be top-five tonight, we’re going to win at Kokomo.”

Channeling his inner Joe Namath, Babe Ruth and even George Zimmer of Men’s Warehouse fame, Cummins made a guarantee and backed up his declaration when the time came to deliver.

During Saturday night’s second round of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Kokomo Speedway, Cummins raced by Brady Bacon for the lead with 13 laps remaining, and on the final lap, had to fight through a gridlock of lapped traffic with one hand while simultaneously fending off a hard-charging and red hot Logan Seavey.

Cummins did all that and more as he escaped every obstacle in his path throughout the final 1/4-mile to pull off his first victory of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season and the eighth of his Indiana Sprint Week career, which ranks sixth all-time, in his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

When all was said and done, Cummins had provided Jerry Petty with his first career USAC National Sprint Car win as a car owner. The new team, formed over the offseason, has had its ups and downs at times, but through thick and thin, have been digging, and now find themselves not only as first-time USAC winners together, but also the new Indiana Sprint Week point leaders.

“I’ve just got to give it up for Jerry Petty of Avanti Windows & Doors,” Cummins stated. “Jerry stuck by me through this slump, and he said I’m his guy. So, for him to put the confidence into me like that even when we were struggling is huge. I kept saying I’ve run out of excuses. But now, I think we’ve finally hit on something.”

Cummins and company thoroughly demonstrated how they got their mojo back in a major way by sweeping the entire night of racing activity, the first ever to achieve the feat at Kokomo and the first USAC National Sprint Car driver to do the deed since Justin Grant at Tri-State Speedway in April of 2023. Cummins kicked off the night by turning the fastest lap in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, then charged up through the pack to win his heat race before putting the finishing touches on a perfect evening by bringing out the broom in earning his 19th career USAC National Sprint Car triumph, 35th all-time.

Cummins, the 2022 Kokomo Speedway track champion, credited the turnaround of the team’s fortunes to his crew’s persistence in making the car progressively more comfortable for him to drive, and ultimately, fine-tuning the No. 3p into a race winning car.

“We haven’t won all year and it’s been a rough, rough year,” Cummins explained. “To start out, I don’t think it was just luck. I think the car is as good as I thought it was. It’s comfortable; it makes me comfortable, and I can actually drive this thing how it needs to be driven.”

Cummins began his race in the sixth spot, but it wasn’t long until trouble befell a few in the field. On the opening lap, the car of Charles Davis Jr. (14th) suddenly lost power in turn four. C.J. Leary (18th) and Chase Stockon (24th) had nowhere to go and subsequently piled into Davis, sending Leary into a series of corkscrew flips along the front straightaway wall. All drivers were uninjured, but only Stockon was able to resume in the race.

On the resumption, Cummins went sixth to third in one fell swoop in turn two on lap three as he scooted past the triumvirate of Robert Ballou, Justin Grant and Briggs Danner. On lap eight, Cummins was still trending forward as he surpassed Daison Pursley for second with a turn one slider.

Up front, Bacon, the owner of an astonishing 10 career runner-up finishes in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo without a single victory, had pushed his lead to 3.139 seconds. That advantage was erased when Anton Hernandez (11th) spun backwards to a stop in turn one.

Thereafter, Cummins initially slid Bacon for the lead on lap 18 in turn two. However, at that very same moment, the yellow flag was displayed for Frankie Guerrini (14th) who spun to a stop in turn four. That reverted the activities back to the last completed lap, which placed Bacon back at the front of the field.

Wasting very little precious time, Cummins zipped under Bacon in turn one on the lap 18 restart to slot into the number one spot. Kevin Thomas Jr. followed suit and began challenging the top-two brigade. However, in the battle for second, Thomas attempted to make his way around the outside of Bacon in turns three and four, but real estate was scarce, and the resulting effort saw KTJ bang off the outside wall and flip several times into the turn four catch fence. Thomas walked away highly dejected but unscathed.

Now Seavey occupied the third position as he was vying to become the first driver since Larry Dickson in 1968 to capture five consecutive USAC National Sprint Car feature victories. By lap 24, Seavey was there and swiftly slid Bacon for second in turns one and two. Bacon fought back to retake it in turn three, but the move proved to be short lived as Seavey reloaded and fired off another turn one slider a lap later and made it stick.

By then, Cummins had built up a fairly comfy 1.6 second lead up front, but it became quite clear in the final laps that traffic very well could play a determining factor in deciding the winner. Entering turn three on the final lap, Cummins went to the high side with the lapped car of Jack Hoyer on the bottom. The only place for Seavey to go was to split the difference and drive right through the middle. For a brief moment, Seavey was nearly a car length ahead of Cummins while sliding up the track’s surface. The two brushed rear tire sidewalls through turn four, yet Cummins never flinched or even lifted on his final voyage to the finish line.

The final margin of victory between Cummins and Seavey at the line was a single car length, 0.191 seconds, which ranks among the closest of the series season. Bacon took third with Pursley fourth and Ballou fifth.

“I thought I heard someone down the back stretch,” Cummins revealed. “The lapped cars got a little different and it was super hard to see, so I couldn’t hit my marks where I needed to, and I was probably getting a little loose anyways. I heard him, but when I went into three, I’m like, I’m either going to win or crash. It doesn’t matter. But I think it was pretty tight.”

It had been a long climb for Cummins, who on this night at Kokomo, captured the seventh round of the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Series Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment. Cummins had won the first 18 features of his USAC National Sprint Car career as the driver of the Rock Steady Racing No. 3R. This year with the Petty No. 3p, he had already finished second on four different occasions with the series in 2024 at Volusia, Eldora, Tri-State and Lincoln Park, but finally, their time had arrived as winners at Kokomo.

“With the 3R car, I was able to run it as hard as I could run it,” Cummins said. “I’ve just felt like this car was driving me. I could never force the corner like I wanted to. It was always uncomfortable, then it wouldn’t come off the corner. We’ve changed everything and we’ve finally got it to where I can hustle it pretty good. We actually stayed really, really loose because I thought it was going to be around the top. There towards the end, it was really getting slick, so I knew I was losing a little bit of speed, but we still got it done.”

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) came within a car length of equaling a mark that had been achieved in 56 years. However, his bid for five-straight USAC National Sprint Car wins came up a tick short following a late surge to finish second in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Third place finisher Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) led a race-high 17 laps, but lamented that his car wasn’t tight enough and he knew he was in trouble from the time he was lining up, and throughout the race, wasn’t able to launch off turn four the way he needed to in order to remain out front in his Dynamics, Inc./FK Indy – Davis Brothers Trucking – Tel-Star Communications/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

In patented Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) style, the veteran raced his way from 23rd to 8th in the feature to earn J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors. It’s also important to note that Matt Westfall advanced from 26th to 9th, but provisional starters are not eligible to receive the award.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) overcame a 33rd place qualifying time, then drove from sixth to fourth in the semi-feature to earn a starting spot into the main event lineup. For his efforts, he was named as the night's ProSource Hard Work award recipient.

Max Adams' (Loomis, Calif.) solid start went sour with a tie-rod issue just prior to his heat race. Relegated to the C-Main, he won that, then charged up through the pack of the semi, coming up just short of a feature starting spot. For his hard luck, Adams received a right rear Hoosier tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

It was a bounce back night for Joey Amantea who endured an upside down ride on Friday night. Utilizing a backup car on Saturday at Kokomo, he recovered to win his heat, then finished a solid 11th in the feature. For that, he earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 27, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.687; 2. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.884; 3. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.887; 4. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.906; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.966; 6. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.968; 7. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.986; 8. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.015; 9. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.023; 10. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-13.028; 11. Max Adams, 63, F & F-13.051; 12. Shawn Westerfeld, 4J, Fischesser/Owen-13.086; 13. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.128; 14. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.144; 15. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-13.186; 16. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.189; 17. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.193; 18. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-13.263; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.296; 20. Scotty Weir, 47x, Eades-13.317; 21. Jack Hoyer, 57H, Hazen-13.320; 22. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.374; 23. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-13.387; 24. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-13.395; 25. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-13.458; 26. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-13.467; 27. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.472; 28. Kevin Newton, 14N, 2nd Law-13.489; 29. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-13.496; 30. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-13.502; 31. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-13.550; 32. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.580; 33. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.599; 34. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.612; 35. Tyler Hewitt, 97, Hewitt-13.641; 36. Brayden Clark, 4BC, Clark-13.667; 37. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.690; 38. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-13.756; 39. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-13.779; 40. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.851; 41. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.913; 42. Colin Grissom, 00, Grissom-13.926; 43. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-13.985; 44. Aaron Davis, 11, Davis-14.183; 45. Logan Calderwood, 4c, Ford-14.250; 46. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.260; 47. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-14.363; 48. Austin Hawkins, 5A, Hawkins-14.438; 49. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-14.475; 50. Bryce Dues, 23D, Dues-14.907; 51. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-14.949; 52. Michael Daugherty, 3.14, Daugherty-NT; 53. Cody Williams, 26w, Williams-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Jack Hoyer, 3. Rylan Gray, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Brayden Clark, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Max Adams, 10. Kobe Simpson, 11. Ryan Barr. 2:11.484

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Shawn Westerfeld, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Colin Grissom, 9. Troy Carey, 10. Cody Williams, 11. Carson Garrett. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Kale Drake, 4. Frankie Guerrini, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Anton Hernandez, 7. Kyle Shipley, 8. Kevin Newton, 9. Austin Hawkins, 10. Sam Hinds. 2:13.543

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Mario Clouser, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Braydon Cromwell, 8. Aaron Davis, 9. Donny Brackett, 10. Nate Schank. 2:15.287

STEEL-IT FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Tyler Hewitt, 7. Weston Gorham, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Bryce Dues. 2:16.193

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Max Adams, 2. Donny Brackett, 3. Matt Goodnight, 4. Sam Hinds, 5. Colin Grissom, 6. Kevin Newton, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Aaron Davis, 9. Logan Calderwood, 10. Nate Schank, 11. Kobe Simpson, 12. Troy Carey, 13. Ryan Barr, 14. Austin Hawkins, 15. Bryce Dues, 16. Cody Williams. 2:24.589

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Scotty Weir, 3. Anton Hernandez, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Zack Pretorius, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Kyle Shipley, 9. Max Adams, 10. Brayden Clark, 11. Mario Clouser, 12. Weston Gorham, 13. Donny Brackett, 14. Shawn Westerfeld, 15. Brandon Mattox, 16. Matt Goodnight, 17. Sam Hinds, 18. Braydon Cromwell, 19. Tyler Hewitt, 20. Carson Garrett. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (6), 2. Logan Seavey (8), 3. Brady Bacon (1), 4. Daison Pursley (3), 5. Robert Ballou (5), 6. Ricky Lewis (12), 7. Briggs Danner (4), 8. Shane Cottle (23), 9. Matt Westfall (26-P), 10. Mitchel Moles (9), 11. Joey Amantea (10), 12. Harley Burns (22), 13. Rylan Gray (13), 14. Chance Crum (20), 15. Jack Hoyer (17), 16. Chase Stockon (24), 17. Anton Hernandez (11), 18. Jadon Rogers (21), 19. Carson Garrett (25-P), 20. Kale Drake (15), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 22. Scotty Weir (16), 23. Frankie Guerrini (19), 24. Justin Grant (2), 25. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 26. C.J. Leary (18). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Brady Bacon, Laps 18-30 Kyle Cummins.

**C.J. Leary flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Kevin Thomas Jr. flipped on lap 19 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1869, 2-Brady Bacon-1785, 3-C.J. Leary-1715, 4-Daison Pursley-1709, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1631, 6-Mitchel Moles-1600, 7-Robert Ballou-1572, 8-Kyle Cummins-1520, 9-Justin Grant-1514, 10-Jake Swanson-1302.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-159, 2-Logan Seavey-156, 3-Brady Bacon-134, 4-Briggs Danner-134, 5-Daison Pursley-129, 6-Mitchel Moles-121, 7-Ricky Lewis-99, 8-C.J. Leary-87, 9-Chance Crum-85, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-52.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-478, 2-Daison Pursley-451, 3-C.J. Leary-447, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-442, 5-Logan Seavey-438, 6-Mitchel Moles-414, 7-Kyle Cummins-404, 8-Justin Grant-386, 9-Robert Ballou-378, 10-Chase Stockon-306.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-126, 2-Daison Pursley-126, 3-Robert Ballou-111, 4-C.J. Leary-99, 5-Kyle Cummins-96, 6-Justin Grant-93, 7-Joey Amantea-89, 8-Chase Stockon-81, 9-Brady Bacon-71, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-67.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-19, 2-Kyle Cummins-16, 3-Logan Seavey-16, 4-Jadon Rogers-16, 5-Kayla Roell-16, 6-Chance Crum-15, 7-Chase Stockon-15, 8-Kyle Shipley-14, 9-Max Adams-14, 10-Brady Bacon-13.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 28, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Carson Garrett (12.799)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Cummins (12.687)

Spire Motorsports 7th Fastest Qualifier: Carson Garrett

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Steel-It Fifth Heat Winner: Joey Amantea

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Max Adams

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Charles Davis Jr.

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (23rd to 8th)

ProSource Hard Work: Chase Stockon

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Joey Amantea

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Max Adams

Spire Motorsports 7th Place Feature Finisher: Briggs Danner

CONNECT 4!

SEAVEY SCORES AT LINCOLN PARK,

WINS 4TH STRAIGHT USAC SPRINT RACE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Putnamville, Indiana (July 26, 2024)………Thirty-nine years is a long time any way you slice it.

Back in 1985, Coca-Cola introduced “new Coke;” the first Nintendo gaming system was released in North America; Michael Jordan was named NBA’s Rookie of the Year; and Tears for Fears was tearing up the Billboard music charts.

The year of 1985 also just so happened to mark the most recent occurrence of a four-race winning streak by a driver in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition, a feat achieved that season by Rick Hood en route to his second consecutive series championship.

Nearly four decades later, Logan Seavey became the first to win four-straight since that point in time during Friday night’s opening event of the 37th annual NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

Racing to the front from his sixth starting position, Seavey took over the lead by the 12th circuit of the 30-lap main event at the 5/16-mile event in a race that featured its fair share of wild, hair-raising events. Even Seavey himself had to hop out of his car during an early-race red flag period which briefly set off a small blaze out of the exhaust that lit the vinyl on the left side of his car on fire.

After the flames were doused, Seavey raised his 2024 USAC National Sprint Car win total to 11. That now brings the Sutter, Calif. native to within three victories of tying Tom Bigelow’s all-time single-season series win record of 14 set back in 1977, and the season is still only in July! Seavey’s fifth career Indiana Sprint Week score was also his 21st in USAC National Sprint Car competition, equaling him with 1967 titlist Greg Weld for 33rd place all-time.

“I just owe it all to my team and everyone who works so hard on working on these racecars,” Seavey praised. “I don’t feel like it could be going much better than it is right now. This is really cool to start Sprint Week out like this and we have a ton of momentum.”

For Seavey, it was also his record-setting third consecutive USAC National Sprint Car triumph at Lincoln Park, all of which have occurred within a three-week span in the month of July aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy. In fact, all three of Seavey’s wins thus far in July of 2024 have come at Lincoln Park.

“It’s just confidence in my car and confidence in my guys to do what we need to do,” Seavey stated. “Winning those races here a few weeks ago certainly made me feel really good about my car.”

For the third time in the last four USAC Sprint Car starts, Seavey punctuated a quick time during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying with a feature win. His latest fast time on Friday night slotted him into the sixth starting spot for the feature, and by the conclusion of lap two, he was already in third. Meanwhile, 2022 Indiana Sprint Week champ Justin Grant controlled the pace up front, but Seavey was rapidly closing in.

“I got up to the top-three pretty quickly and then got racing with those guys and was just kind of waiting,” Seavey recalled. “Justin’s obviously really good and you don’t often get to pass him for the lead of a sprint car race. I tried to take my time a little bit and I knew when I passed him, I had to get him and go as fast as I could because he’s really tough to race. It’s why he’s so good and wins so many races.”

However, before Seavey could get there, one of the wildest incidents in recent memory occurred on the seventh lap. Kale Drake, making his USAC National Sprint Car debut, ramped over the right rear wheel of another car entering turn one. From there, Drake burst through the turn one fence and billboards before landing upside down in the parking lot, nestled between several spectators’ vehicles. Ultimately, Drake was able to walk away from the incident.

On the subsequent lap seven restart, Seavey charged underneath second running Briggs Danner to swipe second. Yet just a handful of laps later, a four-car stack-up collected Matt Westfall (9th), C.J. Leary (11th), Jake Swanson (13th) and Max Adams (14th), all of whom came to a stop in turn two.

Displaying his restart mastery once more, once the field was re-racked for the lap 12 resumption, Seavey took to the cushion in turns one and two and propelled himself by Grant to take over the top spot by the time the pair hit the back straightaway.

“I didn’t really know what the back stretch was going to play out like,” Seavey pondered. “I thought (Grant) might’ve heard me, and I was on the gas really hard. He was struggling on the top early and that’s just kind of what got him off there. He showed the bottom early, so it gave me room to get into (turn) one really hard. I made one good corner and got around him, then I had to get going right away from there because he’s as hard as it gets to race with and beat when you go head-to-head like that. He gets me a lot of the time, so it was nice to get one on him.”

From there, Seavey sliced his way through the tail end of the field, putting several drivers a lap down as he pushed his lead to two-plus seconds over Grant with less than two laps remaining and the white flag in sight.

However, a frightening scene developed on the back straightaway on lap 29 as ninth running Stevie Sussex's car burst into flames. Sussex promptly jumped out of the car fully engulfed in fire. He stopped, dropped and rolled through the infield for several yards until he was met by the safety crew who quickly extinguished the flames. In time, Sussex was back on his feet and walked to the ambulance under his own power.

The first attempt at a green-white-checker restart turned disastrous. After Cummins surpassed Grant for second around the outside of turns one and two, Grant got tight at the exit of turn two. Fourth running Danner saw the door of opportunity open and raced to the inside of Grant entering turn three. There, the two collided, sending Grant sideways between turns three and four. Grant was then contacted by Brady Bacon, which sent Grant sliding directly into the path of Carson Garrett (8th), Brayden Fox (11th) and Chance Crum (12th). Garrett and Fox flipped upside down in the melee, knocking both of them out of the contest. Grant and Crum, meanwhile, were able to restart.

For the final two trips, Seavey successfully fended off a challenge from Cummins to earn his first USAC Indiana Sprint Week victory since 2021 by a 0.605 second margin at the stripe. Cummins grabbed second with Danner third, Mitchel Moles fourth and Bacon fifth.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) equaled his best USAC result of the season with a runner-up performance in his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Premier Recycling/GSR/Stanton Chevy.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) scored a third-place result, making that back-to-back podium finishes for him during USAC Indiana Sprint Week dating back to his second place run in last year’s finale at Bloomington Speedway in his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Boulevard Truck Repair/DRC/Rider Chevy.

Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) started his feature run in the 23rd spot and finished it in 10th, earning himself the J & J Trucking Hard Charger award. Of note, Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) advanced 25th to 7th but was not eligible to receive hard charger honors due to utilizing a provisional. Ballou also became just the third driver in USAC National Sprint Car history to reach 500 career USAC National Sprint Car feature starts on this night, joining Dave Darland and Brady Bacon.

It was a night of comebacks for C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) who made a last lap pass to win his heat race, then was running 11th in the feature when he was involved in an accident which forced him to restart at the tail where he then charged his way forward to finish eighth. For those combined efforts, Leary was rewarded as the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Geoff Ensign (Sebastopol, Calif.) powered through early hardship to have a pretty solid evening for himself. As a result, he earned ProSource's Hard Work award as the slowest qualifier to advance to the feature. As an encore, he advanced from his 24th starting spot to finish 11th in the feature.

During the semi, Jack Hoyer (Frankfort, Ind.) looked to be in a good spot to make the feature. Running second in the semi, his night ended atop the turn three cushion. Despite the setback, he didn’t go away empty handed as he was the recipient of a new Hoosier right rear tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 26, 2024 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.078; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.214; 3. Max Adams, 63, F & F-12.239; 4. Andrew Prather, 16K, Knight-12.281; 5. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.295; 6. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.315; 7. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.327; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.335; 9. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.382; 10. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.393; 11. Shawn Westerfeld, 4J, Fischesser/Owen-12.409; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.427; 13. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.466; 14. Wyatt Burks, 11w, Burks-12.472; 15. Jake Swanson, 24, Simon-12.481; 16. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.487; 17. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-12.496; 18. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.543; 19. Seth Parker, 38p, Parker-12.547; 20. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.547; 21. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.579; 22. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.592; 23. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.632; 24. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.644; 25. Jack Hoyer, 11x, Hoyer-12.648; 26. Scotty Weir, 47x, Eades-12.654; 27. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-12.677; 28. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-12.751; 29. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.772; 30. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.776; 31. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-12.779; 32. Ivan Glotzbach, 2H, Hayden-12.784; 33. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.799; 34. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.806; 35. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-12.812; 36. Logan Calderwood, 4c, Ford-12.850; 37. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-12.850; 38. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.866; 39. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.916; 40. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-12.949; 41. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.962; 42. Kyle Johnson, 99J, Johnson-12.967; 43. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.969; 44. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.043; 45. Frankie Guerrini, g3, F & F-13.154; 46. Jake Scott, 33, Miller-13.177; 47. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-13.201; 48. Daniel Whitley, 04, Burton-13.230; 49. Evan Mosley, 27, Barkdull-13.247; 50. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.337; 51. Kevin Newton, 14N, 2nd Law-13.528; 52. Travis Thompson, 7, Thompson-13.638; 53. James Boyd, 16B, Boyd-13.683; 54. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.957; 55. Austin Hawkins, 5A, Hawkins-14.183; 56. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-15.642; 57. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Scotty Weir, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Shawn Westerfeld, 6. Brayden Fox, 7. Mario Clouser, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. Logan Calderwood, 10. Jake Scott, 11. Hunter Maddox, 12. Kevin Newton. 2:11.722

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Kyle Shipley, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Kyle Johnson, 9. Sam Hinds, 10. Travis Thompson, 11. Ivan Glotzbach. 2:10.065

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Geoff Ensign, 4. Zack Pretorius, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. James Boyd, 10. Max Adams, 11. Daniel Whitley. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Anton Hernandez, 3. Chance Crum, 4. Seth Parker, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Brent Beauchamp, 7. Andrew Prather, 8. Evan Mosley, 9. Troy Carey, 10. Wyatt Burks, 11. Charles Davis Jr. NT

STEEL-IT FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jack Hoyer, 6. Harley Burns, 7. Frankie Guerrini, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Nate Schank, 10. Rylan Gray, 11. Austin Hawkins. NT

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Kyle Johnson, 2. Kobe Simpson, 3. Evan Mosley, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Nate Schank, 7. Logan Calderwood, 8. Jake Scott, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Troy Carey, 11. Wyatt Burks, 12. Travis Thompson, 13. Charles Davis Jr., 14. Kevin Newton, 15. Hunter Maddox, 16. James Boyd, 17. Austin Hawkins, 18. Sam Hinds, 19. Ivan Glotzbach. 2:15.687

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Max Adams, 3. Brayden Fox, 4. Kyle Shipley, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Mario Clouser, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Evan Mosley, 9. Brandon Mattox, 10. Shawn Westerfeld, 11. Kyle Johnson, 12. Kobe Simpson, 13. Jack Hoyer, 14. Joey Amantea, 15. Harley Burns, 16. Brent Beauchamp, 17. Robert Ballou, 18. Shane Cottle, 19. Andrew Prather, 20. Frankie Guerrini. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (6), 2. Kyle Cummins (7), 3. Briggs Danner (4), 4. Mitchel Moles (12), 5. Brady Bacon (14), 6. Daison Pursley (3), 7. Robert Ballou (25-P), 8. C.J. Leary (11), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 10. Jadon Rogers (23), 11. Geoff Ensign (24), 12. Chance Crum (21), 13. Justin Grant (2), 14. Kyle Shipley (17) 15. Matt Westfall (9), 16. Seth Parker (18), 17. Ricky Lewis (5), 18. Stevie Sussex (10), 19. Carson Garrett (19), 20. Brayden Fox (16), 21. Anton Hernandez (1), 22. Max Adams (13), 23. Jake Swanson (8), 24. Zack Pretorius (20), 25. Scotty Weir (22), 26. Kale Drake (26-P). NT

**(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Justin Grant, Laps 12-30 Logan Seavey.

**Ivan Glotzbach flipped during qualifying. Joey Amantea flipped during the semi. Robert Ballou flipped during the semi. Kale Drake flipped on lap 7 of the feature. Carson Garrett & Brayden Fox flipped on lap 29 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1794, 2-Brady Bacon-1714, 3-C.J. Leary-1685, 4-Daison Pursley-1640, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1600, 6-Mitchel Moles-1549, 7-Robert Ballou-1504, 8-Justin Grant-1482, 9-Kyle Cummins-1436, 10-Jake Swanson-1302.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-81, 2-Kyle Cummins-75, 3-Briggs Danner-71, 4-Mitchel Moles-70, 5-Brady Bacon-63, 6-Daison Pursley-60, 7-C.J. Leary-57, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-52, 9-Jadon Rogers-50, 10-Geoff Ensign-47.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-126, 2-Logan Seavey-120, 3-Robert Ballou-111, 4-C.J. Leary-99, 5-Justin Grant-93, 6-Kyle Cummins-91, 7-Joey Amantea-89, 8-Chase Stockon-73, 9-Brady Bacon-71, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-67.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Jadon Rogers-13, 2-Geoff Ensign-13, 3-Evan Mosley-13, 4-Brandon Mattox-11, 5-Brady Bacon-10, 6-Kobe Simpson-10, 7-Mitchel Moles-9, 8-Chance Crum-9, 9-Kayla Roell-9, 10-Kyle Cummins-8.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 27, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Chance Crum (12.265)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (12.078)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Stevie Sussex

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Steel-It Fifth Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Kyle Johnson

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

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Jadon Rogers (23rd to 10th)

ProSource Hard Work: Geoff Ensign

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: C.J. Leary

Indiana Open Wheel Highest Finishing Weekly Lincoln Park Speedway Driver: Seth Parker (16th)

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Jack Hoyer

INDIANA SUMMER!

USAC SPRINTS FACE 37TH

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK JULY 26-AUG 3

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (July 24, 2024)………Since 1988, midsummer in the Hoosier State has been the focal point for drivers, teams and the throngs of race fans from around the world who converge on Indiana for a weeklong extravaganza of sprint car racing unlike any other.

For the 37th straight season, and the 29th under USAC sanction, NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing provides a sensational slate of dirt tracks and drivers from across the nation vying to become the next to conquer one of the most grueling, yet rewarding adventures of the year.

Lincoln Park Speedway will host the ISW opener for the first time since 2001 on Friday, July 26. From there, the tour travels to Kokomo Speedway on July 27, followed by dates at Lawrenceburg Speedway on July 28, Circle City Raceway on July 31, the Terre Haute Action Track on August 1, Bloomington Speedway on August 2 and the finale at Tri-State Speedway on August 3.

Seven events across nine nights await for one of the most anticipated events on the annual motorsports calendar. And here are six storylines to keep yourself affixed to!

CHOCK FULL OF CHAMPS

Six past USAC Indiana Sprint Week champions are vying for another title in 2024: Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon, C.J. Leary and Robert Ballou.

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) enters this week as the defending ISW champion, after also winning in 2016, and is shooting to become the first back-to-back ISW titlist since Bryan Clauson in 2013-14.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) collected the ISW title in 2022 and has finished inside the top-five of the ISW points in each of the past five seasons since 2019.

Like Bacon, Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) also comes in as a two-time ISW champion in 2017 and 2021. And like Grant, Thomas also scored his very first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win during Indiana Sprint Week back in 2012.

Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) has captured victories in both the opening and closing races of ISW during his career. He locked down an ISW championship in 2020 with KO Motorsports just after joining the team.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) tripled up in 2019 with an Eastern Storm crown followed by an Indiana Sprint Week title and the USAC National Sprint Car championship all in a single season.

In 2015, Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) experienced one of the most masterful seasons of all-time in USAC National Sprint Car competition, winning 13 times while also grabbing an Indiana Sprint Week title en route to the season championship.

SEASON ON THE BRINK

However, there are several drivers in wait who are seeking to earn their first USAC Indiana Sprint Week championship, four of whom currently reside inside the top-10 of the USAC National Sprint Car points.

USAC point leader Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has won each of his past three USAC National Sprint Car starts, and now eyes his fourth-in-a-row this Friday at Lincoln Park. Rick Hood was the most recent driver to win four-in-a-row with the series back in 1985. Seavey has already won 10 features this season, and in 2021, won three-in-a-row during ISW to finish a career best third in the standings.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) looks to join the ranks of first-time Indiana Sprint Week winners after capturing his first USAC National Sprint Car points-paying victory earlier this season at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) corralled a feature victory in his debut ISW run in 2022 at Lincoln Park and is coming off a recent championship during USAC’s Eastern Storm tour through Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) ranks sixth all-time in Indiana Sprint Week feature wins with seven, but now turns his focus toward an ISW title after tying a career-best points finish of fourth in 2023.

HOOSIER HYSTERIA HOPEFULS

Like Pursley, a number of others are zeroed in on breaking through for a first career USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature triumph this week after notching at least one previous USAC National Sprint Car score.

Pursley ran through his first ISW experience in 2023, finishing 14th in the standings. His new ride for 2024, the Team AZ Racing No. 21AZ, put a “w” on the board as a first-time ISW winner at Lincoln Park in 2023 with Jake Swanson as their driver.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), a stalwart of the USAC East Coast circuit, has been superb in 2024 on the USAC national trail. In June, he earned his first career USAC National Sprint Car win in his home state at Grandview Speedway. He led the initial 14 laps and finished second a year ago during the ISW round at Bloomington.

Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) has participated in Indiana Sprint Week for more than two decades. A victory would mean the world to the veteran racer who’s won in a wide variety of racecars, and twice with the USAC National Sprints, including last September in Arkansas.

MAKING THE FIRST ONE A BIG ONE

Twenty drivers have won their first career USAC National Sprint Car feature during Indiana Sprint Week.

It’s a list that includes the likes of Brad Marvel, Brad Fox, Bill Rose, Derek Davidson, Terry Pletch, Cory Kruseman, Bud Kaeding, A.J. Anderson, Brady Short, Jeff Bland Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Blake Fitzpatrick, Casey Riggs, Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., Aaron Farney, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Brent Beauchamp and Carson Short.

It’s an occasion that hasn’t occurred in more than eight years, since the 2016 season, but could become a forefront storyline throughout the week if one of these names were to pop up at the top of the running order.

Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) has twice garnered fourth place finishes with USAC this season, and four finishes inside the top-six, all of which have occurred on Indiana soil. He’s already won eight sprint car races in Indiana outside of USAC competition, five of which include three different tracks on the ISW schedule: Lincoln Park, Lawrenceburg and Circle City.

Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) has come within a whisker of winning his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature, and recently just notched a top-five result with USAC at Lincoln Park to start off the month of July.

Anton Hernandez (Arlington, Texas) has won on the local level in Indiana and will be behind the wheel of the orange No. 5 owned by the Baldwin-Fox Racing team which won the 2011 and 2018 ISW titles with driver Chris Windom. Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.) has led laps in USAC competition this year and will even have a Jeff Gordon throwback scheme to mark his second career ISW experience.

Making not only his Indiana Sprint Week debut, but also his USAC National Sprint Car debut is Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.). The 2024 Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year has been among the top Rookies with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship this season, ranking ninth in points with a pair of top-fives. Drake will drive the 2B Racing No. 2B, which Levi Jones drove to the 2004 ISW title.

MIND ON THE POINTS & POINTS ON THE MIND

Unquestionably, Logan Seavey has been on a tear of late, and thus, leads the USAC National Sprint Car standings by a 62-point margin, and has held the top position since February.

With seven races across nine nights during ISW, things can turn on a dime with one bad night here or there, or conversely, stringing together consistent fine runs throughout the week.

Now Seavey is laser-focused on emerging from the week unscathed and coming out of the other side of ISW with a firmer grip on the season long title.

In 14 of the 28 Indiana Sprint Weeks held under USAC sanction since 1996, one driver has entered ISW as the USAC National Sprint Car point leader, left ISW as the point leader and wound up as the champion at year’s end: Brian Tyler (1996 & 1997), Dave Darland (1999), Tony Elliott (2000), Tracy Hines (2002), J.J. Yeley (2003), Jay Drake (2004), Levi Jones (2009-2010-2011), Brady Bacon (2016 & 2021), C.J. Leary (2019) and Justin Grant (2022).

On six other occasions, a driver entered and exited ISW as the USAC National Sprint Car point leader but wound up short of the USAC national title at the close of the season: Kevin Thomas (1998), Dave Darland (2001), Levi Jones (2008), Jon Stanbrough (2012) and Justin Grant (2017 & 2020).

Five other times, a driver entered ISW as the point leader, but left the week trailing the USAC season championship standings, and ultimately, missed out on the year-end USAC crown: Jay Drake (2005), Darren Hagen (2007), Dave Darland (2013), Chase Stockon (2015) and Jake Swanson (2023).

There have been three moments in which a driver entered ISW as the point leader, lost it by the end of ISW, but then regained it in time to score the USAC National Sprint Car title at the end of the campaign: Josh Wise (2006), Brady Bacon (2014) and Tyler Courtney (2018).

BREAKING IT ALL DOWN

All USAC ISW feature events will pay $8,000-to-win. Plus, a $24,000 total point fund is up for grabs for the top-eight drivers in the 2024 USAC Indiana Sprint Week point standings. The breakdown of pay for the top-eight in the end-of-week standings is as follows: 1) $10,000, 2) $4,000, 3) $2,500, 4) $2,000, 5) $1,750, 6) $1,500, 7) $1,250, 8) $1,000.

Throughout ISW, the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying Challenge will reward each fast qualifier with $200, plus an extra $200 for each additional fast time. For example, a driver would collect $200 for the first fast time, $400 for the second fast qualifying award, $600 for their third quick time of the week and so on.

J & J Trucking has added a $200 hard charger bonus at each feature throughout Indiana Sprint Week. ProSource will present a $500 reward to the Passing Master – the driver advancing the most positions throughout each Indiana Sprint Week event. Additionally, ProSource will reward the slowest qualifying driver who advances to the feature with a $100 Hard Work bonus.

Semi-Feature transfer money has been upped for the non-transfer finishing positions of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. Fifth will receive $300; sixth $275; seventh $250; eighth $225. All other non-transfers will receive $200.

Furthermore, as has been a tradition since 2010, the Indiana Sprint Week champion car owner will receive a custom, handcrafted Bridgeport Rocker courtesy of John Youngs from Vincennes, Ind.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1713, 2-Brady Bacon-1651, 3-C.J. Leary-1628, 4-Daison Pursley-1580, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1548, 6-Mitchel Moles-1479, 7-Robert Ballou-1452, 8-Justin Grant-1438, 9-Kyle Cummins-1361, 10-Jake Swanson-1271.

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

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATS: (1988-2023)

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CHAMPIONS

1988: Randy Kinser (Bloomington, Ind.)

1989: Chuck Amati (Freeman Spur, Ill.)

1990: Chuck Amati (Freeman Spur, Ill.) & Gary Trammell (Bloomington, Ind.)

1991: Bob Kinser (Bloomington, Ind.)

1992: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Ind.)

1993: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Ind.)

1994: Kelly Kinser (Bloomington, Ind.)

1995: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Ind.)

1996: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Ind.)

1997: J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.)

1998: Dave Darland (Lincoln, Ind.)

1999: Tony Elliott (Kokomo, Ind.)

2000: Jay Drake (Val Verde, Calif.)

2001: Dave Darland (Lincoln, Ind.)

2002: Cory Kruseman (Ventura, Calif.)

2003: J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.)

2004: Levi Jones (Olney, Ill.)

2005: Cory Kruseman (Ventura, Calif.)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (Avon, Ind.)

2007: Dave Darland (Lincoln, Ind.)

2008: Levi Jones (Olney, Ill.)

2009: Levi Jones (Olney, Ill.)

2010: Jon Stanbrough (Avon, Ind.)

2011: Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.)

2012: Levi Jones (Olney, Ill.)

2013: Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, Ind.)

2014: Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, Ind.)

2015: Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.)

2016: Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.)

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.)

2018: Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.)

2019: C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.)

2020: Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.)

2022: Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.)

2023: Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.)

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

ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:

20-Dave Darland

16-Jon Stanbrough

12-Cory Kruseman

9-Justin Grant & J.J. Yeley

7-Bryan Clauson, Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary

6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Robert Ballou, Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas

4-Brady Bacon, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Kelly Kinser & Logan Seavey

3-Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines & Hunter Schuerenberg

2-Chuck Amati, Shane Cottle, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom

1-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mitchel Moles, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Jake Swanson, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt

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

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK LAPS LED (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

431-Dave Darland

413-Jon Stanbrough

276-Cory Kruseman

217-Brady Bacon

216-Kevin Thomas Jr.

205-Robert Ballou & Justin Grant

187-J.J. Yeley

184-C.J. Leary

176-Jay Drake

173-Bryan Clauson

148-Chris Windom

124-Levi Jones

121-Tracy Hines

103-Kyle Cummins & Hunter Schuerenberg

101-Tyler Courtney

98-Kevin Briscoe

97-Brady Short

94-Jerry Coons Jr. & Logan Seavey

82-Jack Hewitt

80-Chase Stockon

76-Tony Elliott

68-Daron Clayton & Thomas Meseraull

63-Jake Swanson

57-Bud Kaeding

52-Brad Sweet

50-Shane Cottle & Derek Davidson

43-Cole Whitt

42-Chad Boespflug

38-Carson Short

36-Damion Gardner

35-Aaron Farney & Dickie Gaines

33-Josh Wise

30-Chad Boat & Brad Marvel

29-Mitchel Moles & Bill Rose

26-Robbie Rice, Stephen Schnapf & Scotty Weir

25-Brad Fox

24-John Memmer

23-Cary Faas & Brandon Petty

22-Darren Hagen, & Brian Tyler

21-A.J. Anderson, Brent Beauchamp, Briggs Danner & Eric Shively

20-Kevin Doty

18-Boston Reid

17-Xavier Doney

16-Emerson Axsom, Justin Marvel & Casey Riggs

14-Mike Mann & Wes McIntyre

13-Jeff Bland Jr.

12-Christopher Bell

11-Bobby Stines

10-Brian Hayden & Jason McDougal

9-Kevin Thomas

8-Carson Garrett, Mat Neely & Jimmy Sills

6-Jarett Andretti, Cole Bodine, Terry Pletch & Dustin Smith

5-John Wolfe

4-Kent Christian, Blake Fitzpatrick & Derek Scheffel

3-Keith Bloom Jr., Rickie Gaunt & Tanner Thorson

1-Jesse Hockett, Logan Jarrett, Rusty McClure, Dustin Morgan, Jadon Rogers, Jeremy Sherman & Jonathan Vennard

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

ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-FIVE FINISHES (1988-2023)

66-Dave Darland

51-Jon Stanbrough

45-Levi Jones

42-Brady Bacon

33-Tony Elliott & Chris Windom

32-Justin Grant

31-J.J. Yeley

29-Bryan Clauson

28-Robert Ballou & Kevin Thomas Jr.

27-Kevin Thomas

25-Shane Cottle & Cory Kruseman

24-C.J. Leary & Chase Stockon

20-Jerry Coons Jr.

19-Jay Drake & Tracy Hines

18-Kyle Cummins

15-Brady Short

14-Kevin Briscoe, Bill Rose & Hunter Schuerenberg

13-Tyler Courtney & Bud Kaeding

10-Jack Hewitt & Randy Kinser

9-Derek Davidson & Danny Smith

8-Damion Gardner, Brian Hayden, Bob Kinser, Kelly Kinser, Thomas Meseraull & Logan Seavey

7-Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Darren Hagen, Tray House, Jason McDougal, Terry Pletch & Josh Wise

6-Chuck Amati, Chad Boespflug, Daron Clayton, Dickie Gaines, Mat Neely, Terry Shepherd, Brian Tyler, Scotty Weir & Cole Whitt

5-A.J. Anderson, Chad Boat & Joe Roush

4-Emerson Axsom, Mike Mann, Carson Short, Jake Swanson, Brad Sweet & Tanner Thorson

3-Jeff Bland Jr., Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, Rick Hood, Kevin Huntley, Tony Jarrett, Mitchel Moles, Dustin Morgan, Robbie Rice, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Gary Trammell & Jeff Walker

2-Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Larry Bland, Tom Chalk, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Jeff Gordon, Coleman Gulick, Kurt Hawkins, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Dave Peperak, Boston Reid, Casey Riggs, Jon Sciscoe, John Scott, Jeremy Sherman, Eric Shively, Casey Shuman & Mike Spencer

1-Garrett Aitken, Jarett Andretti, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Keith Bloom Jr., Mike Bowling, Kent Christian, Hud Cone, Troy Cline, Briggs Danner, Xavier Doney, Mike English, Cary Faas, Gary Fisher, Josh Ford, Russ Gamester, Carson Garrett, Dink Glidden, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jonathan Hendrick, Josh Hodges, Blake Hollingsworth, Shane Hollingsworth, Danny Holtsclaw, A.J. Hopkins, Kasey Kahne, Doug Kalitta, Todd Kane, Todd Kelley, Mike Kirby, Frankie Kerr, Chris LaFollette, Troy Link, Brad Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Wes McIntyre, Joe Miller, Brandon Petty, Daison Pursley, Jadon Rogers, Joey Saldana, Derek Scheffel, Stephen Schnapf, Todd Shields, Jimmy Sills, Mickey Smith, Greg Staab, Steve Surniak, Tyler Thomas, Lee Underwood, Rick Ungar, Jonathan Vennard, Mike Ward, Matt Westfall, Rip Williams & Greg Wilson

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

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-10 FINISHES (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

98-Dave Darland

74-Jon Stanbrough

66-Levi Jones

64-Brady Bacon

59-Robert Ballou & Chris Windom

53-Shane Cottle & Justin Grant

48-Kevin Thomas Jr.

47-Chase Stockon

46-Jerry Coons Jr.

45-Bryan Clauson

43-Cory Kruseman & C.J. Leary

42-Tracy Hines

40-J.J. Yeley

39-Tony Elliott

34-Kyle Cummins

31-Jay Drake

30-Brady Short

24-Hunter Schuerenberg

21-Tyler Courtney, Damion Gardner, Bud Kaeding & Bill Rose

20-Kevin Thomas

19-Chad Boespflug

17-Kevin Briscoe & Scotty Weir

16-Derek Davidson, Darren Hagen & Brian Hayden

15-Thomas Meseraull & Logan Seavey

14-Dickie Gaines

13-Daron Clayton, Carson Short & Josh Wise

12-Kevin Doty & Jason McDougal

11-Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Brad Sweet & Cole Whitt

10-Jake Swanson

9-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Jack Hewitt, Josh Hodges & Jadon Rogers

8-Jarett Andretti & Jeff Bland Jr.

7-Brent Beauchamp, Chad Boat, Bobby East, Blake Fitzpatrick, Coleman Gulick, Todd Kane, Justin Marvel, Mitchel Moles, Boston Reid, Casey Shuman & Brian Tyler

6-Kent Christian, Troy Cline, Eric Shively, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Matt Westfall

5-Christopher Bell, Shane Hollingsworth, Tony Jarrett, Critter Malone, Dustin Morgan, Jeremy Sherman & Mike Spencer

4-Hud Cone, Charles Davis Jr., Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, Wes McIntyre, Brandon Petty, Robbie Rice, Brody Roa, Jimmy Sills, & John Wolfe

3-A.J. Anderson, Briggs Danner, Josh Ford, Brad Fox, Carson Garrett, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jonathan Hendrick, Dakota Jackson, Rusty McClure, Casey Riggs, Derek Scheffel, Jon Sciscoe, Neil Shepherd, Steve Surniak & Ryan Timms

2-Ryan Bernal, Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Henry Clarke, Xavier Doney, Mike English, Danny Holtsclaw, Kasey Kahne, Mike Kirby, Jason Knoke, Chris LaFollette, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Max McGhee, Tye Mihocko, Kevin Miller, Tim Montgomery, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Kendall Ruble, Stephen Schnapf, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kevin Swindell, Tyler Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd & Jeff Wilson

1-Max Adams, Garrett Aitken, Joey Amantea, Chris Beaver, Kevin Besecker, Keith Bloom Jr., Timmy Buckwalter, Brett Burdette, Mark Cassella, Mark Clark, Shane Cockrum, Chris Coers, Colten Cottle, Tim Cox, Zach Daum, Cary Faas, Nic Faas, Russ Gamester, Kurt Gross, Tom Hessert III, Tray House, J.J. Hughes, Kevin Huntley, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Chase Johnson, Doug Kalitta, Joey Kerr, Jimmy Light, Jason McCord, Matt Mitchell, Vince Osman, Richard Ott, Dave Peperak, Daison Pursley, Davey Ray, Jason Robbins, Kyle Robbins, Eric Roberts, Joe Roush, Alex Shanks, Corey Smith, Dustin Smith, Stevie Sussex, Tanner Thorson, Lee Underwood, Jonathan Vennard, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams, Greg Wilson & Kyle Wissmiller

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

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

12-Dave Darland

11-Brady Bacon

9-Justin Grant

8-Levi Jones

7-Tracy Hines, C.J. Leary, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr. & J.J. Yeley

6-Daron Clayton & Richard Griffin

5-Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott, Mitchel Moles & Hunter Schuerenberg

4-Tyler Courtney & Jay Drake

3-Robert Ballou, Cory Kruseman, Carson Short, Chase Stockon, Brad Sweet & Josh Wise

2-Brent Beauchamp, Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, Brayden Fox, Justin Marvel, Kevin Miller, Brandon Petty, Boston Reid, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Scotty Weir

1-Nick Bilbee, Keith Bloom Jr., Kevin Briscoe, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Derek Davidson, Kevin Doty, Bobby East, Nic Faas, Blake Fitzpatrick, Jared Fox, Damion Gardner, Rickie Gaunt, Darren Hagen, Jonathan Hendrick, Josh Hodges, Ray Kenens, Dustin Morgan, Mat Neely, Ande Possman, Jadon Rogers, Bill Rose, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Jimmy Sills, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Thomas, Shawn Westerfeld, Rip Williams, Chris Windom, Mitch Wissmiller & John Wolfe

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

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK HEAT RACE WINS (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

32-Dave Darland

30-Jon Stanbrough

31-Robert Ballou

26-Shane Cottle

20-Brady Bacon

19-Cory Kruseman & C.J. Leary

18-Chris Windom

17-Brady Short

15-Chase Stockon

14-Kevin Thomas Jr.

13-Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins & Thomas Meseraull

12-Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant & Tracy Hines

11-Chad Boespflug, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley

10-Bryan Clauson

9-Hunter Schuerenberg

8-Kent Christian, Jay Drake, Carson Short & Kevin Thomas

7-Kenny Carmichael, Damion Gardner & Terry Pletch

6-Kevin Briscoe, Dickie Gaines, Darren Hagen & Scotty Weir

5-Blake Fitzpatrick, Josh Hodges, Shane Hollingsworth, Bud Kaeding, Mat Neely, Brandon Petty, Bill Rose, Eric Shively, Mike Spencer, Brian Tyler & Matt Westfall

4-Emerson Axsom, Daron Clayton, Hud Cone, Charles Davis Jr., Brian Hayden, Danny Holtsclaw, Logan Jarrett, Brandon Mattox, Jason McDougal, Mitchel Moles, Corey Smith, Cole Whitt & Mitch Wissmiller

3-A.J. Anderson, Jarett Andretti, Brad Fox, Carson Garrett, Jack Hewitt, Mike Kirby, Justin Marvel, Wes McIntyre, Boston Reid, Jadon Rogers, Derek Scheffel, John Scott, Logan Seavey, Casey Shuman, Dustin Smith, Brad Sweet & Tanner Thorson

2-Brent Beauchamp, Nick Bilbee, Jeff Bland Jr., Troy Cline, Tim Cox, Derek Davidson, Kris Deckard, Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Josh Ford, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, A.J. Hopkins, Tray House, Dakota Jackson, Todd Kane, Mike Mann, Bret Mellenberndt, Tye Mihocko, Dustin Morgan, Casey Riggs, Brody Roa, Stephen Schnapf, Alex Shanks, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson, Greg Wilson, Josh Wise & Kyle Wissmiller

1-Max Adams, Rodney Argo, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Keith Bloom Jr., Cole Bodine, Eric Burns, Josh Burton, Mark Cassella, Isaac Chapple, Roger Chaudion, Dustin Clark, Henry Clarke, Colten Cottle, Anthony D’Alessio, Briggs Danner, Ron Dennis, Kevin Doty, Cary Faas, Brayden, Jared Fox, Brian Gerster, Travis Gregg, Bart Grider, Kurt Gross, Chris Gurley, Chayse Hayhurst, Tom Hessert III, Jesse Hockett, J.J. Hughes, Marc Jessup, Chase Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Joey Kerr, Larry Kingseed Jr., Jordan Kinser, Jason Knoke, Critter Malone, Brad Marvel, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, John Memmer, Jerry Miller Jr., Kevin Miller, Jim Moughan, Derek O'Dell, Ande Possman, Michael Pickens, Robbie Rice, Kyle Robbins, Joe Roush, Bryan Ruble, Jon Sciscoe, Jason Setser, Neil Shepherd, Jimmy Sills, Landon Simon, Tim Spindler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Dalton Stevens, Gary Taylor, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms, Michael Trimble, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Ricky Williams & John Wolfe

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

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE STARTS (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

158-Dave Darland

119-Jon Stanbrough

98-Robert Ballou & Shane Cottle

96-Jerry Coons Jr.

88-Chris Windom

86-Tracy Hines

84-Levi Jones

83-Brady Bacon

82-Kevin Thomas Jr.

79-Chase Stockon

75-Justin Grant

74-C.J. Leary

65-Cory Kruseman

62-Hunter Schuerenberg

61-Kyle Cummins

60-Brady Short

58-Tony Elliott

56-Bryan Clauson & Thomas Meseraull

54-Chad Boespflug

53-Damion Gardner

50-Scotty Weir & J.J. Yeley

47-Jay Drake

41-Darren Hagen

40-Tyler Courtney

39-Bill Rose

37-Bud Kaeding

36-Daron Clayton

34-Derek Davidson

33-Jarett Andretti

32-Kevin Briscoe

31-Brian Hayden & Matt Westfall

30-A.J. Anderson & Carson Short

29-Brent Beauchamp

28-Kent Christian, Dickie Gaines & Justin Marvel

27-Josh Hodges, Brandon Mattox & Kevin Thomas

25-Mat Neely, Brandon Petty & Logan Seavey

24-Josh Wise

23-Jason McDougal, Terry Pletch & Casey Shuman

22-Jeff Bland Jr., Jake Swanson & Brian Tyler

21-Isaac Chapple, Jack Hewitt, Mike Spencer & Brad Sweet

19-Brody Roa, Derek Scheffel & Cole Whitt

18-Blake Fitzpatrick & Jadon Rogers

17-Kevin Doty, Aaron Farney & Critter Malone

16-Hud Cone, Bobby East, Shane Hollingsworth & Dustin Morgan

15-Dustin Smith & Tyler Thomas

14-Henry Clarke, Charles Davis Jr., Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, Dakota Jackson, Wes McIntyre & Eric Shively

13-Max Adams, Emerson Axsom, Chad Boat, Troy Cline, Coleman Gulick, Mitchel Moles & Richard Vander Weerd

12-Logan Jarrett, Robbie Rice & Jonathan Vennard

11-Ryan Bernal, Josh Ford, Eric Gordon, Tony Jarrett, Todd Kane, Mike Mann & Corey Smith

10-Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Jonathan Hendrick, Boston Reid, Kyle Robbins, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kyle Wissmiller & John Wolfe

9-Shane Cockrum, Briggs Danner, Tom Hessert III, Danny Holtsclaw, Tye Mihocko, Kevin Miller, Matt Mitchell, Steve Surniak & Kody Swanson

8-Cole Bodine, Carson Garrett, Richard Griffin, J.J. Hughes, Chase Johnson, Mike Kirby, Jimmy Laser, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Casey Riggs, Jeremy Sherman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stevie Sussex & Kevin Swindell

7-Timmy Buckwalter, Tim Cox, Andrew Elson, Brad Fox, Jordan Kinser, Jason Knoke, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, Joe Roush, Neil Shepherd, Josh Spencer, Tanner Thorson, Jace Vander Weerd & Mitch Wissmiller

6-Christopher Bell, Tony DiMattia, Jared Fox, Marc Jessup, Ryan Pace, Daison Pursley, Jason Robbins, Troy Rutherford, Jimmy Sills, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Michael Trimble

5-Keith Bloom Jr., Clinton Boyles, Mario Clouser, Cary Faas, Chris Gurley, Shane Hmiel, Jon Sciscoe, Brian VanMeveren & Ricky Williams

4-Caleb Armstrong, Nick Bilbee, Dustin Clark, Braxton Cummings, Xavier Doney, Rickie Gaunt, Bart Grider, Ted Hines, Aaron Mosley, Kendall Ruble, Kent Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Landon Simon, Mark Smith, Gus Wasson & Greg Wilson

3-Joey Amantea, Chris Beaver, Mike Boat, Donny Brackett, Chase Briscoe, Brett Burdette, Michael Burthay, Sterling Cling, Zach Daum, Mike English, Geoff Ensign, A.J. Fike, Kurt Gross, Kasey Kahne, Brad Kuhn, Brad Marvel, Jason McCord, Cannon McIntosh, Nate McMillin, Bret Mellenberndt, John Memmer, Jeff O’Banion, Richard Ott, Ande Possman, Davey Ray, Alex Shanks, Gary Taylor, Ryan Timms, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams & Jeff Wilson

2-Rodney Argo, Koby Barksdale, Ethan Barrow, Donnie Beechler, Robert Bell, Kevin Besecker, Greg Bragg, Alex Bright, Mark Cassella, Roger Chaudion, Mark Clark, Colten Cottle, Braydon Cromwell, Kris Deckard, Ty Deckard, Ron Dennis, Gregg Dillion, Nic Faas, Brayden Fox, Russ Gamester, Chris Gansen, Aric Gentry, Travis Gregg, Max Guilford, Tom Harris, Rick Hayden, Tray House, Jack Hoyer, Kevin Huntley, Cole Ketcham, Sheldon Kinser Jr., Chris LaFollette, Jimmy Light, Zach Martini, Joss Moffatt, Tim Montgomery, Derek O’Dell, Scott Orr, Tony Ploughe, Davey Pombo, Zack Pretorius, Terry Richards, Eric Roberts, Bryan Ruble, Bryan Stanfill, Dave Steele, Greg Stephens, Dalton Stevens, Leon Thickstun, & Shawn Westerfeld

1-Garrett Abrams, Nick Adams, Garrett Aitken, Marc Arnold, Chris Babcock, Dustin Beck, Dean Billings, J.C. Bland, Steve Buckwalter, Wyatt Burks, Josh Burton, Cole Carter, Kevin Chambers, Rob Chaney, Chris Coers, Jesse Cramer, Buddy Cunningham, Anthony D’Alessio, Eric Davis, Mitchell Davis, J.R. Douglas, Nick Drake, Brian Gerster, Dennis Gile, Matt Goodnight, Russ Harper, Jared Harris, Ed Hassler, Kurt Hawkins, Chayse Hayhurst, Zane Hendricks, Jordan Hermansader, Gary Howard, Chris Hoyer, Logan Hupp, Sammy Imel, Dustin Ingle, R.J. Johnson, Chase Jones, Tony Jones, Doug Kalitta, Ryan Kaplan, Brian Karraker, Tyler Kendall, Ray Kenens, Joey Kerr, Larry Kingseed Jr., Riley Kreisel, Ricky Lewis, Hunter Maddox, David McCreary, Matt McDonald, Austin Mero, Travis Millar, Jerry Miller Jr., Ray Morgan, Brandon Morin, Jim Moughan, Nick Naber, Wil Newlin, Paul Nienhiser, Trey Osborne, Vince Osman, Steve Ott, Seth Parker, Mark Perry III, Chris Phillips, Michael Pickens, Bart Pletch, Brett Pool, Travis Rilat, Charlie Sarver, Jason Setser, Danny Sheridan, Kyle Shipley, Jake Simmons, Bobby Smith, Eric Smith, Brandon Spencer, J.T. Stapp, Bobby Stines, Joe Stornetta, Lee Underwood, Chris Urish, Chet Williams, Rick Ziehl & Justin Zimmerman

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

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE WINNERS

1988

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 27, 1988 | Avilla Speedway | Rick Hood | Campbell #1N | Wing

July 28, 1988 | Paragon Speedway | Rick Hood | Campbell #1N | Wing

July 29, 1988 | Bloomington Speedway | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

July 31, 1988 | Kokomo Speedway | Tim Gee | Gee #88 | Wing

Aug 6, 1988 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Tim Gee | Gee #88 | Wing

1989

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 26, 1989 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 28, 1989 | Bloomington Speedway | Chuck Amati | Tate #66 | Wing

July 29, 1989 | Paragon Speedway | Mickey Smith | Smith #14 | Wing

July 30, 1989 | Kokomo Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

1990

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 25, 1990 | Paragon Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 27, 1990 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | Wing

July 28, 1990 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Darland #36D | Non-Wing

Aug 5, 1990 | Kokomo Speedway | Chuck Amati | Tate #66 | Non-Wing

1991

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 25, 1991 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jack Hewitt | Hampshire #63 | Non-Wing

July 26, 1991 | Bloomington Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 27, 1991 | Paragon Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 28, 1991 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | Darland #36D | Non-Wing

1992

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 31, 1992 | Bloomington Speedway | Bob Kinser | Bayless #17B | Wing

Aug 1, 1992 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Hazen #57 | Non-Wing

Aug 9, 1992 | Kokomo Speedway | Tony Elliott | Newkirk #17 | Non-Wing

1993

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 15, 1993 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Dave Darland | Earlywine #36D | Non-Wing

July 16, 1993 | Bloomington Speedway | Cary Faas | Faas #37 | Non-Wing

Aug 1, 1993 | Kokomo Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Black #2B | Non-Wing

Aug 6, 1993 | Paragon Speedway | Tray House | Frampton #95 | Non-Wing

1994

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 14, 1994 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

July 15, 1994 | Bloomington Speedway | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

July 16, 1994 | Paragon Speedway | Danny Smith | Bodkins #00 | Wing

July 17, 1994 | Kokomo Speedway | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

1995

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

Jun 15, 1995 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Tony Elliott | Hazen/Walker #57 | Non-Wing

Jun 16, 1995 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Applebee #3 | Non-Wing

Jun 17, 1995 | Paragon Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Applebee #3 | Non-Wing

Jun 18, 1995 | Kokomo Speedway | Mike Mann | Mann #37m | Non-Wing

1996

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 26, 1996 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Applebee #3 | USAC

July 27, 1996 | Paragon Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Law #77 | USAC

July 28, 1996 | Kokomo Speedway | Brad Marvel | Black #2m | USAC

1997

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 19, 1997 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Brian Tyler | Contos #4c | USAC

July 20, 1997 | Kokomo Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Yeley #4J | USAC

July 23, 1997 | Terre Haute Action Track | J.J. Yeley | Yeley #4J | USAC

July 24, 1997 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Kevin Doty | Chrisman #25 | USAC

July 25, 1997 | Bloomington Speedway | Brad Fox | Fox #53 | USAC

July 26, 1997 | Paragon Speedway | Bill Rose | Gardner #96 | USAC

July 27, 1997 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jack Hewitt | Hampshire #63 | USAC

1998

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 18, 1998 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 19, 1998 | Evans Kokomo Speedway | Tony Elliott | Vance/Walker #2 | USAC

July 23, 1998 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Kevin Doty | Chrisman #25 | USAC

July 24, 1998 | Bloomington Speedway | Tony Elliott | Vance/Walker #2 | USAC

July 25, 1998 | Paragon Speedway | Derek Davidson | BWB #62 | USAC

July 26, 1998 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Dynamics #69 | USAC

1999

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 21, 1999 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terry Pletch | Pletch #29 | USAC

July 22, 1999 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jack Hewitt | Newkirk #17 | USAC

July 23, 1999 | Bloomington Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Ellis #21 | USAC

July 24, 1999 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 25, 1999 | Kokomo Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Ellis #21 | USAC

July 28, 1999 | Eldora Speedway | Tracy Hines | Willoughby #97 | USAC

2000

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 20, 2000 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Bud Kaeding | BK #129 | USAC

July 21, 2000 | Bloomington Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 22, 2000 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 23, 2000 | Kokomo Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 28, 2000 | Terre Haute Action Track | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 29, 2000 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 30, 2000 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Potter #3p | USAC

2001

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 21, 2001 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Hazen #57H | USAC

July 22, 2001 | Tri-State Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 24, 2001 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Jack Hewitt | Kaser #31 | USAC

July 26, 2001 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | DeSalle #3AC | USAC

July 27, 2001 | Bloomington Speedway | A.J. Anderson | Edison #10 | USAC

July 29, 2001 | Kokomo Speedway | Tony Elliott | Walker/Gratton #66 | USAC

2002

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 19, 2002 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 20, 2002 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 21, 2002 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 22, 2002 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | J.J. Yeley | GT Racing #76 | USAC

July 25, 2002 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 26, 2002 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 27, 2002 | Terre Haute Action Track | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

2003

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 17, 2003 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 18, 2003 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 19, 2003 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 20, 2003 | Tri-State Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 23, 2003 | Kokomo Speedway | Bud Kaeding | BK #29 | USAC

July 24, 2003 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Hazen #57 | USAC

July 25, 2003 | Bloomington Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 26, 2003 | Terre Haute Action Track | Tracy Hines | Dynamics #69 | USAC

2004

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 15, 2004 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | J.J. Yeley | Stanton #75 | USAC

July 17, 2004 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Stewart #21 | USAC

July 18, 2004 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Stewart #21 | USAC

July 22, 2004 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 23, 2004 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 24, 2004 | Terre Haute Action Track | J.J. Yeley | Stanton #75 | USAC

2005

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 14, 2005 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 15, 2005 | Bloomington Speedway | Tracy Hines | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 17, 2005 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 19, 2005 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Walker/Guiducci #11 | USAC

July 20, 2005 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 21, 2005 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dickie Gaines | Roberts #21x | USAC

July 22, 2005 | Terre Haute Action Track | Levi Jones | 2B Racing #2B | USAC

2006

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 13, 2006 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Mat Neely | 2B Racing #2B | USAC

July 14, 2006 | Bloomington Speedway | Brady Short | Short #36 | USAC

July 15, 2006 | Tri-State Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 16, 2006 | Kokomo Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 19, 2006 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

2007

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 11, 2007 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 12, 2007 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | Pace #44 | USAC

July 13, 2007 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Daron Clayton | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 14, 2007 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 15, 2007 | Kokomo Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 19, 2007 | Kamp Motor Speedway | Jerry Coons Jr. | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 20, 2007 | Bloomington Speedway | Dave Darland | Pace #44 | USAC

July 21, 2007 | Tri-State Speedway | Daron Clayton | Walker/Guiducci #11D | USAC

2008

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 9, 2008 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jeff Bland Jr. | Bland #21s | USAC

July 10, 2008 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Brady Short | Short #36 | USAC

July 11, 2008 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Cole Whitt | Kunz #67K | USAC

July 13, 2008 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | 2B Racing #2B | USAC

July 17, 2008 | Kamp Motor Speedway | Jerry Coons Jr. | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 18, 2008 | Bloomington Speedway | Jerry Coons Jr. | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 19, 2008 | Tri-State Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Walker/Guiducci #11 | USAC

2009

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 10, 2009 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | RWB #2B | USAC

July 11, 2009 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Levi Jones | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 12, 2009 | Kokomo Speedway | Chad Boat | Boat #30 | USAC

July 15, 2009 | Terre Haute Action Track | Brad Sweet | Kahne/Curb #9 | USAC

July 16, 2009 | Kamp Motor Speedway | Dave Darland | RWB #2B | USAC

July 17, 2009 | Bloomington Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tucker #7 | USAC

July 18, 2009 | Tri-State Speedway | Levi Jones | Stewart #20 | USAC

2010

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 9, 2010 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | Goodnight #39 | USAC

July 10, 2010 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 11, 2010 | Kokomo Speedway | Levi Jones | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 14, 2010 | Terre Haute Action Track | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 15, 2010 | Brownstown Speedway | Brady Short | Short #36 | USAC

July 16, 2010 | Bloomington Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 17, 2010 | Tri-State Speedway | Blake Fitzpatrick | Fitzpatrick #10F | USAC

2011

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 8, 2011 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Dave Darland | Roberts/Tate #21x | USAC

July 9, 2011 | Kokomo Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Byram #35 | USAC

July 10, 2011 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Robert Ballou | MPHG #81 | USAC

July 13, 2011 | Terre Haute Action Track | Chris Windom | Baldwin #5x | USAC

July 14, 2011 | Brownstown Speedway | Casey Riggs | Indiana Underground #37 | USAC

July 15, 2011 | Bloomington Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Byram #35 | USAC

July 16, 2011 | Tri-State Speedway | Damion Gardner | DG #71 | USAC

2012

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 13, 2012 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian #7 | USAC

July 15, 2012 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Justin Grant | Hery #40 | USAC

July 16, 2012 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | Walker #11 | USAC

July 18, 2012 | Terre Haute Action Track | Daron Clayton | Clayton #92 | USAC

July 20, 2012 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Black Jack #9K | USAC

July 21, 2012 | Tri-State Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Roberts/Tate #21x | USAC

July 22, 2012 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Walker #11 | USAC

2013

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 12, 2013 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Wade #66 | USAC

July 13, 2013 | Kokomo Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star #17RW | USAC

July 14, 2013 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star #17RW | USAC

July 17, 2013 | Terre Haute Action Track | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star #17RW | USAC

July 18, 2013 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

July 19, 2013 | Bloomington Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

2014

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 11, 2014 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Dutcher #37RW | USAC

July 12, 2014 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | Phillips #71p | USAC

July 16, 2014 | Terre Haute Action Track | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

July 17, 2014 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou #12x | USAC

July 18, 2014 | Bloomington Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

July 19, 2014 | Tri-State Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou #12x | USAC

2015

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 10, 2015 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Chase Stockon | 32 TBI #32 | USAC

July 12, 2015 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 15, 2015 | Terre Haute Action Track | Aaron Farney | Farney #15F | USAC

July 16, 2015 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 18, 2015 | Tri-State Speedway | Brady Short | Pottorff #11p | USAC

2016

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 8, 2016 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Tyler Courtney | TOPP #23c | USAC

July 9, 2016 | Kokomo Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady #3R | USAC

July 10, 2016 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Dooling/Hayward #63 | USAC

July 14, 2016 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Brady Short | Pottorff #11p | USAC

July 15, 2016 | Bloomington Speedway | Brent Beauchamp | Olson #34 | USAC

July 16, 2016 | Tri-State Speedway | Carson Short | Short #21 | USAC

July 17, 2016 | Terre Haute Action Track | Chase Stockon | 32 TBI #32 | USAC

2017

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 8, 2017 | Kokomo Speedway | Thomas Meseraull | Briscoe #5B | USAC

July 9, 2017 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary #30 | USAC

July 10, 2017 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary #30 | USAC

July 14, 2017 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | KT #9K | USAC

July 15, 2017 | Tri-State Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady #3R | USAC

July 16, 2017 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou #12 | USAC

2018

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 20, 2018 | Plymouth Speedway | Brady Bacon | Bacon #99 | USAC

July 22, 2018 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Tyler Courtney | Clauson Marshall Newman #7BC | USAC

July 24, 2018 | Kokomo Speedway | Thomas Meseraull | Briscoe #5B | USAC

July 25, 2018 | Terre Haute Action Track | Tyler Courtney | Clauson Marshall Newman #7BC | USAC

July 26, 2018 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian #36D | USAC

July 27, 2018 | Bloomington Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary #30 | USAC

July 28, 2018 | Tri-State Speedway | Dave Darland | Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian #36D | USAC

2019

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 18, 2019 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Shane Cottle | Epperson Racing #2E | USAC

July 19, 2019 | Plymouth Speedway | Tyler Courtney | Clauson/Marshall/Newman Racing #7BC | USAC

July 20, 2019 | Kokomo Speedway | Chris Windom | Parallax Group/Goacher Racing #5G | USAC

July 21, 2019 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 24, 2019 | Terre Haute Action Track | Tyler Courtney | Clauson/Marshall/Newman Racing #7BC | USAC

July 25, 2019 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

July 26, 2019 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Hayward/Thomas Motorsports #19 | USAC

July 27, 2019 | Tri-State Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

2020

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 24, 2020 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Logan Seavey | Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ | USAC

July 25, 2020 | Kokomo Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary Racing #30 | USAC

July 26, 2020 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary Racing #30 | USAC

July 29, 2020 | Terre Haute Action Track | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

Aug 2, 2020 | Tri-State Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

2021

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 24, 2021 | Kokomo Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 25, 2021 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | USAC

July 26, 2021 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | USAC

July 28, 2021 | Terre Haute Action Track | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | USAC

July 29, 2021 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Tanner Thorson | Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ | USAC

July 30, 2021 | Bloomington Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | USAC

July 31, 2021 | Tri-State Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

2022

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 22, 2022 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Shane Cottle | Hodges Motorsports #74x | USAC

July 25, 2022 | Circle City Raceway | C.J. Leary | Michael Motorsports #77m | USAC

July 26, 2022 | Kokomo Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 28, 2022 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Mitchel Moles | Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ | USAC

July 29, 2022 | Bloomington Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

July 30, 2022 | Tri-State Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | USAC

2023

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 21, 2023 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 22, 2023 | Kokomo Speedway | C.J. Leary | BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x | USAC

July 23, 2023 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 24, 2023 | Circle City Raceway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

July 26, 2023 | Terre Haute Action Track | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 27, 2023 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jake Swanson | Team AZ Racing #21AZ | USAC

July 28, 2023 | Bloomington Speedway | Emerson Axsom | Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC | USAC

HUTCH TREAT!

KTJ GETS FIRST CAREER

USAC SILVER CROWN WIN AT SALT CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Hutchinson, Kansas (July 20, 2024)………After five career runner-up finishes in USAC Silver Crown competition, Kevin Thomas Jr. had no desire for any more “second” thoughts during Saturday night’s inaugural Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100 at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway.

Thomas’ (Cullman, Ala.) quest for his initial series victory didn’t exactly occur in a straightforward manner. First, Thomas was brought to the Chris Dyson Racing/Concord American Flagpole – Macri Concrete – High Performance Lubricants/Maxim/Ott Chevy in a substitute role while the team’s regular driver, Brady Bacon, was competing in the Kings Royal at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Secondly, in a late-race battle for the lead between Thomas and C.J. Leary, the two touched wheels, resulting in Leary toppling over while Thomas continued onward to victory, casting a bit of a pall over his long-awaited Silver Crown celebration.

“I’m going to start off by apologizing to C.J. and everybody over there on the Klatt Enterprises team,” Thomas stated. “C.J. and I have been friends for 10-plus years, and we’ve never touched. That was piss poor judgement on my end. He’s one of my better friends and that really sucks.”

Nonetheless, Thomas’ $10,000 victory extended a remarkable streak of first-time USAC Silver Crown winners. A brand-new first-time series victor has emerged in each of the past three events: Daison Pursley (Port Royal), Dakoda Armstrong (Madison) and now Kevin Thomas Jr. (Salt City).

That’s the first time there have been three consecutive first-time Silver Crown winners in as many races since 2010 when Tanner Swanson (Berlin), Kody Swanson (Du Quoin) and Bryan Clauson (Eldora) reeled off first-time series wins in succession.

Not to mention, all three dirt Silver Crown races held thus far in 2024 have resulted in first-time winners: Kaylee Bryson (Belleville), Pursley (Port Royal) and Thomas (Salt City). The last occurrence of three-straight first-time dirt winners also came in 2010 when Levi Jones (USA Raceway), Shane Hmiel (Indiana State Fairgrounds) and Kody Swanson (Du Quoin) each grabbed their firsts.

But for Thomas, the Silver Crown monkey on his back has finally been released. Entering Saturday night’s race, He held the dubious distinction of owning more runner-up finishes in series history among drivers who had not yet won a main event.

Thomas previously finished as the runner-up at Springfield (2018), Du Quoin (2018), Eldora (2018), Indiana State Fairgrounds (2019) and Eldora (2019). And for a time, it looked like it might happen again after he led the opening 68 circuits around the historic 1/2-mile Kansas State Fairgrounds dirt oval.

After winning the pole and establishing the Salt City USAC Silver Crown track record with a lap of 21.090 seconds in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Thomas started from the pole position and was in total control from the drop of the green flag until that very point when he encountered lapped traffic at just the wrong moment.

Thomas became hung up behind the car of six-time Hutchinson Grand Nationals Sprint Car champion and first-time Silver Crown competitor Danny Jennings in turns three and four. Leary took advantage of the opportune moment by darting to the inside in turn three before coming out of the other side of turn four with the lead in hand and just 31 laps remaining.

Throughout the ensuing 10 laps, Leary extended his lead over Thomas to nearly two seconds until a caution for fourth-running Justin Grant who slowed suddenly in turn four on lap 79. Grant continued toward the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area where the crew added fuel. However, fuel didn’t turn out to be the remedy. Soon after Grant pulled back onto the track, he was back in the infield, this time out of the race for good with a 13th place finish.

In time for the lap 83 resumption, Thomas was in full attack mode as he dove under Leary to swipe the lead in turns one and two. However, Leary countered the maneuver and raced back under Thomas on the back straightaway. By the time the pair reached turn one the next time around on lap 84, Thomas pulled a car length ahead of Leary.

However, by the time they reached turn two and Leary attempted to race around the outside of Thomas, the town proved to be not big enough for the both of them. Thomas’ right rear tire and Leary’s left rear tire collided, sending Leary flipping upside down multiple times. Leary walked away but his bid for his first Silver Crown win of 2024 was finished.

When action resumed, Thomas worked the low line in turns three and four while opting for the top side in turns one and two down the stretch. Meanwhile, new second place runner Seavey made his pursuit while committed to the multi-layered cushion that had been built up around the top. At moments, only a couple car lengths separated the two with the lap count hurriedly rushing to 100.

However, in crunch time, Thomas hit all his marks and was able to steadily stretch his lead over the final five laps to cross the stripe 2.046 seconds ahead of Seavey. Trey Osborne’s see-saw battle with Chase Stockon saw the pair swap the third position three times over a four-lap span before Osborne made the decisive pass on the low side of turn one on lap 96. Stockon took fourth behind Osborne while USAC Silver Crown point leader Kody Swanson rounded out the top-five.

For Thomas, it had been four years since he last sat in the seat of the Chris Dyson Racing No. 9. In his triumphant return, Thomas led a race-high 85 of 100 laps to finally get the deed done and check off another feat on his lengthy list of USAC accomplishments.

“I’m really proud of my guys and I’m happy to get the call to come out here and race for these guys in a car that is as fast as it is,” Thomas praised. “To finally get my first win, it’s pretty special. It’s been a long two days, but it’s been well worth it. (Crew chief) Sean (Michael) and everybody on the team gave me a really good racecar. I felt like I made a couple of bad decisions right there in lapped traffic, but I had a good enough car to stay with the pace that C.J. was running and try to get back to him. Then, unfortunately, the contact happened. I feel like the fans don’t deserve something like that. They deserve to see us two race it out.”

Defending series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) equaled his best finish of the season with a runner-up finish in his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/DiaEdge Mitsubishi Materials – STIDA.com/DRC/Felker Chevy.

“With Justin (Grant) and I being on the hard tires and Kevin (Thomas Jr.) and C.J. (Leary) being on the softs, it played out to be a different kind of Silver Crown race than I think we were all expecting,” Seavey admitted. “We all kind of thought it was going to rubber, and tires were going to play a big factor, but it didn’t. This place built a huge curb, and we were up there smashing it pretty hard. I was actually more worried about fuel because, normally, we don’t run this hard on half-miles. Usually, you’re kind of pedaling around a bunch. That was like a sprint car race for 100 laps.”

Following a career-best fourth place finish in his most recent Silver Crown outing in June on the pavement at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) one-upped himself with a career-first podium result on the dirt at Salt City, scoring third in his BCR Group/Flint Trucking & Truck Service – Duncan Oil – QS Components/Maxim/Kercher Chevy. He reached third in spectacular fashion in a battle with Stockon that lasted the duration of the final 10 laps.

“He raced me clean, but he made me work for it,” Osborne said of Stockon. “We were definitely going at it. This year has sucked, so to run third is great.”

Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) earned his best career USAC Silver Crown finish at Salt City after starting 16th and finishing eighth in his Chip Thomas-Joe Moore/Abilene Powder Coating – Boxwell Heavy Haul/Maxim/Kercher Mopar. That earned the series Rookie the hard charger honor of the evening. Furthermore, his performance also netted him Inferno Armor’s Fire Move of the Night after overcoming a mid-race spin to collect his first Silver Crown top-10 result.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: July 20, 2024 – Salt City Speedway – Hutchinson, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9, Dyson-21.090 (New Track Record); 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-21.204; 3. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-21.491; 4. Mario Clouser, 21, Team AZ-21.529; 5. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-21.536; 6. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-21.558; 7. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-21.596; 8. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-21.673; 9. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-21.831; 10. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-21.905; 11. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-22.001; 12. Kip Hughes, 160, Hughes-22.311; 13. Danny Jennings, 61, Grace-22.384; 14. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-22.581; 15. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-22.634; 16. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-22.800; 17. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-23.450; 18. Steve Gennetten, 03, Gennetten-23.480; 19. Danny Long, 44, Long-24.578.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 2. Logan Seavey (5), 3. Trey Osborne (6), 4. Chase Stockon (7), 5. Kody Swanson (8), 6. Kaylee Bryson (11), 7. Kyle Steffens (9), 8. Nathan Moore (16), 9. Danny Jennings (13), 10. Gregg Cory (14), 11. Mario Clouser (4), 12. C.J. Leary (2), 13. Justin Grant (3), 14. Chris Fetter (15), 15. Kip Hughes (12), 16. Trey Burke (10), 17. Dave Berkheimer (17), 18. Steve Gennetten (18), 19. Danny Long (19). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-68 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 69-83 C.J. Leary, Laps 84-100 Kevin Thomas Jr.

**C.J. Leary flipped on lap 84 of the feature.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-423, 2-Justin Grant-392, 3-Logan Seavey-373, 4-C.J. Leary-370, 5-Trey Osborne-261, 6-Kaylee Bryson-260, 7-Bobby Santos-250, 8-Kyle Steffens-245, 9-Taylor Ferns-235, 10-Gregg Cory-230.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-126, 2-Logan Seavey-115, 3-Robert Ballou-111, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Justin Grant-93, 6-Joey Amantea-89, 7-Kyle Cummins-86, 8-Chase Stockon-73, 9-Carson Garrett-63, 10-Brady Bacon-62.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 10, 2024 – Jennerstown Speedway – Jennerstown, Pennsylvania – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Silver Crown Showdown

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (20.876)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr. (21.090)

Hard Charger: Nathan Moore

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Nathan Moore (16th to 8th)

C.J. FASTEST IN FRIDAY’S SALT CITY

USAC SILVER CROWN PRACTICE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Hutchinson, Kansas (July 19, 2024)………C.J. Leary muscled his way to the top of the charts in the third and final session to become the fastest driver of Friday night’s USAC Silver Crown National Championship practice at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway.

The practice night was the final tune-up prior to Saturday night’s USAC Silver Crown Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100 on July 20, marking the series’ debut at the 1/2-mile dirt oval.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) powered to a time of 22.039 seconds in his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Penske – Hoosier Tire/Beast/Ford, best in the field of 19 drivers and teams who took time. Twenty-three entries are expected to compete on Saturday night.

Leading USAC Silver Crown Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) was impressive, topping the first of the three practice sessions and was second overall with a 22.347 second lap. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was the best in the second session and third overall at a 22.514. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was fourth fastest overall while Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) rounded out the top-five at 22.658. Bryson won the most recent USAC Silver Crown event in Kansas this past May at the Belleville High Banks.

Only one minor incident occurred during the practice session when USAC Silver Crown newcomer Danny Jennings (Norman, Okla.) spun backwards in turn three. However, no contact was made, and the six-time Hutchinson Grand Nationals sprint car winner was able to continue on.

SATURDAY RACE DETAILS:

The Saturday, July 20, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice, qualifying and racing, plus feature events for the URSS Sprint Cars and a complete program for the IMCA SportMods. General admission tickets are $31 and kids tickets are $14.50. Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://saltcityracingllc.com/ or at the gate on race day.

Saturday night’s program will feature full LIVE coverage on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

If needed, the rain date for the event is Sunday, July 21.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: July 19, 2024 – Salt City Speedway – Hutchinson, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100

PRACTICE: 1. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-22.039; 2. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-22.347; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9, Dyson-22.514; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-22.579; 5. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-22.658; 6. Mario Clouser, 21, Team AZ-22.663; 7. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-22.705; 8. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-22.768; 9. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-22.950; 10. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-23.000; 11. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-23.259; 12. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-23.490; 13. Kip Hughes, 160, Hughes-23.611; 14. Steve Gennetten, 03, Gennetten-23.839; 15.Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-24.081; 16. Danny Jennings, 61, Grace-24.175; 17. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-24.359; 18. Danny Long, 44, Long-25.297; 19. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-25.389.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-365, 2-Justin Grant-355, 3-C.J. Leary-331, 4-Logan Seavey-306, 5-Bobby Santos-250, 6-Taylor Ferns-235, 7-Kaylee Bryson-205, 8-Trey Osborne-197, 9-Trey Burke-197, 10-Kyle Steffens-193.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-109, 2-Robert Ballou-103, 3-Logan Seavey-97, 4-Joey Amantea-86, 5-C.J. Leary-85, 6-Justin Grant-82, 7-Kyle Cummins-68, 8-Brady Bacon-60, 9-Matt Westfall-53, 10-Carson Garrett-52.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 20, 2024 – Salt City Speedway – Hutchinson, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100

STARS, KEYS & HUTCH!

7 STORYLINES FOR

USAC SILVER CROWN’S SALT CITY 100

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Hutchinson, Kansas (July 17, 2024)………When’s the last time you did something for the first time?

That’s what USAC Silver Crown competitors face this weekend during the inaugural Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100 at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway on Friday-Saturday night, July 19-20.

As one of the most historic racetracks in the United States of America, the half-mile dirt oval first contested automobile races in 1910 when Glenn M. Breed wheeled his Buick Model 16 to victory, and it’s been active ever since except for its shutdown during World War II.

Now, a field of 24 USAC Silver Crown drivers are vying to become the first USAC winner in Hutchinson. A practice night for USAC Silver Crown division will begin the festivities on Friday. Practice, qualifying and racing will commence on Saturday, culminating in a 100-lap main event.

It’s a racetrack with a beacon of stories paired with a series oozing its own share of racing history. This weekend’s inaugural meeting between the two is certain to be a historic occasion. Now let’s make some history after we read these seven storylines!

ONE-TWO-THREE GREEN LIGHT!

With the season reaching midsummer, it’s a fine time to look at the USAC Silver Crown championship standings. Entering Salt City, the top-three in the USAC Silver Crown standings is separated by a mere 34 points.

Seven-time series champ Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) leads Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) by 10 while C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) remains 34 points out of the lead.

All three drivers have previously captured USAC Silver Crown victories on half-mile dirt track, the same distance as Salt City Speedway. Swanson has won three, Grant two and Leary two too. All have been strong on the 1/2-mile dirt ovals in 2024 as well with Leary finishing as the runner-up at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks, Grant second at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway and Swanson fifth at Port Royal.

1/2 FAST

However, none have been more masterful on the dirt 1/2-miles in Silver Crown action of late than defending champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.). Overall, he’s won six 1/2-mile dirt Silver Crown races in his career, second only to Jack Hewitt’s nine.

Seavey’s results thus far this year have not been indicative of that fact, though, with finishes of 16th at Belleville and 10th at Port Royal. At Belleville, he suffered mechanical issues, then at Port Royal, he was running third when he pulled off due to a fuel leak.

However, in his 11 half-mile dirt track Silver Crown starts between 2020-2023, Seavey earned six wins, eight top-fives and 10 top-tens. He’s fourth in the standings, 59 points out of the lead and a win would go a long way toward putting him back into the championship discussion.

THE KANSAS SEVEN

In the seven USAC Silver Crown races ever held in the state of Kansas, there have been seven different winners: Brady Bacon, Kaylee Bryson, Tracy Hines, Aaron Pierce, Kody Swanson, Chris Windom and J.J. Yeley.

Interestingly, both the first and the most recent of those events involve a current team. In 2006, with the so-called “new generation” Silver Crown cars, Aaron Pierce won on the 1.5-mile paved oval of Kansas Speedway. Back in May of this year, Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) made history as the first woman ever to win a USAC national event, and she achieved the feat in an AP (Aaron Pierce) Driver Development car.

Bryson eyes history once again as she now eyes another “first” in becoming the first two-time USAC Silver Crown winner in Kansas.

SHUFFLED DECK

Due to various reasons, there has been a bit of ride shuffling this week among a handful of the top rides in the sport.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) will return to the seat of the Chris Dyson Racing No. 9, a car with which he made four Silver Crown starts between 2019-20, including a second-place result at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. The team’s regular driver, Brady Bacon, is taking in the sprint car festivities this weekend at Eldora.

Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) will make his first appearance aboard the Team AZ Racing #21, which is the same ride that captured the victory in the most recent dirt USAC Silver Crown race at Port Royal with Daison Pursley. Like Bacon, Pursley also is partaking in Eldora duties this weekend.

Furthermore, Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) will pilot John Haggenbottom’s No. 24 at Salt City. Jerry Coons Jr. and Alex Bright have both driven the car to top-10 results this year with the series. Cockrum, a five-time series winner, has scored twice on dirt 1/2-miles in his Silver Crown career at Terre Haute and Williams Grove.

THREE-IN-A-ROW FOR A FIRST-TIMER?

Each of the first two USAC Silver Crown races on dirt in 2024 has featured a first-time series winner: Kaylee Bryson at Belleville and Daison Pursley at Port Royal.

It’s been 14 years since three consecutive first-time dirt USAC Silver Crown winners have emerged. In 2010, Levi Jones (USA Raceway), Shane Hmiel (Indiana State Fairgrounds) and Kody Swanson (Du Quoin) each grabbed their firsts in the initial three dirt races to be held that season.

Overall, each of the past two USAC Silver Crown races in 2024 have been captured by first-time winners: Pursley at Port Royal and Dakoda Armstrong on the pavement at Madison. The most recent such instance of three-time winners of any sort with the series also came in 2010 when Tanner Swanson (Berlin), Kody Swanson (Du Quoin) and Bryan Clauson (Eldora) reeled off first-time series wins in succession.

The question of who could be next involves many names from top to bottom, including the aforementioned Kevin Thomas Jr. and Mario Clouser, plus you can mix in Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), all of whom have previously achieved their share of victories in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition, just to name a few.

VETERAN ROOKIES!

Three more drivers will be making their USAC Silver Crown debuts this weekend. However, all of them are longtime veterans of the sport: Steve Gennetten, Kip Hughes and Danny Jennings.

Gennetten (Gravois Mills, Mo.) made his most recent USAC national start with the midgets 33 years ago all the way back in 1991! He scored a USAC National Midget feature win at Missouri’s Moberly Motorsports Complex in 1989. Hughes (North Enid, Okla.), meanwhile, owns over 100 wins in Modifieds, Late Models, Super Stocks, Sport Mods and Midgets.

Jennings (Norman, Okla.) is a six-time Hutchinson Grand Nationals sprint car winner in 1996-2010-2017-2018-2019-2020. Danny's Grandfather Earnest, Father Rickey, Uncle Bruce and Great Uncle Darrell have all made previous USAC Silver Crown appearances, all between 1983-1986 at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.

99TH DIRT 1/2-MILE, BUT THE HUTCH AIN’T BEEN ONE

Saturday’s race marks the 99th 1/2-mile dirt track race held in USAC Silver Crown history, which dates back to 1971. While this occasion marks the debut of USAC at Hutchinson, it is not the first foray for champ cars at the 1/2-mile.

Longtime fans will remember that, from 1982-1987, several 100-inch NCRA Champ Car races were held at the Hutchinson oval, won by the likes of Herb Copeland, Jerry Stone, Harold Leep, Bob Ewell, Garry Lee Maier, Shane Carson, Tony Armstrong and Mike Peters.

The NCRA machines were quite similar to their Silver Crown counterparts, but featured a tad bit more horsepower, had a slightly longer wheelbase at 100 inches, a differing engine setback rule and the cars also sported wings!

RACE DETAILS:

The Friday, July 19, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice only, plus URSS Sprint Car heat races as well as complete shows for the IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Modifieds and Super Stocks. General admission tickets are $21 and kids tickets are $10.

One and two-day tickets packages are on sale now in advance at https://saltcityracingllc.com/. Two-day ticket packages are $50 while kids are just $24.

Saturday night’s program will feature full LIVE coverage on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

If needed, the rain date for the event is Sunday, July 21.

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

ENTRY LIST: MURPHY TRACTOR & EQUIPMENT SALT CITY 100 (24)

03 (R) STEVE GENNETTEN/Gravois Mills, MO (Steve Gennetten)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

9 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Chris Dyson)

10 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

21 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Team AZ Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

61 (R) DANNY JENNINGS/Norman, OK (David Grace Motorsports)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

97 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Hans Lein)

160 (R) KIP HUGHES/North Enid, OK (Kip Hughes)

777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS IN KANSAS

1-Brady Bacon, Kaylee Bryson, Tracy Hines, Aaron Pierce, Kody Swanson, Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley

24 ENTRIES FOR INAUGURAL SALT CITY 100,
USAC SILVER CROWN DEBUTS IN
HUTCHINSON, KANSAS ON JULY 19-20
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Hutchinson, Kansas (July 16, 2024)………A field of 24 USAC Silver Crown drivers and cars is set to make its debut appearance at the grand ol’ Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, Kansas this weekend, Friday-Saturday night, July 19-20.
A practice night for USAC Silver Crown teams is set at the 1/2-mile dirt oval for Friday night with three separate sessions taking place. On Saturday night, the action begins with USAC Silver Crown practice, followed by Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying and the 100-lap main event.
The field consists of three past USAC Silver Crown titlists, including reigning series king Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), seven-time champion Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) and Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), plus past USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champions C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.).
In May, Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) made history by becoming the first woman to score a USAC national main event victory. To boot, she accomplished the feat on Kansas soil at the Belleville High Banks. She’s entered for her first appearance at Hutchinson along with fellow Silver Crown winner Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) who will make his season debut with the series.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) and Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) have all previously won in the USAC National Sprint Car series but will be vying for their first career Silver Crown score this weekend at Salt City.
Leading USAC Silver Crown Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) will make his way to “Hutch” this weekend as will Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) who has stepped into the seat of the Team AZ Racing No. 21 for a one-race deal. Meanwhile, three drivers will be making their USAC Silver Crown debuts this weekend: Steve Gennetten, Kip Hughes and Danny Jennings.
Gennetten (Gravois Mills, Mo.) made his most recent USAC national start with the midgets in 1991. He scored a USAC National Midget feature win at Missouri’s Moberly Motorsports Complex in 1989. Hughes (North Enid, Okla.) owns over 100 wins in Modifieds, Late Models, Super Stocks, Sport Mods and Midgets.
Jennings (Norman, Okla.) is a six-time Hutchinson Grand Nationals winner in 1996-2010-2017-2018-2019-2020. Danny's Grandfather Earnest, Father Rickey, Uncle Bruce and Great Uncle Darrell have all made previous USAC Silver Crown appearances, all between 1983-1986 at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.
They’ll be joined by Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), who currently stands ninth in USAC Silver Crown points, plus Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.), Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.), also a past USAC National Sprint Car feature winner.
TIRE UPDATE:
Right rear tire options for this weekend’s Salt City event are RD20 & D25 & F85.
RACE DETAILS:
The Friday, July 19, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice only, plus URSS Sprint Car heat races as well as complete shows for the IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Modifieds and Super Stocks. General admission tickets are $21 and kids tickets are $10.
The Saturday, July 20, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice, qualifying and racing, plus feature events for the URSS Sprint Cars and a complete program for the IMCA SportMods. General admission tickets are $31 and kids tickets are $14.50.
One and two-day tickets packages are on sale now in advance at https://saltcityracingllc.com/. Two-day ticket packages are $50 while kids are just $24.
Saturday night’s program will feature full LIVE coverage on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
=================
ENTRY LIST: MURPHY TRACTOR & EQUIPMENT SALT CITY 100 (24)
03 (R) STEVE GENNETTEN/Gravois Mills, MO (Steve Gennetten)
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
9 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Chris Dyson)
10 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)
15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
21 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Team AZ Racing)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)
24 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (John Haggenbottom)
26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)
61 (R) DANNY JENNINGS/Norman, OK (David Grace Motorsports)
69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Hans Lein)
160 (R) KIP HUGHES/North Enid, OK (Kip Hughes)
777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

July 13, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.425; 2. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.742; 3. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.750; 4. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.783; 5. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.807; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.974; 7. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-17.056; 8. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.092; 9. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.240; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.250; 11. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.433; 12. Tom Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-17.622; 13. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-17.811; 14. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-17.842; 15. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.153; 16. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / WC FRIEND COMPANY FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Cody Williams, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. David Gasper, 6. Jeff Dyer, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Gary Marshall Jr. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Tom Hendricks, 8. Brent Sexton. 3:00.85.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Tommy Malcolm (1), 2. A.J. Bender (9), 3. Austin Williams (5), 4. R.J. Johnson (6), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 6. Cody Williams (2), 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (15), 8. Austin Grabowski (8), 9. Brent Sexton (13), 10. Verne Sweeney (10), 11. Tom Hendricks (12), 12. Elexa Herrera (14), 13. Logan Williams (3), 14. Jeff Dyer (11), 15. David Gasper (7). NT.
----------------------------
**Gary Marshall Jr. flipped on lap 2 of the first heat. Austin Grabowski flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Logan Williams and Jeff Dyer flipped on lap 24 of the feature. Dyer was transported to local hospital for observation.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tommy Malcolm.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Eddie Tafoya Jr. (15 to 7)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: August 10 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California

FLYIN’ RYAN!

TIMMS’ TIME FINALLY COMES

WITH VICTORY AT JEFFERSON COUNTY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Fairbury, Nebraska (July 13, 2024)………Ryan Timms had found himself teetering on the brink of a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory at Jefferson County Speedway just about every time he’s suited up for competition at the Fairbury, Nebraska 1/5-mile dirt oval in his career.

In his five most recent Jefferson County appearances entering Saturday night’s USAC Mid-America Midget Week finale, Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), had led a total of 45 laps and ran off a succession of starts that resulted in finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and that doesn’t even include one race where he was leading on the final lap when a late yellow and an incident in turn two coming to the checkered flag erased his victory opportunity.

“A couple years ago, we were coming to the checkered and then a yellow came out,” Timms simultaneously recalled and foreshadowed. “I ended up losing, but then I told (team owner/CEO) Pete (Willoughby) that I was going to win him a $10 grand race here one of these days.”

The third-starting Timms stayed true to his promise by pouncing to the lead 15 circuits into the 40-lap main event as he seized an opportunity in lapped traffic to surpass his teammate Jade Avedisian, then was never headed throughout the remaining 26 trips en route to a $10,000 payday in the Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship Presented by Westin Packaged Meats & Schmidt's Sanitation.

Timms’ second USAC National Midget victory of the year in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio – IWX – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota was also the seventh of his career, moving him into 98th place all-time alongside Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Cannon McIntosh, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Daison Pursley, Les Scott, Len Sutton and Johnnie Tolan.

Gavin Miller, who won the accompanying micro sprint feature prior to the midget main event, led the field to the green from his pole starting position. However, it was Avedisian who gained the upper hand initially from the outside of the front row, and subsequently, led the opening lap. However, the first yellow flag flew shortly thereafter on the second lap as Nebraskan Brian Schwabauer (23rd) stopped on the wrong side of the cushion in turns three and four.

On the ensuing restart, Timms used the reset to his advantage as he took to the topside to wheel his way around the outside of Miller for second at the stripe on lap three. Miller fought back to briefly retake the runner-up spot from Timms as he slid by in turn two on the fifth lap. Timms, however, kept his foot in it and replied by re-overtaking Miller for second in turn two a lap later.

By then, Avedisian carried a full second advantage over Timms, but by the time she reached the tail end of the field, that interval instantly shrunk. On the 14th lap, Avedisian found herself hung up on the high side of turn four behind the car of 19th running Knoxville Raceway Hall of Famer Don Droud Jr. Timms took advantage of the situation and dove to the low side of turn one to slot in between Droud and Avedisian.

Avedisian attempted to swipe the lead back for herself moments later in turn three, nestling in between Droud and Timms. With Avedisian sliding up to the top, thus scrubbing off momentum, Timms dipped low and drove past both at the exit of turn four to secure a spot at the front of the field. A half lap later in turn one, Droud’s car took one quick little bunny hop, and a blink of an eye later, Avedisian connected her front bumper to the rear chrome of Droud, sending Droud spinning into the path of Miller (3rd) and Friday night’s Jefferson County winner Justin Grant (5th). Droud, Miller and Grant all stopped to bring out the caution, yet all restarted their race from the tail with Grant taking 10th, Miller 11th and Droud 18th.

Thereafter, Avedisian kept Timms just within here reach. Nonetheless, slowly but surely, Timms steadily increased his lead to more than 1.5 seconds as he placed his car low, middle and high, all with the same rate of success.

“Being able to move around here is really important,” Timms explained. “The line changed quite a bit. There at the beginning, it was top-dominant, and once we got to lapped traffic and my car was good enough, I was able to move around and we moved past Jade. From there on, it was just about racing my own race and getting through lapped traffic as perfectly as possible.”

As it turned out, it was the lessons that Timms learned in his past experiences at the track that aided him in not following the path of others, but rather, forging his own path ahead based on his instincts.

“(Logan) Seavey showed me his nose down there once, and a couple years ago, he did the same thing. I moved down there, and it ended up not being faster to do that, so I moved down there for a lap, then thought better of that, then went back to what I was doing. I changed my line up in three and four to slide myself and it felt really good coming off the corner and getting into the corner, but the time between the center and the exit, it felt like I was sliding and wasting a lot of time. You can get the car so sideways here that you can actually look to your left and see the entrance of the corner to see how close guys are to you. I saw that I wasn’t having to worry too much.”

However, the field was bunched up once more following a spin by 20th running Kenney Johnson over the top of turn four banking with 14 laps remaining. With 12 laps left, the top-three were all in contention with Timms leading Avedisian by a car length on the high side while Seavey was nearly even on the bottom. However, Seavey clipped an infield tire off turn four which sent him sideways, and as he fought to wrestle back control, he dropped like a rock through the field, winding up a disappointing 16th in the final running order.

Meanwhile, Zach Daum worked along the bottom to gain second with four laps remaining after Avedisian tagged the front straightaway wall, which cost Avedisian a few spots down the stretch. Conversely, Timms had broken away from the competition up front as he cruised to a commanding 2.109 second victory over Daum, Cannon McIntosh and Jacob Denney while Avedisian wound up fifth in the final order.

Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) opened Mid-America Midget Week on Tuesday night at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway with a second-place finish and Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night honors. He finished Mid-America Midget Week in the very same manner on Saturday at Jefferson County. In yet another example of Zach Daum just doing Zach Daum things, he made his charge to the runner-up spot after starting 13th in his RAMCO Speed Group-Daum Motorsports/Kiwi Landscaping – 5d Speed Shop/King/Stanton SR-11x. After tumultuous times leading into the week, Daum unexpectedly wound up bringing his own car out to the Great Plains with basically a crew of one – himself.

“It wears on you,” Daum said of the challenge of being his own crew. “I didn’t practice Thursday because I just needed a day to recoup. It’s a lot of work. Some of these guys know what it takes, and some don’t, but it’s a lot of hours and a lot of work, especially when it’s as hot as it is here. It’s been fun though. I haven’t done this in a long time. I haven’t been out on the road racing by myself. It used to be my dad and I racing, but it’s basically just me right now. I had some good guys who came and helped me tonight and had some good help at a couple of the other races.”

In 10 career USAC National Midget starts at Jefferson County, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) has never once finished worse than 10th. This weekend, he never once finished worse than third, which is where he placed on Saturday night and was the only driver to finish on the podium in each of the last two nights aboard his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Gear Wrench – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

“I knew there was a lot of grip on the bottom, so I tried to make that work early but guys could just carry momentum around me,” McIntosh explained. “By the time I got up there, I had fallen back a little bit. Then on that last restart, I could see Daison (Pursley) searching under yellow, and I knew he was going to go to the bottom, so I tried to circle the top there and go around him and lost like three or four spots, then Zach (Daum) went under me, so I just followed him to the front at the end. I just got the bottom going and drove by all the guys who were still trying to make the top work. I wish we could’ve gotten a yellow there to see what we could’ve done. I think him and I had something for Ryan.”

The event also marked the USAC debut of late model racing superstar Ricky Thornton Jr. After the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Wheatland, Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway was rained out midday Saturday, Thornton hustled west for the five-hour trek to Fairbury, Nebraska to initially compete in just the micro sprint race. Soon after, though, Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports made an extra midget from their stable available for Thornton, a 19-time late model winner this year, to drive. Thornton, whose lone previous midget experience was exclusive to the Chili Bowl, started 20th and finished 17th in the feature, and was running as high as 13th just before the halfway point when he was involved in a tangle with Daniel Whitley.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 13, 2024 – Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship Presented by Westin Packaged Meats & Schmidt's Sanitation / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 2. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 3. Zach Daum (#5d RAMCO-Daum), 4. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Ricky Lewis (#54 4 Kings), 6. Kale Drake (#97K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Zack Merritt (#43 Oerter), 8. Don Droud Jr. (#22T Burch). NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI), 2. Thomas Meseraull (#7x Engler), 3. Jake Andreotti (#14 4 Kings), 4. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 5. Jade Avedisian (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Lance Bennett (#91 Mason), 8. Kenney Johnson (#46 Johnson), 9. Curtis Spicer (#4s Spicer). 1:56.751

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Jones (#27x Joyner), 2. Zach Wigal (#89 CBI), 3. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 5. Mitchell Davis (#56 O’Dell), 6. Daniel Whitley (#60x LeVecque), 7. Trey Zorn (#00 Chandler), 8. Brian Schwabauer (#9B Schwabauer), 9. Ricky Thornton Jr. (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian). 1:59.546

ALSO AT THE TRACK: John Klabunde (#77 Klabunde)

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Trey Zorn, 2. Ricky Thornton Jr., 3. Don Droud Jr., 4. Brian Schwabauer, 5. Kenney Johnson, 6. Curtis Spicer, 7. Zack Merritt, 8. Lance Bennett. 2:07.268

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Timms (3), 2. Zach Daum (13), 3. Cannon McIntosh (5), 4. Jacob Denney (14), 5. Jade Avedisian (2), 6. Daison Pursley (9), 7. Kale Drake (10), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 9. Kyle Jones (8), 10. Justin Grant (6), 11. Gavin Miller (1), 12. Mitchell Davis (12), 13. Zach Wigal (15), 14. Jake Andreotti (11), 15. Trey Zorn (19), 16. Logan Seavey (4), 17. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20), 18. Don Droud Jr. (21), 19. Brian Schwabauer (22), 20. Curtis Spicer (24), 21. Daniel Whitley (18), 22. Kenney Johnson (23), 23. Thomas Meseraull (16), 24. Ricky Lewis (17). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Jade Avedisian, Laps 15-40 Ryan Timms.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-839, 2-Cannon McIntosh-780, 3-Ryan Timms-744, 4-Zach Daum-709, 5-Logan Seavey-678, 6-Jacob Denney-662, 7-Justin Grant-661, 8-Gavin Miller-638, 9-Kale Drake-595, 10-Zach Wigal-538.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-126, 2-Logan Seavey-112, 3-Robert Ballou-111, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Justin Grant-93, 6-Joey Amantea-89, 7-Kyle Cummins-86, 8-Chase Stockon-70, 9-Carson Garrett-63, 10-Brady Bacon-62.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 1-2, 2024 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th Firemen’s Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (11.290)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jerry Coons Jr.

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Kyle Jones

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Trey Zorn

Bennett Racing 4th Place Bonus: Jacob Denney

Hard Charger: Zach Daum (13th to 2nd)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Zach Daum

VICTORY SPELLS RELIEF!

GRANT GRABS FIRST USAC MIDGET WIN OF ’24 AT JEFF. CO.

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Fairbury, Nebraska (July 12, 2024)………By the time Justin Grant reached the top of the leaderboard during Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature event at Fairbury, Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway, it had already been an oft-visited place for him in recent days.

The Ione, Calif. native had led each of the first two Mid-America Midget Week feature events – seven at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway on Tuesday and 11 more at Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, to be precise. However, at the end of those two particular runs, Grant had to watch from afar as others were showered with the celebratory laurels.

Grant’s third race led of the week proved the be the charm as he capitalized on series Rookie Zach Wigal’s brief slip up, then led the final 12 laps en route to victory on the opening night of the Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship Presented by Westin Packaged Meats & Schmidt's Sanitation.

For Grant, it was his first USAC National Midget triumph since the September 2023 Driven2SaveLives BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Additionally, it’s Grant’s second career victory at the 1/5-mile dirt oval of Jefferson County after previously scoring in 2018.

Overall, it was the 17th career USAC National Midget feature victory for Grant, moving him into a tie for 42nd all-time alongside Jay Drake and J.J. Yeley. Furthermore, it extended Grant’s active streak of consecutive seasons with a USAC National Midget victory to eight as he became just the ninth driver to have collected a series win that many years in a row, joining Mel Kenyon (21), Rich Vogler (15), Bob Wente (14), Bryan Clauson (12), Bob Tattersall (11), Darren Hagen (10), Jay Drake (8) and Sleepy Tripp (8).

As Grant pulled into victory lane, it also notched his 80th overall USAC feature win, one of just 12 drivers to reach the mark along with Rich Vogler (171), A.J. Foyt (162), Sleepy Tripp (161), Mel Kenyon (131), Dave Darland (115), Bryan Clauson (112), Damion Gardner (106), Tracy Hines (98), Tom Bigelow (89), Gary Bettenhausen (82) and Brady Bacon (80).

Previously, Grant’s pursuit of a first USAC National Midget victory in 2024 came up short when he was passed for the lead with 12 laps remaining in Tuesday’s event at Red Dirt before crossing the line in third. The disappointment on Wednesday at Mitchell County was tenfold as Grant uncharacteristically over rotated his car with 10 laps to go while leading and glided to a stop, resulting in a distant 16th place result.

All of the aforementioned accolades suit Grant just fine, but more than anything, finally breaking through for a victory on Friday night brought a huge sense of relief for the driver of the RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – MPV Express/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

“I feel like we’ve had a really good car all week after we really struggled to start the year,” Grant summed up. “On the first night (of Mid-America Midget Week), I feel like we had a really good car. I just didn’t get it tight enough for the feature. So, I knew what we needed to do going forward. Then, we went to Beloit, and I did all that, but I went ahead and stepped on it and killed the motor while leading. I finally have a lot of confidence in this car, and it feels great to be back in victory lane. I’d like to say I’m really excited, but honestly, I’m just relieved. It just feels good to be back up here.”

When all summed up, Grant’s winless streak in USAC national competition amounted to 21 races since his most recent triumph, a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship triumph on May 31 at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway. But with car chief Lacey Doyle on the wrenches and additional assistance from 2019 Jefferson County winning driver Jason McDougal, Grant’s time had finally come.

“Lacey Doyle, it’s been just her and I out here for most of the trip and she’s been working her tail off,” Grant praised. “It’s hot, it’s rough and we’ve been fighting generator issues and everything else, and she’s been digging. She was the first one to tell me, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll go win another one’ after I stepped on it the other night.”

While Grant lined up from the pole position, it was outside front row starter Wigal who gained the initial edge as he shot around the outside of Grant to cement the early race lead while first-time Honest Abe Roofing fast qualifier Kyle Jones had used the high side to slot into third after starting sixth.

While Wigal established a full second lead throughout the first half of the 30-lap main event, third-running Jones’ heartwarming story ended abruptly on lap 12 when he wound up over the cushion in turns one and two, necessitating a yellow flag, kicking up dust as he performed a 360-degree spin. Jones was utilizing a borrowed engine from RMS Racing, which had been installed into a newly rebuilt Joyner Motorsports car during a midnight oil burning session held the night before following mechanical issues in their most recent start. Jones finished 15th but it was certainly not indicative of the speed they had shown before their misfortune.

Wigal’s first 18 circuits of the feature turned out to be the first 18 laps led of his USAC National Midget career. He remained in control with a six-car length lead entering lap 19 when a sudden glance of his right rear tire against the turn one cushion came to be highly detrimental. Wigal slipped over the edge, resulting in the entirety of the top-10 blowing by Wigal within the snap of a finger as he fought to climb his way back onto the track’s surface.

Among those drivers taking advantage of Wigal’s mishap was Grant who charged by to take over up front for the third consecutive race, but this time, he was determined to find a different result on a track surface that fit him to a T.

“I feel like, in the midgets, when the cushion slows down, I can kind of compete,” Grant explained. “These kids are really, really talented and they’re really, really good racecar drivers. They race micros so young and they’re on such big stages real young. They’re awesome racecar drivers, and when that cushion is fast, man, they can just hammer that thing. I don’t quite have that gear anymore. But when it slows down and gets a little technical, you’ve got to start picking and choosing and not just smash it. I can go make some money then.”

With that said, on a bullring such as Jefferson County, it’s often difficult to find room to work at times. Grant attempted to negotiate his way through traffic on the 24th lap but became hung up behind the car of Nebraskan Brian Schwabauer. That allowed Logan Seavey to close to within a car length of challenging Grant for the race lead.

However, just in the nick of time, sixth running Daison Pursley spun off course in turns one and two to bring out the caution, thus ending the equation of lapped traffic becoming a factor during the final stretch. With the incident, Pursley, utilizing a brand-new chassis for the evening, saw his bid for a fourth-straight series victory come to a close while winding up with his worst result of the season.

Upon the restart, Grant found himself in decent shape. However, Cannon McIntosh made a late surge to drive under Seavey for second with four laps to go, then quickly tracked down Grant to nearly pull even for the lead in turn two on the final lap. Yet, Grant’s momentum was just enough to shake off McIntosh as Grant crossed 0.427 seconds ahead at the finish line over McIntosh, Seavey, Ryan Timms and Jade Avedisian who advanced 15 spots to finish fifth after starting 20th, thus earning herself both hard charger honors and the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) now owns nine top-10 finishes in each of his nine career USAC National Midget feature starts at Jefferson County Speedway. He made a late-race charge to work his way up to a runner-up finish in the end, which also happened to be his best career result at the track in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Gear Wrench – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

“I think our car just came in good at the end there,” McIntosh said. “I just kind of struggled midway through the race trying to find my marks. I’d see guys peek to my inside, so for most of the race, I was kind of playing defense. On that last restart, I finally played some offense and figured out where to run. Then I just started figuring my marks out and I was able to run the same line two laps in a row.”

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) had endured two-straight frustrating nights with a drivetrain issue and an accident that supplied him with finishes of 19th and 22nd. On Friday, he returned to the podium with a third-place result and his third-straight top-three finish at Jefferson County aboard his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – MPV Express/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“We’ve been super-fast but just can’t seem to finish the night,” Seavey explained. “My guys have been doing a good job and we’re running up front every night and racing for wins. Things weren’t going our way but that’s part of it sometimes. You’ve got to ride the highs when you’ve got them and keep digging when you’re struggling. I just made a few mistakes there on that last restart with my adjustments inside the car. I was really thinking I could’ve gotten up higher on the racetrack, but the bottom was really gripped up there at the end. I think I was a little too patient with Justin there in the beginning when we were in second and third. I needed to get by him before he got to the lead, but he got to the lead and changed his line and that’s part of it. He’s a great racer and when guys like that get in front of you, they’re hard to pass.”

Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) also set a brand new eight-lap USAC National Midget track record at Jefferson County with a winning time of 1:30.403, which set the pace during the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 12, 2024 – Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship Presented by Westin Packaged Meats & Schmidt's Sanitation / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-10.899; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-10.939; 3. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.956; 4. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.956; 5. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-10.956; 6. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-10.968; 7. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-10.984; 8. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-11.027; 9. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.052; 10. Ricky Lewis, 54, 4 Kings-11.057; 11. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.059; 12. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-11.100; 13. Trey Zorn, 00, Chandler-11.126; 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-11.129; 15. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-11.161; 16. Mitchell Davis, 56, O'Dell-11.163; 17. Zach Daum, 5d, RAMCO/Daum-11.165; 18. Daniel Whitley, 60x, LeVecque-11.200; 19. Lance Bennett, 91, Mason-11.207; 20. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.212; 21. Don Droud Jr., 22T, Burch-11.225; 22. Brian Schwabauer, 9B, Murphy-11.560; 23. John Klabunde, 77, Klabunde-11.681; 24. Curtis Spicer, 4s, Spicer-11.795; 25. Zack Merritt, 43, Oerter-12.131; 26. Shaun Shapel, 84s, Shapel-13.884.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Trey Zorn, 3. Kyle Jones, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Mitchell Davis, 7. Brian Schwabauer, 8. Lance Bennett, 9. Zack Merritt. 1:54.684

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Zach Wigal, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. John Klabunde, 9. Shaun Shapel. NT

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. Daniel Whitley, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Kale Drake, 7. Don Droud Jr., 8. Curtis Spicer. 1:55.134

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Don Droud Jr., 3. Lance Bennett, 4. Brian Schwabauer, 5. Zack Merritt, 6. Curtis Spicer, 7. John Klabunde, 8. Shaun Shapel. 1:30.403 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Cannon McIntosh (3), 3. Logan Seavey (5), 4. Ryan Timms (8), 5. Jade Avedisian (20), 6. Gavin Miller (11), 7. Kale Drake (4), 8. Jake Andreotti (9), 9. Mitchell Davis (16), 10. Zach Daum (17), 11. Jacob Denney (10), 12. Zach Wigal (2), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 14. Thomas Meseraull (13), 15. Kyle Jones (6), 16. Don Droud Jr. (21), 17. Daison Pursley (7), 18. Brian Schwabauer (22), 19. Ricky Lewis (12), 20. Lance Bennett (19), 21. Trey Zorn (14), 22. Zack Merritt (24), 23. Curtis Spicer (23), 24. Daniel Whitley (18). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Zach Wigal, Laps 19-30 Justin Grant.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-784, 2-Cannon McIntosh-716, 3-Ryan Timms-674, 4-Logan Seavey-647, 5-Zach Daum-642, 6-Justin Grant-618, 7-Jacob Denney-601, 8-Gavin Miller-597, 9-Kale Drake-543, 10-Zach Wigal-501.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-123, 2-Logan Seavey-112, 3-Robert Ballou-111, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Justin Grant-93, 6-Joey Amantea-89, 7-Kyle Cummins-86, 8-Chase Stockon-70, 9-Carson Garrett-63, 10-Brady Bacon-62.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 13, 2024 – Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship Presented by Westin Packaged Meats & Schmidt's Sanitation / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jerry Coons Jr. (11.113)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Jones (10.899)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Jake Andreotti

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

Hard Charger: Jade Avedisian (20th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Jade Avedisian

BACK 2 BACK 2 BACK!

PURSLEY SURGES TO 3RD STRAIGHT

USAC MIDGET WIN IN BELOIT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Beloit, Kansas (July 10, 2024)………Mid-America Midget Week. Indiana Midget Week. Shark Week on Discovery Channel. Seemingly every week that Daison Pursley has faced this year in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition, he has prevailed.

Well, maybe not Shark Week as of yet, but at this point, you probably couldn’t count him out of contention!

During Wednesday night’s 13th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds, the Locust Grove, Okla. native showcased his prowess of the 2024 season once again as he became the final leader in a 30-lap affair that featured five lead changes among four different drivers on the 1/4-mile dirt oval.

Leading the final 10 laps behind the wheel of his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota, Pursley won his second series main event within a 24-hour span after scoring the night before at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

Dating back to the USAC Indiana Midget Week finale at Kokomo Speedway in June, Pursley has now reeled off three consecutive series victories to become the first driver to achieve that feat since Buddy Kofoid scored four-in-a-row during the 2022 season.

Additionally, with the win in Beloit, Pursley’s latest triumph tied an all-time series record for the quickest any driver has earned his fifth win of the USAC National Midget season. Victory number five for Pursley came in his 10th start of the 2024 campaign, equaling the mark that J.J. Yeley (2003) and Tyler Courtney (2019) established during both of their respective championship seasons.

Furthermore, Pursley provided team owner Chad Boat his 38th career win as an entrant with the USAC National Midget series, thus moving Boat into the top-10 all-time in that category alongside Corey Tucker, one of Boat’s former partners who he achieved a series title with in 2020 under the Tucker-Boat Motorsports banner.

Pursley also delivered Boat’s CB Industries outfit its second consecutive Chad McDaniel Memorial score after the team captured last year’s event with driver Bryant Wiedeman. In doing so, CBI became the first team to repeat in the event, which debuted back in 2010.

Although Pursley had won each of his past three USAC National Midget features after starting in the seventh position, he didn’t mind starting one row closer to the front at Mitchell County as he rolled off for the feature from the fifth slot. Early on, however, he had dropped back a spot to sixth while the likes of Justin Grant just drove by him, giving Pursley a bit of a Maalox Moment for the time being.

“I think the first handful of laps is really what kind of told the tale of how the race was going to end up,” Pursley explained. “When Justin got by me by cruising around the bottom, I thought it was going to be very hard to get by him and Logan (Seavey). Then the track kind of just threw everybody for a curveball. The cushion got over the edge during the heat races and it allowed the bottom and the middle to come back into play. I think that’s what you were able to see here tonight. It was another great racetrack for us to race on and move around on, and it kept us guessing.”

At the front, it was pole sitter Kyle Jones muscling his way into the lead on the opening circuit as he led his first career lap in USAC National Midget competition. That proved to be short lived, nonetheless, as Meseraull fought back from his outside front row starting spot to grab the lead on lap two.

As Meseraull jetted out to a half-second lead by lap 10, behind him, Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier Zach Wigal got sideways through the middle of turns one and two while tussling for third with Justin Grant and promptly spun to a stop. Without suffering any contact, Wigal restarted his race at the tail of the field but managed to drive himself back to eighth at the finish line.

More trouble hit one of the premier frontrunners on the 11th lap restart as defending USAC National Midget champion and second running Logan Seavey clipped the turn three infield berm with his left front tire, briefly upsetting the car. As he bounced sideways, third running Justin Grant tapped Seavey’s back bumper, sending Seavey completely askew before sliding to a stop right in the path of eighth running Kale Drake whose right rear tire caught Seavey's left rear, resulting in a flat tire and damaged wheel for Seavey. Seavey restarted, but ultimately came home 19th in the final rundown.

On the ensuing restart, Grant advanced into the lead as he charged under Meseraull in turns one and two. Pursley came along in short order as he dipped underneath Meseraull in turn four to overtake second. Pursley then went to work on tracking down Grant, sliding him for the top spot in turn one on lap 15. It was only for a brief moment though as Grant cut back under and beat Pursley back to turn three to reassume the position at the top of the leaderboard.

Pursley refused to go astray as he slid his way back past Grant in turn three on the 18th lap, beating Grant back to the stripe by a wheel. Grant carried the edge back into turn one moments later and swiped the lead right back from Pursley and proceeded to stretch his lead out as Pursley now had to contend with the resurgent Meseraull for the runner-up spot.

A yellow flag on lap 20 halted the fight after fifth running Jones slowed suddenly in turn while running fifth, the victim of an engine issue. However, one lap following the restart, more misfortune befell a driver at the front. That happened to be race leader Grant whose car over rotated and glided to a stop in turn two on the 21st circuit, ending his bid for a first USAC Midget win in 2024. He managed to restart but finished a distant 16th.

“I think it was going to be one heck of a race between Justin and I with how the track was developing,” Pursley noted. “Then T-Mez looked like he was just hammering the top in T-Mez fashion.”

But without Grant in the picture, Pursley went away scot-free for the final 10 laps, although Meseraull made it tight on the final two laps as he zipped around the outside of Jerry Coons Jr. in turn four with the white flag in sight, then advanced to within five car lengths of Pursley at the finish line with Pursley officially winning by a 0.408 second margin over Meseraull, Coons and Jacob Denney as Zach Daum rounded out the top-five.

Pursley’s seventh career victory moved him into the top-100 all-time in terms of USAC National Midget feature wins, coming in at number 97 alongside Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Cannon McIntosh, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton and Johnnie Tolan.

Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), in just his second USAC start after breaking his collarbone three-and-a-half months earlier in a racing accident, led nine laps and finished second in his Tim Engler/Engler Machine & Tool – T-Mez TV – Indy Performance Composites/MF1/EA Stealth, earning the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night for his performance.

“I just want to thank Tim back home,” Meseraull praised. “Tim has given me everything I need to be up here on the podium. Daison has been the guy to beat so I feel like what we have is pretty close. I was reeling him in at the end there, but we couldn’t get it done so I’ll be more than happy with a second-place finish. I felt like we did a really good job. My boss built this midget motor to compete against the Toyotas and here we are.”

Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) earned his best USAC National Midget finish since his Mid-America Midget Week trip to Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway in 2022. On this night, he scored a third in his Central Motorsports/Schmidt’s Inc. – Gateway Paintball – Paintball Dave/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“We started a little further forward tonight and being able to win that heat race probably saved the night,” Coons stated, referencing his 21st to 8th run in the feature one night earlier at Red Dirt Raceway. “We were good early, but it definitely slicked off. I was good there for a while, but I kept making adjustments under the yellows trying to keep up with it. I felt like I was pretty good in three and four for a long time, then the exit of four just blew off. I was having to get in lower and lower and finally I was running my left front through the drainage or something over there. It was upsetting the car, and I just really lost a lot of forward drive off four because you had to keep it down so low. It was just a matter of keeping up with the car a little bit with the shocks and some adjustments in there.”

Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) earned hard charger honors after picking his way through the field from his 16th starting position to a fifth-place finish in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Sound Gear – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota. It's the Keystone State native’s third seventh place finish in his past four USAC National Midget starts.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 10, 2024 – Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Beloit, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Chad McDaniel Memorial / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.311; 2. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.339; 3. Zach Daum, 5d, RAMCO/Daum-12.373; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.385; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-12.419; 6. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-12.437; 7. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.446; 8. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.461; 9. Daniel Whitley, 60x, LeVecque-12.471; 10. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.519; 11. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.525; 12. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-12.552; 13. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.555; 14. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.558; 15. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.635; 16. Ricky Lewis, 54, 4 Kings-12.687; 17. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-12.799; 18. Jeff Stasa, 91, SBR-12.830; 19. Trey Zorn, 00, Chandler-12.877; 20. Zack Merritt, 43, Oerter-13.416; 21. Ashley Oerter, 44, Oerter-14.179; 22. Curtis Spicer, 4s, Spicer-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Zach Wigal, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Trey Zorn, 8. Curtis Spicer. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Gavin Miller, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Jade Avedisian, 7. Zack Merritt. 2:11.11

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Kyle Jones, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Daniel Whitley, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Jeff Stasa, 7. Ashley Oerter. 2:10.88

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (5), 2. Thomas Meseraull (2), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 4. Jacob Denney (8), 5. Zach Daum (4), 6. Cannon McIntosh (13), 7. Gavin Miller (16), 8. Zach Wigal (6), 9. Ryan Timms (15), 10. Jade Avedisian (11), 11. Ricky Lewis (17), 12. Jake Andreotti (14), 13. Daniel Whitley (12), 14. Jeff Stasa (18), 15. Trey Zorn (19), 16. Justin Grant (7), 17. Curtis Spicer (22), 18. Kyle Jones (1), 19. Logan Seavey (3), 20. Kale Drake (10), 21. Zack Merritt (20), 22. Ashley Oerter (21). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Kyle Jones, Laps 2-10 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 11-17 Justin Grant, Lap 18 Daison Pursley, Laps 19-20 Justin Grant, Laps 21-30 Daison Pursley.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-747, 2-Cannon McIntosh-641, 3-Ryan Timms-605, 4-Zach Daum-595, 5-Logan Seavey-572, 6-Jacob Denney-553, 7-Justin Grant-543, 8-Gavin Miller-536, 9-Kale Drake-483, 10-Zach Wigal-456.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-123, 2-Robert Ballou-111, 3-Logan Seavey-110, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Justin Grant-93, 6-Joey Amantea-89, 7-Kyle Cummins-86, 8-Chase Stockon-70, 9-Carson Garrett-63, 10-Brady Bacon-62.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: July 12-13, 2024 – Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Midwest Midget Championship / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (12.253)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Zach Wigal (12.311)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jerry Coons Jr.

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Jacob Denney

Hard Charger: Gavin Miller (16th to 7th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Thomas Meseraull

UNDEFEATED AT RED DIRT:

PURSLEY POWERS TO

MID-AMERICA MIDGET WEEK OPENER WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Meeker, Oklahoma (July 9, 2024)………Daison Pursley’s most recent visit to Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway came three years earlier when he was an upstart, fresh-faced youngster just looking to break in and make his name in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition.

That 2021 night marked his first career series victory. Now, three years later, the Locust Grove, Okla. racer is a bonafide USAC national championship contender, reiterating that fact once more at the latest edition of Tuesday Night Thunder on the 1/4-mile dirt oval during the Mid-America Midget Week opener.

Staring seventh, Pursley raced his way into the lead past Justin Grant on a restart with 12 laps remaining, then fended off all other contenders down the stretch to earn his fourth USAC National Midget victory of the year in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

The number seven has been good fortune for Pursley who has won each of his past three USAC National Midget main events this season after starting seventh: June 7 at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway, June 9 at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway and on July 9 at Red Dirt Raceway in front of his home state fans in the Sooner State.

“This thing is absolutely phenomenal right now,” Pursley exclaimed after capturing his second USAC win in as many tries at Red Dirt. “But for some reason, every time we start seventh, we end up here in victory lane. Maybe if we always start seventh, we’ll be all right.”

In doing so, Pursley increased his point lead in the USAC National Midget championship race to 87 markers as he became the first repeat USAC winner at Red Dirt after Christopher Bell (2018), Logan Seavey (2019), Tanner Thorson (2020), himself (2021), Ryan Timms (2022) and Mother Nature (2023) had all taken their turn at the front during the first five editions.

Red Dirt is just a tick under two hours from Pursley’s homeland of Locust Grove, and the place served as a home away from home for Pursley in his formative racing years in more ways than one. A former weekly competitor at Red Dirt, Pursley captured five NOW600 National Micro Sprint feature wins at the place between 2017-2021.

“It was another great racetrack by Red Dirt Raceway,” Pursley praised. “I really love coming back here; it’s such a fun racetrack. I grew up racing here on Friday nights in the micro. To come back here and race in front of all these fans, and especially to win at this place, it’s really cool.”

Defending USAC National Midget champion Logan Seavey began the 30-lap main event by working the topside from his outside front row starting spot, gaining the lead from pole starter Jade Avedisian by the time the two reached turn three. But Seavey’s pursuit of another Red Dirt victory was short-lived as he suddenly slowed on the eighth lap with a mechanical issue that knocked him out of the race, forcing them to settle for a 22nd place result.

Grant, who had surged from fourth to second with one big move in turn one on lap three, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight as the race leader on lap eight. However, fourth running Pursley instantly became the one to watch one lap after the restart. On lap nine, Pursley first charged around the outside of Zach Daum in turn two, then pointed himself to the bottom of turn three where he glided past Avedisian to snare the runner-up spot but remained a full second behind Grant.

Grant worked lapped traffic through the middle stages and managed to grow his lead to a full second. Nonetheless, Pursley decidedly chipped away little by little to close himself to within four tenths of a second of Grant by lap 19 when misfortune befell one of the frontrunners.

As Zach Wigal tussled to-and-fro with Daum for the fourth position, Wigal spun sideways to a stop at the exit of turn and was hit squarely on the left side of his car by 10th place driver Jacob Denney. Kyle Jones (12th) also tried to avoid the melee but came up snake eyes as he slid over the cushion to a stop. All drivers managed to return to the lineup with Jones (9th) and Wigal (10th) each managing to race their way back into the top-10 by race’s end.

On the ensuing lap 19 restart, at first, it appeared that Avedisian was the one making a surge to the front as she dug in on the bottom to move past Pursley momentarily in turns one and two. However, Pursley, who had just fallen back to third, was simply busy gathering momentum as he shot around Avedisian at the exit of turn two, then subsequently powered underneath Grant in turn three to overtake the top spot once and for all.

On the 21st lap, Daum took hold of the bottom line to advance from fourth to second in one fell swoop while Grant and Avedisian banged wheels in a fierce tussle for position. While that was occurring, Pursley precisely ran his lead up to more than four seconds with three laps to go when Kale Drake (6th) spun to a stop on the back straight, then was nailed by Andrew Deal (13th) who collided with the stopped Drake, resulting in Deal flipping over on his side.

Once more, Pursley went unheeded from the lap 28 restart onward and seemed destined to cruise to victory as he rounded turns three and four on the 30th lap. However, the rug was pulled out from Pursley after Gavin Miller (6th) got hung up on the turn two cushion, resulting in Denney (7th) colliding with Miller before spinning backwards. Thomas Meseraull (10th), making his first USAC start of the year after returning from a late-March broken collarbone, also plowed in and stopped.

With the yellow forcing the field to finish the deal once more, the green-white-checkered restart went as smooth as butter for Pursley who escaped away from the pack to close out his victory by a 0.586 second margin at the finish line over Daum, Grant, Timms and Miller.

“I really wish Logan didn’t have the malfunction he had,” Pursley stated of Seavey’s early race misfortune. “I felt like it was shaping up to be a really good race with Logan, Justin and me. But this has been a dream come true kind of year. Now I’m just looking forward to hopefully continuing that success and it seems like this 86 car doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. I’m just very fortunate to race with three very good teams and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Zach Daum’s regular ride in the RAMCO Speed Group No. 7p did not make the trip to compete at Mid-America Midget Week. In its stead, Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) pulled out the No. 5d from his shop after his prospects to compete in the event remained up in the air. He sought an engine and found one after Illinois car owner Wayne Durbin stepped up to help by providing Daum a powerplant to install under the hood in the 11th hour. Once he arrived at the track, Daum did his part by earning his best finish of the USAC season with a second in his RAMCO Speed Group-Daum Motorsports/Kiwi Landscaping – 5d Speed Shop/King/Stanton SR-11x.

“Just being here a couple different times, normally, it gets a little blacker than that and the cushion gets a little bit bigger, so the bottom becomes really a lot more relevant,” Daum explained of Red Dirt’s characteristics. “We just weren’t as good as we needed to be on the bottom there late. For putting this deal together in about 72 hours, I’m not going to complain too much about it.”

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) led a total of 11 laps throughout the middle portion of the race before dropping back to third in the final tally aboard his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – MPV Express/Spike/Speedway Toyota. When all was said and done, he’d earned his third consecutive podium result at Red Dirt following a pair of runner-up finishes in 2021 and 2022.

“We were fading pretty hard right as that caution came out and I figured we were probably in trouble there,” Grant noted. “We were a little too good too early. We were fast all night and really, really good for the first half of the feature there. We were just a little free coming in. At least we’re back on the right track, it seems like. We’ve done a lot of work since USAC Indiana Midget Week. We’ve been trying to find speed and I think we found it tonight. We just needed some minor adjustments and we would’ve been in the hunt at the end.”

Jerry Coons Jr.’s crew tightened up his Central Motorsports/Schmidt’s Inc. – Gateway Paintball – Paintball Dave/Spike/Stanton SR-11x up after the prelims and it made all the difference. Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) responded by making his way from his 21st starting position to finish eighth and earn hard charger honors for the night. In six career Red Dirt USAC National Midget starts, Coons has now notched finishes of 4th-4th-3rd-7th-7th-8th.

Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) experienced quite the adventure on his Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying run. On the first go-around, he set a new one-lap USAC National Midget track record at Red Dirt of 13.032 seconds, surpassing the former mark of 13.108 set by Tyler Courtney in 2020. However, on lap two, Timms went for an absolute ride in turn two, flipping over six times. The 2022 Red Dirt USAC National Midget winner recovered nicely thereafter, utilizing the same car to finish fourth in the night’s feature.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 9, 2024 – Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, Oklahoma – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Tuesday Night Thunder / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.032 (New Track Record); 2. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.081; 3. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-13.172; 4. Zach Daum, 5d, RAMCO/Daum-13.176; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.183; 6. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.184; 7. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-13.190; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.239; 9. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-13.269; 10. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-13.378; 11. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.379; 12. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-13.398; 13. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-13.422; 14. Andrew Felker, 11A, Felker-13.457; 15. Ricky Lewis, 54, 4 Kings-13.497; 16. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-13.543; 17. Bradley Fezard, 938, V & H-13.548; 18. Hank Davis, 00, Chandler-13.555; 19. Andrew Deal, 15D, Deal-13.766; 20. Trey Zorn, 00z, Chandler-13.831; 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-13.881; 22. Zack Merritt, 43, Oerter-14.504; 23. Curtis Spicer, 4s, Spicer-14.591; 24. Ashley Oerter, 44, Oerter-15.398; 25. Shaun Shapel, 84s, Shapel-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Zach Wigal, 3. Kyle Jones, 4. Ryan Timms, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Andrew Deal, 8. Zack Merritt.

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Gavin Miller, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Kale Drake, 5. Bradley Fezard, 6. Trey Zorn, 7. Curtis Spicer, 8. Andrew Felker.

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Jacob Denney, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Hank Davis, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Ashley Oerter.

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (7), 2. Zach Daum (3), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Ryan Timms (6), 5. Gavin Miller (8), 6. Jade Avedisian (1), 7. Cannon McIntosh (10), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (21), 9. Kyle Jones (13), 10. Zach Wigal (11), 11. Kale Drake (5), 12. Jacob Denney (12), 13. Jake Andreotti (9), 14. Trey Zorn (18), 15. Curtis Spicer (23), 16. Thomas Meseraull (14), 17. Andrew Deal (19), 18. Zack Merritt (20), 19. Bradley Fezard (17), 20. Ricky Lewis (15), 21. Hank Davis (16), 22. Logan Seavey (2), 23. Ashley Oerter (22), 24. Shaun Shapel (24). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Logan Seavey, Laps 8-18 Justin Grant, Laps 19-30 Daison Pursley.

**Ryan Timms flipped during qualifying. Andrew Deal flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-667, 2-Cannon McIntosh-580, 3-Ryan Timms-552, 4-Logan Seavey-541, 5-Zach Daum-529, 6-Justin Grant-504, 7-Jacob Denney-484, 8-Gavin Miller-477, 9-Kale Drake-456, 10-Kyle Jones-404.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-119, 2-Robert Ballou-111, 3-Logan Seavey-110, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Justin Grant-93, 6-Joey Amantea-89, 7-Kyle Cummins-86, 8-Chase Stockon-70, 9-Carson Garrett-63, 10-Brady Bacon-62.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 10, 2024 – Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Beloit, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 13th Chad McDaniel Memorial / USAC Mid-America Midget Week

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ryan Timms (12.775)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Ryan Timms (13.032)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Zach Daum

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Gavin Miller

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Hard Charger: Jerry Coons (21st to 8th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Zach Daum

Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE RETURNS TO PERRIS
By Lance Jennings

JULY 9, 2024... After last Saturday’s clash at Santa Maria, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will return to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, July 13th. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the tenth championship point race will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, GAS Chassis PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, and PASSCAR American Factory Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

USAC/CRA shows at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed and beware of online scammers with fake video links. Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 254 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-five different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all series drivers with 51 “home track” wins and Matt Mitchell has won the February 24th season opener and the May 25th “Salute to Indy.” David Gasper added his name to the record books on March 16th, A.J. Bender joined the winner’s list on April 27th, and Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm topped the June 22nd show. Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After taking his second consecutive win, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) has regained the point lead by a slim two point margin. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm also has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 50 feature laps led in the campaign. Tommy will be looking to continue his run for the championship with another Perris victory.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) enters the tenth point race ranked second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson finished seventh at Santa Maria Speedway last Saturday night. To date, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one semi-main win, eight top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led in the campaign. R.J. will have his sights on the ninth USAC/CRA win of his career this Saturday night.

After finishing second at Santa Maria, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) has climbed to third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17 Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams has three heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, six top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. At Perris, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year will be looking to earn the twelfth USAC/CRA victory of his career.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is fourth in the championship chase. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams drove from eleventh to eighth at Santa Maria. To date, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. This Saturday, Williams will have his sights on the first win of his career at Perris Auto Speedway.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) sits fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender scored nineteenth after an early exit at Santa Maria. At press time, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led on the season. A.J. will be looking for another at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera, Brent Sexton, Braden Chiaramonte, Joey Bishop, Mark Henry, Jon DeWees, Blake Bower, Camie Bell, Tyler Hatzikian, Blake Hendricks, Tom Dunkel, and Aaron Altaffer are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Matt Mitchell, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Grant Sexton, Matt McCarthy, Jeff Dyer, Chris Gansen, Brent Owens, Gary Marshall Jr., “Shugah” Shane Sexton, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Tommy Malcolm-579, 2. R.J. Johnson-577, 3. Austin Williams-542, 4. Logan Williams-534, 5. A.J. Bender-513, 6. David Gasper (R)-502, 7. Cody Williams-482, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-397, 9. Verne Sweeney-362, 10. Austin Grabowski-326, 11. Charles Davis Jr.-285, 12. Matt Mitchell-281, 13. Elexa Herrera (R)-270, 14. Brody Roa-256, ---. Grant Sexton-256, 16. Brent Sexton (R)-250, 17. Ricky Lewis-233, 18. Matt McCarthy-210, 19. Logan Calderwood-203, 20. Jeff Dyer-192. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Tommy Malcolm, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Jason York.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Brother Brett Classic at California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

A MID-AMERICA NIGHT’S DREAM!

USAC MIDGETS HEAD

TO THE GREAT PLAINS JULY 9-13

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (July 8, 2024)………For the first time in exactly in one month, the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season roars its engines once more.

USAC Mid-America Midget Week presents Great Plains bullring USAC action between July 9-13 across three states with four events in a span of five nights across Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.

Starting at the southernmost point of the week is Tuesday Night Thunder on July 9 at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway. Then, we point north up to Beloit, Kansas for the 13th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, July 10.

Closing out the Mid-America adventure is Fairbury, Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway for two consecutive evenings on Friday, July 12, and Saturday, July 13, for the Midwest Midget Championship, culminating with a 40-lap feature paying $10,000-to-win on the final night.

An entire weeks’ worth of excitement awaits a trio of racy bullrings. And we’re ready for it! So, here’s six storylines that should have your attention heading into Mid-America Midget Week 2024.

PURSLEY IN THE GROOVE

Mid-America Midget Week is where Daison Pursley first burst onto the scene of USAC National Midget racing, winning the 2021 opener at Red Dirt Raceway in his home state of Oklahoma, the same place which opens up this year’s MAMW slate.

Daison Pursley’s stand out season has been highlighted by the fact that he became the first driver to win in all three USAC national divisions in 2024: Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint and NOS Energy Drink National Midget.

Chief among his accolades this year have been three USAC National Midget feature wins in his CB Industries No. 86 at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track, Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway and Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, plus a USAC Indiana Midget Week title.

Now Pursley’s pursuit involves putting the grip on his USAC National Midget point lead which stands at 67 after winning the most recent series round at Kokomo on June 9. Each of the last three Indiana Midget Week titlists went on to win the USAC National Midget crown later that same year. Pursley intends to become the next.

MESERAULL ABOARD!

Finally, Thomas Meseraull is returning to USAC National Midget action this week following a broken collarbone he suffered in a sprint car accident on March 29 during the No Way Out 40 at Paragon (Ind.) Speedway.

Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) has been back behind the wheel in recent weeks in a various array of racecars, and just this past weekend, swept both nights of POWRi Midget racing at Missouri’s Lake Ozark Speedway.

A veteran of 186 career USAC National Midget starts and 10 series victories since his 1999 debut, Meseraull will be at the controls of Tim Engler’s #7x. His Mid-America Midget Week experience includes a 2022 victory at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds where he started fourth before making his winning move on lap 10, then proceeded to lead the final 21 circuits.

THE SEAVEY RECORD WATCH IS ON

Logan Seavey has been on a tear in 2024 with his run through the USAC National Sprint Car schedule which shows a striking resemblance to his dominance of the 2023 USAC National Midget season.

In the midget this year, he’s won twice at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex and Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway, which has him ranked third in the current USAC national championship standings.

He’s found his share of success during MAMW throughout his career, winning at Red Dirt in 2019 and at Jefferson County in 2023. Additionally, he owns the one-lap track record at Jefferson County of 10.685 seconds, also set in 2019.

With a pair of midget wins and 10 in the sprint car thus far in 2024, it’s almost time to put the official “watch” on Seavey to see if he can track down J.J. Yeley’s record of 23 USAC national wins, which was set in 2003. By this point in the year in 2003, Yeley had accrued 14 victories. But there’s an entire half-year of racing left to go, and Seavey is vying to rewrite the record books.

TEAM OKLAHOMA

At the moment, Oklahomans occupy three of the top-four spots in the USAC National Midget point standings with Daison Pursley (Locust Grove) first, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby) second and Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City) fourth.

All three have already graced victory lane with the series this year. Timms was the best back in June during the Indiana Midget Week opener at Lawrenceburg Speedway and McIntosh topped the field in the season opener at Kansas’ Belleville Short Track in May.

Timms’ first USAC start with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports produced a Mid-America Midget Week victory on his home state track of Red Dirt back in 2022.

Meanwhile, McIntosh’s first career USAC National Midget start came at Red Dirt in 2018. He’s led at all three venues in his career, but this week, he vies for his first Mid-America Midget Week feature score.

THE FIFTH DIMENSION OF THE 5d

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Zach Daum’s RAMCO Speed Group No. 7p will not be making the trip to compete at Mid-America Midget Week.

In its stead this week, Daum will drive his own No. 5d, which has not competed in USAC National Midget competition since June of 2020. In fact, Daum’s first three USAC National Midget victories all came in his own No. 5d between 2011-14.

Daum’s prospects for racing at Mid-America Midget Week were up in the air until recently as he sought an engine to rent or another car to drive. With time winding down, Illinois’ Wayne Durbin stepped up to help the situation by providing his Stanton SR-11x for Daum to install under the hood of his King Chassis.

He’s been a staple on the podium during his Mid-America Midget Week career, finishing as the runner-up four times between 2010-2014 at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds, plus a 3rd at Red Dirt in 2021 and a 3rd at Jefferson County in 2022. In 2024, Daum seeks his first MAMW win.

JERRY SPRINGS INTO ACTION

Jerry Coons Jr. is one of the undisputed legends of USAC racing.

The USAC Triple Crown champion from Tucson, Ariz. ranks fifth all-time in USAC National Midget starts with 423 dating back to 1987. That ranks behind only Mel Kenyon (925), Bob Wente (757), Bob Tattersall (481) and Tracy Hines (452).

Coons runs an abbreviated racing schedule these days as he keeps a watchful and supportive eye over the burgeoning career of his son, Cale Coons. Nonetheless, when Jerry gets behind the wheel, he’s always a contender.

The 2006-07 USAC National Midget champ will be in action at all four nights of this year’s Mid-America Midget Week, where he’s been all over the podium, and has been on the cusp of victory many a time in recent summers.

At Red Dirt, he finished a best of 3rd in 2020, and was a 3rd place finisher as well at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds in 2013. In 2022 at Jefferson County, he landed on the podium both nights, scoring a 3rd on night one and took a narrow 2nd in the finale.

One more victory would push Coons into the land of the few as he aims to join Bobby Unser as the only driver to win a USAC-sanctioned feature event in five different decades. He’s already one of 13 to have won a USAC main event in four decades along with Unser, Hank Butcher, A.J. Foyt, Russ Gamester, Mel Kenyon, Ralph Liguori, Wally Pankratz, Johnny Parsons, George Snider, Bryan Stanfill, Brian Tyler and Bob Wente.

RACE DETAILS:

For Tuesday Night Thunder on July 9 at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway, the program features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus NOW600 Non-Wing Micros. Pits open at 5pm Central with the grandstands opening at 6pm, the drivers meeting at 6pm and cars on track at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing to follow. General admission tickets are $25. High school students and younger are $5. Tickets are available online at www.reddirtraceway.com under the “Buy Tickets” tab and will be sold the day of the show as well. All access passes (pit access & general admission seating) are available for $40 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only. Pit passes for ages 5 and under are $10. The tailgate area is $120 per carload (up to 8 people per car).

On Wednesday night, July 10, it’s the 13th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus the NOW600/Jayhusker Non-Wing Micro Sprints. Front gates open at 5pm Central with the drivers meeting at 6pm and hot laps at 6:30pm followed by qualifying and racing. General admission tickets are $25 with high school students and younger just $5. All access passes are available as well for $40 and will be available at the pit and main grandstand gate on the day of the show only.

To close out Mid-America Midget Week on Friday and Saturday, July 12-13, it’s on to Fairbury, Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway for two-straight nights of the Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt’s Sanitation featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus the NOW 600/Jayhusker Non-Wing Micro Sprints. Gates open at 5pm Central with qualifying at 6:30pm followed by racing. General admission tickets are $20 on Friday and $30 on Saturday with high school students and younger just $5. Reserved seating is $60 for a two-day pass and is available online only at www.JeffersonCountySpeedway.com under the “Buy Tickets” tab. All access passes are available as well for $40 ($10 for kids 5 and under) and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only. A free concert will be held after the races both nights at the beer garden.

Practice will be held from 5-7pm Central on Thursday, July 11 at Jefferson County. Pit passes are $20 and grandstands are free. There will be a free Shrimp Boil/BBQ at the track campground at 8pm after practice for all drivers, race teams, fans, etc.

All four races of Mid-America Midget Week can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-589, 2-Cannon McIntosh-522, 3-Logan Seavey-509, 4-Ryan Timms-480, 5-Zach Daum-451, 6-Jacob Denney-439, 7-Justin Grant-433, 8-Gavin Miller-411, 9-Kale Drake-405, 10-Kyle Jones-352.

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

RED DIRT RACEWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

2018: Christopher Bell (7/10)

2019: Logan Seavey (7/9)

2020: Tanner Thorson (7/21)

2021: Daison Pursley (7/13)

2022: Ryan Timms (7/12)

RED DIRT RACEWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TRACK RECORDS:

1 Lap - 7/21/2020 - Tyler Courtney - 13.108 - 68.660 mph

8 Laps - 7/13/2021 - Cannon McIntosh - 1:49.120 - 65.982 mph

10 Laps - 7/10/2018 - Tyler Thomas - 2:24.03 - 62.487 mph

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

MITCHELL COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

2013: Christopher Bell (7/30)

2014: Bryan Clauson (7/29)

2015: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/28)

2016: Bryan Clauson (8/3)

2017: Christopher Bell (8/2)

2018: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/11)

2021: Tanner Thorson (7/15)

2022: Thomas Meseraull (7/13)

2023: Bryant Wiedeman (7/12)

MITCHELL COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TRACK RECORDS:

1 Lap - 7/11/2018 - Holly Shelton - 11.944 - 75.352 mph

10 Laps - 8/3/2016 - Ryan Greth - 2:02.67 - 73.368 mph

12 Laps - 7/15/2021 - Daison Pursley - 2:32.00 - 71.053 mph

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

JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

2016: Chad Boat (8/2)

2017: Tanner Thorson (8/1)

2018: Justin Grant (7/14)

2019: Jason McDougal (7/12)

2019: Tyler Courtney (7/13)

2020: Chris Windom (7/17) & Tyler Courtney (7/18)

2021: Tanner Thorson (7/16) & Emerson Axsom (7/17)

2022: Mitchel Moles (7/15) & Buddy Kofoid (7/16)

2023: Logan Seavey (7/14) & Tanner Thorson (7/15)

JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TRACK RECORDS:

1 Lap - 7/12/2019 - Logan Seavey - 10.685 - 67.384 mph

10 Laps - 7/16/2021 - Justin Grant - 1:50.360 - 65.241 mph

12 Laps - 7/17/2020 - Sam Johnson - 2:24.855 - 59.646 mph

SPRINTACULAR SWEEP!

SEAVEY HITS USAC SPRINT WIN #10

AT LINCOLN PARK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Putnamville, Indiana (July 6, 2024)………Logan Seavey has made quite an impression pretty much everywhere he’s gone on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour in 2024.

You can now add the 10th Annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway to his ever-growing accomplishment season checklist.

One night after the Sutter, California racer captured his initial Lincoln Park USAC win, on Saturday, he became the first driver to sweep to feature victories on both nights in the decade long history of the Sprintacular event, pocketing $10,000 for his efforts in the 40-lap finale at the 5/16-mile dirt oval.

With the triumph, the USAC National Sprint Car point leader earned his 10th victory of the series season, all of which have come in a span of 24 starts. In that same timeframe, he doubled his career output to 20 wins after tallying 10 across his first 146 starts between his 2018 debut and the opening two events of the 2024 campaign.

“I feel like I’ve been doing it a long time but really it’s only been a handful of years,” Seavey said. “Twenty is kind of crazy to believe since we just had 10 a few months ago. It took a big effort to build this race team and to come out of the gate like this is amazing.”

Seavey began his quest from the fourth spot aboard his Abacus Racing/MPV Express – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy. Yet it was defending Sprintacular victor Brady Bacon who stepped out to the opening lap lead from his outside front row position.

On lap four, trouble ensued for a pair of Keystone State racers. Briggs Danner (11th) and Joey Amantea (15th) collided in turn two, resulting in Amantea flipping over. Both drivers’ nights were abruptly ended in the incident. Danner endured an interesting past 24 hours after his primary ride in the Hogue Racing Enterprises No. 39 experienced an engine issue on the opening lap of Friday night’s feature. Out of commission, Danner found work in a backup car for KO Motorsports on Saturday night with both team’s crews pitching in on the effort.

When action resumed, the battle at the front became three-pronged as the trio of Bacon, C.J. Leary and Seavey engaged in a three-wide battle for position. On lap seven, Seavey, the third driver in the triumvirate took his game to the topside where he flashed around Leary for second off turn four, then came up a wheel short of Bacon at the line for the race lead. Seavey kept digging, and by the time the pair reached turn three on the eighth circuit, Seavey dove low under Bacon to swipe the top spot.

The high line had worked for Seavey all weekend long and he seemingly remained committed to it. Nonetheless, Bacon quickly made up ground on the bottom groove and managed to pull even with Seavey. Thus, Seavey adjusted his tactics and stepped down from the top shelf to defy Bacon’s pursuit.

By lap 15, lapped traffic had forced the hand of the leaders to make a choice based on the line the car in front of them was operating with cars at the tail end of the field scattered both high and low. But all that was put to the wayside for the moment as fifth running Robert Ballou slowed with a flat right rear tire on lap 17, forcing him to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area for fresh rubber. He’d ultimately return to finish 15th.

The second red flag of the feature was displayed on lap 19 when the third-place car driven Leary bounced atop the turn four cushion. With seemingly no place to go, fourth running Moles was unable to avoid the melee and collided with Leary, sending Moles toppling over. Subsequently, Jake Swanson (5th) collided with the flipping Moles, but was able to continue on. Moles returned to the field at the tail, driving back to 14th, ending a run of eight consecutive top-six finishes.

Daison Pursley, who had worked his way from 25th to 12th before the incident, also collided with Swanson and stopped. It had already been a turbulent evening for Pursley who set fast time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, then was involved in a nasty crash during a last lap battle for a heat race win with Ballou. After stepping into a Team AZ Racing backup car, Pursley made his way into the feature via a provisional. Starting from the 13th and final row, he made two separate charges through the field. When all was said and done, he’d come back to finish 13th.

With eight laps to go, Bacon had closed up the interval on Seavey’s lead to just a couple car lengths. Drawing nearer, Seavey made his escape in turn three as he split between the high/low duo of Ivan Glotzbach and Nate Schank. As Schank shook loose on the cushion, just behind him was Bacon, who momentarily became stifled as he avoided contact with the 2022 USAC CRA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year who was making his first USAC national start, which allowed Seavey to double his lead from six tenths to 1.2 seconds, though he still remained mired in the thick of gridlock.

“I was just trying to change stuff up and try to see where I felt better,” Seavey explained. “Then we get to traffic, and it seemed like every time I got to a car, they’d come from the bottom and go to the top. I don’t know if they were trying to get out of the way and they were putting themselves in the way but that’s part of racing and you’ve got to figure out how to get through it and I almost gave one up there.”

As Seavey maneuvered to the bottom to put Zack Pretorius a lap down, Bacon quickly made up ground, and with four laps remaining, drag raced past Seavey for the lead entering turn three. As Bacon slid up, Seavey slid under and was able to gain back a half car length advantage over Bacon at the stripe on lap 37. Bacon set up for another opportunity in turn one on lap 38, but snagged the cushion, then was hit in the rear bumper by Pretorius, once again allowing Seavey to break free, this time for good.

“This place was changing a lot there and I knew that being the leader early isn’t the best,” Seavey remarked. “It really makes you use everything you’ve got in your toolbox to figure out what to do. You go into one so slow and I’m just listening, thinking I can hear him running the top. I kept seeing his nose getting into three, so I knew I was losing a lot getting into one. I knew I was struggling to go by them guys. I couldn’t run the bottom as good as I needed to since they were all lined up on the cushion. So, I really didn’t have much place to go and Brady made a big move.”

Seavey held off one more furious charge from Bacon on the final go around to score a 0.665 second margin of victory. Leary brought it home third with Kevin Thomas Jr. fourth and Justin Grant fifth as the entire top-five consisted of past Sprintacular winners.

Overall, it’s Seavey’s third consecutive USAC National Sprint Car victory after notching one last Saturday at Macon (Ill.) Speedway before doubling up at Lincoln Park this weekend, thus making him the first driver to win three-in-a-row with the series since Justin Grant swept all three nights of Sprint Car Smackdown weekend at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in August of 2023.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) led the opening seven laps of the feature en route to his seventh runner-up finish of the USAC Sprint season in his Dynamics, Inc./Next Level Metal – Davis Brothers Trucking – Hutson John Deere/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) posted a third-place result to capture his ninth straight top-10 finish Sprintacular feature events dating back to 2020 at the wheel of his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

Meanwhile, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) went +12 in the main event, starting 23rd and advancing his way up to an 11th place finish. Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) became the first driver to earn a second Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night award in 2024 after executing a late-race pass to snag the final transfer spot in his heat race before collecting his second straight sixth place finish in as many nights. Sixteenth place finisher Tye Mihocko (Peoria, Aria.) was the recipient of a $550 bonus as the top weekly Lincoln Park Speedway racer in the feature.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 6, 2024 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval – 10th Annual IndianaOpenWheel.com Bill Gardner Sprintacular

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.050; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.131; 3. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.399; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.446; 5. Jake Swanson, 24, Simon-12.472; 6. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.478; 7. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.547; 8. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.603; 9. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.624; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.656; 11. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.665; 12. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.675; 13. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.703; 14. Briggs Danner, 5D, KO-12.706; 15. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.833; 16. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.844; 17. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-12.852; 18. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.875; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.930; 20. Ivan Glotzbach, 2H, Hayden-12.930; 21. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-12.931; 22. Wesley Smith, 2B, 2B Racing-12.943; 23. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.959; 24. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.967; 25. Tye Mihocko, 24p, Paul-12.986; 26. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.997; 27. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.030; 28. Todd Hobson, 04, Burton-13.089; 29. Travis Thompson, 7, Thompson-13.093; 30. Kyle Johnson, 99J, Johnson-13.106; 31. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-13.166; 32. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-13.203; 33. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.248; 34. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.262; 35. Daylan Chambers, 4c, Chambers-13.347; 36. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.348; 37. Hunter Maddox, 36, Maddox-13.424; 38. Nate Ervin, 11E, Algieo-13.567; 39. James Boyd, 16B, Boyd-13.703; 40. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-13.893; 41. Tom Eller, 29OG, Eller-13.986; 42. Mike Larrison, 06L, American Dream-13.996; 43. Will Barnett, 88, Barnett-14.695; 44. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-NT; 45. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Geoff Ensign, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Nate Schank, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Travis Thompson, 9. Tom Eller, 10. Hunter Maddox, 11. Daison Pursley. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Wesley Smith, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Kyle Johnson, 10. Mike Larrison, 11. Nate Ervin. 2:12.55

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Anton Hernandez, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. James Boyd, 10. Will Barnett, 11. Daylan Chambers. 2:12.30

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Rylan Gray, 4. Ivan Glotzbach, 5. Brent Beauchamp, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Todd Hobson, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Troy Carey, 10. Sam Hinds. 2:15.00

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Hunter Maddox, 2. Kyle Johnson, 3. Sam Hinds, 4. Troy Carey, 5. Mike Larrison, 6. James Boyd, 7. Tom Eller, 8. Will Barnett, 9. Nate Ervin. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Nate Schank, 2. Zack Pretorius, 3. Anton Hernandez, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Wesley Smith, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Daison Pursley, 8. Todd Hobson, 9. Logan Calderwood, 10. Brandon Mattox, 11. Kayla Roell, 12. Kyle Johnson, 13. Sam Hinds, 14. Trey Osborne, 15. Hunter Maddox, 16. Travis Thompson, 17. Troy Carey. 2:50.47

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Brady Bacon (2), 3. C.J. Leary (1), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 5. Justin Grant (9), 6. Ricky Lewis (5), 7. Shane Cottle (12), 8. Jake Swanson (3), 9. Kyle Cummins (11), 10. Carson Garrett (21), 11. Chase Stockon (23), 12. Anton Hernandez (24), 13. Daison Pursley (25-P), 14. Mitchel Moles (6), 15. Robert Ballou (8), 16. Tye Mihocko (22), 17. Chance Crum (17), 18. Brent Beauchamp (15), 19. Ivan Glotzbach (18), 20. Nate Schank (19), 21. Zack Pretorius (13), 22. Matt Westfall (26-P), 23. Rylan Gray (10), 24. Geoff Ensign (16), 25. Briggs Danner (14), 26. Joey Amantea (20). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Brady Bacon, Laps 8-40 Logan Seavey.

**Daison Pursley flipped during the first heat. Joey Amantea flipped on lap 4 of the feature. Mitchel Moles flipped on lap 19 of the feature.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-113, 2-Robert Ballou-111, 3-Logan Seavey-110, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Justin Grant-92, 6-Joey Amantea-89, 7-Kyle Cummins-86, 8-Chase Stockon-70, 9-Carson Garrett-63, 10-Brady Bacon-62.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 26, 2024 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (12.319)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (12.050)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Hunter Maddox

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Nate Schank

Hard Charger: Chase Stockon (23rd to 11th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Ricky Lewis

Indiana Open Wheel Highest Finishing Weekly Driver: Tye Mihocko (16th)

The Frolic Bar & Grill Second Highest Finishing Weekly Driver: Ivan Glotzbach (19th)

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 6, 2024 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California - "Doug Fort Memorial"

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-13.636; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.657; 3. Kaleb Montgomery, 3, Montgomery-13.666; 4. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-13.761; 5. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-13.846; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-13.860; 7. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-13.902; 8. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, 14.008; 9. Ryan Bernal, 17T, Dunkel-14.032; 10. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-14.040; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.061; 12. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.096; 13. Bryce Eames, 50, Abeytia-14.103; 14. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-14.140; 15. Davey Pombo, 38, Pombo-14.165; 16. Anthony Pombo, 3X, Pombo-14.467; 17. Mark Henry, 39R, Henry-14.530; 18. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-14.745; 19. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-14.907; 20. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Dunkel-15.166; 21. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-15.394; 22. Blake Bower, 3F, Finkenbinder-17.983; 23. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-23.527; 24. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton-NT; 25. Aaron Altaffer, 84, Altaffer-NT; 26. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to feature) 1. Bryce Eames, 2. David Gasper, 3. Ryan Timmons, 4. Jeff Dyer, 5. R.J. Johnson, 6. Blake Bower, 7. Brent Sexton, 8. Aaron Altaffer, 9. Anthony Pombo. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to feature) 1. Logan Williams, 2. Andrew Sweeney, 3. Cody Wiliams, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Grant Sexton, 6. Austin Grabowski, 7. Mark Henry, 8. Tom Dunkel, 9. Verne Sweeney. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to feature) 1. Kaleb Montgomery, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Davey Pombo, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Jon DeWees, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Shane Sexton. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, top 7 transfer to feature) 1. Jon DeWees, 2. Blake Bower, 3. Brent Sexton, 4. Verne Sweeney, 5. Elexa Herrera, 6. Austin Grabowski, 7. Mark Henry, 8. Tom Dunkel, 9. Aaron Altaffer, 10. Shane Sexton. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Tommy Malcolm (1), 2. Austin Williams (2), 3. Cody Williams (5), 4. David Gasper (7), 5. Andrew Sweeney (8), 6. Ryan Timmons (6), 7. R.J. Johnson (3), 8. Logan Williams (11), 9. Blake Bower (20), 10. Davey Pombo (15), 11. Austin Grabowski (22), 12. Mark Henry (16), 13. Jeff Dyer (10), 14. Elexa Herrera (19), 15. Brent Sexton (18), 16. Verne Sweeney (21), 17. Kaleb Montgomery (4), 18. Ryan Bernal (9), 19. A.J. Bender (12), 20. Grant Sexton (14), 21. Jon DeWees (17), 22. Bryce Eames (13). NT.
----------------------------
**Grant Sexton flipped on lap 1 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tommy Malcolm

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Blake Bower (20 to 9)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: July 13 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

SEAVEY AVOIDS CATASTROPHE TO WIN

USAC SPRINTACULAR OPENER AT LINCOLN PARK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Putnamville, Indiana (July 5, 2024)………There was a point in time in which Logan Seavey thought his race was over during Friday night’s 10th Annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular opener at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

While leading 13 laps into the 30-lap main event, Seavey attempted to avoid a pair of spinning cars just in front of him. Despite fairly significant contact with one of the two machines, Seavey pushed through quite literally and figuratively to claim his ninth victory of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season.

Just as he did in his most recent series outing at Macon (Ill.) Speedway six nights earlier, Seavey set the tone for the night by setting fast qualifying time in his Abacus Racing/MPV Express – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy, then proceeded to march his way to victory lane during the feature event.

In doing so, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) became the first driver to simultaneously score back-to-back fast qualifying times and feature wins with the series in nearly a decade. Bryan Clauson was the most recent driver to achieve the feat late during the 2013 season at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway and Arizona’s Canyon Speedway Park.

Overall, Seavey’s victory was the 19th of his USAC National Sprint Car career, moving him past Kyle Cummins and into sole possession of 34th place on the all-time list. This time, he won one at the 5/16-mile dirt oval that he has long considered one of his ultimate favorites.

“When I first started coming out here, this became one of my favorite tracks in Indiana,” Seavey exclaimed. “It’s beaten me up for a lot of years, so it’s cool to get one here at Putnamville and get these guys back in victory lane.”

Not only did Seavey kick off the night by besting the 47-car field on his time trial run, he did so by obliterating the previous USAC track record at Lincoln Park. His time of 11.959 seconds in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying was the first ever official 11-second bracket lap turned at LPS, erasing the former record of 12.276 seconds set by Brady Bacon in 2018.

Slated to start sixth on the grid for the feature event, Seavey and Abacus first had to perform a bit of preventative maintenance beforehand. It was a certain facet that stole victory away from the team during a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Midget event at Circle City Raceway in 2023, making it of utmost importance to correct before the main event got underway.

“We had a wire break, actually a kill switch, which is something that has cost us a race in the past,” Seavey explained. “So, we were being extra careful just to make sure this thing was hitting on all eight cylinders and just firing in general. It’s these things that our guys are getting really good at. Avoiding issues like that is what allows you to contend for championships.”

Seavey, who has led the USAC National Sprint Car standings since mid-February, quickly hustled his way up to third on the opening lap, slotting in behind the duo of front row occupants Mitchel Moles and Robert Ballou who diced things up for the first trio of laps with Moles leading the way each time.

However, Seavey was superb in ringing the cushion as he zipped by Ballou for second off the exit of turn four on lap three. Mere moments later, Seavey blasted around Moles on the high side of turns one and two to escape with the lead. By the time the frontrunners reached turn four on lap four, Ballou had slipped under Moles for the runner-up spot.

At this juncture, seemingly the only thing that could stifle Seavey is getting tripped up in traffic, and that nearly came to fruition. As Seavey reached the tail end of the field on the 13th lap, the car of Harley Burns sat idly in the middle of turn three. By this point, Seavey had committed to the high side for his escape plan. However, the car directly in front of Seavey, driven by Rylan Gray, smashed into the side of Burns, sending Gray spinning backwards straight into the path of Seavey. Seavey’s left front wheel wound up clipping the back end of Gray’s machine, but Seavey managed to continue onward.

“I thought I broke my front end, and I thought my race might be over,” Seavey revealed. “My steering wheel was all crooked and I had to readjust some things in the car. It kept feeling like it was getting worse and worse. I thought I was folding up a draglink. I could feel something going away in my front end. Luckily, this thing held together and (crewmen) Ronnie (Gardner) and Kirk (Simpson) gave me a great racecar like they always do.”

Meanwhile, second running Ballou also executed a narrow escape much similar to Seavey as he attempted to dodge catastrophe, hitting the tail tank of Burns who was rolling down toward the inside of the track right into the path of Ballou. Despite the contact, Ballou also managed to keep himself going by escaping and racing on.

On the ensuing restart, sixth running Justin Grant saw his bid for a solid finish go by the wayside when the car of Carson Garrett (4th) slid sideways in turn one. As a result, Grant got into the left side of Garrett’s car, then Bacon (7th) subsequently plowed into Grant, flattening Grant's left rear tire. Grant restarted after being escorted to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area but ended up 17th at the finish.

Ballou made a run at Seavey for the lead just before the halfway mark and was able to pull even briefly before Seavey swapped over to the low line, stealing away Ballou’s groove, and from there, was able to break away and put a lock down on the race for the lead.

“My car was really good on the cushion early, so it was hard to give that up,” Seavey said. “You know it always goes away here, especially when the bottom is that good. It was getting slick on the exit out of two, so I knew it was time to get down. Lapped traffic was on the bottom, so I knew that would give me a little bit more time to figure it out.”

Once Seavey did figure it out, he was able to secure his position up front just as he’s done already eight times before with the series in 2024.

“It’s so hard to change lines when you’re leading,” Seavey stated. “You see it all the time where second has a little bit of an advantage. It’s tricky and I’m not really known for running the bottom. I was doing big ol’ wheelies down the back stretch because you’re going so slow, and there’s so much grip, you just drag the tail tank all the way down the back stretch, which makes it hard to get into turn three. There were lots of adjustments I was doing to make myself better once I did move down, I didn’t really know whether to blow through the middle or really get down by the tires, but it seemed like whenever I did, my car went through there very nicely and I could just cruise around there.”

When all was said and done, Seavey took his first Lincoln Park Speedway USAC victory, crossing the stripe 0.806 seconds ahead of Ballou with Moles third, Bacon fourth and Garrett fifth.

For the second straight race, Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) earned a podium finish, taking second on this night in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Deaton’s Waterfront Services/DRC/Ott Chevy.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) led the opening three laps and finished inside the top-six for the eighth straight event in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) worked his way into the top-10 after being mired all the way back on the outside of row nine. In the end, KTJ advanced from 18th to 10th to collect hard charger honors for the night's feature.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) made a valiant comeback late in the going during the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature. Starting ninth, he worked his way up to the fourth and final transfer spot to earn his way into the night's feature. He was rewarded as the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

In the third heat race of the night, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) established a new 10-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record at Lincoln Park Speedway. His time of 2:08.53 surpassed the former record of 2:09.325 held by Kyle Cummins since July of 2021.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 5, 2024 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval – 10th Annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.959 (New Track Record); 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.026; 3. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.068; 4. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-12.086; 5. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.114; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.138; 7. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.140; 8. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.184; 9. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-12.190; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.230; 11. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.239; 12. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.244; 13. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.245; 14. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.252; 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.272; 16. Jake Swanson, 24, Simon-12.278; 17. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.298; 18. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-12.343; 19. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.395; 20. Ivan Glotzbach, 2H, Hayden-12.402; 21. Wesley Smith, 2B, 2B Racing-12.418; 22. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-12.471; 23. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-12.502; 24. Tye Mihocko, 24p, Paul-12.520; 25. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-12.528; 26. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.536; 27. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.546; 28. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.550; 29. Todd Hobson, 04, Burton-12.604; 30. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-12.613; 31. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-12.637; 32. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.648; 33. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.735; 34. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.735; 35. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.743; 36. Seth Parker, 38p, Parker-12.770; 37. Hunter Maddox, 36, Maddox-12.958; 38. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-13.064; 39. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-13.073; 40. James Boyd, 16B, Boyd-13.247; 41. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.284; 42. Nathan Seale, 1s, Seale-13.522; 43. Cody Williams, 26w, Williams-13.704; 44. Tom Eller, 29OG, Eller-13.908; 45. Nate Ervin, 11E, Algieo-14.685; 46. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-NT; 47. Kyle Johnson, 99J, Johnson-NT (Time of 12.374 disallowed due to illegal left rear tire).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Wesley Smith, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Brent Beauchamp, 7. Harley Burns, 8. Kyle Shipley, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Nate Ervin, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Todd Hobson. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Rylan Gray, 6. Nate Schank, 7. Geoff Ensign, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Nathan Seale, 10. Brayden Fox, 11. Kyle Johnson, 12. Sam Hinds. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Gabriel Gilbert, 11. Cody Williams. 2:08.53 (New Track Record)

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Seth Parker, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Ivan Glotzbach, 9. James Boyd, 10. Tom Eller, 11. Jadon Rogers. 2:11.52

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Hunter Maddox, 2. Kayla Roell, 3. Kyle Johnson, 4. Todd Hobson, 5. Sam Hinds, 6. Nathan Seale, 7. Nate Ervin, 8. James Boyd, 9. Tom Eller, 10. Cody Williams, 11. Troy Carey. 2:20.10

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Shipley, 2. Harley Burns, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Nate Schank, 7. Logan Calderwood, 8. Seth Parker, 9. Geoff Ensign, 10. Kayla Roell, 11. Hunter Maddox, 12. Ivan Glotzbach, 13. Todd Hobson, 14. Kyle Johnson, 15. Zack Pretorius, 16. Brent Beauchamp, 17. Trey Osborne. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (6), 2. Robert Ballou (2), 3. Mitchel Moles (1), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Carson Garrett (4), 6. Ricky Lewis (3), 7. Daison Pursley (7), 8. Shane Cottle (15), 9. C.J. Leary (14), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (18), 11. Tye Mihocko (10), 12. Jake Swanson (19), 13. Wesley Smith (9), 14. Kyle Cummins (17), 15. Kyle Shipley (13), 16. Chase Stockon (23), 17. Justin Grant (8), 18. Matt Westfall (22), 19. Rylan Gray (24), 20. Chance Crum (16), 21. Jadon Rogers (11), 22. Joey Amantea (20), 23. Harley Burns (21), 24. Briggs Danner (12). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Mitchel Moles, Laps 4-30 Logan Seavey.

**Kayla Roell & Gabriel Gilbert flipped during the third heat.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1632, 2-Brady Bacon-1577, 3-C.J. Leary-1557, 4-Daison Pursley-1537, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1479, 6-Mitchel Moles-1432, 7-Robert Ballou-1411, 8-Justin Grant-1372, 9-Kyle Cummins-1308, 10-Jake Swanson-1216.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-113, 2-Robert Ballou-111, 3-Logan Seavey-107, 4-C.J. Leary-96, 5-Joey Amantea-89, 6-Justin Grant-88, 7-Kyle Cummins-84, 8-Brady Bacon-62, 9-Matt Westfall-61, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-58.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 6, 2024 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval – 10th Annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Robert Ballou (11.942)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (11.959)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Wesley Smith

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Tye Mihocko

Trailer Alarms C-Main Winner: Hunter Maddox

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kyle Shipley

Hard Charger: Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 10th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Chase Stockon

SPRINTACULAR WEEKEND ON TAP FOR

USAC SPRINTS JULY 5-6 AT LINCOLN PARK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Putnamville, Indiana (July 4, 2024)………It’s the most Sprintacular time of the year!

The post-Independence Day boom takes us to not one, but two-straight USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship events on Friday-Saturday night, July 5-6, at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

The 5/16-mile dirt oval they call The Capital of the Cushion is the playground for the 10th annual IndianaOpenWheel.com Bill Gardner Sprintacular, honoring the life and memory of Bill Gardner, who passed away in July of 2014.

Gardner was born and raised in Putnam County, Indiana, and practically grew up at Lincoln Park Speedway. Gardner co-owned a sign and graphics business, was a crewman for driver Brian Hayden and was the founder of www.indianaopenwheel.com.

The event culminates with a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature on Friday followed by a $10,000 winner’s share for Saturday’s 40-lap grand finale.

Seven past Sprintacular winners are expected to compete in this weekend’s event: Rocklin, California’s Robert Ballou (2015 & 2016); Cullman, Alabama’s Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017 & 2021); Ione, California’s Justin Grant (2018 & 2022); Princeton, Indiana’s Kyle Cummins (2019); Kansas, Illinois’ Shane Cottle (2020); Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (2020 & 2023) and Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary (2021 & 2022).

Several more top star drivers will be vying for a first career Sprintacular victory, including USAC National Sprint Car point leader Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), all of whom reside in the top-10 of the series standings.

With the Sprintacular reaching its 10th annual running, let’s rewind and take a look back over the first decade of the event dating back to the inaugural edition in 2015!

2015 SPRINTACULAR

Robert Ballou opened up the festivities in the Midwest Sprint Car Series portion of the event by capturing the victory in his own Ballou Motorsports No. 12, chalking up another win among his record-setting 2015 season. The following night, Jerry Coons, Jr. returned to right where he spent Independence Day the year before by parking it in victory lane, this time as the winner of the finale of the inaugural Bill Gardner Sprintacular. The former series champion’s 17th and most recent career series victory came in wire-to-wire fashion as he was flawless in the Edison Motorsports No. 10E.

2016 SPRINTACULAR

Lincoln Park Speedway continued to be very kind to Robert Ballou in the following year’s edition of the event as well. Ballou once again took his own team to USAC victory lane at the track, holding off a late charge by Chad Boespflug to take the second annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular, this time in the Ballou Motorsports No. 1, signifying his reign as the previous year’s USAC National Sprint Car champion. One night later, Thomas Meseraull, abord the Amati Racing No. 66, captured night two under the MSCS banner over Jeff Bland Jr. and Ballou.

2017 SPRINTACULAR

Kevin Thomas Jr. took his KT Motorsports No. 9K to the promised land during the MSCS portion of the event in 2017, fending off the challenges of Thomas Meseraull and Ryan Bernal to capture the victory during the third edition of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular. The USAC sanctioned evening scheduled for one night later was doused by rain, forcing cancellation of the event.

2018 SPRINTACULAR

The roots of Tyler Courtney’s association with Lincoln Park Speedway run deep. In fact, his grandparents, Mike and Verla Farrar, owned and operated the joint between 1981 and 1996. Courtney didn’t get to experience much of his family’s era at the helm since he was a little tyke at the time. But in 2018, he was able to experience what it was like to own victory lane at Lincoln Park, leading the final eight laps in his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing No. 7BC, and taking advantage of late-race misfortune that befell race leader Kevin Thomas. Jr., to win the 4th annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular.

Justin Grant followed up with his first score in the event at the wheel of the TOPP Motorsports No. 4 one night later, preventing Kevin Thomas Jr. from winning the event for the second year in a row.

2019 SPRINTACULAR

Kyle Cummins captured the Midwest Sprint Car Series victory in an abbreviated Bill Gardner Sprintacular weekend in 2019. Aboard his Rock Steady Racing No. 3R, Cummins defeated Shane Cottle, Jordan Kinser, Brady Short and Thomas Meseraull to pick up the one and only night of Sprintacular weekend in 2019. The next night’s USAC sanctioned show was canceled due to rain.

2020 SPRINTACULAR

It all started with a late-night phone call from Hodges Motorsports on Thursday night at 10:30pm asking Shane Cottle if his plans were open for Friday night. Just about 24 hours later, Cottle was celebrating in victory lane following the opening night of the Sprintacular. The last-minute deal in the No. 74x came together as the team’s original plan was to sit out the weekend and focus on upcoming events.

Meanwhile, Brady Bacon’s run of misfortune over his past three USAC National Sprint Car races had run the gamut, beginning with a crash not of his own doing one week prior, followed by repeated mag issues. The tide turned during Saturday’s Sprintacular finale as he stormed to the lead midway through the 30-lap feature after starting 8th. Soon after, that old notion of “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all” seemed to rear its ugly presence as his right rear tire began to deflate. However, the tire stayed intact until the checkered flag with the tire completely going down as he rolled into victory lane in his Dynamics, Inc. No. 69.

In a change from previous years, both nights of the event were co-sanctioned by both USAC and MSCS.

2021 SPRINTACULAR

Twenty-four hours after winning a USAC National Sprint Car feature up the road at Indiana’s Plymouth Speedway, C.J. Leary traveled south to Lincoln Park Speedway where he tracked down Jake Swanson and slid by for the lead just three laps from the finish to earn his second win in as many nights, this one after starting 11th in the field, during the Sprintacular opener aboard his Michael Motorsports No. 77m.

On the two prior occasions in 2021 in which Kevin Thomas Jr. began his feature race from the back half of the field, the final result was about as satisfying as a room temperature soda on a hot summer day. However, after starting 14th in the field on night two of the Sprintacular, KTJ and his KT Motorsports No. 9K rapidly ascended through the field, securing the lead just six laps from the finish of the 40-lap event to take the win from deep in the seventh row.

2022 SPRINTACULAR

For the second consecutive year, C.J. Leary refused to stand pat in the Sprintacular opener. Following a mid-race caution, he made an in-car adjustment and a race-changing under the helmet adjustment, ultimately deciding on a new plan of attack which took him from the bottom of the 5/16-mile dirt oval to the top where he darted straight to the high line and glided around Kevin Thomas Jr. and Robert Ballou within a lap, which made all the difference and set Leary forth to his second consecutive Sprintacular opener victory in his Michael Motorsports No. 77m. The 58 cars on hand were the most for a USAC National Sprint Car event in nearly 14 years!

Justin Grant wasn’t asking for much during Saturday night’s Sprintacular finale. Twenty-four hours earlier, Grant had qualified fantastically, but his feature result of eighth hadn’t come close to fulfilling his wishes, dreams and desires. After qualifying a personally unsatisfying 16th on Saturday night, all the Ione, Calif. racer sought was a complete reversal of his fortunes from the night before. Mired back in eighth for the start, Grant marched his way forward to the point on the 17th lap as he whistled past Kyle Cummins on the inside of turn three to assume the lead and carried onward to a $10,000 victory in his TOPP Motorsports No. 4.

2023 SPRINTACULAR

Only a select few individuals have been fortunate enough to win a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature event in their career. Just two previous drivers had accomplished the feat Brady Bacon achieved on a rare Monday night affair: Tom Bigelow and Dave Darland.

It was a race that seemingly didn’t want to happen, at least initially. The first three attempts at putting the Sprintacular into the books were interrupted by a power outage on Friday due to storms on Thursday, followed by more weather-plaguing issues on Saturday and Sunday. Ultimately, the one to seemingly put an end to the event just as soon as it finally got going on Monday was the Macho Man himself, Brady Bacon, ultimately making the fourth day the charm.

On this night, Bacon earned his 50th career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory, leading the entire 40-lap distance from the pole. Tom Bigelow was the first to reach win number 50 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 1980. Prior to Bacon, Dave Darland was the most recent to hit 50 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track in 2014.

RACE DETAILS

The 10th annual IndianaOpenWheel.com Bill Gardner Sprintacular awaits this weekend, Friday-Saturday, July 5-6 at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

On Friday, the program consists of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus 305 RaceSaver Sprint Cars and Modifieds. Pits open at 4pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5:15 and cars on track at 6:15pm. General admission tickets are $35, kids 10 and under are free. Pit passes are $45 with kids 10 and under free.

On Saturday, the program consists of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus Street Stocks and Bombers. Pits open at 3pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5:15 and cars on track at 6:15pm. General admission tickets are $35, kids 10 and under are free. Pit passes are $45 with kids 10 and under free.

Both nights of the event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1550, 2-Brady Bacon-1506, 3-C.J. Leary-1504, 4-Daison Pursley-1477, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1431, 6-Mitchel Moles-1362, 7-Robert Ballou-1337, 8-Justin Grant-1335, 9-Kyle Cummins-1266, 10-Jake Swanson-1172.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/26/2018 - Brady Bacon - 12.276 - 91.642 mph

6 Laps - 8/23/1997 - Bill Rose - 1:22.90 - 81.423 mph

8 Laps - 7/29/2001 - Bryon Walters - 1:46.75 - 84.309 mph

10 Laps - 7/29/2021 - Kyle Cummins - 2:09.325 - 86.990 mph

12 Laps - 7/14/2014 - Jon Stanbrough - 2:40.15 - 84.296 mph

ALL-TIME BILL GARDNER SPRINTACULAR USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS

2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Jerry Coons Jr., Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, & Thomas Meseraull

ALL-TIME BILL GARDNER SPRINTACULAR USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS

2015: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Robert Ballou (7/5)

2016: Robert Ballou (7/1) & Thomas Meseraull (7/2)

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/1)

2018: Tyler Courtney (7/6) & Justin Grant (7/7)

2019: Kyle Cummins (7/3)

2020: Shane Cottle (7/3) & Brady Bacon (7/4)

2021: C.J. Leary (7/2) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/3)

2022: C.J. Leary (7/1) & Justin Grant (7/2)

2023: Brady Bacon (7/3)

ALL-TIME LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS

6-Dave Darland

5-Sheldon Kinser

4-Brady Bacon

3-Robert Ballou

2-Steve Butler, Jerry Coons Jr., Jay Drake, Cory Kruseman C.J. Leary & Jon Stanbrough

ALL-TIME LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS

1981: Sheldon Kinser (9/16)

1983: Kelly Kinser (5/25) & Sheldon Kinser (8/24)

1984: Chuck Amati (5/23) & Sheldon Kinser (7/18)

1985: Sheldon Kinser (5/4) & Steve Butler (9/7)

1986: Steve Butler (5/17) & Sheldon Kinser (8/23)

1997: Jack Hewitt (7/27) & Dave Darland (8/23)

1998: Dave Darland (7/26) & Brad Fox (8/15)

1999: Dave Darland (7/24)

2000: Jay Drake (7/29)

2001: Jon Stanbrough (7/21)

2002: Cory Kruseman (7/20)

2003: Jay Drake (7/19)

2004: Cory Kruseman (7/17)

2005: Dave Darland (7/19)

2010: Dickie Gaines (7/24) & Jon Stanbrough (9/10)

2012: Dave Darland (7/22)

2013: Chad Boespflug (7/4) & Bryan Clauson (7/18)

2014: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Robert Ballou (7/17)

2015: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Brady Bacon (7/16)

2016: Robert Ballou (7/1) & Brady Short (7/14)

2017: Robert Ballou (7/16)

2018: Tyler Courtney (7/6) & Dave Darland (7/26)

2019: Kyle Cummins (7/25)

2020: Shane Cottle (7/3), Brady Bacon (7/4), Chase Stockon (9/12) & Brady Bacon (9/12)

2021: C.J. Leary (7/2), Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/3) & Tanner Thorson

2022: C.J. Leary (7/1), Justin Grant (7/2) & Mitchel Moles (7/28)

2023: Brady Bacon (7/3) & Jake Swanson (7/27)

PAST BILL GARDNER SPRINTACULAR RESULTS:

2015 USAC FEATURE RESULTS: (30 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Chad Boespflug, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Casey Shuman, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Tracy Hines, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. Josh Hodges, 13. C.J. Leary, 14. Cole Smith, 15. Max McGhee, 16. Carson Short, 17. Brady Bacon, 18. Chris Babcock, 19. Brandon Mattox, 20. Brent Beauchamp, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Aaron Farney. NT

2015 MSCS FEATURE RESULTS: 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. C.J. Leary, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Tyler Courtney, 10. Aaron Farney, 11. Brady Bacon, 12. Max McGhee, 13. Carson Short, 14. Mike Gass, 15. A.J. Hopkins, 16. Josh Spencer, 17. Kyle Cummins, 18. Kurt Gross, 19. Donny Brackett, 20. Mitch Wissmiller, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg. NT

2016 USAC FEATURE RESULTS: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Chad Boespflug, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Josh Hodges, 8. Hunter Schuerenberg, 9. Max McGhee, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Jerry Coons Jr., 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Cole Ketcham, 17. Casey Shuman, 18. Brent Beauchamp, 19. Shane Cockrum, 20. Aaron Farney, 21. Bret Mellenberndt, 22. Thomas Meseraull, 23. Logan Jarrett, 24. Landon Simon. NT

2016 MSCS FEATURE RESULTS: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Jeff Bland Jr., 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Brent Beauchamp, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. Dickie Gaines, 10. Brady Short, 11. A.J. Hopkins, 12. Josh Hodges, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Carson Short, 15. Tyler Thomas, 16. Brandon Morin, 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 18. Colten Cottle, 19. Chad Boespflug, 20. Tyler Hewitt, 21. Jarett Andretti.

2017 MSCS FEATURE RESULTS: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Kody Swanson, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. A.J. Hopkins, 7. Carson Short, 8. Shane Cottle, 9. Brady Short, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Garrett Aitken, 13. Hunter Schuerenberg, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Brent Beauchamp, 17. Kent Schmidt, 18. Matt Westfall, 19. Matt McDonald, 20. C.J. Leary, 21. Tyler Hewitt. NT

2018 USAC FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. A.J. Hopkins (4), 3. Jason McDougal (22), 4. Chris Windom (21), 5. Jordan Kinser (1), 6. Thomas Meseraull (13), 7. Dave Darland (20), 8. Brandon Mattox (12), 9. Robert Ballou (17), 10. Josh Hodges (9), 11. Brady Bacon (6), 12. C.J. Leary (10), 13. Carson Short (7), 14. Kody Swanson (8), 15. Chase Stockon (11), 16. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 17. Isaac Chapple (23), 18. Mario Clouser (19), 19. Justin Grant (15), 20. Tony DiMattia (3), 21. Tim Creech (14), 22. Brent Beauchamp (16), 23. Colten Cottle (18). NT

2018 MSCS FEATURE: 1. Justin Grant, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Carson Short, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Isaac Chapple, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Shane Cockrum, 10. A.J. Hopkins, 11. Colten Cottle, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Jeff Bland Jr., 14. Stephen Schnapf, 15. Donny Brackett, 16. Joe Stornetta, 17. Kody Swanson, 18. Kent Schmidt, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. Robert Ballou, 21. Jason McDougal.

2019 MSCS FEATURE: 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jordan Kinser, 4. Brady Short, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Dakota Jackson, 7. Max Adams, 8. Bill Rose, 9. Shane Cockrum, 10. Koby Barksdale, 11. Garrett Aitken, 12. Hunter O'Neal, 13. Clinton Boyles, 14. Stephen Schnapf, 15. Donny Brackett, 16. Travis Berryhill, 17. Harley Burns, 18. Sterling Cling, 19. Blake Vermillion, 20. A.J. Hopkins. NT

2020 USAC/MSCS NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cottle (6), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. C.J. Leary (5), 5. Chase Stockon (11), 6. A.J. Hopkins (1), 7. Brent Beauchamp (8), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 9. Dakota Jackson (15), 10. Kyle Cummins (17), 11. Tanner Thorson (18), 12. Dave Darland (4), 13. Garrett Aitken (19), 14. Mario Clouser (13), 15. Jadon Rogers (23), 16. Carson Short (3), 17. Brayden Fox (14), 18. Dustin Smith (12), 19. Brandon Mattox (16), 20. Jake Bland (10), 21. Aric Gentry (22), 22. Anton Hernandez (21), 23. Dickie Gaines (20), 24. Brady Bacon (24). NT

2020 USAC/MSCS NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (8), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Justin Grant (1), 4. Chase Stockon (7), 5. Tanner Thorson (2), 6. Brent Beauchamp (6), 7. Dave Darland (10), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 9. Brandon Mattox (11), 10. Carson Short (9), 11. Chris Windom (16), 12. Kyle Cummins (14), 13. Jordan Kinser (13), 14. Jonathan Vennard (17), 15. Mario Clouser (20), 16. Jadon Rogers (24), 17. Dakota Jackson (23), 18. Travis Berryhill (18), 19. Garrett Aitken (19), 20. Jake Swanson (21), 21. Max Adams (4), 22. Aric Gentry (22), 23. Stephen Schnapf (15), 24. Thomas Meseraull (12). NT

2021 USAC/MSCS NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (11), 2. Jake Swanson (3), 3. Shane Cottle (6), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 5. Brady Bacon (2), 6. Chris Windom (4), 7. Justin Grant (10), 8. Cannon McIntosh (20), 9. Zach Daum (1), 10. Chase Stockon (12), 11. Paul Nienhiser (21), 12. Robert Ballou (13), 13. Mario Clouser (19), 14. Riley Kreisel (15), 15. Kyle Cummins (5), 16. Alec Sipes (17), 17. Carson Garrett (23-P), 18. Carson Short (9), 19. Harley Burns (14), 20. Cole Bodine (18), 21. Tanner Thorson (7), 22. Thomas Meseraull (22), 23. Ryan Thomas (16). NT

2021 USAC/MSCS NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. Brady Bacon (3), 4. C.J. Leary (4), 5. Shane Cottle (6), 6. Jake Swanson (7), 7. Tanner Thorson (5), 8. Kyle Cummins (18), 9. Riley Kreisel (1), 10. Cannon McIntosh (12), 11. Chase Stockon (16), 12. Cole Bodine (8), 13. Carson Short (19), 14. Carson Garrett (10), 15. Paul Nienhiser (13), 16. Brayden Fox (11), 17. Robert Ballou (20), 18. Chris Windom (15), 19. Mario Clouser (9), 20. Stephen Schnapf (21), 21. Collin Ambrose (22), 22. Harley Burns (17). NT

2022 USAC/MSCS NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (3), 2. Brady Bacon (6), 3. Kyle Cummins (9), 4. Chase Stockon (4), 5. Shane Cottle (12), 6. Tye Mihocko (10), 7. Jake Swanson (18), 8. Justin Grant (16), 9. Logan Seavey (7), 10. Jadon Rogers (14), 11. Matt Westfall (8), 12. Emerson Axsom (21), 13. Sterling Cling (17), 14. Brandon Mattox (20), 15. Mitchel Moles (19), 16. Dave Darland (11), 17. Brayden Fox (2), 18. Robert Ballou (5), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 20. Collin Ambrose (23-P), 21. Carson Garrett (15), 22. Jason McDougal (13), 23. Koby Barksdale (22). NT

2022 USAC/MSCS NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (8), 2. Emerson Axsom (9), 3. Logan Seavey (11), 4. Jason McDougal (12), 5. Kyle Cummins (4), 6. Shane Cottle (14), 7. Robert Ballou (5), 8. Mitchel Moles (3), 9. Jake Swanson (7), 10. C.J. Leary (1), 11. Brady Bacon (15), 12. Brian Hayden (2), 13. Tye Mihocko (18), 14. Jadon Rogers (23-U), 15. Cole Bodine (19), 16. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 17. Brent Beauchamp (22), 18. Jake Scott (16), 19. Zack Pretorius (17), 20. Austin Graby (26-U), 21. Carson Garrett (24-M), 22. Harley Burns (21), 23. Dave Darland (10), 24. Brandon Mattox (20), 25. Chase Stockon (6), 26. Aric Gentry (25-M). NT

2023 USAC/MSCS FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Justin Grant (3), 3. Jake Swanson (6), 4. C.J. Leary (5), 5. Kyle Cummins (7), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 7. Chase Stockon (14), 8. Robert Ballou (17), 9. Brent Beauchamp (9), 10. Logan Seavey (10), 11. Mitchel Moles (11), 12. Daison Pursley (12), 13. Max Adams (18), 14. Brayden Fox (15), 15. Emerson Axsom (16), 16. Geoff Ensign (22), 17. Carson Garrett (4), 18. Tye Mihocko (21), 19. Kayla Roell (24-P), 20. Brian Hayden (20), 21. Brandon Mattox (19), 22. Matt Westfall (13), 23. Aric Gentry (23-P), 24. Thomas Meseraull (8). NT

RED HILL’S SALUTE TO LEVI JONES

USAC SPRINT RACE RAINED OUT, RESCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 15

Sumner, Illinois (July 3, 2024)………Morning showers and a forecast calling for incoming heavy thunderstorms has forced postponement of the Wednesday, July 3, Salute to Levi Jones program featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, Illinois.

The $10,000-to-winevent will now take place at Red Hill Raceway on Thursday night, August 15, at the 3/8-mile dirt oval in southeastern Illinois.

The series’ first visit to Red Hill in 26 years marks the inaugural edition of the Salute to Levi Jones, honoring the seven-time USAC national driving champion and series official who was recently announced as an inductee to the USAC Hall of Fame. Jones, who was born and raised in nearby Olney, Ill., made his first career USAC National Sprint Car start at Red Hill in 1998.

Two previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been run at Red Hill with Billy Puterbaugh Jr. winning in 1996 and Derek Davidson scoring the victory in 1998.

Grandstand tickets for the August 15 event at Red Hill are $30 for ages 13 and up. General admission tickets for ages 6-12 are $5. General admission tickets for ages 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $40 apiece.

Pits open at 3pm Central and the grandstands open at 5:30pm. Hot laps are set for 7pm. Modifieds will also be on the event card.

The addition of Red Hill on Thursday, August 15, kicks off a three-race weekend for USAC across Illinois. The USAC Silver Crown National Championship will be in action the following two nights on Friday night, August 16, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. before traveling to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. on Saturday, August 17.

The USAC national season continues this week with the Sumar Classic featuring the Silver Crown series on Thursday night, July 4, at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track. The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season resumes this Friday-Saturday, July 5-6, with the Bill Gardner Sprintacular at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO SANTA MARIA FOR “DOUG FORT MEMORIAL”
By Lance Jennings

JULY 2, 2024... After a short break in the schedule, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will clash at Santa Maria Speedway this Saturday, July 6th, for the “Doug Fort Memorial.” Promoted by the Pombo Family, the ninth point race will also feature the California Lightning Sprints, SoCal Dwarf Cars, and Mini Stocks. Located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California, the pit gates at "The West's Best Short Track" will open at 1:00pm, front gates open at 4:00pm, time trials at 5:00pm, and racing will begin at 6:00pm. For more information, visit the track’s website at santamariaspeedway.net or call 310.493.4900.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Santa Maria Speedway has been a popular stop for non-winged sprint car racing since May 31, 1964 when Hal Minyard took the checkered flags with the original CRA. The 1/3-mile facility has held twenty-nine USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa won the last Santa Maria visit on August 6, 2022. Roa is tied with “The Demon” Damion Gardner for the series lead with four victories at “The West’s Best Short Track” and “Bullet” Blake Miller set the 1-lap qualifying record of 13.230 on June 14, 2008. The complete Santa Maria USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

Heading to Santa Maria, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) sits atop the USAC/CRA standings with a 14-point advantage over the competition. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson scored eleventh at Perris Auto Speedway on June 22nd. As this writing goes to press, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one semi-main win, seven top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led in the campaign. R.J. will be looking to score his tenth career USAC/CRA triumph this Saturday night.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) ranks second in the championship standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm earned his first win of the season at Perris on June 22nd. To date, the veteran driver has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 20 feature laps led on the year. Tommy will have his sights on claiming the fifth victory of his career at Santa Maria.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) sits third in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Piloting the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender ran fifth at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds after starting eighth. At press time, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led on the season. A.J. will be looking to gain valuable points with his second career win on Saturday.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is currently fourth in the point chase. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams placed fourth in the June 22nd feature after starting seventh. To date, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. This Saturday, Logan will have his sights on earning the first win of his career at Santa Maria.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17 Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams charged to third at Perris from eleventh on June 22nd. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has three heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. The Big Game Hunter” will be looking to earn the twelfth USAC/CRA victory of his career at Santa Maria Speedway.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera (New Cuyama, California), Brent Sexton (Lakeside, California), Braden Chiaramonte (El Cajon, California), Joey Bishop (Camarillo, California), Camie Bell (Bakersfield, California), Jon DeWees (Lemoore, California), Mark Henry (Rosamond, California), Blake Hendricks (Simi Valley, California), and Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California) are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Grant Sexton, Brent Owens, Jeff Dyer, Ryan Timmons, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Tyler Hatzikian, “The Rattlesnake” Andrew Sweeney, Davey Pombo, Ryan Bernal, Kaleb Montgomery, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson-518, 2. Tommy Malcolm-504, 3. A.J. Bender-482, 4. Logan Williams-477, 5. Austin Williams-468, 6. David Gasper (R)-434, 7. Cody Williams-407, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-397, 9. Verne Sweeney-330, 10. Charles Davis Jr.-285, 11. Austin Grabowski-284, 12. Matt Mitchell-281, 13. Brody Roa-256, 14. Ricky Lewis-233, 15. Elexa Herrera (R)-232, 16. Grant Sexton-229, 17. Brent Sexton (R)-215, 18. Matt McCarthy-210, 19. Logan Calderwood-203, 20. Matt Westfall-186. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

SANTA MARIA AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Blake Miller – 13.230 (06/14/08)

SANTA MARIA AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Damion Gardner, 4-Brody Roa, 3-Ryan Bernal, 2-Max Adams, 2-Rickie Gaunt, 2-Cory Kruseman, 2-Mike Spencer, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Tyler Brown, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Garrett Hansen, 1-Mike Kirby, 1-Blake Miller, 1-Danny Sheridan, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Rip Williams.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Doug Fort Memorial)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Brother Brett Classic at California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 18: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
October 19: Imperial Valley Raceway – Imperial, CA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

31 ENTRIES FOR 4TH OF JULY’S USAC SILVER CROWN SUMAR CLASSIC AT TERRE HAUTE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (July 1, 2024)………Thirty-one USAC Silver Crown entries are set for this Thursday night’s 20th running of the 100-lap Sumar Classic at western Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

The Fourth of July event at the 1/2-mile dirt oval features four past winners: series point leader Kody Swanson (2014), Shane Cockrum (2015), C.J. Leary (2016) and two-time victor Justin Grant (2018 & 2022).

They’re among the 13 Sumar Classic veterans in the field along with first-time winning hopefuls and runners-up, Tucson, Arizona’s Jerry Coons Jr. (2nd in 2008-12-22) and Kansas, Illinois’ Shane Cottle (2nd in 2006). Fellow top-five Sumar Classic finishers in this weekend’s lineup include Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (3rd in 2022), Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey (4th in 2022) and Pleasant Hill, Ohio’s Matt Westfall (5th in 2002-03).

Like Coons, Bacon and Seavey before, Rocklin, California’s Robert Ballou (8th in 2012) and Fort Branch, Indiana’s Chase Stockon (11th in 2015) are in the group of Terre Haute USAC National Sprint Car winners vying for a first career Terre Haute USAC Silver Crown triumph.

However, the majority of this weekend’s field belongs to Sumar Classic first-timers. Four of them own USAC national feature wins on their resume: 2024 first-time Silver Crown winners Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), plus Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) and Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.).

Leading 2024 USAC Silver Crown Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) looks to make his first Sumar Classic main event start along with Chase Dietz (York, Pa.), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.), Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.), a former USAC National Sprint Car track record holder at Terre Haute.

Additionally, four more drivers are shooting to make not only their first Sumar Classic start, but their first USAC Silver Crown main event start of any kind: Sterling Cling (Tempe, Ariz.). Aric Gentry (Robards, Ky.), Hank Davis (Sand Springs, Okla.) and Tom Savage (Red Lion, Pa.).

RACE DETAILS:

The 20th running of the Sumar Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship this Thursday night, July 4, at the Terre Haute Action Track 1/2-mile dirt track in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Pits open at 2pm Eastern, grandstands open at 5pm and practice at 6:30pm followed immediately by qualifications and racing.

General admission tickets are $31 for ages 11 & up and free for kids age 10 & under. Infield tickets are $26 for ages 11 & up and free for kids age 10 & under. Pit Passes are $40. Ages 10 & under are $15.

Thursday’s Sumar Classic can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

2024 SUMAR CLASSIC ENTRY LIST: (31 ENTRIES)

07 (R) STERLING CLING/Tempe, AZ (John Tosti)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

3 (R) ARIC GENTRY/Robards, KY (Tim Simmons)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 (R) HANK DAVIS/Sand Springs, OK (Cornell Racing Stables)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 (R) BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

21 (R) DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

38 (R) TOM SAVAGE/Red Lion, PA (Savage Motorsports)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

49 BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

66 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Bill Rose Racing)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

86 (R) CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

97 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

119 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

(R) USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series Rookie of the Year contender

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:

1980: Gary Bettenhausen (11/2)

1995: Donnie Beechler (7/7)

1996: Kevin Thomas (7/5)

1997: Donnie Beechler (7/4)

1998: Tony Elliott (7/3)

1999: Jack Hewitt (9/17)

2002: Tony Elliott (6/1)

2003: J.J. Yeley (6/14)

2004: Brian Tyler (6/5)

2005: Josh Wise (6/4)

2006: Bud Kaeding (8/5)

2008: Dave Darland (7/23)

2010: Levi Jones (10/9)

2012: Bobby East (10/13)

2014: Kody Swanson (4/6)

2015: Shane Cockrum (7/2)

2016: C.J. Leary (4/3)

2017: Chris Windom (4/2)

2018: Justin Grant (4/29)

2022: Justin Grant (5/1)

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:

2-Donnie Beechler, Tony Elliott & Justin Grant

1-Gary Bettenhausen, Shane Cockrum, Dave Darland, Bobby East, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, C.J. Leary, Kody Swanson, Kevin Thomas, Brian Tyler, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:

1 Lap - 6/4/2005 - Josh Wise - 20.139

10 Laps - 7/3/1998 - Derek Davidson - 3:40.40

15 Laps - 6/5/2004 - Cary Faas - 5:47.78

100 Laps - 4/3/2016 - C.J. Leary - 44:20.125

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

PAST TERRE HAUTE USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS:

BULLRING MAESTRO:

SEAVEY IS USAC SPRINT TOP GUN AT MACON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Macon, Illinois (June 29, 2024)………Just before the halfway point of Saturday night’s 50-lap Top Gun Weekend finale at Illinois’ Macon Speedway, Logan Seavey was in the midst of a tussle for the lead. Within the blink of an eye, he found himself fifth on the 1/5-mile bullring.

That’s when he got back on the saddle and went to work, methodically picking his way back into contention and into the lead on the 38th circuit before pacing the final 13 laps to earn his eighth USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victory of the 2024 season.

In doing so, the Sutter, Calif. native pocketed a cool $10,000 while also becoming the first driver to reach the eight-win mark during a USAC National Sprint Car season before the end of June since Tom Bigelow in 1977. That year, Bigelow went on to set a still-standing record of 14 feature victories during the season, and Seavey is well on his way to making a run at the all-time record in his Abacus Racing/MPV Express – C3G CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Furthermore, Seavey, the current series championship point leader, became the first driver to win a feature in multiple USAC national divisions at Macon after scoring a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory in August of 2023.

The lone 50-lap USAC National Sprint Car main event of the year also allowed Seavey to become just the sixth driver in USAC history to capture 50-lap wins with the Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget divisions in his career, something only achieved previously by Dave Darland, Dave Steele, George Snider, Tony Stewart and Tracy Hines.

Seavey’s Macon score also came less than two weeks following his victory on the similar, but even smaller 1/6-mile dirt oval at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa. The efforts gave him and his No. 57 wins on each of the two smallest tracks on the schedule within the same month.

“We’ve been good at the short tracks, which haven’t really my style lately,” Seavey noted. “It seems like the half-miles are where I go better at. These guys are getting me fast at the short tracks too. It’s a lethal combo and I’m just happy to be driving this thing.”

To kick off the night, Seavey notched fast qualifying honors in the Honest Abe Roofing time trial session. Starting sixth in the feature, Seavey initially fell back one spot before charging forward, picking off one car a lap between laps two and six as he surged to third. By lap 10, he had worked his way into second after early race leader Jadon Rogers slipped sideways in turn two.

Rising from the pole position, Rogers led the opening two laps until Jake Swanson charged under Rogers on the back stretch to take over on lap three. Swanson took control of the next 21 trips, his first laps led in his Daming-Swanson Motorsports No. 5T since he and 2B Racing parted ways a week earlier.

In the meantime, Daison Pursley advanced to second on the 19th circuit as he dove under Seavey in turn one to secure the spot. On the very next lap, Brady Bacon shot to the inside of Seavey on the back straight for the third spot. The pair appeared to make slight contact as Seavey glanced off the wall. Rogers came along for the ride as well, dipping down low in turn three to grab fourth from Seavey who had free fallen all the way back to fifth.

“I thought I gave it away there racing for the lead,” Seavey stated. “Jake got on defense there really hard and chopped me down and broke my momentum. The next thing I knew, I was in fifth. Luckily, it was 50 laps, so I was able to look at the board and I knew I had time. I was confident in my car and these guys gave me a really good one.”

The night’s only red flag occurred on the 24th lap when 13th running Joey Amantea tangled with another car and bounced upside down in turn three. Amantea returned to the lineup, restarting at the tail and finishing 17th.

On the ensuing restart, Pursley jumped up top in turns one and two and drove right around Swanson to become the newest race leader. In tow came Bacon as he drove low to overtake Swanson for second. Seavey soon joined the fray three laps later and began a duel with Bacon in which the two see-sawed their position back-and-forth, to-and-fro. On the 33rd lap, Seavey got into the back bumper of Bacon on the back straightaway, sending Bacon sideways. On lap 34, both connected again in nearly the same spot as the pair negotiated their way around the lapped car of Joey Amantea.

All the while, Pursley had constructed a sizable lead of 1.368 second, which was wiped away on lap 34 when sixth running Kevin Thomas Jr. slowed to a stop.

On the next restart, the second and third place running Bacon and Seavey swarmed Pursley from both sides, with Bacon sneaking under off turn four to occupy the top spot on lap 36 while Seavey went topside to slot into second around Pursley. Pursley fought back to edge ahead of Seavey off turn four. However, Seavey had his next move lined up perfectly as he shot the gap to split between both Pursley and Bacon entering turn one to take the lead and take off for good on lap 38.

A half lap later, Pursley moved back around Bacon for second. Down the stretch, Robert Ballou found his way past Bacon for third on lap 44. Up front, Seavey was in total command with a 1.792 second lead but was mired in thick traffic until the yellow flag was displayed for Justin Grant who came to a stop with a knocked out front end while battling Swanson for the 10th spot on lap 47.

The incident momentarily erased Seavey’s advantage, but it also erased any semblance of traffic during the final three-lap dash as Seavey sprinted away to a 0.875 second victory over Pursley, Ballou, Bacon and C.J. Leary.

“I just can’t say enough about how good this car was early,” Seavey acknowledged. “I could pass on the bottom. I could go to the cushion and run really hard. I feel like, speedwise, there’s no doubt whose car was the best there. I just didn’t make good moves getting to the front. It got a little hairy there for me. I had to dig a little deeper at the end.”

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) nailed down his sixth podium finish of the USAC Sprint Car season with a runner-up result in his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) finished a fine third for his best result since his May 3 victory at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway aboard his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru/DRC/Ott Chevy.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished fourth in what was his 500th career feature start, a milestone feat in USAC National Sprint Car history. He's now just the second driver ever to surpass the 500 starts mark with the series, joining Dave Darland (797 starts).

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) raced his way up to a fifth-place finish after starting 11th on the confines of Macon. The plus-six made Leary the biggest mover of the night and the evening's hard charger.

Meanwhile, it was a great comeback for Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.). On lap 15, Cummins found himself backwards against the turn three wall. Restarting 19th, he charged up through the field to finish seventh in his backup car. That earned him the night’s Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 29, 2024 – Macon Speedway – Macon, Illinois – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Top Gun Weekend

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-10.268; 2. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-10.363; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-10.363; 4. Wesley Smith, 2B, 2B Racing-10.390; 5. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-10.401; 6. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-10.485; 7. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-10.544; 8. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-10.557; 9. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-10.670; 10. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-10.744; 11. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-10.770; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-10.798; 13. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-10.862; 14. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-10.940; 15. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-10.961; 16. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-10.969; 17. Colten Cottle, 8D, KCBJ-11.003; 18. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-11.009; 19. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-11.273; 20. Cody Williams, 26, Williams-11.806; 21. Hayden Harvey, 8, Smith/Robertson-11.961.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Wesley Smith, 7. Joey Amantea.

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Colten Cottle, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Cody Williams.

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Mario Clouser, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Nic Harris, 7. Hayden Harvey.

FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (6), 2. Daison Pursley (5), 3. Robert Ballou (8), 4. Brady Bacon (4), 5. C.J. Leary (11), 6. Mitchel Moles (10), 7. Kyle Cummins (13), 8. Wesley Smith (3), 9. Jake Swanson (2), 10. Jadon Rogers (1), 11. Mario Clouser (9), 12. Matt Westfall (15), 13. Hunter Maddox (18), 14. Carson Garrett (14), 15. Cody Williams (20), 16. Justin Grant (7), 17. Joey Amantea (19), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 19. Nic Harris (12), 20. Hayden Harvey (21), 21. Colten Cottle (17). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Jadon Rogers, Laps 4-24 Jake Swanson, Laps 25-35 Daison Pursley, Laps 36-37 Brady Bacon, Laps 38-50 Logan Seavey.

**Joey Amantea flipped on lap 24 of the feature.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-113, 2-Robert Ballou-111, 3-Logan Seavey-102, 4-C.J. Leary-91, 5-Joey Amantea-89, 6-Justin Grant-88, 7-Kyle Cummins-81, 8-Brady Bacon-61, 9-Matt Westfall-57, 10-Carson Garrett-52.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 3, 2024 – Red Hill Raceway – Sumner, Illinois – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Salute to Levi Jones

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Mitchel Moles (10.358)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (10.268)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Mario Clouser

Hard Charger: C.J. Leary (11th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Kyle Cummins

MOLES-MENTUM!

MOLES REPEATS AT MACON

FOR FIRST USAC SPRINT WIN OF ‘24

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Macon, Illinois (June 28, 2024)………Mitchel Moles’ first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory in 37 races came at the same exact place he captured his most recent series win nearly a full season ago.

One year after becoming the first ever USAC National Sprint Car winner at Illinois’ Macon Speedway, the Raisin City, California native became the first ever repeat series winner at the 1/5-mile dirt oval during Friday night’s Top Gun Weekend opener.

In his first start since racing to a USAC Eastern Storm championship earlier this month, Moles continued his roll into Macon, leading all 40 laps from his outside front row starting position aboard the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

After notching a single top-five result in his first 17 series starts of 2024, Moles has now responded with six consecutive top-five performances, which includes his fourth career triumph on Friday night at Macon.

“It’s just more momentum than anything,” Moles explained. “It’s no secret in this deal that when you get beat down, it’s hard to overcome that. But when you have good people around you, you keep telling yourself that you’ll get it, and you’ll figure it out.”

Whereas Moles’ winning performance at Macon in 2023 came in dramatic fashion via a pass for the lead with two laps remaining and a photo finish victory by a mere 0.093 seconds, there were no such theatrics this time around. Moles sprinted away and was never seriously threatened from the get-go.

Despite Moles’ dominance, there were a share of movers and shakers in the field making hay when the opportunities presented themselves. Fourth starting Brady Bacon advanced to third, driving under Carson Garrett in turn three for the spot on the lap six restart following a spin and stop on the front straightaway by 17th running Joey Amantea.

The second of two cautions occurred when 20th running Hayden Harvey tagged the back straightaway wall with a wallop on the eighth lap, prematurely ending his first career USAC start.

On the ensuing restart, Bacon stepped up to second place as he scootered under Leary for the runner-up spot to slot in behind race leader Moles. Now, the only two drivers to win a USAC National Sprint Car race at Macon Speedway were running one-two at the front of the field.

Nonetheless, Moles still maintained a six car length edge, which translated to a 1.6 second interval by the halfway mark on lap 20. By lap 24, Justin Grant surged to third after Garrett’s car became tight between turns one and two. Grant slipped under Garrett, then instigated his pursuit of Bacon for second.

On lap 29, Grant took over the runner-up spot when Bacon ramped over the right rear tire of the lapped car of Brandon Mattox in turn one, opening the door for Grant to shuffle onward via the low side. All the jockeying from second on back certainly helped appease any sort of pressure on Moles who extended his lead to a full straightaway more than 3.5 seconds ahead using the high line.

“It was cowboy up there,” Moles exclaimed. “I don’t know how far of a lead I had there, but I feel like I was getting through traffic pretty good. (The crew) made some swings there at the end and (crewman) Dylan (Cook) gave me a little pep talk before we went out, which sealed the deal for me.”

However, at the head of the field, Moles was head of the class as he sheared his way through every piece of traffic to put his stamp on a long-awaited USAC victory by a 2.253 second margin with Justin Grant, Brady Bacon, Carson Garrett and Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier Daison Pursley rounding out the top-five.

Interestingly enough, Macon served as Moles’ most recent USAC victory 37 races ago. It was a 34-race winless streak that Moles ended one year ago at Macon. Furthermore, with his Macon victory, he became the first driver ever to win his first start after scoring the USAC Eastern Storm title, which dates back to 2007.

Following a tumultuous first two appearances with the USAC Sprint Cars at Macon in 2023, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) returned by advancing six positions to a fine second place performance in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy. For Grant, it was his sixth consecutive series finish inside the top-eight.

In his first Macon start since winning one year ago, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) posted a third-place result in his Dynamics, Inc./Next Level Metal – Davis Bros. Trucking – Hutson John Deere/Triple X/Rider Chevy. In his past 12 series starts this year, Bacon has now finished on the podium on nine occasions.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) was forced to go to a backup car after a crash in his heat race broke the frame of his chassis. With the backup, which had formerly been his primary machine, by rule, Cummins was forced to start at the tail of the field in the 22nd position. From there, he picked off seven to finish 15th, thus earning hard charger honors for the evening.

Over the past week, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) was busy putting the Daming-Swanson Motorsports team together after he and the 2B Racing team parted ways. Joe Daming, who passed away this past February at the age of 47, had owned Swanson’s local Indiana sprint car, winning 17 times together between 2021-23. On Friday at Macon, Swanson delivered a solid performance with the No. 5T, winning his heat race and finishing ninth in the feature. That earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 28, 2024 – Macon Speedway – Macon, Illinois – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Top Gun Weekend

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-10.335; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-10.388; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-10.389; 4. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-10.431; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-10.482; 6. Nic Harris, N2, Harris-10.483; 7. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-10.497; 8. Wesley Smith, 2B, 2B Racing-10.580; 9. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-10.600; 10. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming/Swanson-10.640; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-10.686; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-10.758; 13. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-10.812; 14. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-10.842; 15. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-10.870; 16. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-10.884; 17. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-10.936; 18. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-10.954; 19. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-10.970; 20. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-11.004; 21. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-11.072; 22. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-11.398; 23. Hayden Harvey, 8, Smith/Robertson-11.425; 24. Colten Cottle, 8D, KCBJ-11.470.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Harley Burns, 8. Kyle Cummins. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Mario Clouser, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Wesley Smith, 7. Hayden Harvey, 8. Hunter Maddox.

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brandon Mattox, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Colten Cottle, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Nic Harris, 8. Anton Hernandez. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mitchel Moles (2), 2. Justin Grant (8), 3. Brady Bacon (4), 4. Carson Garrett (3), 5. Daison Pursley (6), 6. Robert Ballou (9), 7. Logan Seavey (5), 8. C.J. Leary (1), 9. Jake Swanson (7), 10. Wesley Smith (10), 11. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 12. Mario Clouser (15), 13. Nic Harris (13), 14. Jadon Rogers (16), 15. Kyle Cummins (22), 16. Matt Westfall (17), 17. Joey Amantea (18), 18. Hunter Maddox (14), 19. Shane Cottle (12), 20. Brandon Mattox (19), 21. Harley Burns (20), 22. Colten Cottle (21), 23. Hayden Harvey (23). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Mitchel Moles.

**Anton Hernandez flipped during the third heat.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1470, 2-C.J. Leary-1439, 3-Brady Bacon-1435, 4-Daison Pursley-1399, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1398, 6-Mitchel Moles-1302, 7-Justin Grant-1296, 8-Robert Ballou-1265, 9-Kyle Cummins-1207, 10-Jake Swanson-1119.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-110, 2-Robert Ballou-106, 3-Logan Seavey-97, 4-Justin Grant-88, 5-Joey Amantea-87, 6-C.J. Leary-85, 7-Kyle Cummins-75, 8-Brady Bacon-61, 9-Matt Westfall-54, 10-Carson Garrett-52.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 29, 2024 – Macon Speedway – Macon, Illinois – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Top Gun Weekend

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (10.448)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (10.335)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Irvin King Hard Charger: Kyle Cummins (22nd to 15th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Jake Swanson

TOP GUNS UNITE!

MACON’S BULLRING THE NEXT FLIGHT

FOR USAC SPRINTS JUNE 28-29

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Macon, Illinois (June 26, 2024)………For decades upon decades since its 1946 construction, USAC open wheel action at the 1/5-mile bullring of Macon Speedway has been reserved solely for midget racing.

However, after a pair of back-to-back barnburners in 2023 featuring a regularity of three-wide racing and a photo finish to salivate over, it’s safe to say there’s a place in the heart of central Illinois for USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing.

Now, the time has come to return for Top Gun Weekend 2024 featuring reigning Macon winners Mitchel Moles and Brady Bacon, plus a number of other pilots gunning to land Friday’s $5,000 and Saturday’s $10,000 top prize on June 28-29.

Here’s six top-flight storylines we have on our radar this weekend at Macon!

MOLES’ EASTERN STORM MOMENTUM MOVES WEST

Mitchel Moles is riding high after his recent USAC Eastern Storm championship and enters Macon on a hot streak of five consecutive top-five finishes with the series.

He’ll always be the answer to the trivia question of “Who won the first ever USAC National Sprint Car feature at Macon?” His victory on the opening night of Macon weekend in July of 2023 came in photo finish fashion by 0.093 seconds over Carson Garrett.

Macon served as Moles’ most recent USAC victory, 37 races ago. It was a 34-race winless streak that Moles ended one year ago. He’s chasing a bit of history as well. Dating back to 2007, no driver has ever won one of the first two races on the schedule following their Eastern Storm title. Moles is primed to wipe that stat out of the record book this weekend.

MACON BACON AGAIN?

Macon’s most recent USAC National Sprint Car winner is Brady Bacon who led the final 33 laps to become the “Top Gun” in 2023 a mere 24 hours after he and his car sat upside down up in a crumpled heap following a meeting with the turn two outside wall.

Bacon bounced back the following night to become a new USAC National Sprint Car record holder in terms of the number of different states he’s won a feature in, a mark he’s now pushed to 15 after winning in mid-June at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Bacon has also won at Macon in POWRi Midget competition, doing so in 2013. Now, Bacon aims to continue his rise over the past month of USAC Sprint Car racing which has seen him earn nine top-five results in an 11-race span.

A NOSE FOR THE BULLRING

Logan Seavey’s most recent visit to Macon Speedway came last August where he proceeded to lead all 30 laps en route to his first USAC National Midget victory at the track.

Now the Sutter, Calif. native is vying to become the first driver to win in both a USAC National Sprint Car and a USAC National Midget at the Macon oval.

He ran 5th on the second of two nights at Macon with the sprint car in 2023, and on night one, briefly held the one-lap track record for a day following a spectacular qualifying run.

Seavey used his Macon victory as a springboard toward a USAC National Midget championship at season’s end in 2023, and now he’d like to do the same with the USAC National Sprint Cars as he currently leads the standings by a 21-point margin.

REVOLUTION #9

Kyle Cummins took it right to the edge during a qualifying session in 2023 at Macon. His lap of 10.085 seconds turned out to be the quickest ever turned in USAC National Sprint Car competition, which dates back to 1956.

Getting into the 10.0 second bracket begged the question of whether a 9-second lap was within the realm of possibility. It’s certainly not out of the question to say that’s a resounding “yes!” However, achieving it will require a near perfect lap.

As it turned out, Cummins imperfect lap on the final circuit of Macon’s 2023 opening night feature provided, perhaps, the biggest thrill of the weekend as he went high side off turn four in a three-wide attempt for the win but wound up flipping the length of the straightaway after contact with the outside wall, crossing the finish line upside down, mind you, with third-place honors.

Cummins bounced back the next night with another third-place finish. This weekend, he’s vying for his first win of the USAC season and his first for the new Petty Performance Racing team. Cummins is among the few in the field who has won a feature event at Macon, taking a POWRi Midget round at the track in May of 2022.

MAKIN’ A NEW FIRST TIME WINNER AT MACON

Carson Garrett came within a whisker of achieving his first career USAC feature victory at Macon in 2023, and was leading with two laps to go before coming up inches short (0.093 seconds) of Mitchel Moles at the stripe.

Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) remains in the group of drivers aiming to pick off USAC National Sprint Car win number one when the time comes this weekend, a list that includes the likes of Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.), Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), leading series Rookie Hunter Maddox (Bedford, Ind.), Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.), Mitch Wissmiller (Saybrook, Ill.), Colten Cottle (Kansas, Ill) and Nic Harris (Atlanta, Ill.), just to name a few.

Three drivers have won their first USAC National Midget features at Macon over the years: Don Boorse (1959), Donnie Beechler (1991) and Randy Koch (1996).

LONG RUN ON THE SHORT TRACK

A distance of 40 and 50 laps used to be the norm in days gone by for USAC National Sprint Car racing. However, this weekend, both rare distances are on tap with a 40-lap main event on Friday followed by a 50-lap finale on Saturday.

Logan Seavey has captured two of the three 40-lap USAC National Sprint Car features held this year, in May at Circle City Raceway and in June at Action Track USA.

This weekend also presents the only 50-lapper of the USAC Sprint season. In this weekend’s field, only Brady Bacon has captured a 50-lap USAC Sprint win in his career, and it came at Macon one year ago. Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey and Daison Pursley have all won 50-lap USAC National features in their careers. With that said, all of those came in USAC Silver Crown competition.

In all, 50-lap USAC National Sprint Car events are a novelty, especially since the turn of the century in 2000. Since that time, just five dirt 50-lap USAC Sprint Car races have been held. In total, 432 40-lappers have been contested by the series and 165 50-lappers since 1956.

As a change from last year’s program, both Macon events this weekend will feature full points toward the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car championship standings. In 2023, the offering was appearance points only.

RACE DETAILS:

Top Gun Weekend features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship on Friday and Saturday night, June 28-29, at Illinois’ Macon Speedway.

Both nights, the pits open at 3pm Central with the front gates opening at 4pm and cars on track at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing.

General admission tickets are $30. General admission tickets for kids age 10 & under are $10. Pit passes are $45. Pit passes for kids age 10 & under are $25. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.maconracing.com.

The entire weekend of USAC National Sprint Car racing at Macon can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1406, 2-C.J. Leary-1385, 3-Brady Bacon-1361, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1354, 5-Daison Pursley-1329, 6-Mitchel Moles-1225, 7-Justin Grant-1221, 8-Robert Ballou-1202, 9-Kyle Cummins-1173, 10-Jake Swanson-1065.

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT MACON SPEEDWAY

1 Lap - 7/8/2023 - Kyle Cummins - 10.085

10 Laps - 7/7/2023 - C.J. Leary - 1:46.58

12 Laps - 7/8/2023 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 2:06.35

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

MACON SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS

1-Brady Bacon & Mitchel Moles

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

MACON SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS

2023: Mitchel Moles (7/7) & Brady Bacon (7/8)

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN ILLINOIS

4-Rick Hood & Sheldon Kinser

3-Jay Drake

2-Steve Butler, Tony Elliott, Jack Hewitt, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Rich Vogler, Greg Weld & Doug Wolfgang

1-Brady Bacon, Rollie Beale, Alan Brown, Tyler Courtney, Derek Davidson, A.J. Foyt, Elmer George, Chuck Gurney, Tracy Hines, Bubby Jones, Bud Kaeding, Kelly Kinser, Steve Kinser, Cory Kruseman, Ralph Liguori, Mitchel Moles, Pat O'Connor, Johnny Parsons, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Troy Rutherford, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Sammy Swindell, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley

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

PAST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT MACON SPEEDWAY

JULY 7, 2023 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mitchel Moles (4), 2. Carson Garrett (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (3), 4. Max Adams (10), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 6. Matt Westfall (17), 7. Emerson Axsom (13), 8. Daison Pursley (12), 9. Chase Stockon (8), 10. C.J. Leary (7), 11. James Lyerla (20), 12. Mario Clouser (16), 13. Logan Faucon (19), 14. Logan Seavey (6), 15. Robert Ballou (14), 16. Mitchell Davis (15), 17. Brandon Mattox (18), 18. Jake Swanson (1), 19. Brady Bacon (5), 20. Justin Grant (9). NT

JULY 8, 2023 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (6), 4. Mitchel Moles (5), 5. Logan Seavey (4), 6. Emerson Axsom (9), 7. Carson Garrett (12), 8. Robert Ballou (16), 9. Mario Clouser (15), 10. Zach Daum (18), 11. Max Adams (14), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 13. Daison Pursley (3), 14. Mitchell Davis (19), 15. Todd Hobson (17), 16. Justin Grant (7), 17. Jake Swanson (11), 18. Colten Cottle (20), 19. Mitch Wissmiller (8), 20. Shane Cottle (13). NT

WWT RACEWAY JOINS USAC SILVER CROWN

SCHEDULE ON AUGUST 16

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Madison, Illinois (June 25, 2024)………World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. is the newest addition to the 2024 USAC Silver Crown National Championship schedule.

On Friday, August 16, the 1.25-mile paved oval will present USAC Silver Crown practice and qualifying before capping the night with the main event – the 60-lap, 75-mile Ranken Technical College Silver Crown Showdown Presented by Welsch Heating & Cooling.

The USAC Silver Crown portion of the event will be held in conjunction with practice and qualifying sessions for both the NTT INDYCAR Series and the INDY NXT series at the Saint Louis area track.

On Friday race day, the public gates will open at 11am Central with Silver Crown practice set to begin at 1:45pm followed by Silver Crown Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 5:30 pm and the main event under the lights at 9pm.

The addition to the schedule presents a rare doubleheader weekend of USAC Silver Crown racing with the pavement of WWT Raceway on Friday, August 16, followed by the one-mile dirt oval of the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the 61st running of the Bettenhausen 100 on Saturday, August 17.

WWT Raceway is the largest and fastest circuit on the USAC Silver Crown schedule. In fact, the fastest lap ever turned by a traditional Silver Crown car occurred at WWT in 2022 when Kody Swanson recorded an average lap speed of 146.699 miles per hour during qualifying.

Ten previous USAC Silver Crown events have been held at WWT Raceway since the oval’s grand opening in 1997. Pat Abold scored the inaugural victory in 1997, followed by J.J. Yeley (1998), Ryan Newman (1999), Tracy Hines (2000), Dave Steele (2001), Bobby Santos (2013-14), Tanner Swanson (2016), Kody Swanson (2022) and Davey Hamilton Jr. (2023).

Among the past WWT Raceway winners, Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) and Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) are expected to compete in this year’s event in an attempt to repeat their previous triumphs.

Tickets for the event can be purchased now at https://wwtraceway.com/. Click on the “Buy Tickets Now” tab or call at 618-215-8888 EXT 1.

TURNING THE CORNER:

MOLES CONTINUES PROGRESSION ENTERING MACON'S TOP GUN USAC WEEKEND

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Macon, Illinois (June 25, 2024)………”At the end of day, this isn’t an overnight thing. As much as everybody wants to believe, you can’t just show up and be good. Maybe for one night, but continuously and consistently, it takes time.”

To many, Mitchel Moles’ recent USAC Eastern Storm championship in mid-June may seem like a turning point of sorts. Yet, in reality, it’s the payoff of a complete turnaround in both his own inward view and the resulting changes that have come along in the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports camp since last reaching USAC victory lane in July of 2023 at Illinois’ Macon Speedway.

As the Raisin City, California racer returns to the site of his most recent triumph at Macon this Friday-Saturday, June 28-29, he reflected upon the experiences throughout his first two years of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition, which have run the gamut from jubilation to despair, and just about everywhere in between.

In a microcosm, that can be summed up from the time of that Macon victory nearly 12 months ago. Since then, he’s endured a hospital stay, torn up racecars, a nearly completely new crew and almost an entirely rebuilt team from top-to-bottom.

The payoff came in the form of a USAC Eastern Storm championship less than two weeks ago, a title which saw him make a comeback from the largest deficit ever to win it while simultaneously nailing down the second largest margin of victory in the 17-year history of the grueling six-race, six-night series throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“I think it was a big gain for our team as a whole,” Moles said of it. “I feel like, up until this point, basically since Indiana Sprint Week of last year, we’ve just been trying to rebuild and get everything right. We’ve lost a few crew guys and had to start over with a new team, which didn’t necessarily hurt us at all. It was just about getting used to everybody and getting back in the flow of things and trying to build confidence back up with myself.”

Prior to the start of USAC Eastern Storm, Moles’ average finish for the season stood at 9.125 throughout 16 events with a mere single top-five finish to his credit. However, during Eastern Storm, he bumped it up to 4.8 and finished each of his final five starts of the series inside the top-five.

The only blemish of the week was the opening night at Grandview in which Moles was running fifth but ended up 12th following a mag box issue. Initially, Moles figured that instance would wind up being the difference standing between him and an Eastern Storm title. But when point leader Brady Bacon suffered an engine problem in the finale at Action Track USA, Moles was there to pounce and secure the Eastern Storm crown with a third-place result.

Any measure of success in this sport is a huge deal for all involved. For a team such as RUM and Moles to deliver during one of the most grueling and grinding weeks of the season, that’s truly a testament to a team that has hit its stride, a fact that isn’t lost on Moles who feels the annual east coast venture is the toughest stretch they face on a variety of levels.

“The feeling is a lot different,” Moles said of it. “It’s so tough right now and I feel like it’s as tough as it’s ever been as of recently. (Logan) Seavey’s on a roll; Brady (Bacon)’s always good and (Kevin Thomas Jr.), I feel like is in the mix every night, plus Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant and all these really good racecar drivers, it’s just hard to hit that top-six every night.”

It’s certainly been a winding road for Moles, the former pro bass fisherman who grew up in a family of raisin farmers. Moles made a splash in his USAC National Sprint Car debut at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track in 2022, leading 21 of 30 laps before finishing second, among the finest first starts by any driver in series history.

Although his first year was exceptional in limited duty, winning twice overall at South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway and Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway, when Moles looks back at the tracks he won on that year, he sees himself as a driver just hammering the throttle on a narrow but moistrous, super juiced-up surface. But winning a title at Eastern Storm’s array of racetracks ranging from 1/6-mile bullrings to 1/2-mile speed plants amid varying conditions represented something different, something perhaps even more special.

“I don’t just want to be good at those tracks,” Moles said of ‘hammer down’ track conditions. “I want to be good at every track. When it’s slick and super wide, you see Justin, Brady, KTJ and those guys I really look up to; that’s when they go forward.”

As time went on, the team’s search continued for Moles’ sweet spot to become both comfortable and fast. Now, team owner Andy Reinbold is at the point where he knows what to do with the racecar when Moles’ comes off the track, and his dialogue with new crewmen Dylan Cook and James Turnbull has helped guide them to a level of consistency this group hadn’t had since teaming up a couple years back.

“Andy and I have changed everything since I’ve gotten here,” Moles explained. “He’s done anything and everything to help myself and the car feel better. Where we were at on the racecar when I showed up compared to where we’re at now is incredibly different. I’m almost uncomfortable sometimes here and there while driving because I feel like my left rear tire is up higher than normal. But Andy tells me, “Well, that’s just a normal sprint car.”

Moles has also endured some of the not-so-wonderful side of the sport, especially following a string of successive incidents he went through during the summer of 2023, which caused him to miss a bit of action. Moles acknowledged it took a toll on him, especially when he was lying in a hospital bed with only the ticking of the clock and a slew of thoughts running through his mind – a stark reality of the profession.

“Everybody can act like they’re tough,” Moles begins. “You hear somebody say they won’t get hurt, but it happens. If you do this long enough or you’re driving hard enough, it’s going to happen. I feel like the biggest thing is what you can do when you come back from it. I got in a little funk there, and if your head is a little off, it takes a toll on you, and you just realize that it hurts. It hurts to crash; there isn’t any secret behind that.”

Moles has always had a penchant for going fast, but results and finishing, at times, in the past were difficult spots to overcome, admittedly. Moles took a different approach and has now been running at the finish in all of his 22 series starts this year. It’s a wholesale difference in that regard from one year to the next.

“We got to the point where we just needed to finish races,” Moles admitted. “I didn’t care if we ran 21st; we just had to finish races because it doesn’t do us any good to hang it from the fence every night. Some were my fault; some of them were not. That’s just the cards that you’re dealt, and you have to deal with it. I feel like we’ve made tremendous gains from there. I try not to look back on the past much, but I’m just getting better every night.”

Yet, it’s important to note that the past is at least a portion of the equation which has brought him here to his biggest success to date in USAC competition. A past which includes a photo finish victory in 2023 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.

“Macon has been really good to me,” Moles beamed. “The last two races there, I’ve won one and ran fifth in the other. (The track) might be a little different; we might see a whole new Macon, or it could be exactly like it was. I go into every racetrack optimistic, but almost every place I’ve been to at this point has changed. I watch a video, then we go there the next night, and it’s completely different. It’s dirt; it changes all the time, and we’ll just try to keep doing what we’re doing. Wins will come but you’ve just got to stay positive, stay up front, and make things happen when it counts.”

On the heels of an Eastern Storm championship, more than anything, Moles now wants to end that yearlong absence from USAC victory lane and that’s what he intends to do.

“I want to win more than anybody and I try my hardest every night,” Moles stated. “Everybody wants to win, but getting back to victory lane with USAC is tough, especially with all the really good guys. But I try not to think about that too much. What I think about more is the racecar itself and making decisions. If you can get your racecar pretty good and make the right decisions at the right time, you can win these races.”

RACE DETAILS

Top Gun Weekend features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship on Friday and Saturday night, June 28-29, at Illinois’ Macon Speedway. Both nights, the pits open at 3pm Central with the front gates opening at 4pm and cars on track at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing. General admission tickets are $30. General admission tickets for kids age 10 & under are $10. Pit passes are $45. Pit passes for kids age 10 & under are $25.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

June 22, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-17.084; 2. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-17.153; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.318; 4. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-17.329; 5. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.506; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-17.626; 7. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-17.651; 8. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.660; 9. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.661; 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.848; 11. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-17.890; 12. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-17.910; 13. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-17.950; 14. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-18.125; 15. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-18.209; 16. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-18.360; 17. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-18.433; 18. Stevie Rogers, 11, Burgeson/Rogers-18.568; 19. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-18.698; 20. Tyler Hatzikian, 27, Hatzikian-18.914; 21. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-18.956; 22. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-19.230.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Matt McCarthy, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Cody Williams, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Grant Sexton, 7. Brent Sexton, 8. Elexa Herrera. 2:55.68.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Chris Gansen, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Tyler Hatzikian. 2:57.65.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. David Gasper, 4. Jeff Dyer, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Gary Marshall Jr., 7. Stevie Rogers. 3:05.14.

FEATURE: (20 laps, Shortened With Starting Positions) 1. Tommy Malcolm (1), 2. Chris Gansen (2), 3. Austin Williams (11), 4. Logan Williams (7), 5. A.J. Bender (8), 6. Grant Sexton (16), 7. Gary Marshall Jr. (15), 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (10), 9. Verne Sweeney (14), 10. David Gasper (12), 11. R.J. Johnson (3), 12. Cody Williams (6), 13. Brent Sexton (18), 14. Stevie Rogers (17), 15. Tyler Hatzikian (19), 16. Austin Grabowski (9), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 18. Matt McCarthy (13), 19. Jeff Dyer (20), 20. Elexa Herrera (21), 21. Matt Mitchell (4). NT.
----------------------------
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Tommy Malcolm.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Grant Sexton (16 to 6)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: July 6 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California – “Doug Fort Memorial”

HAPPY MADISON!

ARMSTRONG ARRIVES WITH

FIRST USAC SILVER CROWN WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Oregon, Wisconsin (June 21, 2024)………Dakoda Armstrong’s journey to a first career USAC national victory included its share of twists, turns and excursions that took him down a variety of paths throughout the past two decades of his career behind the wheel.

His road to an initial USAC Silver Crown victory during Friday night’s Bytec Dairyland 100 at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway was just about as adventurous from start to finish in his C & A Motorsports/Meristem Crop Performance – Armstrong Farms/Beast/Stanton Chevy.

During the final 12 laps of the event, he went from being on the verge of his first career top-five finish with the series to leading his first laps to becoming the 2024 season’s third first-time USAC Silver Crown race winner following Kaylee Bryson (Belleville) and Daison Pursley (Port Royal), the most first-time winners with the series since 2019.

Two decades ago, in 2004, Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.) became USAC’s youngest champion. At 13 years, one month and two days, he clinched that year’s USAC Kenyon Midget title. He then raced frequently in USAC’s National Sprint Car and Midget divisions, and even made his USAC Silver Crown debut in 2009.

After earning Rookie of the Year honors with the ARCA Stock Car series in 2010, Armstrong went on to make 133 starts with NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and 44 more in NASCAR Truck Series competition during the decade of the 2010s. By 2023, 14 years after his most recent series start, Armstrong was back in the seat of a Silver Crown car, incidentally, at Madison. One year later, he was standing in victory lane at the very same venue.

“When I was younger, I ran USAC a lot,” Armstrong recalled. “So, it’s amazing to get into one of these Silver Crown cars and win and beat the best. I thought we’ve been good enough that we could’ve gotten a few of these, so it’s good to finally get out there and get one done.”

With all that said, for the first 88 laps, the race seemed to be held firmly in the grasp of outside front row starter C.J. Leary. Leary looked to be every bit as dominant as he was in his convincing 2022 triumph at the 1/2-mile paved oval as he pulled out to a full straightway advantage as the race went caution free until lap 61.

In fact, once Leary led the opening lap of Friday night’s race, he ended pole sitter Kody Swanson's streak of 300-straight laps led on the pavement in USAC Silver Crown competition this season. Speaking of Swanson, the aforementioned lap 61 caution was displayed for Swanson who had fallen to fourth in the running order before slowing to a stop in turn three, the victim of a fuel line issue that prevented them from contending for his fourth Madison win. Ultimately, Swanson returned to the tail of the field, but managed only 11th in the final rundown.

Meanwhile, the fourth place starting Armstrong was moving. On lap 43, he zipped around the outside of Taylor Ferns in turn two to grab fourth back. Next, Armstrong went topside in turns three and four around Swanson for third on lap 50. Next in the pecking order was Santos who Armstrong made his move on for second on lap 58.

Simultaneously, Ferns was advancing up the leaderboard as she ducked underneath Santos in turn three to slot into the third spot on lap 67. However, by lap 75, she was out of the race as she skidded to a stop in between turns three and four. The culprit was a broken U-joint, ending her fine run with a disheartening 12th place result.

Upon the resumption, Armstrong hung within three car lengths of the top spot, reaching for the lead with his right hand while using his left to fend off the challenges of third-running Santos. Following a 60-lap clean and green run, it became a whole new ballgame for Armstrong and his car on the restarts.

“This car was really, really good on long runs,” Armstrong noted. “I was actually worried when I saw the second to last caution because I knew the longer we ran, the better of a shot I’d have at him.”

Armstrong didn’t have to wait too long after the second caution. He maintained about three car lengths of separation from the rear bumper of Leary until disaster struck on lap 89 with a mere 12 laps remaining. As Leary entered turn three, a shower of sparks began emanating from his left rear wheel. At that moment, Armstrong pounced to the outside of Leary and the two grazed tires as Armstrong raced into the lead while Leary fought to maintain control despite a flat left rear tire. A heartbroken Leary pitted for fresh rubber before returning to the race to finish ninth.

That set up one last restart with Armstrong leading a hungry Santos who was vying for his first series win since May 2023 at IRP. Armstrong fully knew he had to shoot off the blocks in superb fashion in order to keep Santos at bay.

“On that last restart, I was like, ‘this thing isn’t firing off super great,’ Armstrong recalled. “I made a few adjustments there and it took off pretty well in the lead. I hate it for C.J.; they were really fast. I thought we were pretty equal, but it was so hard to pass.”

In the end, no one passed Armstrong who was 2.003 seconds ahead of the field as he crossed under the checkered flag. Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) posted a second-place result with Justin Grant third, Trey Osborne fourth and defending series champion Logan Seavey rounding out the top-five.

Armstrong was at his peak during the final four laps, all of which were his four fastest laps of the race. The latest in the event any other driver turned their fastest time was on lap 21. Armstrong laid down the fastest lap of the entire race on the 97th circuit, putting the dagger in when it counted the most.

“One thing with these cars, you carry such a big fuel load to start,” Armstrong explained of the process. “This track is smaller than normal but you’re still fighting for grip so much. I don’t know if anyone could tell, but we were dragging so bad early, the brakes were glowing trying to stop these fuel loads. Once that load came off, the car had grip and I just kept getting a little faster. It’s kind of the tendency with these Silver Crown cars. They’re not normal. They don’t really fall off; they get faster and faster, so you have to keep up on the adjustments and keep pushing the car. Luckily, we were able to do it and get it done tonight.”

Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) collected his fourth runner-up USAC Silver Crown finish at Madison in five tries aboard his DJ Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson Race Products/Beast/Speedway Chevy. As clear as day, it was easy to see that Santos wasn’t all that thrilled with yet another runner-up finish.

“We just weren’t good enough,” Santos point blanked. “Second place seems to be what we run here. It’s frustrating, but we’ll go back to work.”

Grant (Ione, Calif.) drove himself right back into championship contention with a third-place finish in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/Beast/Speedway Ford. The 2020 USAC Silver Crown driving champion now trails point leader Swanson by a mere 10 markers heading into the summer months.

“We probably weren’t the fastest car here by any measure, but we kept digging all day,” Grant admitted. “(Crew chief) Dennis (LaCava) got the car better for me and just kept working on it. I just tried to go out and make sure I took care of my stuff for 100 laps and was hoping we could be there at the end. We got some good fortune with some guys we’re racing with in the points with who had misfortune. It ended up being a good day for us and we brought it home on the podium.”

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) collected his best career USAC Silver Crown finish of fourth in his BCR Group/Flint Trucking & Truck Service – Duncan Oil – QS Components/Beast/Kercher Chevy. The 6'8" tall driver topped his previous career best result of fourth and also moved up from 13th to eighth in the series standings. For his performance, he earned the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio) made the right moves to advance from his 13th starting position to finish eighth in his debut run at Madison behind the wheel of his Brad Hayes-Nick Bohanon Racing/JTM Food Group – BHR Performance/Beast/NYES Toyota. Not only was it his best USAC Silver Crown result thus far, but he also earned hard charger honors.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 21, 2024 – Madison International Speedway – Oregon, Wisconsin – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Bytec Dairyland 100

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.062; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.074; 3. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-17.075; 4. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-17.119; 5. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-17.306; 6. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-17.392; 7. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.423; 8. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.520; 9. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-17.536; 10. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-17.779; 11. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-17.976; 12. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-18.001; 13. Jackson Macenko, 124, Hayes/Bohanon-18.044; 14. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-19.545; 15. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dakoda Armstrong (4), 2. Bobby Santos (3), 3. Justin Grant (7), 4. Trey Osborne (6), 5. Logan Seavey (8), 6. Russ Gamester (10), 7. Trey Burke (11), 8. Jackson Macenko (13), 9. C.J. Leary (2), 10. Gregg Cory (12), 11. Kody Swanson (1), 12. Taylor Ferns (5), 13. Kyle Steffens (9), 14. Nathan Moore (14), 15. Dave Berkheimer (15). 39:23.422

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-88 C.J. Leary, Laps 89-100 Dakoda Armstrong.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 4, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Sumar Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Bobby Santos (16.913)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (17.062)

Hard Charger: Jackson Macenko (13th to 8th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Trey Osborne

EXTRA CHEESE!

DOUBLE ORDER OF USAC SPRINTS ON TAP

AT WILMOT & ANGELL PARK JUNE 22-23

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (June 20, 2024)………We’ve been everywhere, man. From Knoxville, Iowa to USAC Indiana Midget Week to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the past two weeks have been bustling with activity.

Now, at the dawn of summer, Wisconsin is calling, and twice this weekend, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will heed its call on back-to-back nights.

Wilmot Raceway’s 3/8-mile dirt oval is first up on Saturday night, June 22. Angell Park Speedway is on deck next for a showdown at the Sun Prairie 1/3-mile dirt oval on Sunday night, June 23.

Double the fun (with extra Wisconsin cheddar)! It’s go time in Wisconsin and here are the storylines to watch!

NO CALM AFTER THE STORM

USAC National Sprint Car drivers and teams have just concluded a run of six races in a six-night span between June 11-16 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. After a five-day break, it’s right back to work in Wisconsin.

In that six-race span, inevitably, much has changed. USAC Eastern Storm champ Mitchel Moles is amid a personal best run of consistency in his USAC career to date. Meanwhile, Brady Bacon has reemerged as a championship contender.

Furthermore, the race at the top of the standings has tightened up from 106 between first and second on June 1 to a mere 77 markers separating the top-five entering Wisconsin.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) has risen from third to second in the standings since the beginning of Eastern Storm, just 21 out of the lead. Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has lifted himself up by his bootstraps from fifth to third. Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) has upped himself from ninth to sixth. Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) has moved up one spot into the top-10.

MOLES IS ROLLIN’

The biggest mover and shaker from Eastern Storm was Mitchel Moles. With only a single top-five to his credit in his first 16 starts of the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car season, Moles and his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports team found their groove and reeled off five consecutive top-five finishes to end the week and earn the Eastern Storm championship.

In doing so, Moles became the furthest back driver in USAC National Sprint Car points to win Eastern Storm since Bryan Clauson came from outside the top-10 to capture the title in both 2012 and 2016.

Back in 2012, Clauson steadily rose up the standings and ultimately scored the USAC National Sprint Car championship. Admittedly, Moles has substantial ground to make up over the final half of the season, being 181 points out of the lead. However, it ain’t over until it’s over, and if Moles can continue this string he’s on, he could certainly become a player in the championship race.

For now, Moles looks forward to earning his first USAC National Sprint Car victory in nearly a year. After all, it is getting close to Moles’ favorite time of the season. All of his three career USAC Sprint Car wins to date have come in the month of July.

BACON BACK IN IT

During last year’s Wisconsin visit, Brady Bacon and his Dynamics, Inc./Hoffman Auto Racing team reached never before seen heights.

With their 2023 victory at Wilmot Raceway, Bacon and Dynamics/Hoffman became the winningest driver/entrant combo in USAC National Sprint Car history. The pairing’s 41st win together surpassed the long-held record of driver Pancho Carter and team owner Steve Stapp who achieved 40 victories with the series between 1973-80.

At press time, Bacon and his team now stand at 48 career USAC National Sprint Car wins. With a complete Wisconsin sweep this weekend, this pairing could become the first to reach the 50 mark.

Despite the utter disappointment of how their Eastern Storm championship hopes unfolded, Bacon and team are certainly on the upswing, finishing inside the top-four in nine of their last 11 series starts, which has pushed them up to third in points, just 45 out of the lead. It’s a remarkable feat once you consider they were 218 points out of the lead just a little over a month ago!

HOME SWEET WISCONSIN FOR THE MAD MAN

Robert Ballou enters the weekend having won the two most recent USAC National Sprint Car events at Angell Park Speedway, host of this Sunday’s series event.

In both cases, Ballou was a monster as he charged up through the pack. He came from ninth to first to win in 2015 on his way to the series championship after clearing C.J. Leary for the lead on lap 18 of 30.

Almost identically, in 2022, Ballou raced from eighth to the win in just seven laps, working his way into the top spot past early race leader Davey Ray before going relatively unscathed and relatively unchallenged for the balance of the 30-lap distance.

WISCONSIN DOUBLE FOR SEAVEY

Logan Seavey has held the USAC National Sprint Car point lead since February 13 and has maintained a great deal of distance from the rest of the field ever since.

Despite an up-and-down Eastern Storm, Seavey managed to win twice to thwart the misfortunate nights from clouding his entire “storm” experience. But now that the Eastern Storm stretch is over, the summer solstice is here, the days are long, the nights are plentiful, and the relentless pursuit of a championship never subsides.

Last September, Seavey won a USAC National Midget event at Angell Park, and this coming Sunday, he’ll try to become the first driver to win both a USAC National Sprint Car and Midget feature at the famed venue.

Even a win on Saturday at Wilmot would put him in rarified air. Only five drivers have won both a USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget feature in the state of Wisconsin: Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Ken Schrader, Parnelli Jones and Tom Bigelow – all of whom are either current USAC Hall of Famers or future USAC Hall of Famers.

TRIPLE DUTY IN BADGERLAND

It’s a full slate of USAC action in Wisconsin this weekend with the USAC Silver Crown cars on Friday, June 21, at Madison International Speedway. That’s followed by back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car events on Saturday, June 22, at Wilmot Raceway and Sunday, June 23, at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie.

As expected, three drivers are set to contest all three events this weekend: Logan Seavey, C.J. Leary and Justin Grant. Both Seavey and Leary have won on USAC soil in their careers.

Seavey gained his first Wisconsin USAC win during last September’s Firemen’s Nationals at Angell Park in a midget. Leary scored a USAC Silver Crown triumph in 2022 at Madison. Grant has run a best of third in a midget twice at Angell Park and once at Madison with the Silver Crown car where also started from the pole in 2018.

Aside from Seavey, Leary and Grant, Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) is thinking of making the run up to Wisconsin to compete with the USAC National Sprint Cars this Sunday at Angell Park.

RACE DETAILS:

This Saturday, June 22, at Wisconsin’s Wilmot Raceway, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship is joined by the Wisconsin wingLESS Sprints and the IRA Lightning Sprints. Pits open at 2pm Central, grandstands open at 4pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing. General admission tickets are $30 for ages 13 and up. Kids age 7-11 are $5. Kids 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $35.

On Sunday, June 23, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway welcomes the Kevins’ Klassic honoring racing greats Kevin Olson and Kevin Doty. The event features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and Badger Midgets. Pit gates open at 1:30pm Central with front gates opening at 4pm, drivers meeting at 4:30 and cars on track at 4:45pm followed by qualifying and racing.

At Angell Park, Advance general admission tickets at www.angellpark.racing for adults are $22. Military/seniors are $18. General admission tickets at the gate for adults are $25. Military/seniors are $20. Students age 12-17 are $10. Kids age 6-11 are $5. Children age 5 & under are free. Pit passes are $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

All races this weekend can be streamed exclusively on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT WILMOT RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 6/24/2023 - Jake Swanson - 13.980

8 Laps - 7/30/1995 - Eric Gordon - 2:11.40

10 Laps - 6/24/2023 - Kyle Cummins - 2:27.72

30 Laps - 7/30/1995 - Jack Hewitt - 8:31.56

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT WILMOT RACEWAY:

2-Jack Hewitt

1-Brady Bacon, Danny Lasoski & Jon Stanbrough

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT WILMOT RACEWAY:

1990: Danny Lasoski (6/19) & Jack Hewitt (8/29)

1995: Jack Hewitt (7/30)

2012: Jon Stanbrough (6/23)

2023: Brady Bacon (6/24)

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

PAST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT WILMOT RACEWAY:

1990 JUNE FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Danny Smith, 3. Kim Mock, 4. Dave Moulis, 5. Carmen Manzardo, 6. Dave Hanna, 7. Dick Colburn, 8. Joe Roe, 9. Mike Frost, 10. Allen Winker, 11. Al Behling, 12. Gary Zobel, 13. Frank Filskov, 14. Bob Peterson, 15. Darrell Dodd, 16. Joe Kristan, 17. Larry Hillerud, 18. John Hajduk, 19. Jim Uttech, 20. Gib Wiser. NT

1990 AUGUST FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Gib Wiser, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Greg Staab, 5. Mike Frost, 6. Dick Colburn, 7. Jim Moulis, 8. Dave Moulis, 9. Rick Howerton, 10. Randy Sippel, 11. Pete Ostrowski, 12. Jim Uttech, 13. Joe Symoens, 14. Joe Roe, 15. Dave Hanna, 16. Steve Butler, 17. Tony Elliott, 18. Bob Robel, 19. Rick Keller. (Darrell Dodd, who originally finished 5th, was disqualified from the feature). NT

1995 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Rusty McClure, 3. Allen Winker, 4. Kevin Doty, 5. Dave Moulis, 6. Todd Daun, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Kevin Thomas, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Mark Cassella, 11. Greg Staab, 12. Doug Kalitta, 13. Tony Stewart, 14. Kurt Winker, 15. Eric Gordon, 16. Larry Vandevere, 17. Tim Cox, 18. Jim Uttech, 19. Dean Billings, 20. Tray House. 8:31.56

2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Chris Gurley, 11. Jerry Coons, Jr., 12. Steve Irwin, 13. Robert Ballou, 14. Ryan Irwin, 15. Bret Mellenberndt, 16. Craig Lager, 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Matt Vandervere, 20. Mike Hess, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Wayne Modjeski. NT

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Robert Ballou (2), 4. Logan Seavey (3), 5. Jake Swanson (6), 6. Matt Westfall (8), 7. Mitchel Moles (4), 8. Daison Pursley (10), 9. C.J. Leary (12), 10. Justin Grant (11), 11. Geoff Ensign (15), 12. Chase Stockon (9), 13. Mario Clouser (13), 14. Kyle Cummins (7), 15. Allen Hafford (17), 16. Greg Alt (19), 17. Dan Wade (20), 18. Clayton Rossman (16), 19. Matt VanderVere (18), 20. Max Adams (14), 21. Austin DeBlauw (21). NT

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 6/26/2022 - C.J. Leary - 13.765

8 Laps - 6/26/2022 - Brady Bacon - 2:03.72

10 Laps - 8/9/2015 - Robert Ballou - 2:28.06

12 Laps - 6/10/2001 - Jack Hewitt - 3:18.57

30 Laps - 6/24/2012 -Dave Darland - 7:42.47

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY:

2-Robert Ballou

1-Dave Darland, Jack Hewitt, Jon Stanbrough & J.J. Yeley

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY:

2001: Jack Hewitt (6/10)

2002: J.J. Yeley (7/7)

2012: Dave Darland (6/24)

2014: Jon Stanbrough (6/22)

2015: Robert Ballou (8/9)

2022: Robert Ballou (6/26)

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS HEADLINE SATURDAY SHOWCASE AT PERRIS
By Lance Jennings

JUNE 18, 2024... The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will head to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, June 22nd, for a great night of championship racing. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the eighth point race will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, GAS Chassis PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Street Stocks, and PASSCAR Factory Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

USAC/CRA shows at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed and beware of online scammers with fake video links. Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 253 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-five different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all series drivers with 51 “home track” wins and Matt Mitchell has won the February 24th season opener and the May 25th “Salute to Indy.” David Gasper added his name to the record books on March 16th and A.J. Bender joined the winner’s list on April 27th. Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After earning his first win of the season at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway on June 8th, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) has extended his advantage to 44 points over the competition. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson also has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one semi-main win, seven top-10 finishes, and 23 feature laps led in the campaign. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year will be looking to continue his championship bid by earning his tenth career USAC/CRA win this Saturday night.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) ranks second in the championship standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm charged from fourteenth to fifth at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. To date, the veteran driver has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, and six top-10 finishes on the season. Tommy will have his sights on claiming the fourth victory of his career at Perris Auto Speedway.

After rebounding to a third place finish at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway after restarting at the back, A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) has climbed to third in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Piloting the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender has one feature win, two heat race victories, four top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking for another Saturday night victory.

After running second to R.J. Johnson at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) has climbed to fourth in the point chase. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams has one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, six top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. This Saturday, the 2014 Rookie of the Year will have his sights on the first win of his career at Perris.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17 Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams placed seventh at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, four top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. The Big Game Hunter” will be looking to earn the twelfth USAC/CRA victory of his career at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.

Driving the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC backed by Art Klee and Martin Roofing, David Gasper (Goleta, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Elexa Herrera (New Cuyama, California), Brent Sexton (Lakeside, California), Braden Chiaramonte (El Cajon, California), Joey Bishop (Camarillo, California), Camie Bell (Bakersfield, California), Jon DeWees (Lemoore, California), Mark Henry (Rosamond, California), Blake Hendricks (Simi Valley, California), and Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California) are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Matt Mitchell, Matt McCarthy, Grant Sexton, Brent Owens, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Tyler Hatzikian, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson-469, 2. Tommy Malcolm-425, 3. A.J. Bender-418, 4. Logan Williams-409, 5. Austin Williams-396, 6. David Gasper (R)-385, 7. Cody Williams-356, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-344, 9. Verne Sweeney-280, 10. Brody Roa-256, 11. Austin Grabowski-249, 12. Matt Mitchell-247, 13. Charles Davis Jr.-244, 14. Ricky Lewis-233, 15. Elexa Herrera (R)-208, 16. Logan Calderwood-203, 17. Matt Westfall-186, 18. Brent Sexton (R)-176, 19. Matt McCarthy-175, 20. Grant Sexton-171. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 10-Matt Mitchell, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Jason York.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
March 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
March 23: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
April 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
April 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: A.J. Bender)
May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
June 8: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: R.J. Johnson)
June 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
July 5: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Doug Fort Memorial)
July 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Doug Fort Memorial)
July 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
August 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Brother Brett Classic at California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night)
August 31: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
September 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
September 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 28: Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA
October 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
October 19: TBA
November 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 2: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

RISING TO THE STORM!

MOLES MARCHES TO 2024 USAC EASTERN STORM TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (June 18, 2024)………There is a stark contrast to be found when you begin comparing Mitchel Moles’ initial USAC Eastern Storm experience in 2023 to the results he put forth en route to his championship with the series in 2024.

The Raisin City, California native’s run to the 2024 USAC Eastern Storm title was built upon a foundation of consistency throughout the six-race tour of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Moles’ weeklong resume consisted of 12th, 5th, 2nd, 2nd, 5th and 3rd place results, and each night, he and his striking Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19AZ were contenders.

At each stop, he substantially improved upon his finishing position in each event, from an average finish of 11.6 in 2023 to a 4.3 in 2024. That includes the opening night at Grandview Speedway where he was running fifth with 10 laps to go when his car slowed to a stop with a mechanical issue. Ultimately, he restarted at the tail and returned to finish 12th.

Following the Grandview heartbreak, Moles put together a string of five consecutive top-fives. Even more impressive is the fact that Moles entered Eastern Storm with only one top-five finish in his last 19 series starts dating back the end of the 2023 campaign.

Moles reeled off a fifth in his debut at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park, then followed that up by leading the first 15 laps of the round at Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway before finishing as the runner-up. He collected another runner-up result one night later on the half-mile at Williams Grove Speedway to go along with a third at the similarly sized Port Royal Speedway.

Entering the finale at Action Track USA, Moles needed a little bit of assistance in his push toward the Eastern Storm crown. Trailing point leader Brady Bacon by 13 points entering the feature, Moles needed to finish five positions ahead of Bacon to give himself a shot.

By lap five, Bacon was running fourth. But as the field whoa’d up due to a caution, Bacon was tagged in the left rear tire by fifth place Kyle Cummins. Although the contact seemed fairly significant, the culprit ending Bacon’s quest was actually engine related. Under the subsequent yellow flag, Bacon pulled into the pits and did not return, abruptly ending his title hopes.

From there, Moles advanced even further up the ladder from ninth to third, thus clinching the title by 28 points. In a remarkable twist, the 12-point deficit he overcame in the final event is tied for the largest comeback in series history, equaling Bryan Clauson’s triumph over Daron Clayton in 2013. Furthermore, Moles’ 28-point margin is the second largest in series history, trailing only Emerson Axsom’s 31-point triumph over Daison Pursley in 2023.

In the end, Moles’ title provided Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports its second Eastern Storm championship and first since they first achieved the deed in 2019 with C.J. Leary.

As for the rest of the 2024 USAC Eastern Storm series, this is the first year since 2018 in which every race on the calendar was run as scheduled and was not hampered by either Mother Nature or Father COVID. Eastern Storm also featured an all-new set of winners without a single repeat feature victor returning to winner’s circle from 2023 to 2024.

A BANNER DAY FOR DANNER

Outside of Moles, the breakout star of the week was undoubtedly Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) who won the opener at Grandview to become the first driver to win his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature during Eastern Storm since Chris Windom all the way back in 2010. In doing so, he also became the first Pennsylvania native to capture an Eastern Storm victory.

Furthermore, the two-time USAC East Coast Sprint Car champ posted several firsts. Danner became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car feature of any sort since Selinsgrove’s Frankie Kerr in 1999 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. Furthermore, Danner became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car race in his home state since Paul Pitzer at Reading in 1979.

BACON BREAKIN’ RECORDS

Moving on to night two at Bridgeport, Brady Bacon’s seventh career Eastern Storm triumph made him the winningest driver in Eastern Storm history, which debuted in 2007.

How dominant was Bacon at Bridgeport? In the 18th event of the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car season, he became the first driver to lead a feature from start to finish without interruption.

Bacon’s latest Eastern Storm win moved him past Bryan Clauson, Levi Jones and Chris Windom to move atop the series’ all-time win leaderboard. The win also thrusted Bacon to the top of the Eastern Storm standings as he pursued his first title in the series since 2014.

SEAVEY’S SHINY NIGHT AT BIG DIAMOND

If the term “resilience” ever needed an image attached to it in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, it would be apt to include one of Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing after their victorious performance at Big Diamond Speedway.

The team’s outing one night earlier at Bridgeport proved to be among the most challenging of the year. An engine failure forced them into a backup car where they proceeded to finish an undesirable 15th, dropping them to 11th in the USAC Eastern Storm standings.

Further demonstrating their resolve, in Seavey’s only previous Big Diamond appearance in 2023, he missed out on transferring into the main event, making this race his first feature start at the 3/8-mile dirt oval. This time around, he stalked Mitchel Moles for the first half of the 30-lap event before making his stride to the outside of turn two to get by for the lead, and ultimately, the victory.

A BIRTHDAY IS A WINNING DAY FOR KTJ

Kevin Thomas Jr. celebrated his 33rd birthday by achieving the rare feat of not only winning a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature but also doing so in spectacular fashion at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway.

Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) ran third for the first 23 circuits of the 30-lap distance around the 1/2-mile dirt oval before sprinting past Mitchel Moles for second with seven to go. While running second on the final lap, Thomas was in position to pounce when racelong leader

Briggs Danner ran out of fuel exiting the final turn on the final lap.

Thomas made the decisive move, banging wheels with the suddenly slowing Danner in turn four before escaping with the victory, the 42nd of his USAC National Sprint Car career, which surpassed Bryan Clauson and moved him up a spot on the series’ career win list alongside 1974 and 1976 champ Pancho Carter for eighth most all-time.

IT’S BRADY’S COURT AT PORT ROYAL

It had been a full decade since Brady Bacon last raced into victory lane at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway. This one proved large as it elevated Bacon into the USAC Eastern Storm point lead past Mitchel Moles with one race remaining.

Bacon assumed the lead with eight laps to go after racelong leader Briggs Danner’s encounter with the turn two outside guardrail which ended in absolute heartbreak for Danner for the second night in a row. Danner’s hopes for victory unraveled in an instant when his right rear tire snagged the cushion, grabbing him and shoving him into the outside turn two fence.

After riding his right-side wheels atop the guardrail for several feet, Danner landed on all fours and slid sideways into the path of Bacon. Bacon whoa’d himself up and narrowly avoided contact with Danner before continuing on with the race lead. From there, Bacon pushed forward to become the first two-time winner of the week.

PHOTO FINISH FINALE FOR SEAVEY

While Logan Seavey wasn’t quite in the mix to replicate his 2022 Eastern Storm championship this time around, he was certainly game for making a spectacular splash in the Eastern Storm finale on Sunday night at Action Track USA.

Seavey’s racelong battle for victory with Briggs Danner came to a head on the final corner of the final lap at the 1/6-mile dirt oval when Danner made one last move, but came up about a wheel short, as Seavey defeated Danner by a scant .043 second margin, which ranks among the closest finishes in Eastern Storm history.

While Seavey was in the midst of capturing yet another victory in a career year with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Mitchel Moles was busy locking up his first career USAC Eastern Storm title with a third-place finish.

EPILOGUE

Twenty-nine drivers participated in 2024 Eastern Storm with 19 drivers starting all six feature events: Joey Amantea, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Charles Davis Jr., Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, Tom Harris, C.J. Leary, Ricky Lewis, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Matt Westfall.

Danner led four of the six races during Eastern Storm and led the most laps throughout the week with 78. Moles led all drivers with five top-five finishes and was one of four drivers to finish inside the top-10 on five occasions along with Robert Ballou, Justin Grant and Daison Pursley.

For the first time, six different drivers recorded a fast qualifying time during Eastern Storm: Brady Bacon (Grandview), Mitchel Moles (Bridgeport), Alex Bright (Big Diamond), Logan Seavey (Williams Grove), C.J. Leary (Port Royal) and Kyle Cummins (Action Track USA). Bacon and Moles’ runs resulted in new track records.

Four drivers won two heat races during Eastern, including Brady Bacon, Anton Hernandez, Matt Westfall and 56-year-old Charles Davis Jr. who enjoyed christening his pair of wins with a new sponsor – AARP. Meanwhile, the biggest hard charge of the week belonged to Ricky Lewis at Big Diamond as he stepped into a backup car, started at the tail and drove from 25th to 10th.

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

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM STAT LEADERS:

Champion: Mitchel Moles

Most Wins: 2-Brady Bacon & Logan Seavey

Most Laps Led: 78-Briggs Danner

Most Top-Fives: 5-Mitchel Moles

Most Top-Tens: 5-Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, Mitchel Moles & Daison Pursley

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 1-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles & Logan Seavey

Most Heat Race Wins: 2-Brady Bacon, Charles Davis Jr., Anton Hernandez & Matt Westfall

Most Feature Starts: 6-Joey Amantea, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Charles Davis Jr., Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, Tom Harris, C.J. Leary, Ricky Lewis, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall

Biggest Charge of the Week: 6/13: Big Diamond Speedway – Ricky Lewis (25th to 10th)

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

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM POINT STANDINGS

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 399 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

2. 371 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

3. 366 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

4. 360 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

5. 358 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

6. 354 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

7. 350 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

8. 341 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.

9. 336 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

10. 322 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.

11. 284 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

12. 283 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

13. 254 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.

14. 240 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, Calif.

15. 238 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

16. 231 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.

17. 225 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

18. 206 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.

19. 191 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pa.

20. 182 Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK

21. 150 Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Ind.

22. 130 Korbyn Hayslett, Troy, Ohio

23. 124 Anton Hernandez, Arlington, Texas

24. 117 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.

25. 108 J.T. Ferry, Drums, Pa.

26. 81 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.

27. 34 Scott Frack, Gilbertsville, Pa.

28. 20 Jason Cherry, Blandon, Pa.

29. 10 Brian Ruhlman, Clarklake, Mich.

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

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM SCHEDULE & RESULTS

June 11: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA

WINNER: Briggs Danner (Hogue Racing Enterprises #39)

June 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

June 13: Big Diamond Speedway | Pottsville, PA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

June 14: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

June 15: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

June 16: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

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

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

2-Brady Bacon & Logan Seavey

1-Briggs Danner & Kevin Thomas Jr.

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

FEATURE LAPS LED

78-Briggs Danner

54-Logan Seavey

38-Brady Bacon

15-Mitchel Moles

14-Carson Garrett

1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

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

TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES

5-Mitchel Moles

4-Brady Bacon, Briggs Danner & Justin Grant

3-Logan Seavey

2-Alex Bright, C.J. Leary, Daison Pursley & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Robert Ballou & Carson Garrett

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

TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES

5-Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, Mitchel Moles & Daison Pursley

4-Joey Amantea, Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Ricky Lewis

2-Alex Bright & Jake Swanson

1-Steven Drevicki, Carson Garrett, Anton Hernandez, Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon

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

FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Honest Abe Roofing)

1-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles & Logan Seavey

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

FAST QUALIFIERS

6/11: Grandview Speedway – Brady Bacon (13.341)

6/12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Mitchel Moles (14.685)

6/13: Big Diamond Speedway – Alex Bright (14.799)

6/14: Williams Grove Speedway – Logan Seavey (19.659)

6/15: Port Royal Speedway – C.J. Leary (18.205)

6/16: Action Track USA – Kyle Cummins (10.539)

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

HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

2-Brady Bacon, Charles Davis Jr., Anton Hernandez & Matt Westfall

1-Robert Ballou, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Steven Drevicki, Justin Grant, Ricky Lewis, Mitchel Moles, Jadon Rogers, Jake Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

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

FEATURE STARTS

6-Joey Amantea, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Charles Davis Jr., Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, Tom Harris, C.J. Leary, Ricky Lewis, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall

5-Steven Drevicki, Korbyn Hayslett & Hunter Maddox

4-J.T. Ferry

3-Anton Hernandez, Carmen Perigo & Jadon Rogers

1-Scott Frack

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

HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

6/11: Grandview Speedway – Joey Amantea (20th to 9th)

6/12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey (23rd to 15th)

6/13: Big Diamond Speedway – Ricky Lewis (25th to 10th)

6/14: Williams Grove Speedway – Justin Grant (12th to 5th)

6/15: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley (13th to 4th)

6/16: Action Track USA – Joey Amantea (20th to 10th)

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

SEMI-FEATURE WINS (Presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts)

1-Justin Grant & Ricky Lewis

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

DIRT DRAFT HOT LAPS FASTEST DRIVER

6/11: Grandview Speedway – Mitchel Moles (13.409)

6/12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kyle Cummins (15.164)

6/13: Big Diamond Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14.784)

6/14: Williams Grove Speedway – C.J. Leary (20.667)

6/15: Port Royal Speedway – Brady Bacon (18.245)

6/16: Action Track USA – C.J. Leary (10.563)

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

INFERNO ARMOR FIRE MOVE OF THE NIGHT

6/11: Grandview Speedway – Robert Ballou

6/12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Anton Hernandez

6/13: Big Diamond Speedway – Joey Amantea

6/14: Williams Grove Speedway – Charles Davis Jr.

6/15: Port Royal Speedway – Alex Bright

6/16: Action Track USA – Ricky Lewis

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

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM FEATURE RESULTS

Tuesday, June 11 – Grandview Speedway

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Briggs Danner (4), 2. Brady Bacon (6), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Carson Garrett (1), 5. Logan Seavey (13), 6. Daison Pursley (10), 7. Robert Ballou (15), 8. Jake Swanson (16), 9. Joey Amantea (20), 10. Jadon Rogers (8), 11. Kyle Cummins (7), 12. Mitchel Moles (5), 13. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 14. Steven Drevicki (18), 15. Chase Stockon (17), 16. Matt Westfall (19), 17. Ricky Lewis (11), 18. Tom Harris (21), 19. Korbyn Hayslett (22), 20. Justin Grant (12), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 22. J.T. Ferry (24), 23. Hunter Maddox (23), 24. Alex Bright (2). NT

Wednesday, June 12 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Robert Ballou (8), 5. Mitchel Moles (6), 6. C.J. Leary (5), 7. Kyle Cummins (10), 8. Anton Hernandez (7), 9. Ricky Lewis (12), 10. Joey Amantea (16), 11. Carson Garrett (2), 12. Matt Westfall (9), 13. Daison Pursley (15), 14. Jadon Rogers (14), 15. Logan Seavey (23), 16. Jake Swanson (13), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (18), 18. Chase Stockon (17), 19. Korbyn Hayslett (20), 20. Tom Harris (21), 21. Steven Drevicki (19), 22. Alex Bright (11), 23. Briggs Danner (24), 24. Hunter Maddox (22). NT

Thursday, June 13 – Big Diamond Speedway

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Mitchel Moles (1), 3. Justin Grant (5), 4. Briggs Danner (4), 5. Alex Bright (6), 6. Daison Pursley (11), 7. Kyle Cummins (19), 8. Robert Ballou (13), 9. Joey Amantea (14), 10. Ricky Lewis (25), 11. Jake Swanson (3), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 13. C.J. Leary (10), 14. Steven Drevicki (8), 15. Chase Stockon (15), 16. Matt Westfall (17), 17. Anton Hernandez (9), 18. Brady Bacon (7), 19. Korbyn Hayslett (22), 20. Jadon Rogers (24), 21. Charles Davis Jr. (20), 22. Hunter Maddox (21), 23. J.T. Ferry (23), 24. Tom Harris (16), 25. Carson Garrett (18). NT

Friday, June 14 – Williams Grove Speedway

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 2. Mitchel Moles (1), 3. Briggs Danner (2), 4. Brady Bacon (7), 5. Justin Grant (12), 6. C.J. Leary (4), 7. Robert Ballou (10), 8. Daison Pursley (5), 9. Chase Stockon (11), 10. Kyle Cummins (15), 11. Alex Bright (14), 12. Jake Swanson (8), 13. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 14. Matt Westfall (17), 15. Steven Drevicki (19), 16. Carson Garrett (13), 17. Tom Harris (18), 18. Logan Seavey (6), 19. Hunter Maddox (20), 20. Korbyn Hayslett (23), 21. Joey Amantea (16), 22. Ricky Lewis (21), 23. Carmen Perigo (22). NT

Saturday, June 15 – Port Royal Speedway

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (4), 2. C.J. Leary (6), 3. Alex Bright (9), 4. Daison Pursley (13), 5. Mitchel Moles (3), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 8. Justin Grant (12), 9. Ricky Lewis (2), 10. Steven Drevicki (15), 11. Robert Ballou (17), 12. Chase Stockon (19), 13. Jake Swanson (11), 14. Kyle Cummins (14), 15. Tom Harris (23), 16. Matt Westfall (7), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (10), 18. Carmen Perigo (20), 19. Joey Amantea (18), 20. Korbyn Hayslett (22), 21. Carson Garrett (21), 22. J.T. Ferry (24), 23. Briggs Danner (1), 24. Anton Hernandez (16). NT

Sunday, June 16 – Action Track USA

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Briggs Danner (4), 3. Mitchel Moles (9), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Daison Pursley (5), 6. Kyle Cummins (6), 7. Jake Swanson (2), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 9. Robert Ballou (12), 10. Joey Amantea (20), 11. C.J. Leary (11), 12. Chase Stockon (14), 13. Hunter Maddox (16), 14. Alex Bright (13), 15. J.T. Ferry (17), 16. Tom Harris (22), 17. Carson Garrett (19), 18. Ricky Lewis (8), 19. Charles Davis Jr. (21), 20. Scott Frack (23), 21. Matt Westfall (15), 22. Brady Bacon (3), 23. Carmen Perigo (18). NT

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

ALL-TIME USAC EASTERN STORM STATS

USAC EASTERN STORM CHAMPIONS (2007-2024)

2007: Levi Jones

2008: Cole Whitt

2009: Cole Whitt

2010: Levi Jones

2011: Levi Jones

2012: Bryan Clauson

2013: Bryan Clauson

2014: Brady Bacon

2015: Robert Ballou

2016: Bryan Clauson

2017: Chris Windom

2018: Chris Windom

2019: C.J. Leary

2020: Not Held

2021: Robert Ballou

2022: Logan Seavey

2023: Emerson Axsom

2024: Mitchel Moles

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

USAC EASTERN STORM FEATURE WINS (2007-2024)

8-Brady Bacon

6-Bryan Clauson, Levi Jones & Chris Windom

5-Robert Ballou

4-Justin Grant, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Cole Whitt

2-Emerson Axsom, Tyler Courtney, Thomas Meseraull

1-Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, Daron Clayton, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Dave Darland, Bobby East, Damion Gardner, Jesse Hockett, Jason McDougal, Hunter Schuerenberg, Jon Stanbrough, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson

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

CLOSEST USAC EASTERN STORM POINTS RACES: (2007-2024)

2021: Robert Ballou by 1 over Brady Bacon

2013: Bryan Clauson by 1 over Dave Darland

2017: Chris Windom by 4 over Kevin Thomas Jr.

2022: Logan Seavey by 5 over Brady Bacon

2014: Brady Bacon by 12 over Chase Stockon

2019: C.J. Leary by 13 over Tyler Courtney

2016: Bryan Clauson by 14 over Chris Windom

2018: Chris Windom by 19 over Kevin Thomas Jr.

2015: Robert Ballou by 21 over Jon Stanbrough

2011: Levi Jones by 26 over Robert Ballou

2010: Levi Jones by 26 over Chris Windom

2012: Bryan Clauson by 28 over Levi Jones

2024: Mitchel Moles by 28 over Brady Bacon

2023: Emerson Axsom by 31 over Daison Pursley

2009: Unknown

2008: Unknown

2007: Unknown

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

PAST USAC EASTERN STORM FEATURE WINNERS:

2007 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/6: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Levi Jones | Tony Stewart Racing #20 | 30 L

6/7: Pottsville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Tony Stewart Racing #21 | 30 L

6/9: Hagerstown, MD | Hagerstown Speedway | Levi Jones | Tony Stewart Racing #20 | 30 L

2008 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/5: Minersville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Cole Whitt | Keith Kunz Motorsports #67K | 30 L

6/7: Hagerstown, MD | Hagerstown Speedway | Chad Boat | Billy Boat Motorsports #30 | 30 L

2009 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/2: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Jesse Hockett | Tom Buch/VKCC #13 | 50 L

6/4: Minersville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Cole Whitt | Keith Kunz Motorsports #67K | 30 L

6/6: Mercer, PA | Mercer Raceway Park | Cole Whitt | Keith Kunz Motorsports #67K | 30 L

2010 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/1: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Levi Jones | Tony Stewart Racing #20 | 40 L

6/2: Abbottstown, PA | Lincoln Speedway | Levi Jones | Tony Stewart Racing #20 | 40 L

6/3: New Egypt, NJ | New Egypt Speedway | Levi Jones | Tony Stewart Racing #20 | 40 L

6/4: Minersville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Chris Windom | Jeff Walker Racing #11 | 40 L

2011 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

5/30: Sarver, PA | Lernerville Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Foxco Racing #53 | 30 L

5/31: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Bobby East | Terry Klatt #5 | 40 L

6/1: Abbottstown, PA | Lincoln Speedway | Levi Jones | Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #20 | 40 L

6/2: New Egypt, NJ | New Egypt Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Rock Steady Racing #35 | 40 L

2012 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/5: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian #7 | 40 L

6/7: New Egypt, NJ | New Egypt Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian #7 | 40 L

6/8: Minersville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Chris Windom | Baldwin Brothers Racing #5 | 40 L

6/9: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Damion Gardner | DG Racing #71 | 30 L

2013 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/5: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Daron Clayton | Daron Clayton #92 | 40 L

6/8: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Dave Darland | Phillips Motorsports #71p | 30 L

6/9: York Haven, PA | Susquehanna Speedway Park | Shane Cottle | Gene Franckowiak #65 | 30 L

2014 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/3: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Chase Stockon | 32 TBI Racing #32 | 40 L

6/5: New Egypt, NJ | New Egypt Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tony Stewart Racing/Curb-Agajanian #20 | 30 L

6/7: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 30 L

2015 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/4: New Egypt, NJ | New Egypt Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | 30 L

6/6: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | 30 L

6/7: York Haven, PA | Susquehanna Speedway Park | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | 30 L

2016 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/7: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Dooling-Hayward Motorsports #63 | 40 L

6/8: Abbottstown, PA | Lincoln Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Dooling-Hayward Motorsports #63 | 30 L

6/9: New Egypt, NJ | New Egypt Speedway | Chad Boespflug | NineEight-EZR #98E | 30 L

6/11: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Dooling-Hayward Racing #63 | 30 L

6/12: York Haven, PA | Susquehanna Speedway | Chris Windom | Baldwin Brothers Racing #5 | 30 L

2017 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/13: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dooling-Hayward Motorsports #63 | 40 L

6/14: Abbottstown, PA | Lincoln Speedway | Thomas Meseraull | Heffner Racing #27 | 30 L

6/15: Mechanicsburg, PA | Williams Grove Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Pace Brothers Racing #44 | 30 L

6/17: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Chris Windom | Baldwin Brothers Racing #5 | 30 L

6/18: York Haven, PA | Susquehanna Speedway | Tyler Courtney | TOPP Motorsports #23c | 30 L

2018 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/14: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Brady Bacon | Brady Bacon Racing #99 | 40 L

6/15: Mechanicsburg, PA | Williams Grove Speedway | Chris Windom | Baldwin Brothers Racing #5 | 30 L

6/16: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Chris Windom | Baldwin Brothers Racing #5 | 30 L

6/17: York Haven, PA | BAPS Motor Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | 30 L

6/18: Swedesboro, NJ | Bridgeport Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 30 L

6/19: Weedsport, NY | Weedsport Speedway | Thomas Meseraull | Chris Dyson Racing #20 | 30 L

2019 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/11: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 40 L

6/12: Swedesboro, NJ | Bridgeport Speedway | Jason McDougal | Daigh-Phillips Motorsports #71p | 30 L

6/15: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Tyler Courtney | Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #7BC | 30 L

2020 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

Not Held

2021 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/15: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | 40 L

6/16: Swedesboro, NJ | Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | 30 L

6/17: Selinsgrove, PA | Selinsgrove Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | 30 L

6/20: Bloomsburg, PA | Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | KT Motorsports #9K | 30 L

2022 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/14: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 40 L

6/15: Swedesboro, NJ | Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | 30 L

6/17: Mechanicsburg, PA | Williams Grove Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | 30 L

6/18: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | 30 L

6/19: Bloomsburg, PA | Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 30 L

2023 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/13: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Jake Swanson | Team AZ Racing #21AZ | 40 L

6/15: Pottsville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Emerson Axsom | Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC | 30 L

6/16: Mechanicsburg, PA | Williams Grove Speedway | Emerson Axsom | Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC | 30 L

6/17: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | 30 L

6/18: Kutztown, PA | Action Track USA | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | 40 L

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM WINNERS

6/11: Bechtelsville, PA | Grandview Speedway | Briggs Danner | Hogue Racing Enterprises | 40 L

6/12: Swedesboro, NJ | Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 30 L

6/13: Pottsville, PA | Big Diamond Speedway | Logan Seavey | Abacus Racing #57 | 30 L

6/14: Mechanicsburg, PA | Williams Grove Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Rock Steady Racing #3R | 30 L

6/15: Port Royal, PA | Port Royal Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | 30 L

6/16: Kutztown, PA | Action Track USA | Logan Seavey | Abacus Racing #57 | 40 L

100 LAPS IN THE DAIRYLAND!

MADISON AWAITS USAC SILVER CROWN FRIDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Oregon, Wisconsin (June 19, 2024)………The first official weekend of summer symbolizes numerous aspects of life to many people. The warm weather, the beaches, the outdoors, the waterpark and other things.

For racing fans, it symbolizes the fact that the season is in full swing, and that’s no exception for USAC drivers, teams, officials and fans who hit the highway to head northbound to Wisconsin for the first time during the 2024 season.

This Friday night, June 21, the focus turns to the USAC Silver Crown National Championship as the series takes the show to the half-mile paved battlefield of Oregon, Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway.

The fifth running of the Bytec Dairyland 100 is on tap for 100 laps as the most versatile oval series in the land switches back to the pavement after racing just six nights earlier on Pennsylvania dirt.

Now, without further ado, Let’s go over six of the storylines we’ll be paying full attention to this Friday night at Madison!

SWANSON’S 300-LAP STREAK

Kody Swanson has accomplished many things in his illustrious USAC Silver Crown career. One of those items he’s checked off over the years is winning four-straight pavement USAC Silver Crown races in 2018.

Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) can match that effort with a win this Friday at Madison where he’s won three of the four events held at the track in 2018-19-23. In fact, Swanson’s 2018 pavement domination included a victory in the inaugural series race at Madison. Dave Steele is the only other driver to achieve the feat, having won the first four pavement rounds of the 2005 campaign.

Swanson has led all 300 laps run on the pavement this year on pavement at Toledo, Winchester and IRP which has aided him immensely in propelling him to the top of the standings entering Friday’s Madison race where he now holds a 30-point lead over Justin Grant.

LEARY’S TWO-WAY ROAD OF REDEMPTION

C.J. Leary proved he wasn’t just a “dirt guy” when he obliterated the Madison field in 2022. From start to finish, Leary was picture perfect. He was the fastest in practice and qualifying, then led all 100 laps in wire-to-wire fashion aboard his Klatt Enterprises No. 6.

Leary experienced a stellar start to the 2024, finishing on the podium in each of his initial four starts, including pavement results of 2nd at Toledo, 3rd at Winchester and 3rd at IRP after starting deep from the 22nd position, all of which thrusted him to the top of the standings.

However, an opening lap incident in the most recent round last Saturday on the dirt at Port Royal relegated him to the 23rd position in the race and knocked him down to a distant 3rd in the standings, 39 points back. Leary is vying for redemption in multiple ways after being sidelined from action during the 2023 Madison round following due to an engine issue.

SEAVEY STAYING IN THE FIGHT VIA PAVEMENT

For the drivers on the top rung of the series standings, it’s crunch time in their pursuit of a championship. Defending Silver Crown champ Logan Seavey finds himself in this group after some unsmooth sailing on the dirt tracks with the division thus far.

Interestingly enough, Seavey’s three best performances to date this season have come on pavement with a 7th at Toledo, a 6th at Winchester and a 2nd most recently at IRP.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) occupies the fourth spot in the standings, a distant 73 points out of the lead at the moment. He ran 5th on Madison’s asphalt a year ago, and another fine performance this Friday can help push him and his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing team back into title contention at the halfway point of the season.

GRANT STILL CHASING

Speaking of all of the above regarding redemption and making a surge toward the season championship. All of that can be bundled into one for Justin Grant.

Last Saturday on the dirt at Port Royal, he led 20 laps, and was leading on the final corner of the final lap when he was passed on the outside by Daison Pursley for the win. Grant finished second in the race, but as a consolation, he did move up one more spot in the pecking order of the championship standings.

Grant, the 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ, is now just 30 points out of the lead and makes his return to Madison where he finished 3rd in 2018 and 5th in 2022. Additionally, he captured the pole for the Madison event in 2018, leading 42 laps along the way.

SANTOS WANTS MORE

In Bobby Santos’ career, he’s won at five different pavement tracks with the USAC Silver Crown series: IRP, Gateway, Iowa, Phoenix and Toledo. However, one that’s missing from the resume is Madison.

Four career Silver Crown starts at Madison for Santos have netted an average finish of 2.5 following runner-up results in 2018-2022-2023 to go along with a fourth in 2019. Perhaps Friday is the night he takes care of some Madison business.

As has often been the case throughout his incredible career, the pavement specialist is the lone driver with three or more starts this season to finish inside the top-five in all of them. A 5th at Toledo was followed by a 2nd at Winchester and another 5th at IRP.

THE VET & THE ROOK

Friday’s Madison field includes a stark contrast of drivers in the field.

Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) ranks number one in terms of starts with the USAC Silver Crown series over the years, racking up an incredible 214 since his series debut in 1989. In his most recent outing, he recorded his best pavement Silver Crown finish in 20 years, finishing 4th at IRP. Both of his Madison Silver Crown starts have resulted in top-10s, a 9th in 2019 and a 10th in 2023.

Meanwhile, Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) is on the opposite end of the experience spectrum, having just six career starts dating back to the end of the 2023 season. Thus far, he leads the USAC Silver Crown Rookie standings and is 13th overall in points. His two pavement outings this year have been his best thus far, finishing 9th at both Winchester and IRP. Friday will present his first Madison appearance.

RACE DETAILS:

Friday night’s Salute to America Night / Bytec Dairyland 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, Late Models, MISfitz plus Fireworks.

The pits open at 2:30pm Central and grandstands at 4pm with the drivers meeting taking place at 4pm and practice sessions running form 4:45-5:15pm and 5:40-6:10, followed by qualifying and racing.

Advance tickets on sale at https://misracing.com/tickets/. Advance ticket prices are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $15 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under.

Race day ticket prices are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under. Pit passes are $30 for members & $40 for non-members.

The event will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

2024 MADISON USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

48 ®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 ®JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes-Nick Bohanon Racing)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

® represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-321, 2-Justin Grant-291, 3-C.J. Leary-282, 4-Logan Seavey-248, 5-Kaylee Bryson-205, 6-Taylor Ferns-196, 7-Bobby Santos-183, 8-Mario Clouser-158, 9-Kyle Steffens-156, 10-Trey Burke-145.

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT MADISON INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 6/28/2019 - Kody Swanson - 16.852 - 106.812 mph

100 Laps - 6/29/2018 - Kody Swanson - 36:49.04 - 81.483 mph

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

MADISON USAC SILVER CROWN WINS:

3-Kody Swanson

1-C.J. Leary

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

MADISON USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS:

2018: Kody Swanson (6/29)

2019: Kody Swanson (6/28)

2022: C.J. Leary (6/24)

2023: Kody Swanson (6/23)

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS IN WISCONSIN:

3-Kody Swanson

1-Mike Bliss, Jay Drake, Bobby East, Eric Gordon, C.J. Leary, Wayne Reutimann Jr., George Snider & Dave Steele

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

PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT MADISON INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:

2018 FEATURE: (100 laps – starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (2), 2. Bobby Santos (6), 3. Justin Grant (1), 4. Jim Anderson (8), 5. Chris Windom (5), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 7. David Byrne (19), 8. Travis Welpott (9), 9. Matt Goodnight (11), 10. Kyle Robbins (14), 11. Kyle Hamilton (4), 12. Toni Breidinger (15), 13. Aaron Pierce (18), 14. Patrick Lawson (13), 15. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 16. Dave Darland (10), 17. Austin Blair (16), 18. Derek Bischak (12), 19. Eric Gordon (3). 36:49.04

2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Kyle Hamilton (3), 3. David Byrne (2), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Eric Gordon (10), 6. Jim Anderson (11), 7. Cody Gallogly (8), 8. Derek Bischak (6), 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (13), 10. Russ Gamester (14), 11. Toni Breidinger (15), 12. Kyle Robbins (20), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 14. Chris Windom (12), 15. Cody Gerhardt (18), 16. Austin Nemire (9), 17. Justin Grant (4), 18. Travis Welpott (7), 19. Patrick Lawson (21), 20. Matt Goodnight (16), 21. Chris Dyson (19). NT

2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (1), 2. Bobby Santos (2), 3. Brian Tyler (9), 4. Kody Swanson (3), 5. Justin Grant (4), 6. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 7. Taylor Ferns (10), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. Bryan Gossel (13), 10. Nathan Byrd (15), 11. Gregg Cory (14), 12. Travis Welpott (7), 13. Eric Gordon (6), 14. Derek Bischak (5), 15. Mike McVetta (8), 16. Tom Paterson (16), 17. Dave Berkheimer (17), 18. Austin Nemire (18). 36:50.805

2023 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (3), 3. Tyler Roahrig (4), 4. Mario Clouser (5), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Kyle O’Gara (8), 7. Wayne Johnson (10), 8. Kaylee Bryson (15), 9. Russ Gamester (9), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (14), 11. Mike McVetta (11), 12. Matt Westfall (17), 13. Taylor Ferns (7), 14. Travis Welpott (20), 15. Trey Burke (19), 16. Justin Grant (13), 17. Billy Wease (12), 18. Gregg Cory (18), 19. Bryan Gossel (16), 20. Derek Bischak (2), 21. Dave Berkheimer (21). 48:04.339

SEAVEY WINS PHOTO FINISH AT ACTION TRACK;

MOLES TAKES USAC EASTERN STORM TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kutztown, Pennsylvania (June 16, 2024)………While a past USAC Eastern Storm champion was in the midst of capturing yet another victory in a career year with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, another wheelman was busy locking up his first career USAC Eastern Storm title on Sunday night at Kutztown, Pennsylvania’s Action Track USA.

USAC National Sprint Car point leader Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was triumphant at Kutztown’s 1/6-mile dirt oval, winning the feature in a photo finish by a scant .043 second margin over Briggs Danner.

Meanwhile, with his third-place result in the 40-lap finale, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) earned the USAC Eastern Storm championship, his first and his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports team’s second after previously capturing the 2019 crown with driver C.J. Leary.

While Seavey wasn’t quite in the mix to replicate his 2022 Eastern Storm championship this time around, his 17th career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory elevated him into 35th place all-time alongside Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise and Bud Kaeding.

Seavey’s seventh win of the season in his Abacus Racing/MPV Express – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy has him atop the season long USAC National Sprint Car standings. However, he was unable to add to his advantage with the race featuring a differentiated points structure.

As far as the USAC National Sprint Car standings go, 50 appearance points were paid out to all licensed drivers and entrants at Action Track USA regardless of finishing position. On the flip side, Eastern Storm offered a full points situation for the event with a maximum of 84 up for grabs throughout the night during qualifying, heat races and the feature where every position mattered in the grand scheme.

Entering the main event, three drivers remained mathematically eligible to capture the Eastern Storm championship. Brady Bacon led by 13 points over Moles while C.J. Leary was just within reach, 23 points behind Bacon. For Bacon, the path to his second career Eastern Storm championship was clear – finish fifth or better and the title was his regardless of where Moles or Leary wound up.

Seavey, without any added pressure on his back for the Eastern Storm title, started his race from the pole position and burst out to the early lead ahead of outside front row starter Jake Swanson. However, a bevy of cautions on the tight confines resulted in four early stoppages by the end of the fourth lap.

The fourth such halt to the event resulted in serious ramifications for the Eastern Storm title race. On lap five, 22nd running Englishman Tom Harris came to a complete stop on the back straightaway to necessitate a yellow flag. As the field whoa’d up, fourth running Bacon was tagged in the left rear tire by fifth place Kyle Cummins.

Under the subsequent yellow flag, Bacon pulled into the pits and did not return, abruptly ending his title hopes. However, the culprit ending Bacon’s quest was actually engine related with him reporting to this reporter that the problem under the hood had arisen prior to the contact with Cummins.

In the coming laps, Danner ramped up his pursuit of Seavey for the race lead. Danner slid Seavey for the top spot in turn three on 10th lap, then tried again a half lap later in turn one on lap 11. However, each time, Seavey was patiently waiting for Danner to sweep across his nose before charging back under to retake the lead.

The night’s only red flag was displayed on lap 20 when eighth place running Ricky Lewis biked and turned over in turns one and two. The damage was extensive the car, requiring a hook to tow it away while Lewis exited and walked away from the scene under his own power. Lewis, however, was the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night for his heat race performance in which he went topside on the final corner of the final lap to score a dramatic victory.

Upon the resumption, Danner, the 2021 Action Track USA SpeedSTR champion, continued to shadow Seavey all the way around the 1/6-mile dirt oval, and on lap 26, dove to the inside of Seavey in turn three to overtake the number one position and lead at the line by a wheel. However, Seavey had the inner line entering turn one on lap 27 and ripped the lead right back out of Danner’s hands.

With six to go, the pair remained locked horn-to-horn as Danner made yet another bid for the lead, sliding past Seavey in turn three on lap 35, but once again, Seavey answered by turning down and driving back by to secure the lead for another lap, then entered turn one moments later on the bottom to thwart any thought Danner may have had of slide jobbing his way to the front once more.

“I was using all the tools inside the cockpit to make myself better,” Seavey explained. “I just kept trying to tell myself to keep driving harder. I feel like the harder I run, the more grip I make. There at the end, I started to struggle there. I could hear him, and I heard him up on the fence into three. As good as I was crossing him over, I knew I was in trouble if I didn’t really get up there and hit the wall really good to get a run down the front stretch.”

In crunch time during the final five lap stretch, Seavey occupied the low to middle lines while Danner was getting himself wound up on the top side of the racetrack. The 40th and final lap was no exception, but this time, Seavey slid from the bottom of turn three all the way up to the outside wall. Danner took corrective measures and turned down underneath Seavey off turn four. However, Seavey had just enough to edge Danner at the line by the distance of roughly half a front wheel.

“I feel like Briggs was a bit faster for most of the race,” Seavey admitted. “But for the most part, I could hear him for most of the race and I was just doing everything I could to hold him behind me. He threw a lot of sliders at me, but luckily, that cushion off four was treacherous.”

Meanwhile, finishing third a distant 2.786 seconds back was Moles who secured the Eastern Storm championship by a 28-point margin over Bacon with his fifth consecutive top-five result to close out the week.

Entering Eastern Storm, Moles was seventh in the USAC National Sprint Car standings and had only finished inside the top-five once in his first 16 starts to begin the season. However, the team certainly found its stride this past week with Moles concluding the final five races with results of 5th, 2nd, 2nd, 5th and 3rd in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

“We’ve been kind of struggling getting into this week, actually,” Moles acknowledged. “We just rallied together to make sure our stuff was right before we came out here, and it worked out. I think we ran top-five every night except for breaking a mag box while running fifth at Grandview.”

In the process, Moles became just the third driver in the 17-year history of Eastern Storm to win the title without the aid of a feature victory, joining Bryan Clauson (2013) and C.J. Leary (2019), but his run of consistency was second to none.

“No one wants to run second,” Moles lamented. “But we’re running second to Seavey or Danner who has one of the best cars in general out here, if not the best. He’s been up front every night too. It sucks for Brady. I think he had mechanical issues and I thine he was going to lock it up if he just finished where he was, but we’ll take them as we get them.”

During the first 16 races of the USAC National Sprint Car season, Joey Amantea had earned just one single, solitary top-10 result. In six USAC Eastern Storm starts, he finished inside the top-10 on four occasions. At Action Track USA’s closer, he advanced from 20th to 10th to earn a $100 bonus courtesy of Irvin King.

In Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Kyle Cummins recorded his 15th career USAC National Sprint Car fast time award, moving him to 31st all-time alongside USAC national champions Kenny Irwin Jr., Sammy Sessions & Brian Tyler.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 16, 2024 – Action Track USA – Kutztown, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 1/6-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-10.539; 2. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-10.657; 3. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-10.677; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-10.718; 5. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-10.748; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-10.800; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-10.840; 8. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-10.841; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-10.860; 10. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-10.935; 11. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-10.937; 12. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-10.954; 13. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-10.959; 14. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-11.088; 15. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.109; 16. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-11.166; 17. J.T. Ferry, 18J, Ferry-11.248; 18. Carmen Perigo, 21, Stehman-11.254; 19. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-11.325; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-11.354; 21. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-11.382; 22. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-11.773; 23. Scott Frack, 39x, Frack-12.073.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Tom Harris, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Carson Garrett, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Jake Swanson, 7. J.T. Ferry, 8. Scott Frack. 1:58.918

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Carmen Perigo, 6. Alex Bright, 7. Charles Davis Jr. 1:58.339

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Logan Seavey, Lap 26 Briggs Danner, Laps 27-40 Logan Seavey.

**Ricky Lewis flipped on lap 20 of the feature.

FINAL USAC EASTERN STORM POINTS: 1-Mitchel Moles-399, 2-Brady Bacon-371, 3-C.J. Leary-366, 4-Justin Grant-360, 5-Daison Pursley-358, 6-Logan Seavey-354, 7-Briggs Danner-350, 8-Robert Ballou-341, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-336, 10-Kyle Cummins-322.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-109, 2-Robert Ballou-103, 3-Logan Seavey-94, 4-Joey Amantea-86, 5-C.J. Leary-85, 6-Justin Grant-78, 7-Kyle Cummins-68, 8-Brady Bacon-60, 9-Matt Westfall-53, 10-Carson Garrett-52.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 22, 2024 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wisconsin – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (10.563)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Cummins (10.539)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Ricky Lewis

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

Irvin King Hard Charger: Joey Amantea (20th to 10th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Ricky Lewis

“IT’S UNBELIEVABLE!”

PURSLEY SCORES FIRST USAC SILVER CROWN WIN ON LAST LAP AT PORT ROYAL

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Port Royal, Pennsylvania (June 15, 2024)………It took only two races for Daison Pursley to transform himself from a USAC Silver Crown Rookie into a USAC Silver Crown winner following Saturday night’s thriller at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

Perhaps no other Rookie in series history has notched as spectacular of a victory as the Locust Grove, Okla. native did on the 1/2-mile dirt oval as he erased a two-plus second deficit over the final few laps, then took over the lead with a highwire high side pass of Justin Grant off the fourth and final turn on the 50th and final lap.

In doing so, Pursley became the first driver in 2024 to record feature victories in all three of USAC’s national divisions: USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets, USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and USAC Silver Crown.

Not only was it the first victory for Pursley in Silver Crown competition, but it was also the same for Team AZ Racing who, similarly, was making its second ever start and came away with a spectacular score for their Team AZ Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Apache Transportation – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/Ott Chevy.

Pursley showed glimpses of his immediate Silver Crown expertise in his series’ debut at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks in May. After a mechanical issue stymied their start, Pursley charged from the tail of the 25-car field to finish fifth.

It’s easy to forget that while Pursley is winning, he’s also still learning on the fly, just as he did at Belleville and just as he did at Port Royal en route to a magical night at The Speed Palace.

“At Belleville, I felt like we had a really good piece, but then the clutch went out on it and the transmission and all that, which is new to all of us,” Pursley explained. “It’s different than micros or anything I’ve ever had to drive with it having a clutch and all that. To be able to start the race, which is the first step, let alone race for the win like that, it’s unbelievable.”

Initially, it was Brady Bacon who jumped out to the early lead after qualifying for the pole position for the first time since the 2016 Hoosier Hundred eight years earlier at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. But the first stoppage of the night came early on the second lap in turns three and four when contact between Chase Dietz (12th) and C.J. Leary (13th) resulted in a knocked out front end for Leary. As Leary skidded to a stop, 20th running Nathan Moore collided with Leary, knocking both drivers out of the race. Dietz continued onward to finish sixth.

For the third place running Logan Seavey, Port Royal has been a honey hole of sorts with him being the only winner in the two-year history of Silver Crown racing at the track. However, on this night, he suddenly slowed on the back straight on lap 14 with an apparent fuel leak, which prompted a caution. After a minute in the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area, he resumed his race, restarting at the tail before driving to a 10th place result.

Moments after the restart, Grant was on the move, working past Pursley for second with a drive off the bottom of turn two on lap 16. Grant promptly began to reel in Bacon for the race lead, and on lap 30, slid past Bacon in turn one to take over up front. Bacon attempted to return the favor in turn three, but Grant shot around the top side of turn four to rip the lead right back for himself.

At that point in time, Pursley was in full pursuit in what practically became a 50-lap sprint race all while trying to figure out a way to make ground on and pass USAC superstars Brady Bacon and Justin Grant.

“I felt like I was pushing hard the entire race,” Pursley acknowledged. “It didn’t really feel like a Silver Crown race there at all with how hard we were running. Brady was setting a pretty torrid pace there, and if I wanted to keep up with him, I had to do the same. I was able to match Brady’s pace for a little while, and honestly, I didn’t even know how to pass him. I tried a couple times to slide him, and it definitely felt like it wasn’t going to clear.”

In time, Pursley had regrouped and chased down Bacon for the second spot in turn three on the 33rd lap. Meanwhile, Grant had grown his lead to two full seconds as he swiftly cut through lapped traffic. With 10 to go, Grant’s lead had ballooned to 2.4 seconds over the high-riding Pursley. With five to go, Pursley had chopped Grant’s lead in half to a mere second, but it appeared time still might be too short for Pursley to both catch and pass Grant for the win.

As it turned out, he did, in fact, have time. As the pair navigated their way past the lapped car of Mark Smith with two to go, Pursley made his run at Grant in turn three. Pursley slid across the nose of Grant, but Grant turned underneath to the inside of Pursley. The two banged wheels as they exited turn four with chief starter Warren Alston’s white flag waving furiously ahead of them.

Grant led at the stripe by a car length with one half-mile trip remaining. Grant slid himself into turn one before sliding up in front of Pursley at the top of turn two, stifling Pursley’s momentum. Pursley remained committed to the high side entering turn three for the final time while Grant once again slid himself from the bottom of turn three to the top of turn four. However, Grant wasn’t able to get to the top quickly enough as Pursley rode momentum off the cushion to narrowly escape around Grant in turn four and bring it across the finish line 0.519 seconds ahead for the win.

Pursley was followed by Grant in the runner-up spot with Brady Bacon third, Matt Westfall fourth and series point leader Kody Swanson fifth.

For the versatile Pursley, it’s the fifth different division he’s won in this year: USAC Sprint Car, Midget, Silver Crown, Micro Sprint and Winged 410 Sprint Car. But Silver Crown is an entirely different animal than all the rest, but the process of getting to victory lane in all of them – getting up on the wheel – remains the same throughout.

“Silver Crown racing is definitely different and it’s something that I’ve wanted to win in when I signed up for the six dirt races,” Pursley admitted. “This thing was absolutely phenomenal. I just had to get up on the wheel there after Justin got by us and make it happen.”

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) led a total of 20 laps in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/DRC/Speedway Chevy, but it didn’t include the one he wanted – the final one. Nonetheless, he earned his best finish of the USAC Silver Crown season to date, but it wasn’t of much consolation to the 2020 Silver Crown champ.

“It’s frustrating,” Grant lamented. “My guys gave me a car that could win the race and I didn’t win the race. That’s the end of it. It doesn’t really matter what happened between the start and finish; I didn’t do my job and we came home second. My car was really good tonight. I just feel like I let everybody down.”

In three career Port Royal USAC Silver Crown starts, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has now finished third in 2022, third in 2023 and third in 2024. This time, he led a race high 29 laps from the pole in his Chris Dyson/Concord American Flagpole – Macri Concrete – High Performance Lubricants/Maxim/Ott Chevy.

Making just his second career USAC Silver Crown start as well, Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) picked up the night’s hard charger award, pocketing a $100 bonus courtesy of Irvin King after advancing from 13th to 8th.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 15, 2024 – Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, Pennsylvania – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – USAC Eastern Blast

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (top-16 locked into the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-19.816 (New Track Record); 2. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-19.858; 3. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-19.943; 4. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-20.042; 5. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-20.098; 6. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-20.264; 7. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-20.285; 8. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-20.342; 9. Chase Dietz, 86, Lee-20.361; 10. Shane Cottle, 53, Five Three-20.503; 11. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-20.521; 12. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-20.539; 13. Alex Bright, 24, Haggenbottom-20.593; 14. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-20.668; 15. Robert Ballou, 97, Lein-20.715; 16. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-20.857; 17. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-20.922; 18. Mark Smith, 01, L & M-21.111; 19. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-21.321; 20. Mark Bitner, 4, Yeska-21.361; 21. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-21.381; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-21.533; 23. Tom Savage, 38, Savage-22.008; 24. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-NT; 24. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-NT (Time of 20.223 disallowed); 25. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-NT (Time of 20.272 disallowed); 26. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-NT (Time of 20.462 disallowed); 27. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-NT (Time of 21.309 disallowed).

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature) 1. Mark Smith, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Trey Burke, 4. Mark Bitner, 5. Chris Fetter, 6. Nathan Moore, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Dave Berkheimer, 10. Tom Savage, 11. Gregg Cory. NT

FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (2), 2. Justin Grant (6), 3. Brady Bacon (1), 4. Matt Westfall (5), 5. Kody Swanson (3), 6. Chase Dietz (9), 7. Mitchel Moles (7), 8. Alex Bright (13), 9. Briggs Danner (12), 10. Logan Seavey (4), 11. Kyle Steffens (11), 12. Carmen Perigo (16), 13. Mark Smith (17), 14. Trey Burke (19), 15. Brian Ruhlman (14), 16. Shane Cottle (10), 17. Robert Ballou (15), 18. Kaylee Bryson (23), 19. Chase Stockon (8), 20. Mark Bitner (20), 21. Chris Fetter (21), 22. Trey Osborne (24), 23. C.J. Leary (18), 24. Nathan Moore (22). 28:53.852 (New Track Record)

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-29 Brady Bacon, Laps 30-49 Justin Grant, Lap 50 Daison Pursley.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-321, 2-Justin Grant-291, 3-C.J. Leary-282, 4-Logan Seavey-248, 5-Kaylee Bryson-205, 6-Taylor Ferns-196, 7-Bobby Santos-183, 8-Mario Clouser-158, 9-Kyle Steffens-156, 10-Trey Burke-145.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-109, 2-Robert Ballou-100, 3-Logan Seavey-94, 4-C.J. Leary-85, 5-Joey Amantea-76, 6-Justin Grant-75, 7-Kyle Cummins-68, 8-Brady Bacon-60, 9-Matt Westfall-53, 10-Carson Garrett-50.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 21, 2024 – Madison International Speedway – Oregon, Wisconsin – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Brady Bacon (19.689)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (19.816)

Irvin King Hard Charger: Alex Bright (13th to 8th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Race: Daison Pursley

BIRTHDAY BASH!

KTJ BLOWS OUT THE CANDLES

WITH LAST LAP WIN AT THE GROVE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (June 14, 2024)………Birthdays are a time for celebration, a time for reflection, and if we’re being honest, a time for presents too.

Kevin Thomas Jr. celebrated his special day by achieving the rare feat of not only winning a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature but also doing so in the spectacular manner in which he did during Friday night’s USAC Eastern Storm event at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway.

“I don’t even know how I just won that to be honest,” Thomas said, not privy to the details at the time that Danner’s fuel tank had run dry. “Briggs was so good that entire race. He got away from me those last two laps and I think he just hung a little bit off two there. I got close but he was so good through three and four that I didn’t figure that line was going to work. I’d been down there a little bit. He came across my nose just a little, trying to find speed, not that he was racing me a certain way, just that he was trying to find a good line down the front stretch here. I don’t want to make contact like that. I’m getting old and I can’t see as good as I used to.”

Aside from the quip of being “old” at the age of 33, Thomas has been oh-so-close quite often during past birthday race days with the USAC National Sprint Car division. On June 14, 2017, he finished third at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Speedway on his 26th trip around the sun. Back in 2018, at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway, he was second. Most recently, at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway in 2020, he took third. Furthermore, in 2017, he won at Williams Grove

The victory couldn’t have come at a better time for Thomas and his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. On Tuesday at Grandview, a good feature run ended when he got caught up in a wreck which started in front of him. The night before, on Thursday at Big Diamond, another quality run was stifled by a flat right rear tire suffered during the final laps. But ultimately, Thomas was on the end of the good fortune stick at Williams Grove just in time to collect his third USAC National Sprint Car feature win of the year.

“These guys have had a hell of a week whether it’s come to bad luck or stupid things happening,” Thomas explained. “We had a flat tire last night and we crashed on night one. We haven’t gotten to show how fast our car is yet. They’ve made a lot of changes since Knoxville to here and I can really feel it. We’re finally getting to show what this thing’s capable of.”

Starting third, Thomas remained slotted into the “show” position for the much of the going behind fellow front row starters Danner and Mitchel Moles. Danner, a first time USAC National Sprint Car winner on Tuesday at Grandview, looked every bit the part of an unfazed veteran as he raced out to a comfortable one second lead and pretty much maintained that interval throughout, even through the lapped traffic he encountered starting at the halfway point.

USAC National Sprint Car point leader and ninth running Logan Seavey slowed between turns one and two on lap 15. He pulled off to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area under caution before returning to the track at the tail. From there, he managed just an 18th place result, which shrunk his season championship point lead from 60 to 34.

Without traffic as a hindrance, Danner pushed his lead to 1.5 seconds by lap 20 but endured multiple yellow flags during the waning laps involving a spin by 16th running Joey Amantea in turn 2 on lap 21 and a slowing Ricky Lewis on lap 24.

On the lap 24 resumption, Thomas used the bottom to drive past Moles for the second spot between turns three and four, then set off trying to reel in Danner. Running a lower line, Thomas altered his modus operandi just beforehand to provide himself with a bit more leverage to make a crucial move that put him in a winning position late.

“I think I stopped being a sissy and started running the top in one and two,” Thomas stated. “Once we did that, we had more speed down the back stretch and our entry into three was better. We just made a little adjustment on the shocks, but our car was good the entire feature. The track was heavy, and if your car was good, it was going to be good for a long time. I searched around a little bit down there in one and two but I kind of stuck to what I was doing in three and four and it paid off there.”

With the white flag in the air, to the eye of all onlookers, everything appeared hunky-dory for Danner who enjoyed a six car length lead at the stripe. However, at the exit of turn four, it became quite apparent that something wasn’t quite right for Danner. His car began to chalk up off exit, allowing Thomas to close in on him in a hurry. Danner’s black No. 39 did the same in turn two on the last go-around.

By the time he reached turn three for the final time, Thomas was a mere two car lengths back. Once more in turn four, Danner’s car bogged down as Thomas made a run to his inside. The two cars tapped sidewalls as Thomas raced by and onward to victory. Danner subsequently slowed dramatically and pulled to the inside while Moles raced by Danner on the outside, narrowly beating Danner to the line by inches, .037 seconds to be exact.

Thomas’ final margin of victory was .702 seconds over Moles as Danner fell to third in the final rundown. Brady Bacon recovered from an uncharacteristic spin the night before at Big Diamond to record a fourth-place result. Justin Grant rounded out the top-five after starting 12th, earning Irvin King Hard Charger honors for his effort.

Furthermore, Thomas also extended his point lead with the victory in round five of 10 of the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment. Jones served as Thomas’ crew chief early in his career and was pivotal in his rise to becoming one of the winningest drivers of all-time.

“He taught me a lot about racing and how to drive racecars, so this one is special to me,” Thomas said of Jones. “Now I’m probably going to go get a Dr. Pepper and eat some cheese curds or something from the Sheetz right down the road. Nothing super special (for my birthday) but when we get home, we’ll drink a couple beers.”

While Thomas was busy becoming the first driver to win a USAC National Sprint Car race on his birthday since Justin Grant at Arizona Speedway on November 12, 2021, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) was working on increasing his lead of the USAC Eastern Storm point standings, which rose to six by virtue of his second runner-up result in as many nights aboard his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

“You only give a guy like KTJ so many shots,” Moles remarked. “He was a lot better around the bottom over there. I tried to take his line away and it wasn’t working for me. So, I figured I could power through it. I felt like his line was coming in there, and at the end, he got it really cleaned off. I think I made a few mistakes there, but all in all, I’ll take it. You’ve just got to keep clicking away. We’ve had a rough start to the year, but we seem to be rolling right now. I honestly just go night-by-night. You just race as hard as you can, and things will start falling your way here and there.”

What appeared to be a firm beatdown of the field turned into heartbreak for Briggs Danner who nearly backed up his first career USAC National Sprint Car win on Tuesday at Grandview with his second triumph on Friday at Williams Grove. Leading all but the final strip from turn four to the checkered flag, Danner had to settle for third and an empty fuel tank on his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Boulevard Truck Repair/DRC/Rider Chevy.

“Coming to two to go, it started spitting and sputtering,” Danner revealed. “On a heavy track, you’re going to use a lot, so it is what it is. Sometimes being out front doesn't help you out. I knew they were really good, and I kept seeing somebody’s nose down there. Wished we could’ve picked that one off, but sometimes, that’s the way it goes.”

Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) has racked up a couple heat race wins throughout USAC Eastern Storm. At Williams Grove, the longtime sprint car veteran got the job done once again, scoring a decisive heat race victory in convincing fashion. That performance earned him the evening’s Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 14, 2024 – Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-19.659; 2. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-19.696; 3. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-19.707; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-19.757; 5. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-19.870; 6. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-19.887; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-19.920; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-19.957; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-19.992; 10. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-20.004; 11. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-20.037; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-20.056; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-20.080; 14. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-20.171; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-20.182; 16. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-20.226; 17. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-20.334; 18. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-20.457; 19. Steven Drevicki, 19, Drevicki-20.512; 20. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-20.526; 21. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-20.562; 22. Carmen Perigo, 21, Stehman-20.689; 23. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-20.857.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Carmen Perigo, 8. Steven Drevicki. 2:40.621

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Joey Amantea, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Alex Bright, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Korbyn Hayslett, 8. Hunter Maddox. 2:43.879

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Tom Harris, 7. Ricky Lewis. NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-29 Briggs Danner, Lap 30 Kevin Thomas Jr.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1291, 2-C.J. Leary-1257, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1244, 4-Brady Bacon-1231, 5-Daison Pursley-1211, 6-Justin Grant-1118, 7-Mitchel Moles-1110, 8-Robert Ballou-1105, 9-Kyle Cummins-1082, 10-Jake Swanson-974.

USAC EASTERN STORM POINTS: 1-Mitchel Moles-265, 2-Brady Bacon-259, 3-Briggs Danner-243, 4-Robert Ballou-243, 5-C.J. Leary-240, 6-Justin Grant-238, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-226, 8-Daison Pursley-222, 9-Kyle Cummins-213, 10-Logan Seavey-211.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-351, 2-C.J. Leary-339, 3-Brady Bacon-327, 4-Daison Pursley-314, 5-Justin Grant-301, 6-Logan Seavey-298, 7-Mitchel Moles-298, 8-Kyle Cummins-279, 9-Robert Ballou-263, 10-Jake Swanson-252.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-99, 2-Logan Seavey-94, 3-Robert Ballou-94, 4-C.J. Leary-81, 5-Joey Amantea-76, 6-Kyle Cummins-68, 7-Justin Grant-67, 8-Brady Bacon-57, 9-Matt Westfall-52, 10-Carson Garrett-50.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 15, 2024 – Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – USAC Eastern Blast

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (20.667)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (19.659)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

Irvin King Hard Charger: Justin Grant (12th to 5th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Charles Davis Jr.

A USAC EASTERN STORM GEM:

SEAVEY SHINES AT BIG DIAMOND

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Pottsville, Pennsylvania (June 13, 2024)………If the term “resilience” ever needed an image attached to it in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, it would be apt to include one of Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing after their victorious performance on Thursday night at Pottsville, Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway.

The team’s outing one night earlier at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park proved to be among the most challenging of the year. An engine failure forced them into a backup car where they proceeded to finish an undesirable 15th, dropping them to 11th in the USAC Eastern Storm standings and also shrunk their overall USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point lead to its closest margin since February.

Further demonstrating the resolve of Sutter, California’s Seavey, in his only previous Big Diamond appearance one year earlier, he missed out on transferring into the main event, making Thursday’s race his first feature start at the 3/8-mile dirt oval.

This time around, he stalked Mitchel Moles for the first half of the 30-lap event before making his stride to the outside of turn two to get by for the lead, and ultimately, his sixth USAC National Sprint Car victory of the year in his Abacus Racing/MPV Express – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

“These guys bounce back so well,” Seavey said in praise of his crew led by Ronnie Gardner and Kirk Simpson. “I’m confident when I get in it, so it doesn’t really deter me. These guys make sure it’s ready to go and on kill every time I’m in it. I feel like every time we have a bad night, we come back and redeem ourselves or win or have a great night.”

Seavey’s Big Diamond score was the 16th of his USAC National Sprint Car career, equaling Damion Gardner and Jud Larson for 38th place on the all-time win list. Furthermore, it put Seavey, the 2022 USAC Eastern Storm champion, right back in the thick of the title hunt for the six-race series where he now sits sixth and trails by only a 20-point margin.

The previous night’s engine failure left an unsavory taste and a major sense of frustration for Seavey and Abacus. However, throughout the day and night at Big Diamond, the team kept plugging away until they hit the sweet spot and delivered yet another victory.

“Man, this was a long day,” Seavey exhaled. “We put ourselves in position there early, but we weren’t nearly as good as we needed to be. We made some big changes to get back to where I’m comfortable on these big racetracks and it was really gripped up. Comfort was key, and to be able to get up there and run into one like that was tough. I can’t say enough about what Ronnie and Kirk do. For me, they work together every freaking night. Sometimes that’s hard but it always seems to be what’s best for the team and here we are in victory lane.”

Seavey began his race from the outside of the front row alongside Moles who bolted to the early lead with Seavey in tow just a couple car lengths back.

Multiple early cautions halted the contest, first on lap five when 20th running Carson Garrett slipped sideways in turn four and came to a stop, suffering enough contact in the incident that, on lap eight, Garrett stopped again. This time, his entire left front wheel was missing, grinding the Colorado driver to a stop in turn two, putting a premature end to his race.

Seavey continued to press Moles for the first 15 laps, but on the 16th circuit, Seavey looked to the outside line and drove right around Moles to take over up front by the time the pair exited turn two.

Meanwhile, as Seavey was enjoying his exploits at the head of the pace, the previous night’s Bridgeport winner, Brady Bacon, was attempting to place himself in contention to track down the front runners.

In the battle for third on lap 17 with Justin Grant, Bacon clipped his right front wheel against Grant’s left rear on the bottom of turn three, sending Bacon spinning to a stop at the top of the racetrack. The incident proved costly as Bacon lost his USAC Eastern Storm point lead in the process after restarting and managed only to get back to 18th at the checkered, ending a run of seven consecutive top-three finishes with the series.

On the ensuing lap 17 restart, Moles was fully cognizant of the fact that this might be his final shot to regain the top spot. In turn, he dove to the bottom of turn one and slid up in front of Seavey to briefly attain the position. However, it was a fleeting moment as Seavey turned back down and charged his way back past Moles by the time the two reached turn three.

“I really wasn’t worried,” Seavey said of momentarily relinquishing the lead to Moles. “My automatic line is to turn down as long as he doesn’t stick the bottom really good. He slid up just enough to where I could get down underneath him on the back stretch and get a huge run. It’s cool to see Mitchel running up front again. That’s what he and his team deserve, but I feel like this is where my team deserves to be too and I’m happy to get them back in victory lane.”

With the lead firmly in his grip over the next 14 laps, victory lane is exactly where Seavey was headed to as he closed out a 0.917 second triumph in round three of the six-race USAC Eastern Storm series. Mitchel Moles took second and Justin Grant went third in what was an all-California podium.

Moles’ run placed him directly at the top of the USAC Eastern Storm point standings with three races completed and three remaining this weekend in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy. His runner-up finish provided him with his best result of the season after leading the initial 15 laps.

“I think it’s a huge momentum gain,” Moles said of attaining the Eastern Storm points lead. “We’ve been struggling; it’s no secret. We’ve finally hit on something here and we just keep clicking away. I just needed that yellow like a half lap sooner and I think I would’ve been all right. Nobody passed a car on the top all night long, so I figured (Seavey) wasn’t going to circle me. I was going through my mind wanting to run that line that he was running, but it’s hard to just jump up there and leave the door that open. The modifieds made it look like it was going to be rough and kind of a California style racetrack, so we just freed it up a little bit. I think that’s where he got us. We just weren’t getting down the straightaways as good as they were.”

Native Pennsylvanians Briggs Danner and Alex Bright crossed the stripe in fourth and fifth, respectively. Bright recorded his first career USAC National Sprint Car fast qualifying time earlier in the night during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Another Pennsylvanian, Joey Amantea, entered Eastern Storm on a rough patch in his first season on the tour. In his first 16 starts of the USAC National Sprint Car season, Joey Amantea had finished inside the top-10 just once, and that occurred four months earlier during the season opening races in Florida. At Big Diamond, he posted his third straight top-10 result by finishing a solid ninth. That performance earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Ricky Lewis had himself a topsy-turvy evening at Big Diamond when an engine issue in his heat race forced him into a backup car. Utilizing a powerplant borrowed from fellow competitor Brian Ruhlman, Lewis started 25th and finished 10th in the feature, earning a $100 bonus from Irvin King as the night’s hard charger.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 13, 2024 – Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.799; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.802; 3. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.821; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.845; 5. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.876; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.881; 7. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.900; 8. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.919; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.958; 10. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.965; 11. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.992; 12. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-15.023; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.032; 14. Steven Drevicki, 19, Drevicki-15.037; 15. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-15.037; 16. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-15.112; 17. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-15.158; 18. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-15.176; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-15.233; 20. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-15.242; 21. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-15.324; 22. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.366; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.458; 24. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-15.646; 25. J.T. Ferry, 18J, Ferry-15.707.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Tom Harris, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. J.T. Ferry, 8. Jadon Rogers, 9. C.J. Leary. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Steven Drevicki, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Ricky Lewis. 2:03.876 (New Track Record)

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Anton Hernandez, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Korbyn Hayslett, 8. Chase Stockon. 2:04.421

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Mitchel Moles, Laps 16-30 Logan Seavey.

**Jadon Rogers flipped during the first heat.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1253, 2-C.J. Leary-1193, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1168, 4-Brady Bacon-1162, 5-Daison Pursley-1153, 6-Justin Grant-1053, 7-Robert Ballou-1046, 8-Mitchel Moles-1038, 9-Kyle Cummins-1033, 10-Jake Swanson-927.

USAC EASTERN STORM POINTS: 1-Mitchel Moles-193, 2-Brady Bacon-190, 3-Robert Ballou-184, 4-C.J. Leary-176, 5-Briggs Danner-174, 6-Logan Seavey-173, 7-Justin Grant-173, 8-Daison Pursley-164, 9-Kyle Cummins-164, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-150.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-99, 2-Logan Seavey-94, 3-Robert Ballou-91, 4-C.J. Leary-81, 5-Joey Amantea-76, 6-Kyle Cummins-63, 7-Justin Grant-60, 8-Brady Bacon-54, 9-Carson Garrett-50, 10-Matt Westfall-49.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 14, 2024 – Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kevin Thomas Jr. (14.784)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Alex Bright (14.799)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Steven Drevicki

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Anton Hernandez

Irvin King Hard Charger: Ricky Lewis (25th to 10th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Joey Amantea

BACON BAGS BRIDGEPORT,

BECOMES USAC EASTERN STORM’S WINNINGEST DRIVER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Swedesboro, New Jersey (June 12, 2024)………After 17 years of USAC Eastern Storm competition, one driver now stands head and shoulders at the top of the all-time win list for the annual June series on the east coast.

Fittingly, that same driver, Brady Bacon, stood head and shoulders above the competition during Wednesday night’s USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Bacon’s seventh career Eastern Storm triumph moved him past Bryan Clauson, Levi Jones and Chris Windom to become the winningest driver in the history of the series, which debuted in 2007.

How dominant was Bacon at Bridgeport? In the 18th event of the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car season, he became the first driver to lead a feature from start to finish without interruption, doing so once again for his second win of the year and the 55th of his career with the series in his Dynamics, Inc./J. Davidson Scrap Metal – Next Level Metal – Davis Bros. Trucking/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Furthermore, Bacon’s victory was his first in New Jersey, extending his record of different United States won in to 15 throughout his career.

And don’t look now, but Bacon is back in the hunt on the points front as well. On May 10, he stood 218 points out of the USAC National Sprint Car point lead. Now, after a run of seven consecutive podium finishes, Bacon has pulled to within 52 markers as he remains in the hunt for his record-tying fifth series driving title.

“We had a rough start to the year, but we knew it would turn around,” Bacon stated. “We just had to keep doing things right and we knew we had a fast racecar. You just go to the racetrack and try to win every night, then battle whatever obstacles come your way. We had to change a water pump today after qualifying, so we just needed to keep working and doing the right things. It’s easy to slack off and maybe get lazy but you’ve just got to keep doing everything right even if it takes a little extra effort. It doesn’t seem like it at times, but eventually it does pays off.”

Bacon’s admission is on point considering that, 24 hours earlier in the USAC Eastern Storm opener at Grandview Speedway, his engine dropped a cylinder, yet he still managed to persevere with a late-race pass to finish second. On Wednesday, the team’s engine provider, Gene Franckowiak, made an early morning trip to Rider Racing Engines to pick up a new engine for the team to use later that night at Bridgeport while also dropping off the Grandview powerplant to be fixed.

Prior to Bridgeport’s 30-lap main event, a considerable track rework took place while Bacon and the crew were busy preparing for battle. Nonetheless, they quickly adapted to the conditions and appeared comfortably in the zone for the distance.

“Luckily, I didn’t have time to look at what they did with track prep because I got really aggressive with my car,” Bacon noted. “I probably wouldn’t have done that if I had been paying attention, but we were scrambling all night. It was a lot wetter than I had anticipated, and I didn’t really know if I needed to be up on the bank or down on the bottom since I knew they worked the bottom a bit.”

Starting from the pole position, Bacon dashed away to the early lead with inside row two starter Kevin Thomas Jr. slotting into second and giving chase, and even briefly edging ahead in turns three and four on lap three, but was unable to keep pace with Bacon’s momentum at the exit of turn four. As it turned out, this brief interaction altered the course of the race from that point forward.

“He showed me his nose there and I was able to adjust to a line that worked,” Bacon revealed. “I just judged my speed off the lapped cars after that, and my diamond move seemed to be working well. I don’t know how good we were compared to everyone else, but we tightened up a lot and I was really nervous those first couple of laps, but I kept it on all fours, so I knew that if I could make it through those first five or six laps, we were going to be really good at the end.”

The lone stoppage of the feature came at the conclusion of lap four when 17th running Alex Bright slowed at the top of turn four to necessitate a yellow flag. When action resumed, Thomas was able to drive right to the rear bumper of Bacon by the time the race reached lap eight but was unable to gain any further ground.

By halfway, Bacon was knifing his way through traffic as he charged past the likes of Tom Harris, Korbyn Hayslett and Chase Stockon, putting each a lap down while also managing to keep both of his challengers, Thomas and the emerging Justin Grant, at bay to the tune of roughly seven tenths of a second.

Down the stretch, Bacon encountered even more traffic, but managed to sweep by with relative ease as he sprinted past Charles Davis Jr., Jake Swanson and even series point leader Logan Seavey in 15th, putting each driver one lap down as he finished off a masterful performance by a 1.256 second margin over runner-up Kevin Thomas Jr. with Justin Grant third, Robert Ballou fourth and Mitchel Moles fifth.

After mighty disappointment the night before at Grandview when he was caught up in an incident while running eighth with 10 laps to go, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recovered nicely at Bridgeport to finish as the runner-up in his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. It was his best run to date on the newer 4/10-mile track distance after scoring a win and a second on the 3/8-mile track utilized for the series at Bridgeport in 2018-19.

“We had the same amount of grip no matter which part of the racetrack we went whether it was the bottom, middle or diamond line; we all just kind of went the same speed,” Thomas explained. “It’s kind of what you want in a racetrack where you can go the same speed anywhere. Whenever we were battling with Brady, we showed him a nose there in three and four. He’s not stupid, so he’s going to go exactly where I was. You’ve got to clear those guys whenever they’re of that caliber. At the end of the day, it’s a lot better than where we were yesterday and that’s all we can ask for. Everybody on our team works extremely hard. I think they work harder at keeping my head above water than they do on the car. They do a great job, and they give me great racecars to drive.”

Justin Grant’s recovery from Grandview to Bridgeport was a facsimile of KTJ’s. Contact on an earlier restart resulted in Grant’s drag link folding up while running fifth on the final lap at Grandview, sending him into the outside wall and back to a 20th place result in the blink of an eye. At Bridgeport, the ride was much smoother throughout as Grant returned to the podium with a third-place result in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

“I think our car was good and it was good last night too,” Grant said. “We just got caught up in a melee there and then the drag link ended up breaking. But it was good tonight. The track was fast but there just wasn’t a whole lot we could do. These guys were fast, and it was good to come home on the podium.”

Aside from Bacon, Logan Seavey (USAC National Sprint Car point leader) and Briggs Danner (USAC Eastern Storm point leader) also suffered somewhat similar, but more dire, engine-related consequences during the heat races at Bridgeport. Both wound up utilizing back up cars, which required them to start at the tail of the field for the feature. Danner’s backup car lasted only four laps before he pulled off with a steering issue. Seavey managed to collect Irvin King Hard Charger honors with his advancement from 23rd to 15th.

Anton Hernandez (Arlington, Texas) missed the first race of USAC Eastern Storm on Tuesday night at Grandview. However, you couldn’t have missed him in his first run of the week on Wednesday at Bridgeport. He set a new eight-lap USAC Sprint Car track record in his heat race at a time of 2:03.44, destroying the former record of 2:11.63 set by Timmy Buckwalter in 2021. He then went on to finish eighth in in the feature, which earned him the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Likewise, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) also wrote himself into the record books with a new USAC one-lap mark at Bridgeport. His lap of 14.685 seconds in the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session broke the former record of 14.779 set by C.J. Leary in 2022. Moles’ 11th career fast qualifying time in USAC National Sprint Car competition tied him for 48th all-time alongside Jim McWithey and George Snider.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 12, 2024 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 4/10-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.685 (New Track Record); 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.746; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.871; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.898; 5. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.966; 6. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.989; 7. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.992; 8. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.992; 9. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.994; 10. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-15.004; 11. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-15.052; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.173; 13. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-15.213; 14. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-15.351; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-15.364; 16. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-15.392; 17. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-15.472; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-15.546; 19. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-15.558; 20. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.564; 21. Steven Drevicki, 19, Drevicki-15.584; 22. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-15.600; 23. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-15.861; 24. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.995.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Korbyn Hayslett, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Logan Seavey. 2:05.686

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Anton Hernandez, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Charles Davis Jr., 8. Tom Harris. 2:03.436 (New Track Record)

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Steven Drevicki, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Briggs Danner. 2:06.634

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Brady Bacon.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1179, 2-C.J. Leary-1152, 3-Brady Bacon-1127, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1122, 5-Daison Pursley-1092, 6-Robert Ballou-990, 7-Justin Grant-979, 8-Kyle Cummins-976, 9-Mitchel Moles-976, 10-Jake Swanson-964.

USAC EASTERN STORM POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-155, 2-C.J. Leary-135, 3-Robert Ballou-128, 4-Mitchel Moles-119, 5-Carson Garrett-113, 6-Kyle Cummins-107, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-104, 8-Briggs Danner-103, 9-Daison Pursley-103, 10-Justin Grant-99.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-94, 2-Logan Seavey-93, 3-Robert Ballou-86, 4-C.J. Leary-81, 5-Joey Amantea-71, 6-Justin Grant-58, 7-Brady Bacon-54, 8-Kyle Cummins-51, 9-Carson Garrett-50, 10-Matt Westfall-48.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 13, 2024 – Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kyle Cummins (15.164)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles (14.685)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Anton Hernandez

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Irvin King Hard Charger: Logan Seavey (23rd to 15th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Anton Hernandez

ENTRY LIST:

27 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRIES

FOR PORT ROYAL ON SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (June 12, 2024)………Twenty-seven USAC Silver Crown drivers and machines are prepared to take on Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway for this Saturday night’s USAC Eastern Blast on June 15 at the dirt half-mile.

Among the 27 entries are Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the defending series champion who has won the only two previous Silver Crown appearances at Port Royal in 2022-23. Past Port Royal front runners in this Saturday’s field also include Pleasant Hill, Ohio’s Matt Westfall (2nd in 2022), York, Pennsylvania’s Chase Dietz (2nd in 2023), Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (3rd in 2022 & 23), Stoystown, Pennsylvania’s Carmen Perigo (4th in 2023), Kingsburg, California’s Kody Swanson (5th in 2023) and Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary who won the pole in 2022 and finished 5th in 2023.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) also ran inside the top-10 at Port Royal with a 6th in 2022. Meanwhile, 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ Justin Grant returns to the Port Royal fray after scoring a 6th in 2023.

The list of fellow Port Royal Silver Crown returnees also consists of Fort Branch, Indiana’s Chase Stockon (11th in 2023), Clarklake, Michigan’s Brian Ruhlman (13th in 2022), Collegeville, Pennsylvania’s Alex Bright (13th in 2023) and Sunbury, Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith (16th in 2022).

Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Kaylee Bryson enters the event as the most recent USAC Silver Crown dirt winner at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks. She took 18th at Port Royal in 2023. Columbus, New Jersey’s Mark Bitner (19th in 2022) is back in action this Saturday as well as Shelbyville, Indiana’s Gregg Cory (22nd in 2023), Alvin, Texas’ Trey Burke (25th in 2023) and Raisin City, California’s Mitchel Moles (24th in 2023) who owns the one-lap USAC Silver Crown track record at Port Royal, set in 2023.

Drivers vying for their first career Port Royal USAC Silver Crown starts include 2015 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) and newly crowned 2024 USAC Indiana Midget Week titlist Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.). Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), who just recently won his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature on Tuesday at Grandview, will make his Port Royal champ car debut at Port Royal on Saturday.

Leading series Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) is set to take in his first Port Royal experience on Saturday. Also eying first Port Royal USAC Silver Crown starts are Kyle Steffens (Saint Charles, Mo.), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) and Tom Savage (Red Lion, Pa.) who is making his USAC Silver Crown debut.

The Eastern Storm/USAC Eastern Blast event will feature both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, plus winged 410 c.i. Sprint Cars. The USAC Silver Crown portion of the program will conclude with a 50-lap main event paying $8,000-to-win.

Pits open at 4pm Eastern, front gates open at 5pm and hot laps begin at 6pm, followed by qualifying and racing. Adult admission tickets are $30, students age 13 to 18 are $15 and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-members.

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

PORT ROYAL USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (27 CARS)

01 MARK SMITH/Sunbury, PA (L & M Motorsports)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

4 ®MARK BITNER/Columbus, NJ (Henry Yeska)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson)

10 ®BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (DMW Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

21 ®DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 ®ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

38 ®TOM SAVAGE/Red Lion, PA (Savage Motorsports)

48 ®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

49 BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)

52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)

53 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Five Three Motorsports)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

86 ®CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

97 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Hans Lein)

119 ®MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

® represents a USAC Silver Crown National Championship Rookie

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-263, 2-C.J. Leary-262, 3-Justin Grant-224, 4-Logan Seavey-205, 5-Taylor Ferns-196, 6-Bobby Santos-183, 7-Kaylee Bryson-178, 8-Mario Clouser-158, 9-Jerry Coons Jr.-136, 10-Gregg Cory-134.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY:

2-Logan Seavey

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY:

2022: Logan Seavey (6/18)

2023: Logan Seavey (6/17)

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

USAC SILVER CROWN TRACK RECORDS AT PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY

1 Lap - 6/17/2023 - Mitchel Moles - 20.899 - 86.129 mph

50 Laps - 6/17/2023 - Logan Seavey - 29:32.10 - 50.787 mph

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

PORT ROYAL USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS:

2022 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (6), 2. Matt Westfall (4), 3. Brady Bacon (2), 4. Dallas Hewitt (11), 5. C.J. Leary (1), 6. Shane Cottle (7), 7. Shane Cockrum (10), 8. Kody Swanson (5), 9. Jason McDougal (12), 10. Carmen Perigo (19), 11. Brian Tyler (16), 12. Chase Stockon (17), 13. Brian Ruhlman (15), 14. Jimmy Light (18), 15. Austin Nemire (21), 16. Mark Smith (9), 17. Jake Swanson (3), 18. Travis Welpott (23), 19. Mark Bitner (22), 20. Mike Haggenbottom (20), 21. Tom Paterson (24), 22. Justin Grant (8), 23. Gregg Cory (14), 24. Kyle Robbins (13). 31:43.07 (New Track Record)

2023 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Chase Dietz (3), 3. Brady Bacon (6), 4. Carmen Perigo (9), 5. Kody Swanson (2), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Matt Westfall (12), 8. Shane Cottle (13), 9. C.J. Leary (5), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 11. Chase Stockon (11), 12. Jake Swanson (10), 13. Alex Bright (16), 14. Steve Buckwalter (20), 15. Wayne Johnson (17), 16. Mario Clouser (8), 17. Mark Smith (22), 18. Kaylee Bryson (15), 19. Travis Welpott (26-P), 20. Ryan Thomas (21), 21. Mark Bitner (23), 22. Gregg Cory (24), 23. Taylor Ferns (25-P), 24. Mitchel Moles (1), 25. Trey Burke (19), 26. Russ Gamester (18). NT

WINNER, WINNER BRIGGS DANNER!

PENNSYLVANIAN GETS FIRST

USAC SPRINT WIN AT GRANDVIEW

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania (June 11, 2024)………For Briggs Danner, a first career victory on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour seemed closer than ever before.

On a part-time basis in eight series starts this year, he’d finished inside the top-10 in seven of them, and less than a month ago, he was standing in victory lane with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series at Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway, host of Tuesday night’s USAC Eastern Storm opener and the venue in which he had earned his best USAC national performance to date with a runner-up finish in 2022.

How fitting it was that the native Keystone State racer achieved his breakthrough on his home dirt in front of his home crowd at what you might consider one of his home tracks, located roughly a half-hour or so from his Allentown, Pa. home.

For Danner to be able to get it done during the premiere of the most preeminent event for USAC racing on the east coast – the 17th edition of Eastern Storm – was icing on the cake for he and his Hogue Racing Enterprises/E. Schneider & Sons – Boulevard Truck Repair/DRC/Rider Chevy during the 13th running of the Jesse Hockett Classic.

“This is freaking awesome,” Danner, the 2022-23 USAC East Coast regional sprint car titlist exclaimed. “To do it in front of this crowd at this track is incredible. This might not set in until the end of the week.”

In doing so, Danner posted several firsts. He became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car feature period since Selinsgrove’s Frankie Kerr in 1999 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. Furthermore, Danner became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car race in his home state since Paul Pitzer at Reading in 1979.

In terms of Eastern Storm, he’s the first driver to earn his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature during the event in 14 years – since Chris Windom’s score at Big Diamond Speedway in 2010. In fact, in the 64-race history of Eastern Storm, only five drivers have won their first career USAC National Sprint Car main event. Along with Danner and Windom in that club are Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2007 Big Diamond), Cole Whitt (2008 Big Diamond) and Chad Boat (2008 Hagerstown).

Danner’s victory also arrives on the heels of Daison Pursley’s first career USAC National Sprint Car points-paying triumph at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway 10 days earlier. It’s the first such instance of consecutive first-time series winners in the series since July of 2022 at South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway where Ryan Bernal and Mitchel Moles won on back-to-back nights.

Starting fourth on this night, Danner certainly had his work cut out for it with two drivers in the same realm occupying the front row. Both pole sitter Carson Garrett and outside front row starter Alex Bright were similarly vying for their first career USAC National Sprint Car victories. Garrett controlled the pace to lead the opening lap, but Bright made his bid in turn one on the second lap as he slid his way past Garrett.

However, by the time Bright reached turn two, his front wheels pulled skyward, and he subsequently kicked sideways. Garrett escaped trouble but ramped his right rear tire over Bright’s left front, sending Bright to a complete halt. Garrett continued onward while Bright attempted to return but spun backwards to a stop in turn four under the yellow flag with more dire damage done than was first apparent, ending his night. Seventh running Kyle Cummins also spun to avoid the initial carnage. As the field slowed for the incident, Cummins slid into the left rear tire of Brady Bacon, knocking Cummins sideways and sending him spinning to a stop. Cummins returned to finish 11th.

Upon the resumption of the 40-lap main event, Garrett extended his lead to over a second by lap 11 until reaching the tail end of the field. In what soon came to be known as a slider fest, Danner made the first successful move on lap 15 when he dove under Garrett in turn three as the two frontrunners attempted to navigate past the lapped car of Tom Harris. Over the course of the next three laps, Danner and Garrett exchanged the lead three different times before Danner ultimately escaped the throes of the challenge on the 17th lap around the 1/3-mile dirt oval when he completed the pass of Garrett on the back straight.

“We ran the (USAC) East Coast race here earlier this year and it was nothing like this,” Danner remarked. “Carson was really, really good, and I felt like my only opportunity was lapped traffic unless he made a mistake. I knew I just needed to capitalize.”

Danner's lead ballooned to a full-straightaway with 10 to go as he sliced through lapped traffic to put Chase Stockon and Steven Drevicki a lap down in the process of building a 3.149 second lead. However, on lap 30, Ricky Lewis (13th) slowed with an issue on his right rear tire to necessitate a yellow flag. On the lap 31 restart, the fifth-place car of Mitchel Moles suddenly slowed in turn one, creating havoc behind him as several drivers scattered to miss the melee. The most unfortunate soul was Kevin Thomas Jr. (8th) who became the only other driver outside of Moles to stop.

Nonetheless, the restart didn’t hamper Danner’s groove much in any form or fashion as he stretched his advantage to 1.7 seconds over Garrett. However, once again, the yellow flag was displayed, this time for fifth running Justin Grant whose car came to a grinding halt against the outside wall in turns three and four, abruptly ending his race on the final lap and relegating him back to a disheartening 20th place result. Thus, for Danner, the stoppage resulted in having to survive and advance through yet another restart, this time of the green-white-checker variety.

“I hate restarts as it is,” Danner admitted. “I had to hit my marks, and luckily, I was able to keep it out front. I saw that Brady Bacon was coming up through, so I was happy to see him stay third. If he had to battle Garrett a little bit, that just made my job easier. But I don’t know how it was behind me. I just drove the hell out of it and here we are.”

Danner went scot-free en route to his monumental first series victory by a 1.114 second margin of victory at the stripe. Meanwhile, just behind Danner, second running Garrett was slid by Bacon for the runner-up spot on the lap 39 restart. Moments later, Leary shot underneath his teammate, Garrett, off the fourth turn on the final lap to grab third. Garrett took fourth at the line while point leader Logan Seavey rounded out the top-five.

“Needless to say, this is a fantastic start to the week,” Danner said. “We had a great piece we had tonight. (Car owners) Tim and Fran (Hogue) really do make my job easier. I feel like I have a really good piece, maybe one of the best, but our time trial helped tonight, and our starting position helped. Restarts were key and I’m so thankful to be able to pull it off. I think it’s safe to say that’s the most fun I’ve ever had here.”

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) opened his night by erasing Kevin Thomas Jr.'s 12-year-old one lap USAC National Sprint Car track record at Grandview. Bacon's lap of 13.341 seconds in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying bested the former record of 13.360 set in 2012, giving him his 51st career fast time award, surpassing C.J. Leary for sole possession of fourth all-time.

Overall, Bacon, the five-time Grandview winner, earned his seventh top-two finish at Grandview in just 11 career USAC Sprint starts, adding another one on Tuesday night in his Dynamics, Inc./J. Davidson Scrap Metal – Next Level Metal – Davis Bros. Trucking/Triple X/Rider Chevy. And he did with a daring pass on the final restart with just two laps remaining.

“It was so hard to pass on the top, that was my only option,” Bacon explained. “They were messing up a little bit on the top and I figured that, maybe for a lap, I could run a good enough lap on the bottom to get by. I thought I was actually going to lose third, but then (Garrett) messed up and I got by and was able to stay in front of them both. So, it was close. It was a gamble, but I had to go for it running third. It pays twice as much to run second, so it’s worth the risk. We actually had an issue there the last 15 laps with fuel; something wasn’t quite right. I don’t think it really hurt me, but when you have something wrong, it kind of gets in the back of your head a little bit and you can’t drive as aggressively as you normally would.”

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) returned to the podium as a top-three finisher for the first time in a month aboard his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy. He moved to second place in the series standings for his efforts while also slotting into the top-three with one last-ditch effort off the final corner.

“I figured Brady was going to go to the bottom and I got a pretty good run on the last restart on him on the outside there,” Leary detailed. “Honestly, I thought I was going to snooker Brady, but he was able to slide Carson. We were able to diamond it and get by Carson. Carson ran a heck of a race but our 15x was good tonight. We normally struggle in PA so to come out with a third, we’re pretty happy. Obviously, I want to park it in victory lane. I’ve been pretty good here in the past, but I’ve just never been able to get it done here.”

Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.) was happy to be back on his home ground at Grandview as he advanced 20th to 9th in the feature to pick up a $100 hard charger reward from Irvin King. For Amantea, it was his first top-10 USAC National Sprint Car result since February at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) avoided catastrophe in a major stack-up in turn two with 10 laps to go. He saved it, missed the carnage and managed to carry onward to a seventh-place result. For that, he was acknowledged as the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 11, 2024 – Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania – 17th USAC Eastern Storm / Jesse Hockett Classic – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.341 (New Track Record); 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.351; 3. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-13.420; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.427; 5. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-13.443; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.444; 7. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.444; 8. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-13.481; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.492; 10. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.522; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-13.529; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.546; 13. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-13.577; 14. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.589; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-13.671; 16. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.722; 17. Steven Drevicki, 19, Drevicki-13.726; 18. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.799; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.833; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-13.849; 21. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-13.887; 22. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-13.902; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.941; 24. J.T. Ferry, 18J, Ferry-14.360; 25. Scott Frack, 39x, Frack-14.619; 26. Jason Cherry, 67c, Cherry-14.802.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Korbyn Hayslett, 9. Scott Frack. 2:17.996

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Steven Drevicki, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Jason Cherry, 9. Ricky Lewis. 2:21.349

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Tom Harris, 8. J.T. Ferry. 2:22.262

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Tom Harris, 4. Hunter Maddox, 5. J.T. Ferry, 6. Korbyn Hayslett, 7. Scott Frack, 8. Jason Cherry. 2:55.244

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Carson Garrett, Laps 15-40 Briggs Danner.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1145, 2-C.J. Leary-1089, 3-Daison Pursley-1050, 4-Brady Bacon-1049, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1048, 6-Robert Ballou-921, 7-Kyle Cummins-918, 8-Justin Grant-907, 9-Mitchel Moles-895, 10-Jake Swanson-843.

USAC EASTERN STORM POINTS: 1-Briggs Danner-79, 2-Brady Bacon-77, 3-C.J. Leary-72, 4-Carson Garrett-66, 5-Logan Seavey-65, 6-Daison Pursley-61, 7-Robert Ballou-59, 8-Jake Swanson-55, 9-Jadon Rogers-51, 10-Joey Amantea-50.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-92, 2-Logan Seavey-85, 3-Robert Ballou-82, 4-C.J. Leary-81, 5-Joey Amantea-65, 6-Justin Grant-57, 7-Brady Bacon-54, 8-Carson Garrett-50, 9-Kyle Cummins-48, 10-Matt Westfall-48.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 12, 2024 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey – 17th USAC Eastern Storm – 4/10-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Mitchel Moles (13.409)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (13.341)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Ricky Lewis

Hard Charger: Joey Amantea (20th to 9th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Robert Ballou

23 USAC EASTERN STORM FULL-TIMERS

SET TO SPRINT JUNE 11-16 IN PA & NJ

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (June 9, 2024)………Twenty-three drivers are set for full-time duty during USAC’s Eastern Storm series featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from June 11-16.

Among the group are four past Eastern Storm champions Brady Bacon (2014), Robert Ballou (2015 & 2021), C.J. Leary (2019) and Logan Seavey (2022).

Eight of the 23 expected full-time participants have previously won an Eastern Storm feature, including Brady Bacon (6), Robert Ballou (5), Justin Grant (4), Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), Logan Seavey (2), Kyle Cummins (1), Chase Stockon (1) and Jake Swanson (1).

Returning to Eastern Storm duty in 2024 are Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), winner of the most recent USAC National Sprint Car feature on the first of June at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway. Also trekking eastbound are fellow USAC National Sprint Car winners Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

Back at Eastern Storm for another go are a group of drivers eying a first career USAC National Sprint Car victory. Among them are the likes of USAC East Coast Sprint Car champions Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) and Steven Drevicki (Reading, Pa.).

Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.), the 2023 USAC National Most Improved Driver, is back in action for a return visit to Eastern Storm. Also back are Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.), 2024 USAC East Coast Sprint Car winner Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.) as well as Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.), the winningest non-wing sprint car driver in the United States for 2023.

Making their debut visits to Eastern Storm this year are leading USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year contender Hunter Maddox (Bloomington, Ind.) and past Lawrenceburg Speedway Rookie of the Year Saban Bibent (Cincinnati, Ohio).

As usual, aside from the full-timers, several other drivers will join in on Eastern Storm with a partial schedule, hitting events here and there. That includes versatile Pennsylvania star Timmy Buckwalter (Douglassville, Pa.), Korbyn Hayslett (Troy, Ohio) and Tom Harris (Banbury, Oxfordshire) who brings a little bit of international flavor from the United Kingdom.

USAC Eastern Storm 2024 presents six USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship events across a six-night span in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Historic racetracks are in abundance on the east coast, and this year’s list is tradition-rich with Grandview Speedway on June 11, Bridgeport Motorsports Park on June 12, Big Diamond Speedway on June 13, Williams Grove Speedway on June 14, Port Royal Speedway on June 15 and Action Track USA on June 16.

For more information on each event, visit the “Schedule/Results” tab on www.usacracing.com, then click on “Sprint Cars” and “AMSOIL National.” From there, click on “Event Info” next to the corresponding event on the schedule.

The entire week of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

2024 USAC EASTERN STORM FULL-TIMERS LIST (23)

2B JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (2B Racing)

3p KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Petty Performance Racing)

3R KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Rock Steady Racing)

4 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (TOPP Motorsports)

5s CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (KO Motorsports)

12 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Ballou Motorsports)

15 CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (BGE Dougherty Motorsports)

15x C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (BGE Dougherty Motorsports)

17GP JADON ROGERS/Worthington, IN (Michael Dutcher Motorsports)

19 STEVEN DREVICKI/Reading, PA (Greg Fitzpatrick)

19AZ MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21AZ DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Team AZ Racing)

24m HUNTER MADDOX/Bloomington, IN (Hunter Maddox Racing)

27 ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Heffner Racing Enterprises)

33m MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Ray Marshall Motorsports)

39 BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (Hogue Racing Enterprises)

41 RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Stensland Motorsports)

47 CHARLES DAVIS JR./Buckeye, AZ (Charles Davis Jr.)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

69 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Dynamics, Inc.)

84 TOM HARRIS/Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK (Tom Harris Motorsports)

88J JOEY AMANTEA/Mount Pocono, PA (JPA Racing)

98 SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Wedgewood Motorsports)

TRI-STATE TRIUMPH!

SEAVEY TALLIES HIS FIRST

OF USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (June 8, 2024)………After capturing the USAC Indiana Midget Week championship a year ago, by all accounts, this hasn’t exactly been the week that Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing had envisioned.

Nonetheless, they were determined to make a lasting mark before the curtain fell on the five-race USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship miniseries across the Hoosier State.

After successive finishes of 17th (DNF), 11th and 4th in their first three IMW outings this week, Seavey wheeled his Indy Fuel – AP Driver Development – Prime 47 – Drexel Interiors/Spike/Stanton SR-11x to a memorable victory on Saturday night at Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway, outdueling Kyle Cummins for his first win of the week.

For the two-time USAC Indiana Midget Week champion from Sutter, Calif., it was his 18th career USAC National Midget feature win, tying him for 40th on the all-time list alongside Dave Steele. However, it’s the first of his career at Tri-State, where he owns an average finish of eighth and hasn’t finished better than fifth in any of his five previous series starts.

It’s a place he and many others have struggled to master over the years. But now, you can forever introduce Seavey as a Tri-State Speedway winner, a feat that even he has a hard time believing.

“It’s so cool to be fast here, finally,” Seavey exclaimed. “I have sucked so badly here in the past. I can’t say enough about what (my crew does). It’s just insane that I won at Haubstadt; that’s really all I can say. I’m usually getting lapped here, so I’m usually trying to stay out of the way. To get up here and race with these guys is cool, and to put on a show like that is really cool. Winning at Haubstadt is awesome.”

Seavey began his 30-lap quest from the fourth spot in the 25-car field. Meanwhile, outside front row starting Jake Andreotti set sail at the start, leading the initial seven laps from his outside front row starting position. Third-starting Cummins made a couple early bids for the race lead on laps six and seven that were ultimately rejected when Andreotti raced back under to retake the lead for the time being.

On the eighth lap, the course turned when Andreotti slid over the cushion and slapped the turn four wall, allowing both Cummins and Seavey to drive past and become the new occupants of the first two positions in the running order, respectively.

IMW point leader Daison Pursley entered the fray and instantly became a player up front in the second half of the race, sliding his way past Seavey into second for a brief moment in turns two and four on lap 18. Nonetheless, Seavey was prepared for it, and instantly countered the move by punching back and driving back to retain second.

In the meantime, Cummins stretched his lead to eighth tenths of a second over Seavey with a mere eight laps remaining, but traffic was suddenly looming for the frontrunners by that point in time. That equation was soon expunged on the 23rd lap when 21st running Kyle Jones spun backwards to a stop in turn four. That reshuffled the deck and allowed for a clear track ahead for the leaders when the race resumed.

That is precisely when the ultimate slider fest of all slider fests commenced between Cummins and Seavey. Seavey fired his shot on the lap 23 restart when he dove to the bottom of turn one and slid up in front of Cummins to gain the lead. But Cummins had his response signed and sealed before delivering it by sliding his way back past Seavey in turns three and four to regain the upper hand.

It was a carbon copy situation for the pair on the 24th circuit, but on lap 25, Cummins threw a slight changeup by sliding himself on entry into turn one. This time around, Seavey went to work on the opposite end of the 1/4-mile dirt oval and successfully executed the slide job in turns three and four to take over the spot before beating Cummins to the stripe by 3/4 of a car length margin.

Seemingly, Seavey went to school by following in the wake of Cummins who has won an enormous amount of sprint car races over the years at Tri-State, including six in USAC-sanctioned events at the track. Ultimately, the lessons Seavey learned were more than an adequate teacher.

“Following a guy like him makes it easier to figure out what I need to do because he’s obviously the best here,” Seavey stated. “I just needed a good restart, and once it got going, it was like we were exactly the same pace. He’d get away a few car lengths, then I’d stick with him. I was really hoping for some traffic to make it interesting, but it was like every time we got there, a yellow would come out. I just got one great restart and that was all I needed to get racing with him and slow him down.”

In the process, Seavey discovered the difference between two plans of attack – the one that got him to the front in the first place and the one in which he was going to use to maintain and sustain his lead once he reached that juncture.

“It’s just how it is here,” Seavey acknowledged. “You can actually make a bunch of grip and a bunch of speed by running down but then once you get clear, you have to get up and make speed. I was actually defending from Daison with the slider line, and I was slowly creeping up on Kyle. That was when I kind of figured that once I got to the lead, if I could really be consistent at doing that, it would be good and that Kyle, of course, would figure out something to beat it and get back in front of me. That’s what the good guys do here, so I had to stay lower with my protection line.”

Moments after the lead exchange, Jade Avedisian (17th) stopped in turns three and four to necessitate the final caution of the evening, setting up a four-lap dash to the finish. Seavey withstood one last attack from Cummins on the first go around following the lap 27 restart, yet Cummins was only able to muster enough to pull even with Seavey in turn four, but soon slotted back into line behind Seavey who gradually drifted away into the distance.

From there onward, Seavey sped away to clinch a 0.601 second victory, his second of the USAC National Midget season, over Kyle Cummins, followed by Daison Pursley and Justin Grant with Zach Wigal rounding out the top-five.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) led a race high 18 laps before finishing as the runner-up in his Glenn Styres Racing/Ohsweken Speedway - Elite - Midwest Lawn & Landscaping/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. All in all, it was his best USAC National Midget result since scoring his one and only career series victory at Tri-State in June of 2021.

When finishing third is a bit of a personal disappointment, you’ve got to take solace in the fact that that’s not a bad place to be in the grand scheme of things. Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) did just that after finishing on the podium for the fourth consecutive time in four nights aboard his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota, extending his USAC Indiana Midget Week point lead to 64 over Ryan Timms.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature winner Adam Taylor (Wheatfield, Ind.) advanced to his first USAC National Midget main event in two seasons. Not only that, but he also won it with a unique Fusion V-4 powerplant that emanated a mighty growling roar from under the hood, much different than the standard higher-pitched noise that we have been accustomed to. After all was said and done, he was the recipient of the Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) was forced into a backup car after his primary ride broke a rocker arm in his heat race. Starting 23rd in the feature, he raced his way back through the field to an 11th place result. The +12 netted him his second straight $100 hard charger bonus in as many nights courtesy of Irvin King.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 8, 2024 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 20th Annual USAC Indiana Midget Week

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-13.551; 2. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-13.597; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.653; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3G, Styres-13.741; 5. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-13.800; 6. Ricky Lewis, 54, 4 Kings-13.820; 7. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.840; 8. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.896; 9. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.902; 10. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.905; 11. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.949; 12. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.971; 13. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.975; 14. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-14.000; 15. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-14.006; 16. Zach Daum, 7p, RAMCO-14.073; 17. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-14.078; 18. Steve Buckwalter, 25B, Buckwalter-14.263; 19. Kayla Roell, 4K, Roell-14.309; 20. Adam Taylor, 7T, ATM-14.322; 21. Jadon Rogers, 7m, RAMCO-14.364; 22. Kevin Thomas Jr, 14s, Mounce/Stout-14.450; 23. Jeff Schindler, 8x, Schindler-14.460; 24. Michael Pickens, 54NZ, Mounce/Stout-14.552; 25. Hank Davis, 8, Cornell-14.568; 26. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-14.590; 27. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-14.646; 28. Drake Edwards, 3p, Petty-14.660; 29. Stephen Schnapf, 11, Martin-14.765; 30. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Ford-15.107; 31. Lance Bennett, 91, Mason-15.149; 32. Adam Bolyard, 4, Bolyard-15.191; 33. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-15.203.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Kale Drake, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Kyle Jones, 8. Stephen Schnapf, 9. Hank Davis. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Wigal, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Steve Buckwalter, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Tom Dunkel, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Jeff Schindler, 6. Kayla Roell, 7. Blake Brannon, 8. Lance Bennett. 2:24.491

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Taylor Reimer, 5. Michael Pickens, 6. Adam Taylor, 7. Drake Edwards, 8. Adam Bolyard. 2:23.693

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Adam Taylor, 2. Ethan Mitchell, 3. Drake Edwards, 4. Kyle Jones, 5. Blake Brannon, 6. Lance Bennett, 7. Tom Dunkel, 8. Hank Davis, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Jadon Rogers, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. Adam Bolyard, 13. Stephen Schnapf. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Kyle Cummins (3), 3. Daison Pursley (6), 4. Justin Grant (15), 5. Zach Wigal (5), 6. Chase McDermand (7), 7. Gavin Miller (9), 8. Jacob Denney (16), 9. Zach Daum (8), 10. Jadon Rogers (24-P), 11. Cannon McIntosh (23), 12. Ryan Timms (14), 13. Taylor Reimer (10), 14. Jake Andreotti (2), 15. Kale Drake (11), 16. Hayden Reinbold (13), 17. Steve Buckwalter (17), 18. Jade Avedisian (12), 19. Adam Taylor (18), 20. Drake Edwards (21), 21. Kyle Jones (22), 22. Ricky Lewis (1), 23. Jeff Schindler (19), 24. Ethan Mitchell (20), 25. Michael Pickens (25). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Jake Andreotti, Laps 8-25 Kyle Cummins, Laps 26-30 Logan Seavey.

**Kyle Jones flipped during the first heat.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-511, 2-Cannon McIntosh-453, 3-Ryan Timms-436, 4-Logan Seavey-432, 5-Justin Grant-402, 6-Zach Daum-389, 7-Jacob Denney-385, 8-Gavin Miller-352, 9-Kale Drake-339, 10-Kyle Jones-309.

USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-310, 2-Ryan Timms-246, 3-Cannon McIntosh-244, 4-Justin Grant-241, 5-Logan Seavey-237, 6-Jacob Denney-223, 7-Gavin Miller-206, 8-Hayden Reinbold-196, 9-Zach Daum-192, 10-Zach Wigal-191.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-82, 2-C.J. Leary-81, 3-Logan Seavey-74, 4-Robert Ballou-74, 5-Justin Grant-57, 6-Joey Amantea-54, 7-Brady Bacon-50, 8-Carson Garrett-50, 9-Kyle Cummins-48, 10-Matt Westfall-45.

USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-30, 2-Justin Grant-29, 3-Ryan Timms-27, 4-Cannon McIntosh-27, 5-Kale Drake-19, 6-Lance Bennett-19, 7-Logan Seavey-17, 8-Kyle Jones-16, 9-Gavin Miller-14, 10-Zach Daum-14.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 9, 2024 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 20th Annual USAC Indiana Midget Week

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jake Andreotti (13.502)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (13.551)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Zach Wigal

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Chase McDermand

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Zach Daum

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Adam Taylor

Irvin King Hard Charger: Cannon McIntosh (23rd to 11th)

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Adam Taylor

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

June 8, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California – “Golden Empire Clash”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.371; 2. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.524; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.550; 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.667; 5. Brody Roa, 8M, May-14.910; 6. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-14.978; 7. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.014; 8. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-15.095; 9. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-15.189; 10. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-15.246; 11. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-15.265; 12. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.301; 13. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-15.562; 14. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-15.666; 15. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-15.723; 16. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-16.181; 17. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-16.328; 18. Camie Bell, 29C, Bell-16.428.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / BILLSJERKY.NET FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, All Transfer To Feature ) 1. Brody Roa, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Chris Gansen, 5. Logan Williams, 6. Ryan Timmons, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Verne Sweeney, 9. Chris Ennis. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS / WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, All Transfer To Feature) 1. David Gasper, 2. A.J. Bender, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Brent Owens, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Tommy Malcolm, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Jon DeWees, 9. Camie Bell. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. R.J. Johnson (6), 2. Logan Williams (9), 3. A.J. Bender (5), 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (7), 5. Tommy Malcolm (14), 6. Cody Williams (4), 7. Austin Williams (8), 8. Chris Gansen (1), 9. Ryan Timmons (11), 10. Brent Owens (2), 11. Chris Ennis (17), 12. Verne Sweeney (13), 13. Jon DeWees (16), 14. Camie Bell (18), 15. Brody Roa (3), 16. Elexa Herrera (15), 17. David Gasper (10), 18. Austin Grabowski (12). NT.
----------------------------
**Malcolm flipped during qualifications. Herrera flipped on lap sixteen of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Chris Gansen, Laps 2-16 Cody Williams, Laps 17-30 R.J. Johnson.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Tommy Malcolm (14 to 5).

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: June 22– Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

R.J. JOHNSON LEADS USAC/CRA SPRINTS TO KERN “GOLDEN EMPIRE CLASH”
By Lance Jennings

JUNE 4, 2024... This Saturday, June 8th, the chase for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship will resume at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. Promoted by Tim Huddleston, the “Golden Empire Clash” is the first of three appearances for the non-winged 410s at the fast 1/3-mile oval. Located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 5:45pm, followed by Time Trials, with Racing scheduled at 7:00pm. For more event information and advance tickets, visit the track’s website at kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

The seventh point race of the year is the fourth event for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. The traditional 410s last visited the facility on April 29, 2023 and “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa claimed the victory on his way to the championship. Ryan Timmons used an iron block 360 engine to win on March 12, 2021 and Max Adams topped the following night’s main event. The 1-lap track record of 14.106 was set by 10-time USAC/CRA champion, “The Demon” Damion Gardner on March 12, 2021.

After finishing second at the May 25th “Salute to Indy” at Perris Auto Speedway, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) has taken over the point lead. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 JUGO Superfoods / Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman, Johnson has one semi-main win, six top-10 finishes, and 9 feature laps led in the campaign. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year will have his sights on the eighth USAC/CRA win of his career at the “Golden Empire Clash.”

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm scored fifteenth in the “Salute to Indy” after an early flip ended his night. To date, the veteran driver has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, and five top-10 finishes on the season. Tommy will be looking to earn the fourth victory of his career this Saturday night,

Leading rookie contender David Gasper (Goleta, California) sits third in the USAC/CRA point chase. Racing the Kittle Motorsports / Gasper Racing #18 DRC with a 360 engine, Gasper raced to a sixth place finish at Perris after starting fifteenth. As this writing goes to press, the two-time California Lightning Sprint Champion has one feature win, one semi main win, two In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Awards, four top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led on the season. David will be looking to gain valuable points with a victory at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

After running fifth at the “Salute to Indy,” A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) has climbed to fourth in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Driving the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender has two heat race victories, three top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking to top Saturday’s “Golden Empire Clash.”

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) sits fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17 Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams placed seventh in the May 25th main event. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, three top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. This Saturday, “The Big Game Hunter” will have his sights on tying Bryan Clauson with the twelfth USAC/CRA victory of his career.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is tied with his older brother for fifth in the point chase. Racing John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams led seventeen laps of the “Salute to Indy” before scoring fourth at the checkered flags. At press time, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led to his credit. Logan will be looking to earn his first career USAC/CRA victory at the “Golden Empire Clash.”

While David Gasper leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors, Brent Sexton (Lakeside, California), Elexa Herrera (New Cuyama, California), Braden Chiaramonte (El Cajon, California), Joey Bishop (Camarillo, California), Mark Henry (Rosamond, California), Blake Hendricks (Simi Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), and Camie Bell (Bakersfield, California) are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Verne Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Grant Sexton, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Chris Gansen, Kaleb Montgomery, Ryan Timmons, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Matt Mitchell, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

KERN COUNTY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Damion Gardner – 14.016 (03/12/21)

KERN COUNTY AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-Max Adams, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. R.J. Johnson-386, 2. Tommy Malcolm-364, 3. David Gasper (R)-348, 4. A.J. Bender-342, 5. Austin Williams-338, ---Logan Williams-338, 7. Cody Williams-291, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-278, 9. Matt Mitchell-247, 10. Charles Davis Jr.-244. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

TUESDAY'S CIRCLE CITY

USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENER RAINED OUT

Indianapolis, Indiana (June 4, 2024)………Afternoon showers have forced cancellation of Tuesday night’s USAC Indiana Midget Week opener at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis for June 4.

The now five-race miniseries for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will resume on Wednesday night, June 5, at southeastern Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

On Wednesday at Lawrenceburg, the pits open at 2pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 4:30pm and hot laps at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing. Adult general admission tickets are $30, kids 7-12 are $8 and children 6-under are free. Pit passes are $40 and backstretch passes are $15. Kelsey Chevrolet Sprint Cars will also be on the card.

The 20th edition of USAC Indiana Midget Week continues each night through Sunday. Lawrenceburg Speedway is next on Wednesday, June 5 followed by Lincoln Park Speedway’s round on for Thursday, June 6. Bloomington Speedway begins the weekend portion of the schedule on Friday, June 7 while Tri-State Speedway hosts the penultimate round on Saturday, June 8. Kokomo Speedway will serve as the finale on Sunday, June 9.

SPOILER ALERT!

GRANT WINS 50TH USAC SPRINT RACE

AT KNOXVILLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Knoxville, Iowa (May 31, 2024)………Mired in one of the most prolonged slumps of his career, Justin Grant played all the right notes, keys and chords in capturing his 50th career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victory during Friday night’s Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash opener at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.

Over his past nine series starts this year, Grant (Ione, Calif.) had finished 13th or worse in seven of them and had trudged through the last month’s schedule with an average finish of 15.7. Entering Knoxville, the two-time reigning series champion had fallen to eighth in points, a staggering 256 markers out of the lead.

Things were seemingly out of whack on the trusty, TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy. What started at the shop led to struggles on the track, which soon turned into a major headache and soul searching for all involved.

“We had some things a little goofy,” Grant admitted. “I work on these things every day during the week, and we had some instrument issues. Things were not the way they should be. But I’m very fortunate that two weeks feels like a slump. We’re very fortunate we’ve got a rocket ship of a racecar. I feel like we’ve got it back and I feel like I’m a racecar driver again.”

On Friday night, Grant led the opening 13 laps of the 25-lap main event before Brady Bacon made his way into the lead for the 14th and 15th circuits. Yet, following a caution, Grant steadied the course, righted the ship and steered his way back to the front with a slide job for the lead on the lap 16 restart. From there, Grant withstood the challenges of Chase Johnson and Bacon late to earn his fifth USAC National Sprint Car victory of the season, equaling point leader Logan Seavey in that department.

Grant’s triumphant performance was his second at Knoxville’s 1/2-mile dirt oval after scoring back in 2017, and it placed him as one of just four drivers to reach 50 career USAC National Sprint Car feature wins. Grant now trails only Dave Darland (62), Brady Bacon (54) and Tom Bigelow (52).

Although it was certainly easy to get down on himself during this stretch, Grant appeared as if he never wavered on that front throughout the course of Friday night. In fact, nobody ever stopped believing in him while holding on to that feeling. Well, most people at least.

“This team never stops believing in me,” Grant acknowledged. “My wife, Ashley, never stops believing in me. My kids do. They’ve been telling me how good Logan (Seavey) and Brady (Bacon) are every week, and I was getting awfully sick of that. So, it feels awfully good to get back into victory lane here.”

Starting on the outside of the front row, Grant led the entire first half of the race while Bacon perpetually gave chase. By lap nine, the two frontrunners were weaving their way through lapped traffic and escaping from the rest of the field in a two-car breakaway.

“I was good early there,” Grant remembered. “I felt really comfortable, then as this place got slick and curbed up, it got scary. Knoxville is scary. It’s fast. It’s almost off-camber up there; you’re up on the curb and there’s little weird holes in the cushion.”

On lap 13, Bacon took his first real shot at Grant in turn three, but his slider attempt just missed. Bacon managed to stay right in line with Grant, however, as the pair went wheel-to-wheel momentarily before Grant edged ahead off turn four.

Nonetheless, Bacon kept his foot in it, and by the end of the front straightway on lap 14, he’d pulled even with Grant before sliding up across the racetrack in front of Grant to secure the spot. One lap later, the yellow flag was displayed for fifth running C.J. Leary who slowed suddenly with a disconnected left rear shock that had sent a shower of sparks trailing off the rear end of the car. Earlier in the night, Leary became the fourth driver to reach 50 career fast qualifying times in USAC National Sprint Car competition.

The red flag was waved on the ensuing lap 16 restart as Wesley Smith (9th) contacted the turn two fence, which sent him barrel rolling several times before coming to a rest. He ultimately climbed out of his car but was out of the race.

And just when things seemed down and out for Grant, he wasted no time conjuring up a new plan and putting himself in the perfect frame of mind to get back to where he wanted to be for the restart.

“I kind of got to sitting down in the seat, trying not to crash the thing,” Grant recalled. “Brady slid me, and I had a lap or two of the mopes, feeling like ‘we’re not going to win again.’ Then we got rolling through lapped traffic and I thought ‘I should sit up and drive this thing, you’ve still got a shot.’ We got a yellow, and I was able to slide him there on the restart.”

Grant attacked the bottom of turn one and slid past Bacon for the lead with just 10 laps remaining. Chase Johnson, making his first series start of the year, glided along the bottom past both Daison Pursley and Bacon to rise from fourth to second.

All the while, Grant had pulled away to a 1.3 second lead until the final incident of the evening necessitated a red flag with just three laps to go. Dakota Earls (25th) banged the turn two cushion, which swapped him around 90 degrees as his left side wheels dug in and sent him barrel-rolling six times before the roller coaster ride abruptly ended. Earls climbed out of the car under his own power.

Meanwhile, precipitation began to fall from the sky. Under the yellow flag, the field was directed to buzz the track to save it from being swallowed up by mother nature. After a few minutes, the moisture in the air had subsided and the final sprint to the checkered was able to resume.

On the restart, second running Johnson’s left rear tire was noticeably flat as he attempted to take one final stab amid his pursuit of a first USAC National Sprint Car win. However, over time, he drifted back to fifth and Bacon was now once again Grant’s most ardent challenger, setting the stage for the two winningest driver/team combos in USAC National Sprint Car history to duke it out for the win.

Bacon took one last run at Grant in turn three on the final lap but could only muster up enough to briefly pull even. Grant powered off the top of turn four to defeat Bacon by a scant three car length margin – 0.247 seconds to be precise – leading Grant to remark, “If you come to Knoxville and you beat Brady Bacon, I feel like you’ve done something.”

Pursley came home third while 2023 Corn Belt Clash winner Jake Swanson notched fourth after starting 13th. Johnson delivered his best career USAC National Sprint Car result to date by rounding out the top-five.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) resumed his incredible record of achievement with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Knoxville during his career. In 10 career starts dating back to 2010, Bacon has finished inside the top-two in eight of those starts. On Friday night, he recorded his fourth consecutive podium finish with the series and his second consecutive runner-up result at Knoxville aboard his Dynamics, Inc./Next Level Metal – Davis Brothers Trucking – Hutson John Deere/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was a force once again as he recorded his third consecutive third-place finish with the series in his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy. Over his past seven USAC National Sprint Car starts this season, Pursley hasn’t finished worse than sixth.

J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.) earned his first top-10 in USAC National Sprint Car competition since July of 2009 during the Indiana Sprint Week round at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. Yes, that was only three starts ago, albeit separated by 15 years, but Yeley was impressive once again on Friday night. Starting 23rd, Yeley finished 10th to earn hard charger honors for the night at Knoxville in the driver’s seat of his Yeley Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – CK Electric – Apache Transport/Spike/Stanton Chevy.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 31, 2024 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-18.807; 2. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-18.976; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-19.034; 4. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-19.086; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-19.090; 6. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-19.102; 7. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-19.138; 8. Wesley Smith, 44, Smith-19.163; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-19.195; 10. Chase Johnson, 4J, Ford-19.265; 11. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-19.389; 12. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-19.405; 13. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-19.432; 14. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-19.485; 15. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-19.489; 16. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-19.571; 17. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-19.620; 18. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-19.652; 19. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-19.716; 20. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-19.805; 21. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-19.921; 22. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-19.986; 23. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-20.013; 24. A.J. Johnson, 93, Germar-20.061; 25. Dakota Earls, 15E, Earls-20.207; 26. Eric Schulz, 38, Grein-20.332; 27. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-NT (Time of 18.777 disallowed due to an illegal left rear tire).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Johnson, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Xavier Doney, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Kyle Cummins, 7. Charles Davis Jr., 8. Korbyn Hayslett, 9. Dakota Earls. 2:41.436

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2.

Wesley Smith, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Jake Swanson, 7. J.J. Yeley, 8. Eric Schulz, 9. Hunter Maddox. 2:44.986

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Joey Amantea, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. A.J. Johnson. NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Daison Pursley (5), 4. Jake Swanson (13), 5. Chase Johnson (7), 6. Xavier Doney (10), 7. Mitchel Moles (1), 8. Logan Seavey (8), 9. Kyle Cummins (17), 10. J.J. Yeley (23), 11. Robert Ballou (15), 12. Matt Westfall (9), 13. C.J. Leary (6), 14. Carson Garrett (26), 15. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 16. Hunter Maddox (20), 17. Jadon Rogers (16), 18. Joey Amantea (14), 19. Chase Stockon (3), 20. Charles Davis Jr. (22), 21. Korbyn Hayslett (19), 22. Kobe Simpson (21), 23. Logan Calderwood (18), 24. Eric Schulz (25), 25. Dakota Earls (24), 26. Wesley Smith (11). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Justin Grant, Laps 14-15 Brady Bacon, Laps 16-25 Justin Grant.

**A.J. Johnson flipped during the third heat. Wesley Smith flipped on lap 16 of the feature. Dakota Earls flipped on lap 23 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1053, 2-C.J. Leary-947, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-946, 4-Daison Pursley-911, 5-Brady Bacon-892, 6-Justin Grant-816, 7-Kyle Cummins-804, 8-Robert Ballou-802, 9-Mitchel Moles-790, 10-Chase Stockon-762.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-81, 2-Robert Ballou-73, 3-Logan Seavey-69, 4-Daison Pursley-67, 5-Joey Amantea-54, 6-Carson Garrett-50, 7-Brady Bacon-46, 8-Kyle Cummins-41, 9-Matt Westfall-41, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-38.

CORN BELT CLASH PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Carson Garrett-17, 2-J.J. Yeley-14, 3-Jake Swanson-9, 4-Kyle Cummins-8, 5-Brady Bacon-5, 6-Daison Pursley-5, 7-Xavier Doney-5, 8-Chase Johnson-4, 9-Robert Ballou-4, 10-Hunter Maddox-4.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 1, 2024 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Chase Stockon (19.086)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (18.807)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Johnson

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Hard Charger: J.J. Yeley (23rd to 10th)

RICKY LEWIS JOINS 4 KINGS RACING

FOR USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK & BEYOND

Speedway, Indiana (May 29, 2024)………Ricky Lewis has been introduced as the new driver of 4 Kings Racing’s No. 54 Metalloid 1 sponsored USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship team.

Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) plans to contest all six nights of USAC Indiana Midget Week for the 4 Kings team between June 4-9 with the hopes of running the remainder of the 2024 USAC schedule thereafter.

“I’m so excited for this opportunity to go midget racing with 4 Kings Racing,” Lewis exclaimed. “As of now, we will run all of Indiana Midget Week and possibly the rest of the USAC schedule. Special thanks to all the guys at 4 Kings Racing and Matt Westfall for believing in me and providing me with this opportunity.”

Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) competed in the first two events of the USAC National Midget season as a driver aboard the No. 54 but has stepped away from the seat as part of his transition from a driver on the team to a strategic role as team manager.

In this new position, Westfall will bring years of on-track experience and a deep understanding of race dynamics to the management side, ensuring continued success and innovation within the organization. Lewis brings a fresh perspective and a track record of impressive performances that promise to keep their competitive edge sharp.

Lewis earned recognition as the winningest sprint car driver in the United States of America during the 2023 season and was the recipient of the North American Non-Wing Sprint Car Poll Wild Card Award from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. In all, he won 18 feature events, including once each with USAC’s CRA and Midwest Wingless Racing Association and the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series.

He’s also stepped up his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car program in 2024, finishing a career best fourth on two occasions in May at Bloomington Speedway and Circle City Raceway. To date, he has not yet recorded a USAC National Midget feature start. However, he did appear in last November’s Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway.

“We are entering a new era with Matt's expertise guiding our team and Ricky's talent and drive fueling our races,” Rex Turner, one of 4 Kings Racing’s owners, added. “These dynamic racers are set to lead us to new heights, and we couldn't be more excited about the future. With these changes, 4 Kings Racing is poised to strengthen its position in the USAC racing world and we are excited to see what is to come this season.”

The 20th annual edition of USAC Indiana Midget Week consists of six events at six dirt tracks across six consecutive nights between June 4-9.

It all starts on June 4 at Circle City Raceway before continuing on to Lawrenceburg Speedway on June 5 and Lincoln Park Speedway on June 6. It all winds up with the final weekend stretch at Bloomington Speedway on June 7 and Tri-State Speedway on June 8 while Kokomo Speedway serves as the series finale on June 9.

THE CAPITAL!

KNOXVILLE’S CORN BELT CLASH HOSTS

USAC SPRINTS MAY 31-JUNE 1

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Knoxville, Iowa (May 29, 2024)………Winning a USAC National Sprint Car race at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway is reserved for greatness.

Gary Bettenhausen, Dick Tobias, Sammy Sessions, Tom Bigelow, Sheldon Kinser and Sammy Swindell have all won here and are now enshrined in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame which overlooks turn two of the famed half-mile.

In recent years, Justin Grant, Brady Bacon and Tyler Courtney have added wins of their own, and someday, their names will most definitely be called upon as an inductee to the hall of fame.

Drivers make their name at this place. Always have and always will. After all, a place christened as The Sprint Car Capital of the World has that type of presence.

An opportunity awaits this weekend’s crop of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship talents who’ll face two full programs on Friday-Saturday, May 31-June 1, at Knoxville during the Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash.

One year ago, Jake Swanson made the most of his opportunity by adding a monumental piece to his resume as a last lap USAC winner at Knoxville. Now, we’ll find out who’s next to make their mark at one of the most legendary dirt tracks in the world.

Without further ado, let’s check out six storylines to keep tabs on this weekend.

SWANSON’S LAST LAP AT KNOXVILLE WAS A WINNER

Jake Swanson’s most recent Knoxville appearance resulted in a last lap victory during the June 2023 Corn Belt Clash. Earlier that same night, Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) set quick time during qualifying as well.

Thus far in 2024, Swanson remains on the hunt for both his first feature win and his first fast time of the USAC National Sprint Car season.

However, Swanson’s latest performance on the similar dirt half-mile at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track one week ago gives some credence that Knoxville could provide that long-awaited season breakthrough.

Swanson finished second at Terre Haute last Tuesday night, leading a race-high 20 of the 30 laps before developing a hole in his right rear tire and being passed for the lead just two laps from the finish line.

KNOXVILLE IS BACON’S SECOND HOME

Only one driver has won more than two USAC National Sprint Car features at Knoxville Raceway. In fact, that driver has won four throughout his illustrious career. That’s Brady Bacon.

The Broken Arrow, Okla. native scored at Knoxville in 2011, then swept both nights of the Corn Belt Clash in 2019 and capped the weekend with a triumph in 2020. In 2023, he led until the final lap before developing a tire issue and being passed for the lead and the win by Jake Swanson. Bacon still managed to finish second.

In nine career Knoxville USAC Sprint Car starts, Bacon has only finished outside the top-three once. It’s a profile that features four wins, three seconds and a third, and no finish worse than 10th.

After a rough go to start the USAC Sprint Car season, Bacon has finished each of his three past starts on the podium with a 3rd at Terre Haute, followed by his first victory of the season at Circle City and a runner-up finish a night later at Circle City, which has propelled the four-time series champion into the top-five of the standings.

GRANT LOOKING TO REBOUND

Since winning his first USAC National Sprint Car event at Knoxville in 2017, Grant has reeled off finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th at the Sprint Car Capital of the World, marking a rare distinction of finishing in each of the top-six spots at one point or another in his career.

This weekend, a finish of that caliber for Grant (Ione, Calif.) would be a welcome sight for the two-time and defending USAC National Sprint Car champion. Entering Knoxville, he’s finished 13th or worse in seven of his last nine outings, which has dropped him to eighth in the series standings despite already notching four feature wins to this point.

It is wise to note that, around this same point last year, Grant struggled mightily before putting it all back together to capture his second straight crown. Two opportunities this weekend at Knoxville provide that chance to kickstart his season and get back into the groove in pursuit of a third consecutive title.

PURSLEY ON THE VERGE

The last USAC visit to Knoxville saw a jubilant and triumphant Team AZ Racing crew celebrating in victory lane after a last lap pass for the win by Jake Swanson.

This year, Daison Pursley is at the wheel of number 21AZ, and the signs are beginning to point to a breakthrough coming soon for the Locust Grove, Okla. native who captured USAC Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors one year ago.

In his six most recent USAC National Sprint Car starts during the month of May, Pursley has recorded results of 6th, 2nd, 6th, 6th, 3rd and 3rd for an average finishing spot of 4.33. In his last five feature starts, Pursley has passed an astonishing 44 cars in feature events alone!

Over the past few weeks, he won a USAC National Midget race, finished fifth in his USAC Silver Crown debut after starting at the tail, finished on the podium thrice with the USAC National Sprint Cars, and most recently, last Sunday, he was victorious in a winged sprint car at South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway.

Pursley already owns a USAC Sprint Car non-points special event victory at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park in February 2023. Now, he’s primed to notch USAC National Sprint Car points-paying victory number one at Knoxville.

SEAVEY IS JONESIN' FOR ANOTHER "BUBBY" WIN

Logan Seavey has already become the earliest to win his fifth USAC National Sprint Car feature of the year (May 23, 2024) since Larry Dickson on May 10, 1970. Furthermore, Seavey became the first driver since Bryan Clauson in 2016 to win five races within the first 14 events of the season.

Dickson is the only driver to win six USAC National Sprint Car features by the end of May. Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) can equal that record on Friday at Knoxville. However, no driver has ever won seven USAC National Sprint Car features by the end of June 1. Seavey can set a new record with a two-night Knoxville sweep this weekend.

If Seavey was to win this Friday at Knoxville, he’d be the first to win six of the first 15 races in a season since Robert Ballou in 2015. Similarly, if Seavey was to sweep the weekend, he’d be the first to win seven of the first 16 races to start a season since Ballou during the same 2015 campaign.

Additionally, Seavey carries a 28-point lead into round four of the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment. He's won two of the first three rounds of the 10-race miniseries at Volusia and Terre Haute. Justin Grant won the only other round held thus far at Eldora. At the end of the year, the “Bubby Jones” driver champion will earn $10,000 for himself and $2,500 for his crew chief.

A HALL OF FAME KIND OF WEEKEND

This weekend’s event is special in more ways than one. It’s National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend as eight individuals will be honored for their contributions to the sport during a ceremony on Saturday, June 1, at the Dyer-Hudson Hall on the Marion County Fairgrounds behind Knoxville Raceway’s grandstands. The doors will open at 11am Central with dinner catered by the Rib Shack at Noon. The induction festivities will follow thereafter.

This year’s 34th class of inductees includes Tracy Hines, Paul McMahan, Jon Stanbrough, Gary “Deuce” Turrill, Ricky Warner, Mark “Bones” Bourcier, Roy Robbins and Bill Holder.

Serving as the backdrop of this weekend’s Corn Belt Clash on-track activities, the modern day USAC National Sprint Car stars of today will be passing by the Hall of Fame each time they rip around the half-mile, but someday hope to stop by and have their name etched in as a Hall of Fame inductee, some of which already possess Hall of Fame credentials.

TO HALVE OR NOT HALVE

Half-miles have made up the majority of the venues throughout USAC National Sprint Car history with just a little more than half of all events held on tracks that size or larger, 15 of which have taken place at Knoxville since 1968.

At least nine drivers in this weekend’s field have won USAC National Sprint Car features on half-mile tracks, led by Brady Bacon with 19. Robert Ballou has won 16 on the “halves” while Justin Grant has notched 15, Kevin Thomas Jr. six, Logan Seavey six, Chase Stockon four, C.J. Leary four, Jake Swanson two and Matt Westfall one apiece.

Already this season, Seavey (Volusia twice & Terre Haute once), Ballou (Eldora) and Grant (Eldora) have bagged USAC Sprint Car wins on half-mile tracks.

Tom Bigelow owns the most with 50 career USAC Sprint Car wins on half-mile or larger tracks but did the bulk of his work when the entire schedule was made up of said tracks before tracks less than a half-mile were introduced to the schedule in 1981.

RACE DETAILS:

The Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash will take place on Friday-Saturday, May 31-June 1. Friday’s feature will be 25 laps in length and pay $8,000-to-win. Saturday’s feature will be 30 laps in length and pay $12,000-to-win.

The fourth edition of the Corn Belt Clash features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, in conjunction with the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association & the Western Iowa Non-Wing Sprints). Knoxville Championship 360 Sprint Cars will be on the card for Friday while the Knoxville Championship 410 Sprint Cars will be on hand Saturday.

Each night, the front gates open at 6pm Central and hot laps at 6:45pm followed immediately by qualifying and racing.

On Friday, general admission tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for ages 13-19, $5 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 & under. Reserved tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for ages 13-19, $10 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 & under. Pit passes are $40.

On Saturday, general admission tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for ages 13-19, $10 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 & under. Reserved tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for ages 13-19, $15 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 & under. Pit passes are $40.

Advance tickets are on sale at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com.

The entire weekend of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-996, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-910, 3-C.J. Leary-900, 4-Daison Pursley-836, 5-Brady Bacon-815, 6-Robert Ballou-756, 7-Kyle Cummins-755, 8-Justin Grant-740, 9-Mitchel Moles-733, 10-Chase Stockon-727.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-233, 2-C.J. Leary-205, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-203, 4-Brady Bacon-178, 5-Daison Pursley-178, 6-Justin Grant-172, 7-Mitchel Moles-171, 8-Kyle Cummins-165, 9-Jake Swanson-152, 10-Carson Garrett-150.

USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Wyatt Burks-1095, 2-Luke Howard-985, 3-Kobe Simpson-955, 4-Zach Clark-920, 5-Chad Winfrey-910, 6-Dakota Earls-885, 7-Junior Parkinson-875, 8-Wesley Smith-865, 9-Michael Moore-855, 10-Kory Schudy-835.

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

CORN BELT CLASH WINNERS:

2019: Brady Bacon (7/5) & Brady Bacon (7/6)

2020: Tyler Courtney (7/10) & Brady Bacon (7/11)

2023: Jake Swanson (6/3)

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:

4-Brady Bacon

2-Tyler Courtney

1-Bud Kaeding, Dick Tobias, Gary Bettenhausen, Justin Grant, Sammy Sessions, Jake Swanson, Sammy Swindell, Sheldon Kinser & Tom Bigelow

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:

1968: Gary Bettenhausen (9/6)

1971: Dick Tobias (6/5)

1972: Sammy Sessions (6/3)

1973: Tom Bigelow (6/3)

1982: Sheldon Kinser (6/5)

1988: Sammy Swindell (6/11)

2010: Bud Kaeding (8/8)

2011: Brady Bacon (8/7)

2017: Justin Grant (6/3)

2018: Tyler Courtney (6/9)

2019: Brady Bacon (7/5) & Brady Bacon (7/6)

2020: Tyler Courtney (7/10) & Brady Bacon (7/11)

2023: Jake Swanson (6/3)

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 6/3/2017 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 18.548 - 97.046 mph

8 Laps - 8/8/2010 - Bryan Clauson - 2:38.80 - 90.680 mph

10 Laps - 7/11/2020 - Robert Ballou - 3:09.379 - 95.048 mph

12 Laps - 6/3/2023 - J.J. Yeley - 4:14.99 - 84.709 mph

16 Laps - 7/11/2020 - Robert Ballou - 5:25.068 - 88.597 mph

25 Laps - 7/6/2019 - Brady Bacon - 9:11.86 - 82.195 mph

30 laps - 7/11/2020 - Brady Bacon - 10:19.56 - 87.668 mph

40 Laps - 6/3/1972 - Sammy Sessions - 16:21.23 - 73.377 mph

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

PAST KNOXVILLE RACEWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE RESULTS:

1968 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Gary Bettenhausen, 2. Jerry "Scratch" Daniels, 3. Larry Dickson, 4. Greg Weld, 5. Wib Spalding, 6. Carl Williams, 7. Mike Mosley, 8. Don Brown, 9. Don Thomas, 10. Ralph Liguori, 11. Bill Puterbaugh, 12. Rollie Beale, 13. Dee Jones, 14. Johnny Parsons

1971 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Dick Tobias, 2. Sammy Sessions, 3. Ray Lee Goodwin, 4. Lee Kunzman, 5. Tom Bigelow, 6. Rollie Beale, 7. Gary Bettenhausen, 8. Johnny Parsons, 9. Karl Busson, 10. Jimmy Oskie, 11. Don Nordhorn, 12. Darl Harrison, 13. Larry Rice, 14. Merle Bettenhausen, 15. Joe Saldana, 16. Jim Malloy, 17. Larry Cannon, 18. Doc Dawson, 19. Greg Weld, 20. Bill Puterbaugh

1972 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Sammy Sessions, 2. Don Nordhorn, 3. Greg Weld, 4. Tom Bigelow, 5. Billy Thrasher, 6. Rollie Beale, 7. Bob Pratt, 8. Bill Puterbaugh, 9. Johnny Parsons, 10. Larry Cannon, 11. Joe Saldana, 12. Steve Cannon, 13. Gary Ponzini, 14. Bruce Walkup, 15. Billy Cassella, 16. Karl Busson, 17. Bill Koepfer, 18. Larry Dickson, 19. Rick Goudy, 20. Charlie Masters

1973 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Tom Bigelow, 2. Rollie Beale, 3. Pancho Carter, 4. Gary Bettenhausen, 5. Don Nordhorn, 6. Larry Cannon, 7. Lee Kunzman, 8. Johnny Parsons, 9. Sammy Sessions, 10. Jackie Howerton, 11. John Toth, 12. Ronnie Rough, 13. Mel Cornett, 14. Art Bisch, Jr., 15. Bruce Walkup, 16. Billy Engelhart, 17. Tony Simon, 18. Greg Leffler, 19. Rich Leavell, 20. Steve Shultz.

1982 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Sheldon Kinser, 2. Rich Vogler, 3. Johnny Coogan, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Duke Cook, 6. Manny Rockhold, 7. Bill Robinson, 8. Steve Long, 9. Danny Milburn, 10. Jeff Swindell, 11. David Smith, 12. T.J. Giddings, 13. Buddy Wallen, 14. Jerry Potter, 15. Mackie Heimbaugh, 16. Mike Brooks, 17. Joe Saldana, 18. Jim Moughan, 19. Tim Deaver, 20. Mike Thomas

1988 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Randy Smith, 3. Jeff Tuttle, 4. Lee Brewer, Jr., 5. Steve Butler, 6. Jerry Richert, Jr., 7. Jamie Moyle, 8. Mike Peters, 9. Rich Bubak, 10. Danny Thoman, 11. Rick Ungar, 12. Kenny Jacobs, 13. Bob White, 14. Tod Bishop, 15. Mark Shaffer, 16. Tray House, 17. Tim Monson, 18. Danny Lasoski, 19. Ray Lipsey, 20. Terry McCarl.

2010 FEATURE: (26 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Daron Clayton, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Casey Shuman, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Mike Hess, 13. Casey Riggs, 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 15. Jon Stanbrough, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Kyle Larson, 18. Kyle Cummins, 19. Chris Urish, 20. Shane Hmiel, 21. Keith Bloom, 22. Ricky Williams. NT

2011 FEATURE: (26 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Jerry Coons Jr. 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Travis Rilat, 7. Hunter Schuerenberg, 8. Keith Bloom Jr., 9. Levi Jones, 10. Tracy Hines, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Hud Cone, 13. Joey Moughan, 14. Mike Spencer, 15. Bill Rose, 16. Coleman Gulick, 17. Dustin Morgan, 18. Mike Moore, 19. Wes McIntyre, 20. Damion Gardner, 21. Casey Riggs, 22. Bud Kaeding, 23. Stu Snyder, 24. Blake Fitzpatrick, 25. Justin Grant, 26. Dave Darland. NT

2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Chad Boespflug, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 8. Josh Hodges, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Isaac Chapple, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Stevie Sussex, 14. Carson Short, 15. Aaron Farney, 16. Hunter Schuerenberg, 17. Dustin Smith, 18. Tyler Courtney, 19. R.J. Johnson, 20. Brody Roa, 21. Nick Bilbee, 22. Jon Stanbrough. NT

2018 FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. C.J. Leary (3), 3. Brady Bacon (1), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Brody Roa (9), 6. Chase Stockon (4), 7. Robert Ballou (10), 8. Dave Darland (17), 9. Chris Windom (12), 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 11. Jarett Andretti (11), 12. Chad Boespflug (2), 13. Josh Hodges (15), 14. Tom Harris (14), 15. Nick Bilbee (8), 16. Glen Saville (21), 17. Wyatt Burks (20), 18. Brandon Stevenson (13), 19. Robert Bell (22), 20. Rob Caho, Jr. (19), 21. Frank Rodgers (23), 22. Kelly Graham (24), 23. Isaac Chapple (16), 24. Katlynn Leer (18). 10:45.63

2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (25 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (6), 2. Chris Windom (1), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 4. Tyler Courtney (10), 5. Justin Grant (7), 6. Ryan Bernal (9), 7. Chase Stockon (5), 8. Jason McDougal (20), 9. C.J. Leary (8), 10. Matt Westfall (2), 11. Wyatt Burks (12), 12. Wesley Smith (11), 13. Don Droud, Jr. (13), 14. Korey Weyant (21), 15. Nick Bilbee (16), 16. Timmy Buckwalter (4), 17. Josh Hodges (22), 18. Mario Clouser (23), 19. Carson Short (19), 20. Dave Darland (15), 21. Anthony Nicholson (18), 22. Riley Kreisel (24), 23. Chad Boespflug (14), 24. Landon Simon (17). 9:11.86 (New Track Record)

2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (2), 2. C.J. Leary (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (6), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 5. Chris Windom (8), 6. Justin Grant (1), 7. Jason McDougal (7), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Ryan Bernal (12), 10. Carson Short (11), 11. Matt Westfall (9), 12. Korey Weyant (23), 13. Wyatt Burks (10), 14. Josh Hodges (20), 15. Nick Bilbee (14), 16. Dave Darland (19), 17. Mario Clouser (16), 18. Steve Irwin (24), 19. Kory Schudy (22), 20. Anthony Nicholson (21), 21. Riley Kreisel (13), 22. Chad Boespflug (15), 23. Timmy Buckwalter (18), 24. Wesley Smith (17). 11:08.75

2020 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (3), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Justin Grant (6), 4. Chris Windom (9), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Ryan Bernal (14), 7. Carson Short (7), 8. Jake Swanson (10), 9. Logan Seavey (20), 10. Wesley Smith (19), 11. Chase Stockon (17), 12. Wyatt Burks (1), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 14. Nick Bilbee (5), 15. Tanner Thorson (18), 16. Riley Kreisel (2), 17. Matt Westfall (15), 18. Shane Cottle (22), 19. Don Droud Jr. (23), 20. Jack Wagner (21), 21. Brian VanMeveren (12), 22. Dustin Clark (13), 23. Robert Ballou (11), 24. Dennis Gile (24). NT

2020 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Chris Windom (5), 5. Tyler Courtney (4), 6. Ryan Bernal (8), 7. Carson Short (6), 8. Robert Ballou (19), 9. Chase Stockon (7), 10. Jake Swanson (10), 11. Tanner Thorson (14), 12. Riley Kreisel (15), 13. Logan Seavey (13), 14. Nick Bilbee (9), 15. Wyatt Burks (11), 16. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 17. Don Droud Jr. (23), 18. Shane Cottle (21), 19. Matt Westfall (17), 20. Dennis Gile (20), 21. Dustin Clark (16), 22. Wesley Smith (18), 23. Glen Saville (24), 24. Dave Darland (22). 10:19.560

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jake Swanson (6), 2. Brady Bacon (5), 3. Mitchel Moles (7), 4. C.J. Leary (1), 5. Emerson Axsom (3), 6. Matt Westfall (12), 7. Chase Johnson (19), 8. Justin Zimmerman (17), 9. Daison Pursley (10), 10. Riley Kreisel (13), 11. Robert Ballou (16), 12. Wesley Smith (9), 13. Carson Garrett (8), 14. Kyle Cummins (4), 15. Justin Grant (2), 16. Charles Davis Jr. (21), 17. J.J. Yeley (15), 18. Matt Mitchell (18), 19. Chase Stockon (14), 20. Logan Seavey (23-P), 21. Dalton Stevens (22), 22. Max Adams (11), 23. Logan Calderwood (20). NT

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

May 25, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Salute to Indy”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.436; 2. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-16.492; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.507; 4. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.682; 5. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.734; 6. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.787; 7. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.859; 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.922; 9. Brody Roa, 8M, May-16.990; 10. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-17.035; 11. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.125; 12. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.256; 13. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.276; 14. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.303; 15. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-18.244; 16. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-18.305; 17. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.717.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, All Transfer To Feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Joey Bishop. 2:55.56.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, All Transfer To Feature) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Matt McCarthy, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Kyle Edwards, 5. Brent Owens, 6. Elexa Herrera. 2:58.78.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, All Transfer To Feature) 1. Matt Mitchell, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Brody Roa, 4. David Gasper, 5. Jeff Dyer. 2:55.19.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Matt Mitchell (1), 2. R.J. Johnson (4), 3. Brody Roa (9), 4. Logan Williams (2), 5. A.J. Bender (3), 6. David Gasper (15), 7. Austin Williams (10), 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (8), 9. Kyle Edwards (14), 10. Elexa Herrera (17), 11. Verne Sweeney (13), 12. Matt McCarthy (5), 13. Brent Owens (11), 14. Joey Bishop (16), 15. Tommy Malcolm (7), 16. Cody Williams (6), 17. Jeff Dyer (12). NT.
----------------------------
**Malcolm flipped on the second lap of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Matt Mitchell, Laps 4-21 Logan Williams, Laps 22-30 Matt Mitchell.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: David Gasper (15 to 6)

NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: June 8 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California

USAC HOOSIER HUNDRED POSTPONED

TO SATURDAY, MAY 25 AT IRP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (May 24, 2024)………Rain has forced postponement of the 67th running of the Hoosier Hundred to Saturday, May 25, at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Mother Nature washed away Friday night’s originally scheduled 67th running of the event after qualifications were completed. Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) captured the pole position for the event with a two-lap combined time of 42.316 seconds around the .686-mile paved oval.

On Saturday, the gates will open at 7am Eastern with cars on track starting at 9am. The midget feature will run first followed by the USAC Silver Crown feature, the USF2000 main event and the USF Pro Series finale closing out the on-track action.

Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown feature has been shortened from 146 laps, 100 miles to 100 laps, 68.6 miles.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 24, 2024 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – 67th Hoosier Hundred / Carb Night Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-42.316; 2. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-42.731; 3. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-42.754; 4. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-42.939; 5. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-43.005; 6. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-43.215; 7. Tyler Roahrig, 41, Newman-43.255; 8. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-43.411; 9. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-43.694; 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 24, Haggenbottom-43.784; 11. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-43.786; 12. Nathan Byrd, 40, Legacy/Wilson-43.821; 13. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-44.062; 14. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-44.098; 15. Casey Buckman, 25, Buckman/Sachs-44.131; 16. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-44.357; 17. Tanner Berryhill, 14, Hamilton-44.586; 18. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-45.082; 19. Brent Yarnal, 29, Yarnal-46.861; 20. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-48.920; 21. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-NT; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 23. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-NT; 24. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-NT.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses)

POSTPONED TO SATURDAY, MAY 25

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-198, 2-Kody Swanson-190, 3-Justin Grant-183, 4-Kaylee Bryson-153, 5-Mario Clouser-148, 6-Taylor Ferns-144, 7-Logan Seavey-138, 8-Bobby Santos-125, 9-Gregg Cory-103, 10-Jerry Coons Jr.-101.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-64, 2-C.J. Leary-58, 3-Logan Seavey-48, 4-Daison Pursley-44, 5-Joey Amantea-41, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-37, 7-Brady Bacon-36, 8-Matt Westfall-36, 9-Kyle Cummins-32, 10-Tye Mihocko-32.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 25, 2024 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – 67th Hoosier Hundred / Carb Night Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (21.392)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (42.316 – two laps combined)

BOUNCE BACK!

SEAVEY SALUTES WITH DOMINANT

CIRCLE CITY USAC SPRINT WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (May 23, 2024)………Following their least successful run of the season a mere 24 hours earlier, Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing were champing at the bit for the opportunity to get a do-over during Thursday night’s Circle City Salute finale at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway.

The dynamic duo of Seavey and Abacus made a complete turnaround from one night to the next, discarding Wednesday’s 11th place struggle with a most dominant victory on Thursday at the 1/4-mile dirt oval, leading the final 30 laps in their CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

In turn, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) became just the second driver to earn multiple USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature wins at Circle City following last September’s photo finish victory. On Thursday, the only other multi-time winner was the driver Seavey passed to take the cake as he zipped past on lap 11 of the 40-lap main event to earn a $10,000 payday.

For Seavey, it’s already his fifth USAC National Sprint Car win of the year, a rare feat for any driver in the 69-year history of USAC to achieve by this juncture. In fact, it’s the earliest in the season (May 23) that any driver has picked up his fifth win of the year since Larry Dickson on May 10, 1970. Furthermore, Seavey became the first driver since Bryan Clauson in 2016 to win five races within the first 14 events of the season.

Furthermore, Seavey moved up another rung on the all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list. With his 15th career triumph, Seavey moved into 40th all-time alongside Bobby East, Cory Kruseman and Brian Tyler. Needless to say, Seavey loved today more than yesterday.

“Yesterday, it was really bad all day; we sucked,” Seavey said without reservation. “It was probably one of our worst nights all together. We went back to the drawing board and did a lot of stuff different. I had a bunch of speed on the cushion, but at this place, if you want to race and pass people, you’ve got to be good everywhere. We went to work and put a whole night together that went really well. We timed in well, and we could run the cushion really hard and then it got really slick and clean. I could peel off and run through the middle and carry speed, which is what I struggled with last night. I could cut the middle, but I didn’t have any grip or speed.”

Seavey’s 2024 USAC Sprint Car record has been impeccable, you could say, with 11 podium finishes in just 14 starts to begin the year. This week alone, outside of Wednesday night at Circle City, has been fruitful. In a four-race, five-day span, he’s won three features worth $26,000 in total, including a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship A-Main at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex on Sunday followed by a pair of USAC Sprint wins at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track on Tuesday and Circle City on Thursday.

“These guys just didn’t give up,” Seavey praised. “We were all scratching our heads last night. This thing has been so good everywhere. This place threw us for a little bit of a loop yesterday but that’s what great teams are made of. It was nice to have two days in a row here so we could come back and try stuff right away and get better. Sure enough, they did that really well.”

Starting third, Seavey slotted into second on the opening lap while Cummins patrolled the pace up front. Shortly after a spin by 20th running Joey Amantea, Seavey was right on Cummins’ bumper for the ensuing restart. One circuit later, on lap 10, Seavey made his bid and slid past Cummins for the top spot in turn one. Seavey out-drag-raced Cummins into turn three, then slid himself to fend off Cummins’ comeback. From that point onward, Seavey was in his own area code, zip code and township.

As a change of pace from the night before, Seavey did his work in the the middle of the track as he threaded his way away from any pressure levied by all challengers second place on back.

“This place usually races pretty good, and it normally gets a big cushion and all that,” Seavey explained. “For some reason, it was hard to carry speed up there tonight. It was just a little bit easier to run through the middle. The pace gets really slow when you get running through the middle like that. I didn’t feel like I was running super-fast. I got behind Chance (Crum) there and he was right in the same line I was, and he was blowing by guys with me, so I wasn’t pushing too hard on him.”

As Seavey routinely glanced up at the back straightaway video screen, he couldn’t help but notice that the battle cam was not pointed at him, which has proven to be a good thing when you’re running alone up front like Seavey was.

“Every time I looked at the screen, they kept showing Brady (Bacon) and a few other guys racing for third or fourth. I noticed they weren’t showing me, which is usually a good thing. I was just trying to watch the board and watch other things and see if there was anybody running up the board or not. I felt so good in the middle. I figured I’d probably hear something. I figured as much as you’re idling around, you can hear everything in the center of the corner. If someone’s really running hard, you’d be able to hear them.”

Meanwhile, the battle for second raged on. Daison Pursley cruised the low line to gravitate to the runner-up position on lap 29 past Cummins when he lost momentum after tapping the turn two wall while the pair ran wheel-to-wheel. Bacon took third a lap later as Cummins again clipped the wall, this time in turn four. Working through traffic off turn four coming to the white flag, Bacon was able to drive under Pursley to corral the second spot.

However, by that point, Seavey was Long Gone Silver’s as he crossed the line 4.266 seconds ahead of the field to score a dominant victory. Bacon crossed the line in second just ahead of Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley and Ricky Lewis (in a 360 c.i. powered engine) while Robert Ballou rounded out the top-five.

I think we can finally say Brady Bacon is back. After a tumultuous beginning, the Broken Arrow, Okla. native recorded three top-three finishes in as many starts in as many nights aboard his Dynamics, Inc./Next Level Metal – Davis Brothers Trucking – Hutson John Deere/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

For Daison Pursley, it was another race and another third-place result. The Locust Grove, Okla. racer posted a fine third-place finish for the second consecutive night at Circle City aboard his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy. It’s his fifth consecutive top-six finish with the series.

Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) picked up hard charger honors for the night courtesy of Baldwin Brothers Racing. On Thursday, he advanced nine positions in the feature from 23rd to 14th. This came after traveling +11 on Wednesday night at Circle City when he moved from 20th to ninth.

During Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, C.J. Leary recorded his 49th career USAC National Sprint Car fast qualifying award, tying him with Brady Bacon for fourth all-time. Only Tom Bigelow (65), Dave Darland (62) and Tracy Hines (60) stand above them in the record book.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 23, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – Circle City Salute – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.371; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.397; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.518; 4. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.530; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.546; 6. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.552; 7. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.575; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.629; 9. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.685; 10. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.698; 11. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.708; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.743; 13. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-12.745; 14. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.783; 15. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.788; 16. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.802; 17. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.804; 18. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-12.806; 19. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-12.889; 20. Colin Grissom, 00, Grissom-12.897; 21. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.904; 22. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.926; 23. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.950; 24. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.955; 25. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-12.965; 26. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.967; 27. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-12.984; 28. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.068; 29. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.101; 30. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-13.113; 31. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-13.116; 32. Lee Dakus, 21x, Dakus-13.230; 33. Kyle Johnson, 99J, Johnson-13.306; 34. Jake Simmons, 7s, Simmons-13.690; 35. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Rylan Gray, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Kyle Johnson, 9. Mitchel Moles. 2:11.25

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Anton Hernandez, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Jake Simmons. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Frankie Guerrini, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Harley Burns, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Kayla Roell, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brent Beauchamp, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Colin Grissom, 8. Lee Dakus. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Anton Hernandez, 4. Harley Burns, 5. Rylan Gray, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Lee Dakus, 10. Logan Calderwood, 11. Kyle Johnson, 12. Colin Grissom, 13. Gabriel Gilbert. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (3), 2. Brady Bacon (5), 3. Daison Pursley (7), 4. Ricky Lewis (9), 5. Robert Ballou (8), 6. Kyle Cummins (1), 7. C.J. Leary (6), 8. Chase Stockon (10), 9. Carson Garrett (4), 10. Mitchel Moles (13), 11. Shane Cottle (2), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 13. Justin Grant (12), 14. Chance Crum (23), 15. Jake Swanson (18), 16. Jadon Rogers (14), 17. Matt Westfall (16), 18. Brent Beauchamp (20), 19. Brandon Mattox (17), 20. Joey Amantea (21), 21. Harley Burns (24), 22. Anton Hernandez (15), 23. Charles Davis Jr. (19), 24. Frankie Guerrini (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Kyle Cummins, Laps 11-40 Logan Seavey.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-69, 2-Robert Ballou-69, 3-Daison Pursley-65, 4-C.J. Leary-62, 5-Joey Amantea-54, 6-Brady Bacon-44, 7-Matt Westfall-41, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-38, 9-Chase Stockon-38, 10-Carson Garrett-38.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: May 31 & June 1, 2024 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Logan Seavey (12.447)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (12.371)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ricky Lewis

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

146 LAPS, 100 MILES!

67TH USAC HOOSIER HUNDRED HITS IRP FRIDAY NIGHT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (May 23, 2024)………Twenty-four entries are set to for battle in the longest distance event (lap wise) of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season this Friday night, May 24, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Three past Hoosier Hundred winners are entered for the 67th running of the event, which for the second time, will take place at the .686-mile paved oval.

Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) captured the win in last year’s event in what was his first Hoosier Hundred appearance, leading the final 31 laps in his DJ Racing entry. Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) is a four-time Hoosier Hundred victor in 2014-15-16-18, all of which came on dirt at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. His four Hoosier Hundred wins rank second behind A.J. Foyt’s six. Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) returns to the lineup after winning the race twice in 2011 and 2012.

USAC Silver Crown point leader C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) is the son of 1997 Hoosier Hundred winner Chuck Leary. C.J. himself finished second in the 2020 edition.

Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) enters Friday’s race as the most recent USAC Silver Crown winner at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks where she became the first woman to win a USAC national event. She charged from 30th to 15th in her first Hoosier Hundred run in 2023.

Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) is eying his record-tying 29th career Hoosier Hundred start this Friday, a mark currently held by Johnny Parsons. Gamester, the 1989 USAC National Midget champion, finished a best of second in the event back in 1999.

Reigning USAC Silver Crown champ Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is among several drivers who’ve previously finished inside the top-10 at the Hoosier Hundred who are gunning for even more this Friday night. Seavey has scored a 3rd (2020) and a 2nd (2023) in his only two starts in the event to date.

Furthermore, Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.) finished his 2023 race in the 3rd position while 2020 Silver Crown champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) notched a 4th in 2019. Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) scored a 5th in 2023 while versatile Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.) took sixth, one position behind Ferns in last year’s event.

Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville, Ill.) put in a good run to 8th in the 2015 Hoosier Hundred while Mario Clouser’s (Auburn, Ill.) first appearance in the event netted a 9th in 2023. Clouser will be piloting a car for Armstrong Racing in Friday’s event, which will be entered under the Kazmark Motorsports banner and carry No. 92.

More veterans returning for another taste of the Hoosier Hundred include Chandler, Arizona’s Casey Buckman (11th in 2020); Fort Collins, Colorado’s Bryan Gossel (11th in 2023); St. Charles, Missouri’s Kyle Steffens (15th in 2001 & 2019); Shelbyville, Indiana’s Gregg Cory (17th in 2023); Phoenix, Arizona’s Brent Yarnal (26th in 2023) and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Dave Berkheimer (27th in 2023).

First-time Hoosier Hundred appearances will be made by Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind), Tanner Berryhill (Bixby, Okla.), Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) and Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio).

RACE DETAILS:

The Hoosier Hundred is part of the Carb Night Classic featuring four divisions of racing in one night: USAC Silver Crown, USF2000 Presented By Cooper Tires (75 laps), USF Pro 2000 Presented By Cooper Tires (90 laps) and Pavement Midgets (30 laps).

On Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the pits open at Noon Eastern with spectator gates opening at 3pm with practice starting at 3pm, qualifying at 5:15pm and racing at 7:15. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.raceIRP.com. Advance general admission tickets are $25. Advance reserved seats are $35. Ages 12 and under are admitted for free. Pit passes are $35 each.

The Silver Crown and midget events at IRP can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

HOOSIER HUNDRED ENTRY LIST:

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

14 ®TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports/Abacus Racing)

24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)

25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports/Eddie Sachs Jr.)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

29 ®BRENT YARNAL/Phoenix, AZ (Brent Yarnal)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 ®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

HOOSIER HUNDRED WINNERS:

1953: Bob Sweikert

1954: Jimmy Bryan

1955: Jimmy Bryan

1956: Jimmy Bryan

1957: Jud Larson

1958: Eddie Sachs

1959: Rodger Ward

1960: A.J. Foyt

1961: A.J. Foyt

1962: Parnelli Jones

1963: Rodger Ward

1964: A.J. Foyt

1965: A.J. Foyt

1966: Mario Andretti

1967: Mario Andretti

1968: A.J. Foyt

1969: A.J. Foyt

1970: Al Unser

1971: Al Unser

1972: Al Unser

1973: Al Unser

1974: Jackie Howerton

1975: Tom Bigelow

1976: Joe Saldana

1977: Pancho Carter

1978: Billy Engelhart

1979: Bobby Olivero

1980: Gary Bettenhausen

1981: Larry Rice

1982: Chuck Gurney

1983: Chuck Gurney

1984: Steve Chassey

1985: Sheldon Kinser

1986: Jack Hewitt

1987: Kenny Jacobs

1988: Jack Hewitt

1989: Jack Hewitt

1990: Gary Hieber

1991: Jeff Swindell

1992: Ron Shuman

1993: Jeff Swindell

1994: Jimmy Sills

1995: Dave Darland

1996: Dave Darland

1997: Chuck Leary

1998: Donnie Beechler

1999: Jimmy Sills

2000: Tony Elliott

2001: Tony Elliott

2002: Jason Leffler

2003: J.J. Yeley

2004: Dave Darland

2005: Teddy Beach

2006: Josh Wise

2007: Rained Out

2008: Rained Out

2009: Shane Hollingsworth

2010: Shane Hmiel

2011: Jerry Coons Jr.

2012: Jerry Coons Jr.

2013: Levi Jones

2014: Kody Swanson

2015: Kody Swanson

2016: Kody Swanson

2017: Rained Out

2018: Kody Swanson

2019: Tyler Courtney

2020: Kyle Larson

2021: Not Held

2022: Not Held

2023: Bobby Santos

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

ALL-TIME HOOSIER HUNDRED WINS:

6-A.J. Foyt

4-Kody Swanson & Al Unser

3-Jimmy Bryan, Dave Darland & Jack Hewitt

2-Mario Andretti, Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott, Chuck Gurney, Jimmy Sills, Jeff Swindell & Rodger Ward

1-Teddy Beach, Donnie Beechler, Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Steve Chassey, Tyler Courtney, Billy Engelhart, Gary Hieber, Shane Hmiel, Shane Hollingsworth, Jackie Howerton, Kenny Jacobs, Levi Jones, Parnelli Jones, Sheldon Kinser, Jud Larson, Kyle Larson, Chuck Leary, Jason Leffler, Bobby Olivero, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Joe Saldana, Bobby Santos, Ron Shuman, Bob Sweikert, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley

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

CARB NIGHT CLASSIC USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT IRP:

2016: Tanner Swanson

2017: Kody Swanson

2018: Kody Swanson

2019: Kyle Hamilton

2020: Tanner Swanson

2021: Kody Swanson

2022: Bobby Santos

2023: Bobby Santos

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

ALL-TIME CARB NIGHT CLASSIC USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT IRP:

3-Kody Swanson

2-Bobby Santos & Tanner Swanson

1-Kyle Hamilton

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT IRP:

8-Tanner Swanson

7-Kody Swanson

6-Bobby Santos

5-Mike Bliss

3-Bobby East

2-Kenny Irwin Jr., Jim Keeker, Jason Leffler & Ken Schrader

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

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT IRP:

1985: Rick Hood (7/13)

1986: Ken Schrader (7/13)

1987: Jeff Bloom (7/11)

1988: Bruce Field (7/9)

1989: Bob Cicconi (7/8) & Ken Schrader (7/8)

1990: George Snider (6/30)

1991: Johnny Parsons (6/29)

1992: Jim Keeker (6/27)

1993: Mike Bliss (6/26)

1994: Mike Bliss (8/4)

1995: Jim Keeker (8/2)

1996: Mike Bliss (5/18) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/31)

1997: Pat Abold (5/17) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/30)

1998: Tony Stewart (5/16) & Jason Leffler (7/29)

1999: Ryan Newman (5/22) & Dave Steele (8/4)

2000: Jason Leffler (5/20) & Russ Gamester (8/6)

2001: Mike Bliss (5/12) & Kasey Kahne (8/2)

2002: Mike Bliss (8/1)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/22) & Jason McCord (7/31)

2004: Jay Drake (8/5)

2005: Bobby East (8/4)

2006: Brian Tyler (8/3)

2007: Bobby East (7/26)

2008: Bobby East (7/24)

2009: Bobby Santos (7/23)

2010: Tracy Hines (7/22)

2011: Kody Swanson (7/28)

2012: Bobby Santos (5/19) & Bobby Santos (7/26)

2013: Tanner Swanson (7/27)

2014: Tanner Swanson (5/17) & David Byrne (7/24)

2015: Tanner Swanson (5/23) & Tanner Swanson (7/23)

2016: Tanner Swanson (5/27) & Kody Swanson (7/21)

2017: Kody Swanson (5/26) & Bobby Santos (7/20)

2018: Kody Swanson (5/25)

2019: Kyle Hamilton (5/24) & Kody Swanson (9/7)

2020: Tanner Swanson (8/21)

2021: Kody Swanson (5/29) & Kody Swanson (8/14)

2022: Bobby Santos (5/27) & Tanner Swanson (10/22)

2023: Bobby Santos (5/26) & Tanner Swanson (10/15)

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT IRP:

1 Lap - 5/20/2000 - Jason Leffler - 20.298 - 121.667 mph

2 Laps - 8/14/2021 Kody Swanson 41.605 - 118.717 mph

10 Laps - 8/2/2001 - Derek Davidson - 3:35.06 - 104.789 mph

15 Laps - 5/22/2003 - Chet Fillip - 5:16.38 - 117.087 mph

20 Laps - 8/2/1995 - Eric Gordon - 7:14.71 - 113.621 mph

25 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jim Childers - 9:51.91 - 104.306 mph

100 Laps - 5/12/2001 - Mike Bliss - 35:41.40 - 115.326 mph

150 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jeff Bloom - 1:02:32.109 - 98.728 mph

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

PAST HOOSIER HUNDRED FEATURE RESULTS:

1953: 1. Bob Sweikert, 2. Manny Ayulo, 3. Johnnie Parsons, 4. Don Freeland, 5. Sam Hanks, 6. Tony Bettenhausen, 7. Pat O'Connor, 8. Rodger Ward, 9. Ed Elisian, 10. Duane Carter, 11. Jimmy Bryan, 12. Paul Russo, 13. Rex Easton, 14. Chuck Weyant, 15. Mike Nazaruk, 16. Andy Linden, 17. Gene Hartley, 18. Leroy Warriner.

1954: 1. Jimmy Bryan, 2. Bob Sweikert, 3. Sam Hanks, 4. Jack McGrath, 5. Jimmy Reece, 6. Ed Elisian, 7. Tommy Hinnershitz, 8. Johnnie Tolan, 9. Rodger Ward, 10. Jerry Hoyt, 11. Cal Niday, 12. Rex Easton, 13. Bob Carroll, 14. Ray Crawford, 15. Manny Ayulo, 16. Johnnie Parsons, 17. Chuck Weyant, 18. Jiggs Peters.

1955: 1. Jimmy Bryan, 2. Johnny Thomson, 3. George Amick, 4. Tony Bettenhausen, 5. Pat O'Connor, 6. Don Freeland, 7. Ed Elisian, 8. Jimmy Reece, 9. Andy Linden, 10. Johnny Kay, 11. Eddie Russo, 12. Eddie Johnson, 13. Bob Veith, 14. Rodger Ward, 15. Jack McGrath, 16. Mike Magill, 17. Bob Sweikert, 18. Earl Motter.

1956: 1. Jimmy Bryan, 2. Pat O'Connor, 3. Rodger Ward, 4. Jud Larson, 5. Al Keller, 6. Gene Hartley, 7. Bob Veith, 8. Andy Linden, 9. Don Freeland, 10. Mike Magill, 11. Johnny Boyd, 12. George Amick, 13. Earl Motter, 14. Elmer George, 15. Jim Rathmann, 16. Johnny Thomson, 17. Tommy Hinnershitz, 18. Tony Bettenhausen.

1957: 1. Jud Larson, 2. Jimmy Bryan, 3. George Amick, 4. Len Sutton, 5. Don Branson, 6. Elmer George, 7. Ed Elisian, 8. Jimmy Reece, 9. Jack Turner, 10. Pat O'Connor, 11. Tony Bettenhausen, 12. Ralph Liguori, 13. Rodger Ward, 14. Johnny Boyd, 15. Rex Easton, 16. Don Freeland, 17. Johnny Thomson, 18. Andy Linden.

1958: 1. Eddie Sachs, 2. Johnny Thomson, 3. Rodger Ward, 4. Don Branson, 5. Tony Bettenhausen, 6. Earl Motter, 7. Jimmy Reece, 8. A.J. Foyt, 9. Ed Elisian, 10. Elmer George, 11. Johnnie Tolan, 12. Jim Packard, 13. Gene Hartley, 14. Paul Russo, 15. Joe Barzda, 16. Don Freeland, 17. Jud Larson, 18. Ralph Liguori.

1959: 1. Rodger Ward, 2. Eddie Sachs, 3. A. J. Foyt, 4. Jim McWithey, 5. Len Sutton, 6. Bobby Grim, 7. Don Freeland, 8. Ralph Liguori, 9. Bill Homeier, 10. Buddy Cagle, 11. Lee Drollinger, 12. Shorty Templeman, 13. Lloyd Ruby, 14. Gene Force, 15. Tony Bettenhausen, 16. Jim Hurtubise, 17. Don Branson, 18. Jim Packard.

1960: 1. A.J. Foyt, 2. Tony Bettenhausen, 3. Gene Force, 4. Don Branson, 5. Johnny Thomson, 6. Roger McCluskey, 7. Len Sutton, 8. Chuck Stevenson, 9. Shorty Templeman, 10. Lee Drollinger, 11. Chuck Hulse, 12. Jim Hurtubise, 13. Eddie Sachs, 14. Rodger Ward, 15. Cotton Farmer, 16. Bobby Grim, 17. Parnelli Jones, 18. Jim Packard, 19. Wayne Weiler.

1961: 1. A.J. Foyt, 2. Bobby Marshman, 3. Jim McElreath, 4. Len Sutton, 5. Shorty Templeman, 6. Chuck Hulse, 7. Ralph Liguori, 8. Don Branson, 9. Danny Jones, 10. Dick Rathmann, 11. Bob Mathouser, 12. Parnelli Jones, 13. Don Davis, 14. Roger McCluskey, 15. Elmer George, 16. Al Keller, 17. Rodger Ward, 18. Jim Hurtubise.

1962: 1. Parnelli Jones, 2. Don Branson, 3. Jim McElreath, 4. Roger McCluskey, 5. Rodger Ward, 6. Bobby Marshman, 7. Chuck Hulse, 8. Jim Hurtubise, 9. Ernie Koch, 10. Ronnie Duman, 11. Bobby Grim, 12. Ralph Liguori, 13. Lloyd Ruby, 14. Allen Crowe, 15. Johnny Rutherford, 16. A. J. Foyt, 17. Bobby Marvin, 18. Elmer George.

1963: 1. Rodger Ward, 2. Don Branson, 3. A.J. Foyt, 4. Johnny Rutherford, 5. Jim McElreath, 6. Roger McCluskey, 7. Johnny White, 8. Lloyd Ruby, 9. Ronnie Duman, 10. Jim Hurtubise, 11. Bobby Grim, 12. Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, 13. Sonny Helms, 14. Bob Harkey, 15. Chuck Hulse, 16. Ralph Liguori, 17. Colby Scroggin, 18. Parnelli Jones.

1964: 1. A.J. Foyt, 2. Rodger Ward, 3. Don Branson, 4. Jud Larson, 5. Bud Tingelstad, 6. Arnie Knepper, 7. Ronnie Duman, 8. Len Sutton, 9. Lloyd Ruby, 10. Mario Andretti, 11. Norm Hall, 12. Joe Leonard, 13. Bob Harkey, 14. Gordon Johncock, 15. Bobby Unser, 16. Bobby Marshman, 17. Parnelli Jones, 18. Johnny Rutherford.

1965: 1. A.J. Foyt, 2. Mario Andretti, 3. Jud Larson, 4. Bobby Unser, 5. Red Riegel, 6. Johnny Rutherford, 7. Carl Williams, 8. George Snider, 9. Bob Harkey, 10. Lloyd Ruby, 11. Gary Congdon, 12. Billy Foster, 13. Don Branson, 14. Bud Tingelstad, 15. Arnie Knepper, 16. Jim Hurtubise, 17. Greg Weld, 18. Bruce Jacobi.

1966: 1. Mario Andretti, 2. A.J. Foyt, 3. Arnie Knepper, 4. Don Branson, 5. Chuck Hulse, 6. Dick Atkins, 7. Bud Tingelstad, 8. Ronnie Duman, 9. Larry Dickson, 10. Jim McElreath, 11. Al Miller (Krulac), 12. George Snider, 13. Carl Williams, 14. Roger McCluskey, 15. Billy Foster, 16. Ralph Liguori, 17. Bobby Unser, 18. Bob Tattersall.

1967: 1. Mario Andretti, 2. A.J. Foyt, 3. Al Unser, 4. Billy Vukovich, 5. Jim McElreath, 6. Bruce Walkup, 7. Carl Williams, 8. Roger McCluskey, 9. Chuck Hulse, 10. Ralph Liguori, 11. Ronnie Duman, 12. Rollie Beale, 13. Norm Brown, 14. Larry Dickson, 15. Bill Puterbaugh, 16. Johnny Rutherford, 17. George Snider, 18. Bobby Unser.

1968: 1. A.J. Foyt, 2. Mario Andretti, 3. George Snider, 4. Gary Bettenhausen, 5. Billy Vukovich, 6. Arnie Knepper, 7. Larry Dickson, 8. George Benson, 9. Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, 10. Art Pollard, 11. Chuck Booth, 12. Roger McCluskey, 13 Wally Dallenbach, 14. Jim Malloy, 15. Al Unser, 16. Bobby Unser, 17. Greg Weld, 18. Ralph Liguori.

1969: 1. A.J. Foyt, 2. Gary Bettenhausen, 3. Bobby Unser, 4. Al Unser, 5. Greg Weld, 6. Mario Andretti, 7. George Snider, 8. Ralph Liguori, 9. Bud Tingelstad, 10. Bruce Walkup, 11. Carl Williams, 12. Bob Harkey, 13. Jim McElreath, 14. Billy Vukovich, 15. Roger McCluskey, 16. Bill Puterbaugh, 17. Mike Mosley, 18. Art Pollard.

1970: 1. Al Unser, 2. Ralph Liguori, 3. A.J. Foyt, 4. Sam Sessions, 5. Mike Mosley, 6. Bruce Walkup, 7. Greg Weld, 8. Bentley Warren, 9. Will Cagle, 10. Jim McElreath, 11. Mario Andretti, 12. Jim Malloy, 13. Bob Harkey, 14. George Snider, 15. Carl Williams, 16. Bill Puterbaugh, 17. Johnny Parsons, 18. Jerry Poland.

1971: 1. Al Unser, 2. George Snider, 3. Larry Dickson, 4. A.J. Foyt, 5. Billy Vukovich, 6. Jim McElreath, 7. Sam Sessions, 8. Bill Puterbaugh, 9. Arnie Knepper, 10. Merle Bettenhausen, 11. Bob Harkey, 12. Don Nordhorn, 13. Jim Malloy, 14. Carl Williams, 15. Johnny Parsons, 16. Joe Saldana, 17. Mario Andretti, 18. Gary Bettenhausen, 19. Karl Busson, 20. Johnny Rutherford, 21. Jimmy Caruthers, 22. Bruce Walkup, 23. Roger McCluskey, 24. Art Pollard.

1972: 1. Al Unser, 2. A.J. Foyt, 3. George Snider, 4. Sam Sessions, 5. Greg Weld, 6. Roger McCluskey, 7. Jim McElreath, 8. Rollie Beale, 9. Joe Saldana, 10. Ronnie Burke, 11. Jimmy Caruthers, 12. Tom Bigelow, 13. Carl Williams, 14. Ralph Liguori, 15. Rick Goudy, 16. Bob Evans, 17. Bill Puterbaugh, 18. Mike Mosley, 19. Lee Kunzman, 20. Arnie Knepper, 21. Jerry Miller, 22. Don Nordhorn, 23. Bob Harkey, 24. Larry Dickson.

1973: 1. Al Unser, 2. Johnny Parsons, 3. Tom Bigelow, 4. Pancho Carter, 5. Arnie Knepper, 6. Joe Saldana, 7. Darl Harrison, 8. Gary Ponzini, 9. Mel Cornett, 10. Karl Busson, 11. Mike Gregg, 12. Ralph Liguori, 13. A.J. Foyt, 14. Greg Weld, 15. Jerry Miller, 16. George Snider, 17. Larry Dickson, 18. Billy Shuman, 19. John Hubbard, 20. Billy Engelhart, 21. Mario Andretti, 22. Lee Kunzman, 23. Sam Sessions, 24. Jim McElreath.

1974: 1. Jackie Howerton, 2. Al Unser, 3. Mario Andretti, 4. Tom Bigelow, 5. George Snider, 6. Rollie Beale, 7. Pancho Carter, 8. Arnie Knepper, 9. Bruce Walkup, 10. Billy Cassella, 11. Joe Saldana, 12. Ronnie Burke, 13. Bill Puterbaugh, 14. Lee Osborne, 15. Mel Cornett, 16. Billy Engelhart, 17. Billy Vukovich, 18. Johnny Parsons, 19. Jan Opperman, 20. A.J. Foyt, 21. Jimmy Caruthers, 22. John Hubbard, 23. Sheldon Kinser, 24. Jim McElreath.

1975: 1. Tom Bigelow, 2. A.J. Foyt, 3. Jimmy Caruthers, 4. Billy Cassella, 5. Arnie Knepper, 6. Ronnie Burke, 7. Johnny Parsons, 8. Jim Hurtubise, 9. Sam Sessions, 10. Larry Rice, 11. Billy Engelhart, 12. Sheldon Kinser, 13. Al Unser, 14. Ralph Liguori, 15. Jerry Miller, 16. James McElreath, 17. Spike Gehlhausen, 18. Pancho Carter, 19. Billy Vukovich, 20. Steve Chassey, 21. Rollie Beale, 22. Bill Puterbaugh, 23. Johnny Anderson, 24. Bruce Walkup.

1976: 1. Joe Saldana, 2. A.J. Foyt, 3. Sheldon Kinser, 4. Billy Cassella, 5. Jim Hurtubise, 6. Johnny Parsons, 7. Larry Rice, 8. Jerry Miller, 9. Steve Chassey, 10. James McElreath, 11. Rollie Beale, 12. Jan Opperman, 13. Bubby Jones, 14. Bruce Walkup, 15. Chuck Gurney, 16. Spike Gehlhausen, 17. Mark Alderson, 18. Pancho Carter, 19. Jim McElreath, 20. Lee Osborne, 21. Larry Dickson, 22. Jackie Howerton, 23. Billy Engelhart, 24. Roger Rager.

1977: 1. Pancho Carter, 2. Larry Rice, 3. Sheldon Kinser, 4. Billy Vukovich, 5. Al Unser, 6. Billy Cassella, 7. Jackie Howerton, 8. Larry Dickson, 9. Dana Carter, 10. Gary Patterson, 11. Clark Templeman, 12. Bobby Olivero, 13. Jerry Miller, 14. Tom Bigelow, 15. Steve Chassey, 16. Junior Parkinson, 17. Greg Leffler, 18. Gary Bettenhausen, 19. Ron Shuman, 20. Eddie Leavitt, 21. Larry Cannon, 22. George Snider, 23. Bruce Walkup, 24. Bill Puterbaugh, 25. Johnny Parsons, 26. Billy Engelhart, 27. Steve Smith, 28. Larry Moore.

1978: 1. Billy Engelhart, 2. Rich Vogler, 3. Gary Bettenhausen, 4. Billy Vukovich, 5. Junior Parkinson, 6. Bubby Jones, 7. Johnny Parsons, 8. Larry Dickson, 9. Pancho Carter, 10. Dana Carter, 11. Roy Hicks, 12. Lealand McSpadden, 13. Bill Puterbaugh, 14. Robert Smith, 15. Jack Hewitt, 16. Jerry Miller, 17. Steve Chassey, 18. Sheldon Kinser, 19. Ed Lynch, 20. Larry Rice, 21. George Snider, 22. Steve Cannon, 23. Chuck Gurney, 24. Sammy Swindell, 25. Duke Cook, 26. Arnie Knepper, 27. Tom Bigelow, 28. Ron Shuman.

1979: 1. Bobby Olivero, 2. Billy Engelhart, 3. Pancho Carter, 4. Gary Bettenhausen, 5. Sheldon Kinser, 6. Steve Chassey, 7. Larry Rice, 8. Bubby Jones, 9. Butch Wilkerson, 10. Bobby Adkins, 11. Gary Irvin, 12. Sleepy Tripp, 13. Jim McElreath, 14. Chris Cumberworth, 15. Paul Pitzer, 16. Tom Bigelow, 17. Jerry Miller, 18. Steve Cannon, 19. Billy Vukovich, 20. Larry Dickson, 21. Junior Parkinson, 22. Roger Rager, 23. Joe Saldana, 24. Chuck Gurney, 25. Rich Vogler, 26. Bill Puterbaugh, 27. Bob East, 28. Billy Cassella.

1980: 1. Gary Bettenhausen, 2. Steve Chassey, 3. Pancho Carter, 4. Billy Vukovich, 5. Chris Cumberworth, 6. Tom Bigelow, 7. Steve Cannon, 8. Kramer Williamson, 9. Lennie Waldo, 10. Gary Irvin, 11. Jim McElreath, 12. Bill Tyler, 13. Larry Gates, 14. Greg Leffler, 15. Rich Leavell, 16. Jerry Miller, 17. Joe Saldana, 18. Larry Rice, 19. Bobby Olivero, 20. Sheldon Kinser, 21. Robert Smith, 22. Smokey Snellbaker, 23. A.J. Foyt, 24. Tony Weyant, 25. Ron Shuman, 26. Jan Opperman, 27. Jerry Weeks, 28. Karl Busson, 29. Doug Wolfgang, 30. Bill Burks, 31. Duke Cook, 32. Rich Vogler.

1981: 1. Larry Rice, 2. Rich Vogler, 3. Gary Bettenhausen, 4. Mark Alderson, 5. Tom Bigelow, 6. Billy Vukovich, 7. Sheldon Kinser, 8. George Snider, 9. Jerry Nemire, 10. Larry Martin, 11. Greg Leffler, 12. Chuck Amati, 13. Jack Hewitt, 14. Steve Chassey, 15. Smokey Snellbaker, 16. Johnny Parsons, 17. Paul Pitzer, 18. Jeff Bloom, 19. Jerry Miller, 20. Bobby Olivero, 21. Chuck Gurney, 22. Joe Saldana, 23. Larry Dickson, 24. Jim McElreath, 25. Steve Cannon, 26. Billy Engelhart.

1982: 1. Chuck Gurney, 2. Bobby Olivero, 3. Billy Engelhart, 4. Mark Alderson, 5. Keith Kauffman, 6. Ron Shuman, 7. Roger Rager, 8. Steve Cannon, 9. Ken Schrader, 10. Arnie Knepper, 11. Larry Rice, 12. Rich Vogler, 13. Steve Chassey, 14. Gary Gray, 15. Jeff Bloom, 16. Tom Bigelow, 17. Doug Wolfgang, 18. Larry Martin, 19. A.J. Foyt, 20. Jerry Nemire, 21. Tracy Potter, 22. Duke Cook, 23. Gary Bettenhausen, 24. Sheldon Kinser.

1983: 1. Chuck Gurney, 2. Sheldon Kinser, 3. Larry Rice, 4. Kramer Williamson, 5. Johnny Parsons, 6. Gary Gray, 7. Joe Saldana, 8. Kevin Olson, 9. Mark Alderson, 10. Billy Vukovich, 11. Brian Seidel, 12. Roger Rager, 13. Steve Long, 14. Larry Gates, 15. Jack Hewitt, 16. Rip Williams, 17. Billy Pauch, 18. Bobby Olivero, 19. Gary Bettenhausen, 20. Steve Chassey, 21. Larry Dickson, 22. Gary Hieber, 23. Terry Uehling, 24. Ken Schrader, 25. Duke Cook, 26. Gary Irvin, 27. Rick Hood, 28. George Snider, 29. Tom Bigelow, 30. Rich Vogler, 31. Billy Engelhart, 32. Danny Milburn.

1984: 1. Steve Chassey, 2. Sheldon Kinser, 3. Gary Bettenhausen, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Rich Vogler, 6. Dave Blaney, 7. Ken Schrader, 8. Chuck Gurney, 9. Gary Irvin, 10. Mike Johnson, 11. Steve Cannon, 12. Larry Dickson, 13. Manny Rockhold, 14. Nick Fornoro Jr., 15. Billy Vukovich, 16. Larry Martin, 17. Jerry Russell, 18. Johnny Parsons, 19. George Snider, 20. Steve Butler, 21. Rick Hood, 22. Danny Milburn, 23. Billy Engelhart, 24. Bud Wilmot, 25. Gary Hieber, 26. Keith Campbell, 27. Bobby Olivero, 28. Marvin Carman, 29. Jim McElreath, 30. Joe Saldana, 31. Rodney Ritter, 32. Tom Bigelow.

1985: 1. Sheldon Kinser, 2. Steve Butler, 3. Billy Vukovich, 4. Steve Chassey, 5. Bobby Olivero, 6. Larry Rice, 7. Andy Hillenburg, 8. Frankie Kerr, 9. Joe Saldana, 10. Rick Hood, 11. Paul Clark, 12. Danny Milburn, 13. Mark Alderson, 14. George Snider, 15. Warren Mockler, 16. Duke Cook, 17. Jack Hewitt, 18. Chuck Gurney, 19. Johnny Parsons, 20. Rich Vogler, 21. Bruce Field, 22. Billy Engelhart, 23. Tom Bigelow, 24. John Andretti, 25. Gary Hieber, 26. Kramer Williamson, 27. Jerry Russell, 28. Larry Dickson, 29. Gary Bettenhausen, 30. Gary Irvin.

1986: 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Larry Rice, 3. Chuck Gurney, 4. Bobby Olivero, 5. Tom Bigelow, 6. Rich Vogler, 7. Mark Alderson, 8. Bobby Adkins, 9. Bob Cicconi, 10. Duke Cook, 11. Gary Hieber, 12. Larry Dickson, 13. Steve Cannon, 14. George Snider, 15. Jeff Bloom, 16. Jerry Nemire, 17. Rick Hood, 18. Kenny Jacobs, 19. Ron Dunstan, 20. Brent Kaeding, 21. Gary Bettenhausen, 22. Jerry Russell, 23. Paul Clark, 24. Gary Irvin, 25. Steve Chassey, 26. Billy Engelhart, 27. Kramer Williamson, 28. Andy Hillenburg, 29. Warren Mockler, 30. Johnny Parsons, 31. Steve Butler, 32. Sheldon Kinser.

1987: 1. Kenny Jacobs, 2. Dave Blaney, 3. Jack Hewitt, 4. Jeff Swindell, 5. Rick Hood, 6. Larry Rice, 7. Rick Ungar, 8. Rusty McClure, 9. Paul Clark, 10. Rich Vogler, 11. Tony Elliott, 12. Tom Bigelow, 13. Manny Rockhold, 14. Brent Kaeding, 15. Dean Erfurth, 16. Jerry Nemire, 17. Jerry Russell, 18. Tray House, 19. Andy Hillenburg, 20. Jeff Bloom, 21. Duke Cook, 22. Rocky Hodges, 23. Bob Frey, 24. Nick Fornoro Jr., 25. Warren Mockler, 26. Jim Childers, 27. Mark Alderson, 28. Billy Engelhart, 29. Gary Hieber, 30. Steve Chassey, 31. Steve Butler.

1988: 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Chuck Gurney, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Larry Rice, 5. Andy Hillenburg, 6. Steve Chassey, 7. Ron Dunstan, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. Gary Hieber, 10. Warren Mockler, 11. Jon Johnson, 12. Bob Cicconi, 13. Jim Mahoney, 14. Bob Frey, 15. Red Stauffer, 16. George Snider, 17. Jim Keeker, 18. Jim Childers, 19. Jerry Nemire, 20. Ray Joe Fager, 21. Jeff Bloom, 22. Gary Bettenhausen, 23. Rusty McClure, 24. Gene Lee Gibson, 25. Kenny Jacobs, 26. Tray House, 27. Billy Vukovich III, 28. Steve Butler, 29. Dave Feese, 30. Bob East.

1989: 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Johnny Parsons, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Warren Mockler, 5. Rusty Rasmussen, 6. Danny Milburn, 7. Gary Irvin, 8. Jimmy Sills, 9. Manny Rockhold, 10. Jerry Nemire, 11. Terry Kawell, 12. Dave Feese, 13. George Snider, 14. Jim McElreath, 15. Jim Mahoney, 16. Danny Smith, 17. Rocky Hodges, 18. Andy Hillenburg, 19. Wayne Hammond, 20. Larry Rice, 21. Steve Butler, 22. Ron Dunstan, 23. Walt Kennedy, 24. Rich Vogler, 25. Tom Bigelow, 26. Russ Gamester, 27. Mike Thomas, 28. Chuck Gurney, 29. Mark Alderson, 30. Greg Staab, 31. Mark Sokola, 32. Red Stauffer.

1990: 1. Gary Hieber, 2. Jimmy Sills, 3. Wally Pankratz, 4. George Snider, 5. Jeff Gordon, 6. Mark Alderson, 7. Eric Gordon, 8. Danny Milburn, 9. Walt Kennedy, 10. Tray House, 11. Jerry Nemire, 12. Rocky Hodges, 13. Roy Caruthers, 14. Andy Hillenburg, 15. Rick Hood, 16. Jeff Swindell, 17. Brent Kaeding, 18. Steve Butler, 19. Stan Fox, 20. Rusty McClure, 21. Warren Mockler, 22. Johnny Parsons, 23. Jack Hewitt, 24. Blake Hollingsworth, 25. Brian Tyler, 26. Jerry Russell, 27. Chuck Gurney, 28. Bob Cicconi, 29. Larry Rice, 30. Dave Burns.

1991: 1. Jeff Swindell, 2. Jimmy Sills, 3. Russ Gamester, 4. Gary Hieber, 5. George Snider, 6. Chip Thomas, 7. Stan Fox, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. Stevie Reeves, 10. Mark Alderson, 11. Larry Dickson, 12. Eric Gordon, 13. Wally Pankratz, 14. Gary Irvin, 15. Greg Staab, 16. Bill Kojis, 17. Jerry Nemire, 18. Doug Wolfgang, 19. Jim McElreath, 20. Steve Butler, 21. Steve Chassey, 22. Rodney Duncan, 23. Randy Bateman, 24. Jerry Russell, 25. Larry Hillerud, 26. Bob Cicconi, 27. Jack Hewitt, 28. Larry Rice, 29. Ron Dunstan, 30. Danny Smith.

1992: 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Jeff Swindell, 3. Steve Butler, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Tony Elliott, 6. Eric Gordon, 7. Russ Gamester, 8. Dave Feese, 9. Dan Boorse, 10. Gary Hieber, 11. Tony Stewart, 12. Gary Irvin, 13. Wally Pankratz, 14. Stevie Reeves, 15. Rocky Hodges, 16. Jimmy Sills, 17. Jim Mahoney, 18. Pepi Marchese, 19. Steve Chassey, 20. Johnny Parsons, 21. George Snider, 22. Jerry Nemire, 23. Lealand McSpadden, 24. Donnie Beechler, 25. Kevin Thomas, 26. Warren Mockler, 27. Randy Bateman, 28. Larry Dickson, 29. Chip Thomas, 30. Stan Fox.

1993: 1. Jeff Swindell, 2. Jimmy Sills, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Eric Gordon, 5. Chuck Gurney, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Gary Hieber, 9. Jim Keeker, 10. Johnny Parsons, 11. Randy Tolsma, 12. Ron Dunstan, 13. Danny Smith, 14. Mark Alderson, 15. Steve Butler, 16. Tray House, 17. Lee Dunn, 18. Dave Steele, 19. Dan Drinan, 20. Mike Bliss, 21. Larry Dickson, 22. Bobby Marcum, 23. Stan Fox, 24. Stevie Reeves, 25. Page Jones, 26. Donnie Beechler, 27. Chip Thomas, 28. George Snider, 29. Wally Pankratz, 30. Greg Staab.

1994: 1. Jimmy Sills, 2. Randy Tolsma, 3. Lealand McSpadden, 4. Donnie Beechler, 5. Jack Hewitt, 6. Stan Fox, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Kevin Doty, 9. Rusty McClure, 10. Tony Stewart, 11. Kevin Thomas, 12. Billy Boat, 13. Cary Faas, 14. Russ Gamester, 15. Chuck Gurney, 16. Chip Thomas, 17. Jack Runyon, 18. Robby Flock, 19. Rocky Hodges, 20. Page Jones, 21. Warren Mockler, 22. Brian Gerster, 23. Gary Hieber, 24. Ron Shuman, 25. Doug Kalitta, 26. Wally Pankratz, 27. Johnny Parsons, 28. Mike Bliss, 29. George Snider, 30. Kenny Irwin Jr.

1995: 1. Dave Darland, 2. George Snider, 3. Jack Hewitt, 4. Robby Flock, 5. Billy Boat, 6. Chuck Leary, 7. Tray House, 8. Andy Michner, 9. Brad Noffsinger, 10. Donnie Beechler, 11. Dan Drinan, 12. Richard Griffin, 13. Tony Elliott, 14. Eric Gordon, 15. Cary Faas, 16. Rocky Hodges, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Chuck Gurney, 19. Jon Stanbrough, 20. Rusty McClure, 21. Jim Keeker, 22. Kevin Thomas, 23. Jimmy Brewer, 24. Gary Hieber, 25. Randy Tolsma, 26. Kenny Irwin Jr., 27. Dave Steele, 28. Johnny Parsons, 29. Tony Stewart, 30. Russ Gamester.

1996: 1. Dave Darland, 2. Chuck Gurney, 3. Kenny Irwin Jr., 4. Robby Flock, 5. Andy Michner, 6. Jackie Burke, 7. Jimmy Sills, 8. Cary Faas, 9. Eric Gordon, 10. Doug Kalitta, 11. Gary Hieber, 12. Jack Hewitt, 13. Rusty McClure, 14. Kevin Thomas, 15. Rocky Hodges, 16. Jim Keeker, 17. Bill Rose, 18. Cory Kruseman, 19. Billy Engelhart, 20. Brian Hayden, 21. Kevin Doty, 22. Dave Steele, 23. Brad Marvel, 24. Russ Gamester, 25. Mike Mosley Jr., 26. Rick Hood, 27. Donnie Beechler, 28. Ryan Newman, 29. Tony Elliott, 30. George Snider.

1997: 1. Chuck Leary, 2. Chuck Gurney, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Cory Kruseman, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. George Snider, 7. Brian Gerster, 8. Jimmy Sills, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Brian Tyler, 11. Billy Engelhart, 12. Bruce Field, 13. Ryan Newman, 14. Tony Elliott, 15. Bobby Davis Jr., 16. Gary Hieber, 17. Kevin Thomas, 18. Randy Bateman, 19. Donnie Beechler, 20. Cary Faas, 21. Jimmy Kite, 22. Wally Pankratz, 23. Russ Gamester, 24. Jim Keeker, 25. Jack Hewitt, 26. Ronnie Burke, 27. Ronnie Day, 28. Robby Flock, 29. Rusty McClure, 30. Jay Drake.

1998: 1. Donnie Beechler, 2. Jason Leffler, 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Chuck Gurney, 6. Ronnie Day, 7. Russ Gamester, 8. Ryan Newman, 9. J.J. Yeley, 10. Todd Kane, 11. George Snider, 12. Cary Faas, 13. Wally Pankratz, 14. Kevin Thomas, 15. Robby Flock, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Eric Gordon, 18. Jack Hewitt, 19. Tony Elliott, 20. Travis Rilat, 21. Bill Rose, 22. Lou Cicconi Jr., 23. Chuck Leary, 24. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 25. John Heydenreich, 26. Johnny Parsons, 27. Greg Stephens, 28. Jimmy Stinson, 29. Gary Hieber, 30. Tim Cox, 31. Brian Tyler, 32. John Barrick.

1999: 1. Jimmy Sills, 2. Russ Gamester, 3. Robby Flock, 4. Ryan Newman, 5. Chuck Leary, 6. Derek Davidson, 7. J.J. Yeley, 8. Paul White, 9. Greg Wilson, 10. Brad Noffsinger, 11. Dean Franklin, 12. Tom Capie, 13. Gary Hieber, 14. Ron Smoker, 15. Tony Elliott, 16. Randy Bateman, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Kevin Thomas, 19. Jack Hewitt, 20. Bill Rose, 21. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 22. Kevin Doty, 23. Rich Tobias Jr., 24. Brian Tyler, 25. Jay Drake, 26. Johnny Parsons, 27. Jimmy Stinson, 28. Todd Kane, 29. Tom Davies, 30. Terry Babb.

2000: 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Jack Hewitt, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. John Heydenreich, 5. Brad Noffsinger, 6. Jay Drake, 7. Gary Hieber, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Dave Darland, 10. Kasey Kahne, 11. Jimmy Sills, 12. Russ Gamester, 13. Brad Fox, 14. Bill Rose, 15. Paul White, 16. Derek Davidson, 17. Greg Wilson, 18. Joe McCarthy, 19. J.J. Yeley, 20. Ed Carpenter, 21. Rich Tobias Jr., 22. Terry Pletch, 23. Jackie Burke, 24. Donnie Beechler, 25. Ryan Newman, 26. Robby Flock, 27. Brian Tyler, 28. Tom Capie, 29. Todd Kane, 30. Ricky Shelton.

2001: 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Johnny Parsons, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Paul White, 8. Ed Carpenter, 9. Dave Steele, 10. Tom Capie, 11. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 12. Jason McCord, 13. Levi Jones, 14. Aaron Fike, 15. Kyle Steffens, 16. Dean Franklin, 17. Wayne Chinn, 18. Dane Carter, 19. Michael Lewis, 20. Rich Tobias Jr., 21. Brad Noffsinger, 22. John Heydenreich, 23. Jack Hewitt, 24. Ricky Shelton, 25. Brian Tyler, 26. Brad Fox, 27. Russ Gamester, 28. A.J. Foyt IV, 29. Jac Haudenschild, 30. Jay Drake.

2002: 1. Jason Leffler, 2. Rich Tobias Jr., 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Dave Steele, 5. Tom Capie, 6. Brad Fox, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. John Starks, 9. Randy Bateman, 10. John Heydenreich, 11. Kenny Jacobs, 12. Aaron Fike, 13. J.J. Yeley, 14. Nick Lundgreen, 15. Sport Allen, 16. Jason McCord, 17. Kevin Huntley, 18. Tracy Hines, 19. Roger Rager, 20. Dane Carter, 21. Brad Noffsinger, 22. Derek Davidson, 23. Jerry Coons Jr., 24. Ed Carpenter, 25. Levi Jones, 26. Terry Pletch, 27. Johnny Parsons, 28. Paul White, 29. Dave Darland, 30. Russ Gamester, 31. Michael Lewis, 32. Jay Drake, 33. Billy Puterbaugh, 34. Brian DeFord, 35. Cory Kruseman, 36. Tom Davies.

2003: 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Rich Tobias Jr., 3. Paul White, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Brian Tyler, 7. Johnny Parsons, 8. Jay Drake, 9. Matt Westfall, 10. Aaron Fike, 11. Kenny Jacobs, 12. Dane Carter, 13. Levi Jones, 14. Kevin Huntley, 15. A.J. Fike, 16. David Bridges, 17. Sport Allen, 18. Dave Darland, 19. George White, 20. Teddy Beach, 21. Brad Noffsinger, 22. Russ Gamester, 23. Tyler Walker, 24. Jonathan Vennard, 25. Jerry Nemire, 26. Tom Capie, 27. Jason McCord, 28. Tony Elliott, 29. Dave Steele, 30. John Heydenreich, 31. Randy Bateman, 32. Kevin Newton.

2004: 1. Dave Darland, 2. Dave Steele, 3. John Heydenreich, 4. Teddy Beach, 5. Kevin Huntley, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Boston Reid, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Aaron Pierce, 10. Hud Cone, 11. Jason McCord, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Johnny Parsons, 14. Shane Hollingsworth, 15. Levi Jones, 16. Matt Westfall, 17. Brian Tyler, 18. Aaron Fike, 19. Tom Capie, 20. Paul White, 21. Dane Carter, 22. Jay Drake, 23. Danny Ebberts, 24. Wayne Reutimann Jr., 25. Russ Gamester, 26. Tony Elliott, 27. Rich Tobias Jr., 28. Donnie Beechler, 29. Cary Faas, 30. Josh Wise, 31. Nick Lundgreen, 32. Jim Moughan, 33. Sport Allen.

2005: 1. Teddy Beach, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Russ Gamester, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Bud Kaeding, 7. Dave Steele, 8. Aaron Fike, 9. Wayne Reutimann Jr., 10. Paul White, 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Nick Lundgreen, 13. Shane Hollingsworth, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Ron Gregory, 16. Rich Tobias Jr., 17. Aaron Pierce, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Jason McCord, 20. Dickie Gaines, 21. Tom Capie, 22. Ryan Durst, 23. Jesse Hockett, 24. Levi Jones, 25. Matt Westfall, 26. Alex Shanks, 27. Brian Tyler, 28. Mat Neely, 29. Jerry Coons Jr., 30. Tom Hessert III, 31. Johnny Parsons, 32. Kevin Huntley, 33. David Gough.

2006: 1. Josh Wise, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Russ Gamester, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Brian Tyler, 8. John Heydenreich, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Johnny Parsons, 11. Kevin Huntley, 12. Brad Kuhn, 13. Wayne Reutimann Jr., 14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 15. Tom Capie, 16. Brad Davis, 17. A.J. Fike, 18. Hud Cone, 19. Randy Bateman, 20. Alex Shanks, 21. Dave Steele, 22. Aaron Pierce, 23. Mat Neely, 24. Chris Urish, 25. Cole Carter, 26. Shane Hollingsworth, 27. Chappy Knaack, 28. Rich Tobias Jr., 29. Teddy Beach, 30. Danny Long, 31. Steve Buckwalter, 32. Shane Cottle, 33. Ron Gregory, 34. Davey Ray.

2009: 1. Shane Hollingsworth, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Shane Hmiel, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Russ Gamester, 6. Chris Urish, 7. Zach Daum, 8. Tom Capie, 9. Tracy Hines, 10. Cole Whitt, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Brian Tyler, 14. Derek Hagar, 15. A.J. Fike, 16. Jesse Hockett, 17. Cole Carter, 18. Tony Elliott, 19. Bill Rose, 20. Von McGee, 21. Matt Westfall, 22. Josh Wise, 23. Levi Jones, 24. Aaron Pierce, 25. Kody Swanson, 26. Randy Bateman, 27. Patrick Bruns, 28. Mike Stroehle.

2010: 1. Shane Hmiel, 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Kody Swanson, 5. Dave Darland, 6. A.J. Fike, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Brian Tyler, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Bryan Clauson, 13. Coleman Gulick, 14. Todd Kane, 15. Randy Bateman, 16. Derek Hagar, 17. Chris Urish, 18. Mike Martin, 19. Justin Carver, 20. Zach Daum, 21. Rex Norris III, 22. Russ Gamester, 23. Shane Hollingsworth, 24. Von McGee, 25. Aaron Pierce, 26. Jeff Swindell, 27. Rob Chaney, 28. Mike Hess, 29. Murray Erickson, 30. Davey Ray, 31. Brad Kuhn, 32. Bobby East, 33. Tom Capie, 34. Donnie Beechler, 35. Jon Stanbrough.

2011: 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Levi Jones, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Brian Tyler, 6. Derek Hagar, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. Tanner Swanson, 9. Todd Kane, 10. Dave Darland, 11. A.J. Fike, 12. Kyle Larson, 13. Donnie Beechler, 14. Bobby East, 15. Brad Kuhn, 16. Zach Daum, 17. Mike Hess, 18. Shane Cockrum, 19. Jon Stanbrough, 20. Hunter Schuerenberg, 21. Chris Urish, 22. JoJo Helberg, 23. Russ Gamester, 24. Thomas Meseraull, 25. Bryan Clauson, 26. Randy Bateman, 27. Jeff Swindell, 28. Chris Windom, 29. Shane Hollingsworth, 30. Aaron Pierce.

2012: 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Bobby East, 5. Kody Swanson, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Tanner Swanson, 9. Zach Daum, 10. Shane Hollingsworth, 11. Chris Urish, 12. Todd Kane, 13.Justin Grant, 14. Brian Tyler, 15. Steve Adams, 16. Jimmy Kite, 17. Russ Gamester, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Shane Cockrum, 20. A.J. Fike.

2013: 1. Levi Jones, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Shane Hollingsworth, 5. A.J. Fike, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Aaron Pierce, 8. Bobby East, 9. Miranda Throckmorton, 10. Kellen Conover, 11. Russ Gamester, 12. Kody Swanson, 13. Brian Tyler, 14. Dave Darland, 15. Casey Shuman, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Tim Barber, 18. Taylor Ferns, 19. Randy Bateman, 20. Tad Roach, 21. Shane Cockrum, 22. Kenny Gentry, 23. Todd Kane, 24. Robert Ballou.

2014: 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Bobby East, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Chris Windom, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Aaron Pierce, 8. Chris Urish, 9. A.J. Fike, 10. Christopher Bell, 11. Joe Liguori, 12. Shane Cockrum, 13. Davey Ray, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Jarett Andretti, 17. Randy Bateman, 18. Jacob Wilson, 19. Patrick Lawson, 20. Jake Simmons, 21. Russ Gamester, 22. John Hunt, 23. Caleb Armstrong, 24. Andrew Felker, 25. Dakota Jackson

2015: 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Aaron Pierce, 3. Brian Tyler, 4. A.J. Fike, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Shane Cockrum, 7. Rick Hood, 8. Patrick Lawson, 9. Jacob Wilson, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Dave Darland, 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Tyler Courtney, 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 15. Rex Norris III, 16. David Byrne, 17. Steve Buckwalter, 18. Steven Russell, 19. Terry James, 20. Russ Gamester, 21. Levi Jones, 22. Austin Nemire, 23. Shane Cottle, 24. Davey Ray, 25. Tracy Hines, 26. Chris Fetter, 27. Tad Roach.

2016: 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Chris Windom, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. David Byrne, 8. Davey Ray, 9. Mark Smith, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jacob Wilson, 12. Casey Shuman, 13. Austin Nemire, 14. Terry James, 15. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 16. Justin Grant, 17. Jeff Swindell, 18. Brady Bacon, 19. Russ Gamester, 20. Shane Cockrum, 21. Neil Shepherd, 22. Aaron Pierce, 23. Steve Buckwalter, 24. Terry Babb, 25. Joey Moughan, 26. Joe Liguori, 27. A.J. Fike, 28. Danny Long, 29. Mitch Wissmiller, 30. J.C. Bland.

2018: 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Shane Cockrum, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Johnny Petrozelle, 6. Jacob Wilson, 7. Joe Liguori, 8. David Byrne, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Austin Mundie, 11. Austin Nemire, 12. Matt Goodnight, 13. Chris Windom, 14. Mike Haggenbottom, 15. Casey Shuman, 16. Chris Dyson, 17. Korey Weyant, 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 19. Brady Bacon, 20. Steve Buckwalter, 21. Justin Grant, 22. Travis Welpott, 23. Brian Tyler, 24. C.J. Leary, 25. Kyle Robbins, 26. Kevin Thomas Jr., 27. J.C. Bland, 28. Russ Gamester, 29. Jeff Swindell, 30. Neil Shepherd, 31. Coleman Gulick, 32. A.J. Fike.

2019 (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (3), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 3. Kody Swanson (4), 4. Justin Grant (13), 5. Brady Bacon (8), 6. Jason McDougal (25), 7. David Byrne (6), 8. Steve Buckwalter (17), 9. Brian Tyler (5), 10. Jacob Wilson (11), 11. C.J. Leary (23), 12. Russ Gamester (10), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (18), 14. Jimmy Light (16), 15. Kyle Steffens (27), 16. Matt Goodnight (21), 17. Chris Phillips (24), 18. Dave Darland (29), 19. Chris Dyson (22), 20. Austin Nemire (9), 21. Kyle Robbins (31), 22. Eric Gordon (26), 23. Shane Cottle (19), 24. Chad Kemenah (28), 25. Jeff Swindell (15), 26. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (14), 27. Johnny Petrozelle (7), 28. Austin Mundie (30), 29. John Heydenreich (20), 30. Bill Rose (32), 31. Chris Windom (2), 32. Dallas Hewitt (12).

2020 (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (22), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Logan Seavey (1), 4. Shane Cockrum (23), 5. Chris Windom (24), 6. Jake Swanson (8), 7. Shane Cottle (4), 8. Justin Grant (20), 9. Kyle Cummins (26), 10. Matt Goodnight (21), 11. Casey Buckman (19), 12. Patrick Lawson (11), 13. Ronnie Wuerdeman (30), 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 15. Tyler Courtney (14), 16. Mike Haggenbottom (28), 17. Chad Kemenah (7), 18. Austin Mundie (27), 19. Kyle Robbins (17), 20. Matt Westfall (25), 21. Bryan Gossel (29), 22. Chris Urish (10), 23. Aaron Pierce (31), 24. Russ Gamester (15), 25. Brady Bacon (3), 26. Kody Swanson (6), 27. David Byrne (12), 28. Jimmy Light (5), 29. Terry Babb (16), 30. Austin Nemire (13), 31. Carmen Perigo (18), 32. John Heydenreich (32). NT

2023 FEATURE: (146 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Logan Seavey (15), 3. Tyler Roahrig (10), 4. Derek Bischak (6), 5. Taylor Ferns (13), 6. Nathan Byrd (8), 7. Tanner Swanson (3), 8. Justin Grant (4), 9. Mario Clouser (18), 10. Mike McVetta (20), 11. Bryan Gossel (27), 12. Jerry Coons Jr. (23), 13. Casey Buckman (19), 14. Wayne Johnson (24), 15. Kaylee Bryson (30), 16. Travis Welpott (26), 17. Gregg Cory (28), 18. Russ Gamester (9), 19. Kody Swanson (2), 20. Kyle Steffens (22), 21. Trey Burke (21), 22. Patrick Lawson (11), 23. Matt Westfall (25), 24. C.J. Leary (5), 25. Kyle O'Gara (16), 26. Brent Yarnal (29), 27. Dave Berkheimer (32), 28. Emerson Axsom (7), 29. Billy Wease (14), 30. Kyle Robbins (17), 31. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 32. Tom Paterson (31). 1:13:52.03 (New Track Record)

FINALLY!

BACON BREAKS THROUGH

AT CIRCLE CITY FOR FIRST USAC WIN OF ‘24

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (May 22, 2024)………Of the 54 career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victories Brady Bacon has posted in his career, perhaps none have been more satisfying or created such a sense of relief than the one he earned during Wednesday night’s Circle City Salute opener at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway.

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) had never gone this far into the USAC Sprint season without a victory, at least not since he’s been a full-time series competitor in the 11-year span between 2013-2023. His previous longest waits in that era have endured into the 11th race of the season in both 2013 and 2017, but as it turns out, 13 was his lucky number in 2024.

He’d watched Justin Grant, Logan Seavey, C.J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Robert Ballou all enjoy the spoils of victory while enduring his share of bouts of personal hardship, such as getting caught up in other’s incidents, sudden flat tires, random mechanical issues and just plain bad luck. If it happened, it seemed to go against Bacon.

Finally, at Circle City, good fortune finally put its welcoming arms around Bacon as he overcame a three-wide tussle for second before chasing down the lead moments later in turn two with six laps remaining all while setting a new series record in the process. For Bacon, it was his 14th consecutive season with at least one USAC National Sprint Car feature win, breaking the mark of 13-straight years set by Sheldon Kinser between 1974-1986.

Bacon’s run of misfortune didn’t discriminate. It even carried over to other series. With 16 laps remaining in last Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown show at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks, he was decimating the field by nearly 16 seconds when an engine expired on him. But there’s no understating the magnitude of this particular victory, as it is one that has certainly made his back a little lighter without that proverbial monkey off of it now.

“We’ve had a fast car every time we’ve been to the racetrack,” Bacon explained. “It just seemed like something always happens, and not just in the 69. At Belleville, we were leading by almost a lap and blew an engine.”

With that said, Bacon had seen an uptick in his USAC Sprint results throughout his past few outings with finishes of 3rd, 7th, 8th and 3rd in his Dynamics, Inc./Next Level Metal – Davis Brothers Trucking – Hutson John Deere/Triple X/Rider Chevy dating back to early May. However, it certainly wasn’t up to snuff for the driver who ranks second in career series victories, just eight behind Dave Darland’s 62 for the all-time lead.

“It’s good to just get back into the rhythm of things,” Bacon sighed with relief. “Racing at the beginning of the year has kind of been hit-and-miss. So, we’re kind of getting back into the groove with the 69. Thanks to my guys for working hard. Hopefully this turns things around. Bad streaks don’t last forever but this one sure seemed like it was lasting a long time. Hopefully the high is as high as the low was low.”

Bacon started his race from the fifth spot in the 24-car field. Up front, Shane Cottle paced the opening two laps on the bottom of the 1/4-mile dirt oval before Kevin Thomas Jr. went topside to shoot around Cottle in turn four for the top spot on lap three, and over the next handful of laps, extended his advantage to a full-straightaway.

Meanwhile, Bacon was steadily moving forward, swiping second from Cottle as he dipped to the low line in turn one on lap nine. Kyle Cummins, the only multi-time USAC Sprint winner at Circle City, followed in concert to third as he swung around the outside of Cottle for the position in turn four on the 11th lap.

By the halfway point, Thomas was operating with a full two second lead. However, by the time he was fully engulfed in lapped traffic, the interval between he and Bacon had been sliced in half before the caution fell for a double spin involving Brent Beauchamp (19th) and Joey Amantea (21st) between turns one and two.

Without traffic lingering ahead, the intensity among the frontrunners ramped up. Cummins harassed Bacon for second following the lap 17 restart, and twice was able to emerge ahead. Nonetheless, Bacon was able to fend him off each time. At the same time, Cottle reappeared on the bottom to battle the top-three, slipping in front of Cummins for third when he suddenly clipped the turn three infield tire before sliding to a stop to bring out the yellow.

Upon the resumption, the top-six were stacked in Noah’s Ark formation, two-by-two, high and low. In a change of pace, with eight to go, Thomas changed lanes to the bottom while Bacon swapped to the top, exchanging roles in the pursuit of victory. With six laps to go in turns one and two, Honest Abe Roofing fast qualifier Robert Ballou rolled the bottom behind Thomas while Cummins occupied the middle and Bacon was up top near the outside wall. Bacon exploded out of the triumvirate down the back straight, then was able zip around the outside of Thomas to secure the lead a half lap later.

“The bottom is typically where I go best here,” Bacon acknowledged. “But the top wasn’t really curbed up, so you could lean on it a little more than normal even though it was all around and not a whole lot of grip. It didn’t tear the front end out from underneath you if you hit it wrong. We were really able to get rolling, and once we got our momentum up, it was good. I saw some guys on the bottom, and I went down there. (Kevin Thomas Jr.) saw me and we flip-flopped. Then someone was even on the inside of me right there. It was a really good race, and we were able to stay out of that mess, get out front and stay out front.”

With Bacon gripping a 1.1 second grip over the field after taking the white flag, nothing was going to stop him. Unless you count two late-race cautions that forced him to hold off the field for two more restarts, making Bacon incur more unneeded stress after how things have played out in earlier instances this season.

First, C.J. Leary (13th) slowed dramatically on the back straight with a flat right rear tire. Secondly, second running Cummins Tony Hawk’d the turn two wall as he broadsided it, then rode it down the back straight before landing on all four wheels. Staying on the gas, Cummins made it to turn three before spinning to a stop with a knocked out front end.

The third time proved to be the charm, however. Bacon escaped and avoided all challenges and challengers on the final edition of a green-white-checker finish, racing away to a 0.737 triumph over Kevin Thomas Jr., Daison Pursley and Robert Ballou with Chase Stockon rounding out the top-five.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) has been heating up of late. He led 22 laps at Circle City and finished second, albeit with a broken bolt on his left rear shock, in his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. It’s his best USAC National Sprint Car result at the track since winning in September 2022. Over his past three USAC starts during the month of May, he's finished 1st-4th-2nd and has led a total of 49 laps. But on this one, he admittedly felt like they let one slip away.

Daison Pursley is a passing machine. The Locust Grove, Okla. native went 14th to third for his best career USAC National Sprint Car finish yet at Circle City. Over his past four series starts, he's advanced an incredible total of 40 positions in his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) was the race’s official hard charger, advancing from his 24th starting position to finish 12th aboard the BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete – Lugs Lawn Care/DRC/1-Way Chevy

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 22, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – Circle City Salute – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.679; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.679; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.699; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.800; 5. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-12.919; 6. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.946; 7. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-12.953; 8. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-12.970; 9. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.973; 10. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.976; 11. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.982; 12. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.005; 13. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.021; 14. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.040; 15. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.060; 16. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-13.062; 17. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.086; 18. Colin Grissom, 00, Grissom-13.181; 19. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.206; 20. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-13.216; 21. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.239; 22. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.315; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.344; 24. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-13.366; 25. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-13.393; 26. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-13.408; 27. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.456; 28. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.466; 29. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.593; 30. Lee Dakus, 21x, Dakus-13.613; 31. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-13.696; 32. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.805; 33. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-14.119; 34. Jake Simmons, 7s, Simmons-14.312; 35. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Harley Burns, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Logan Calderwood. 2:15.43

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Colin Grissom, 8. Lee Dakus, 9. Jake Simmons. 2:17.51

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Hunter Maddox, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Justin Grant, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Carson Garrett, 8. Saban Bibent. 2:25.28

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Anton Hernandez, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Kayla Roell, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Zack Pretorius. 2:26.60

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Matt Goodnight, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Lee Dakus, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Gabriel Gilbert, 10. Saban Bibent, 11. Logan Calderwood, 12. Colin Grissom, 13. Jake Simmons. 2:56.30

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 3. Daison Pursley (14), 4. Robert Ballou (6), 5. Chase Stockon (9), 6. Mitchel Moles (8), 7. Jadon Rogers (11), 8. Ricky Lewis (10), 9. Chance Crum (20), 10. Matt Westfall (13), 11. Logan Seavey (21), 12. Carson Garrett (24), 13. Hunter Maddox (22), 14. Joey Amantea (18), 15. Justin Grant (4), 16. Jake Swanson (12), 17. Anton Hernandez (15), 18. Shane Cottle (1), 19. C.J. Leary (16), 20. Matt Goodnight (19), 21. Charles Davis Jr. (17), 22. Kyle Cummins (7), 23. Brent Beauchamp (23), 24. Harley Burns (2). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Shane Cottle, Laps 3-24 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 25-30 Brady Bacon.

**Rylan Gray flipped during qualifying. Frankie Guerrini flipped during qualifying.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-918, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-863, 3-C.J. Leary-838, 4-Daison Pursley-764, 5-Brady Bacon-736, 6-Justin Grant-699, 7-Kyle Cummins-693, 8-Robert Ballou-690, 9-Mitchel Moles-687, 10-Chase Stockon-670.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-67, 2-Robert Ballou-66, 3-C.J. Leary-62, 4-Daison Pursley-61, 5-Joey Amantea-53, 6-Matt Westfall-41, 7-Brady Bacon-41, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-38, 9-Carson Garrett-38, 10-Chase Stockon-36.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 23, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – Circle City Salute – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Shane Cottle (12.551)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Robert Ballou (12.679)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Ricky Lewis

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Garrett

Hard Charger: Carson Garrett (24th to 12th)

MALCOLM LEADS USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS TO PERRIS “SALUTE TO INDY
By Lance Jennings

MAY 21, 2024... After five races and five different winners, the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will return to action this Saturday, May 25th, at Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the annual “Salute to Indy” has been a prestigious event in Southern California going back to 1948. The action packed card will also showcase the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, GAS Chassis PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, and PASSCAR Street Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

USAC/CRA shows at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed and beware of online scammers with fake video links. Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 252 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-five different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all series drivers with 51 “home track” wins and Matt Mitchell won the season opener on February 24th. David Gasper added his name to the record books on March 16th and A.J. Bender joined the winner’s list on April 27th. Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

In 1948, Dempsey Wilson claimed the checkered flags at the inaugural “Salute to Indy” with the original California Racing Association (CRA). The event would enjoy a long and storied history but faded away when Ascot Park closed after the 1990 season. When Perris Auto Speedway opened their doors in 1996, the Riverside County oval brought the tradition back and NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley scored the victory. Last year, Tommy “Thunder” Malcom topped the prestigious race over “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, Matt Mitchell, A.J. Bender, and Logan Williams. The “Salute to Indy” win list is at the bottom of the release.

Entering the sixth championship point race, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) enjoys a 16-point advantage over the competition. Piloting Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm placed third on April 27th at Perris Auto Speedway. To date, the point leader has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, and five top-10 finishes on the season. Tommy will be looking to earn the fourth victory of his career and add another “Salute to Indy” to his resume.

After scoring fifth on April 27th, R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) has climbed to second in the championship standings. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 Avanti Windows & Doors / Martin Family Auto Museum Sherman, Johnson has one semi-main win, five top-10 finishes, and 9 feature laps led in the campaign. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion and 2005 Rookie of the Year will have his sights on the eighth USAC/CRA win of his career at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.

Leading rookie contender David Gasper (Goleta, California) sits third in the USAC/CRA point chase. Racing the Josh Ford Motorsports’ #73X Surecan LLC / King Racing Products Triple X, Gasper finished seventeenth at Perris after a flip ended his night. As this writing goes to press, the two-time California Lightning Sprint Champion has one feature win, one semi main win, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, three top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led on the season. David will be looking to gain valuable points with another victory at Perris Auto Speedway.

After racing from sixteenth to fourth at Perris on April 27th, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Corona, California) has climbed to fourth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Tom & Christy Dunkel’s #17W Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Williams has two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, two top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led on the year. This Saturday, the two-time “Salute to Indy” winner will have his sights on tying Bryan Clauson with the twelfth USAC/CRA victory of his career.

After earning the first USAC/CRA win of his career on April 27th, A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) has climbed to fifth in the chase for the USAC/CRA championship. Driving the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Matrix Construction Services DRC, Bender has one heat race victory, two top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led in the campaign. The 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking to top Saturday’s “Salute to Indy.”

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Logan Calderwood, Verne Sweeney, Grant Sexton, Matt Mitchell, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, Matt McCarthy, Jeff Dyer, Brent Owens, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Chris Bonneau, Kyle Edwards, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

"SALUTE TO INDY" WINNERS: 1948-Dempsey Wilson, 1949-Bob Denny, 1950-NO RACE, 1951-NO RACE, 1952-Colby Scroggin, 1953-Bob Denny, 1954-Harry Stockman, 1955-Rosie Roussel, 1956-Art Bisch, 1957-Ray Clark, 1958-Bud Rose, 1959-Roy Prosser, 1960-NO RACE, 1961-Jack Brunner, 1962-Colby Scroggin, 1963-Billy Cantrell, 1964-Hal Minyard, 1965-NO RACE, 1966-Bruce Walkup, 1967-Bob Hogle, 1968-Billy Wilkerson, 1969-Billy Wilkerson, 1970-NO RACE, 1971-Dick Zimmerman / Don Hamilton, 1972-Billy Wilkerson, 1973-Billy Wilkerson, 1974-Jimmy Oskie, 1975-Clark Templeman, 1976-Mike Shaw, 1977-John Redican, 1978-Dean Thompson / Tony Simon, 1979-Bobby Olivero, 1980-Bubby Jones / Dean Thompson / Dean Thompson, 1981-Dean Thompson / Dean Thompson, 1982-Dean Thompson / Bubby Jones, 1983-Rip Williams / Bubby Jones, 1984-Bubby Jones, 1985-Eddie Wirth, 1986-Bubby Jones, 1987-Mike Sweeney, 1988-Lealand McSpadden, 1989-Brad Noffsinger, 1990-Ron Shuman, 1991-NO RACE, 1992-NO RACE, 1993-NO RACE, 1994-NO RACE, 1995-NO RACE, 1997-Cory Kruseman, 1998-Mike Kirby, 1999-Troy Rutherford, 2000-Richard Griffin, 2001-Cory Kruseman, 2002-Mike Kirby, 2003-Damion Gardner, 2004-Damion Gardner, 2005-Cory Kruseman, 2006-Tony Jones, 2007-Blake Miller, 2008-RAIN, 2009-Blake Miller, 2010-David Cardey, 2011-Matt Mitchell, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Matt Mitchell, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Richard Vander Weerd, 2016-Austin Williams, 2017-Damion Gardner, 2018-Austin Williams, 2019-Hunter Schuerenberg, 2020-CANCELLED, 2021-Brody Roa, 2022-Cody Williams, 2023-Tommy Malcolm. (Some events were two day shows or twin main events.)

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-Matt Mitchell, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 9-Matt Mitchell, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Chris Windom, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Jason York.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1-Tommy Malcolm-324, 2-R.J. Johnson-308, 3-David Gasper-288, 3-R.J. Johnson-243, 4-Austin Williams-281, 5-A.J. Bender-273, 6-Logan Williams-269, 7-Cody Williams-248, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-244, 9-Ricky Lewis-233, 10-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-22. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

SHOOT TO THRILL:

SEAVEY SCORES HULMAN CLASSIC RIFLE

AT TERRE HAUTE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (May 21, 2024)………With Logan Seavey, there seems to be a trend of sorts in USAC national competition. The last time he was the fastest qualifier in each of three USAC national series, he went on to win the feature event that very same night.

During Tuesday’s 54th annual running of the Tony Hulman Classic for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track, he set the tone for the night by recording the fastest qualifying time, then proceeded to keep his personal omen alive.

He accomplished the same feat with his most recent fast qualifying effort with the USAC Silver Crown series in August of 2023 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and in his latest USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget triumph last Sunday at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Park.

But there’s also another ongoing trend that the Sutter, Calif. native is quite fond of, and that’s winning, period. His latest performance at Terre Haute’s 1/2-mile saw him take the lead with just two laps remaining to win his second race spanning across two USAC national series in the past three days while also capturing his fourth USAC Sprint victory of the season in his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Believe it or not, Seavey is the first fastest qualifier to win the Hulman Classic in 21 years! J.J. Yeley was the most recent to do so way back in 2003.

Seavey’s 14th career USAC National Sprint Car victory tied him for 43rd all-time alongside Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon and Bruce Walkup. Two of Seavey’s 14 wins have come at Terre Haute, the first of which occurred during the Indiana Sprint Week round in 2021. Much like Stockon and Walkup, Seavey is now the proud owner of a Hulman Classic rifle, annually presented to the race’s winner since 1971.

“I really wanted to win this rifle,” Seavey stated. “It’s one of the coolest trophies we get to race for. I’m just excited to win another one here at Terre Haute. This place is so special to me and to all of racing in Indiana. To win one in Tony Hulman’s name is really cool. This place is tough, and it means a lot to win here. I was able to win one a few years ago and it’s eluded me for a few years but now it feels so good getting into this racecar and knowing we have a shot every night.”

Seavey started fifth on the grid for the 30-lap, $10,000-to-win main event, but quickly got shuffled back to eighth before steadily making his way back to the forefront. Initially, 2017 Hulman Classic winner Kevin Thomas Jr. stepped out to the lead from the pole position with three-time Hulman winner Robert Ballou giving chase.

However, the start was a rough go as Joey Amantea spun backwards in turn one, claiming he “saw God” as the back half of the field scattered high and low to miss T-boning him before he rolled to a stop without contact. In the end ,you could almost say Amantea was a hard charger twice. Starting 19th, he worked up to 14th by lap one before his incident. Restarting 23rd, he passed 12 more in the final 29 laps to finish 11th in his debut Hulman Classic experience.

On the ensuing restart, two-time and defending USAC Sprint champion Justin Grant (10th) spun backwards to a stop in turn two, and in the end, wound up 15th at the finish line after restarting at the tail.

After first time USAC starter Nate Ervin (23rd) slowed a stop on the back straightaway to bring out the yellow on lap nine, Swanson took advantage of the reset to slide job past Thomas for the lead. Brady Bacon followed suit to second in turn three as he shot under Thomas for the runner-up spot.

Just before midway, Seavey surged into third on the 13th lap as he dug in to swipe the position with a turn three slider on Thomas. Yet, Seavey remained nearly a half-straightaway behind the top two who were now entering the tail end of the field to put them a lap down. Seavey turned the quickest lap of the race on lap 17 and visibly drew closer to the front pack.

Bacon fired a shot at Swanson for the race lead in turn three on lap 21, but the bottom line was occupied by the lapped car of Charles Davis Jr., forcing Bacon to fall back in line in front of Seavey who was now right on his rear bumper. Seavey remained in third with just four laps to go but executed a picture-perfect slider on Bacon in turn one on lap 27 for second, then set his compass toward Swanson, but time was running short.

“We were hustling hard there,” Seavey explained. “Jake and Brady were so fast and setting such a good pace, I could get to third and be right on Brady, but he never seemed to get a run to slide him for the lead. I tried to show him a nose to get him to race a little harder and a little more aggressively, but I was finally able to get a run on Brady and slide him. Then, on the next lap, I could see the flagman, barely, through the dust but I could see him say ‘five to go.’ I knew it was coming quick, so I had to pull the trigger and I was able to get it done.”

With three to go, Swanson put Grant one lap down as he worked his way past in turns one and two. Meanwhile, Seavey got hung up behind Grant at the exit of turn two, seemingly costing Seavey valuable time as Swanson opened his gap up to six car lengths on the back straight. Seavey cleared Grant by turn three and set forth on tracking Swanson down.

Turn two on lap 29 is where Seavey practically won the race. Nailing the cushion perfectly, Seavey propelled off of it and launched right to Swanson’s tail tank halfway down the back straight before racing underneath at the entrance to turn three to take over the lead and put another win in the bag.

“You have to have such a big run,” Seavey acknowledged. “Even though this place is wide, you enter nearly wide open getting into these corners. To clear somebody, you have to run it in so hard, then it’s all the way to the fence. You just slide and slide and slide, then just gas it as hard as you can before you hit the fence and hope you don’t crash, really. In all reality, that’s what we’re doing out there. We’re just sliding each other and hoping we don’t crash coming out the other end. It’s just about getting a big run and getting to them as they enter and making sure you get across in front of them because they can see you coming. This place is tricky; it’s fast; and it’s not a place you want to bang wheels at. You want to make sure you clear them good and then hit the cushion and get a good launch down the straightaways.”

From there, Seavey executed the last lap and a half to keep Swanson at bay with Seavey defeating him at the line by less than two car lengths and a 0.287 second margin. Swanson took second with Bacon third, Thomas fourth and C.J. Leary fifth.

For Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) it was a bittersweet symphony. He led a race high 20 laps and finished with his best Tony Hulman Classic result to date aboard his 2B Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Benic Enterprises/DRC/Claxton Chevy. Despite the disappointment of seeing the win slip away, Swanson is proud of the accomplishment given the team’s up-and-down season to this point.

“It’s a big-time step in the right direction,” Swanson said. “I’m actually really happy and really stoked for this race team. They worked really, really hard and they deserve this. I just wish we were one spot better. Obviously, it’s a massive heartbreak. I was trying to be smart, and I saw Brady at one point towards the end. I was like, ‘alright, I’ve got to turn the wick up a little bit and run it a little bit harder’ and I did. I was just worried because this place has such a knife’s edge that you run it hard for 30 laps and that’s a good way to bust your ass. I was trying to be smart and win the race while being smart. At the end of the day, I don’t know if I could’ve gotten away a little more or maybe it would’ve panned out a lot worse. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction. Luckily, we don’t have too much heartbreak for too long. We get to race tomorrow (at Circle City Raceway).”

For Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), it’s relatively the same story as Swanson. The defending Hulman Classic winner has yet to win a USAC race to this point but has begun to string consistent finishes together with a 3rd, 7th, 8th and 3rd over his past four series starts in the month of May. Furthermore, it’s his fourth consecutive Hulman Classic podium following results of 3-2-1-3 since 2021 in his Dynamics, Inc./Next Level Metal – Davis Brothers Trucking – Hutson John Deere/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 21, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 54th Annual Tony Hulman Classic – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-20.152; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-20.249; 3. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-20.363; 4. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-20.385; 5. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-20.392; 6. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-20.404; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-20.416; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-20.458; 9. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-20.475; 10. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-20.501; 11. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-20.512; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-20.533; 13. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-20.549; 14. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-20.556; 15. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-20.667; 16. Max Adams, 63, F & F-20.692; 17. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-20.775; 18. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-20.930; 19. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-20.944; 20. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-21.049; 21. Tye Mihocko, 42, Cheney-21.179; 22. Kevin Newton, 16TH, 2nd Law-21.243; 23. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-21.318; 24. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-21.403; 25.Nate Ervin, 11, Algieo-22.144; 26. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-23.433; 27. Mitch Wissmiller, 29, LNB-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Max Adams, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Joey Amantea, 8. Kevin Newton, 9. Nate Ervin. 2:50.26

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Saban Bibent, 8. Brandon Mattox. 2:49.57

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Matt Goodnight. 2:53.27

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, shorted to 7 laps due to accident, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Joey Amantea, 3. Matt Goodnight, 4. Saban Bibent, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Nate Ervin, 7. Kevin Newton. 2:35.29 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (5), 2. Jake Swanson (2), 3. Brady Bacon (4), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 5. C.J. Leary (9), 6. Daison Pursley (12), 7. Chase Stockon (13), 8. Robert Ballou (3), 9. Mitchel Moles (7), 10. Shane Cottle (10), 11. Joey Amantea (19), 12. Matt Westfall (14), 13. Ricky Lewis (8), 14. Kyle Cummins (15), 15. Justin Grant (11), 16. Max Adams (16), 17. Jadon Rogers (20), 18. Charles Davis Jr. (18), 19. Brandon Mattox (22), 20. Saban Bibent (17), 21. Matt Goodnight (23), 22. Tye Mihocko (21), 23. Nate Ervin (24), 24. Carson Garrett (6). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 9-28 Jake Swanson, Laps 29-30 Logan Seavey.

**Kevin Newton flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-870, 2-C.J. Leary-807, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-789, 4-Daison Pursley-694, 5-Kyle Cummins-662, 6-Justin Grant-658, 7-Brady Bacon-655, 8-Mitchel Moles-624, 9-Robert Ballou-618, 10-Chase Stockon-604.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-64, 2-C.J. Leary-62, 3-Logan Seavey-57, 4-Daison Pursley-50, 5-Joey Amantea-49, 6-Matt Westfall-38, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-37, 8-Brady Bacon-37, 9-Justin Grant-33, 10-Kyle Cummins-33.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: May 22-23, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – Circle City Salute – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (20.157)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (20.152)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Ricky Lewis

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Shane Cottle

Hard Charger: Joey Amantea (19th to 11th)

STAT CHECK: 2024 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINTS – MAY 20, 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (May 20, 2024)………Updated USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship statistics entering this week’s trio of races in the state of Indiana.

It all begins at the Terre Haute Action Track’s 54th annual Tony Hulman Classic on Tuesday, May 21. Then it’s back-to-back nights of full programs for the series at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis on Wednesday-Thursday, May 22-23.

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

2024 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS

Driver Point Leader: Logan Seavey

Entrant Point Leader: Abacus Racing #57

Most Feature Wins: 4-Justin Grant

Rookie Point Leader: Hunter Maddox

Most Laps Led: 104-Logan Seavey

Most Top-Fives: 9-C.J. Leary & Logan Seavey

Most Top-Tens: 10-C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 3-C.J. Leary & Kevin Thomas Jr.

Most Heat Race Wins: 5-Logan Seavey

Most Feature Starts: 11-Joey Amantea, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Jadon Rogers, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall

Biggest Charge of the Year: May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Daison Pursley (23rd to 2nd)

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

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 789 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

2. 741 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

3. 724 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

4. 633 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

5. 620 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

6. 620 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.

7. 580 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

8. 570 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

9. 561 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.

10. 546 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

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

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1. 789 Abacus Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#57)

2. 741 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15x)

3. 724 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)

4. 633 Team AZ Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#21AZ)

5. 620 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)

6. 620 Petty Performance Racing, Litchfield Park, Ariz. (#3p)

7. 580 Dynamics Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)

8. 570 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)

9. 561 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)

10. 546 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)

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

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 212 Hunter Maddox, Bloomington, Ind.

2. 136 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

3. 107 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

4. 99 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.

5. 94 Todd Hobson, Clyde, Vic.

6. 89 Chase Howard, Nesbit, Miss.

7. 68 Shane Butler, Bushnell, Fla.

8. 57 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

9. 36 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

10. 10 Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.

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

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Feb 15: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Feb 16: Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE-Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN

May 22: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

May 23: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

May 31: Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA

Jun 11: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA

Jun 12: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ

Jun 13: (E) Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, PA

Jun 14: (E) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA

Jun 15: (E) Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA

Jun 16: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA

Jun 22: Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, WI

Jun 23: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI

Jun 28: Macon Speedway – Macon, IL

Jun 29: Macon Speedway – Macon, IL

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN

Jul 25: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN

Jul 26: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN

Jul 27: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

Jul 28: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

Jul 31: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

Aug 1: (I) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN

Aug 2: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN

Aug 3: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN

Aug 22: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

Aug 23: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN

Sep 5: (AE) RPM Speedway – Crandall, TX

Sep 6: (AE) Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR

Sep 7: (AE) Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN

Sep 19: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN

Oct 25: (AE) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK

Oct 26: (AE) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK

------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------

(AE) represents an event co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing

(E) represents an Eastern Storm event

(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event

(F) represents an event awarding feature points only

(A) represents an event awarding appearance points only

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

2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

4-Justin Grant (Feb 9 at Ocala Speedway, Feb 10 at Ocala Speedway, Feb 15 at Ocala Speedway & May 4 at Eldora Speedway)

3-Logan Seavey (Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park & May 10 at Bloomington Speedway)

2-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Apr 13 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & May 11 at Tri-State Speedway)

1-Robert Ballou (May 3 at Eldora Speedway)

1-C.J. Leary (Feb 16 at Ocala Speedway)

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

FEATURE LAPS LED

104-Logan Seavey

57-Justin Grant

55-Kevin Thomas Jr.

37-Brady Bacon

26-Kyle Cummins

11-Mitchel Moles

10-Max Adams

8-C.J. Leary

5-Carson Garrett

4-Chase Stockon

3-Joey Amantea & Briggs Danner

1-Robert Ballou & Brayden Fox

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

TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES

9-C.J. Leary & Logan Seavey

6-Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Justin Grant

3-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins & Daison Pursley

2-Briggs Danner, Jadon Rogers, Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson

1-Max Adams, Shane Cottle, Carson Garrett, Ricky Lewis, Mitchel Moles & Matt Westfall

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

TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES

10-C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.

8-Kyle Cummins & Daison Pursley

7-Briggs Danner, Justin Grant & Mitchel Moles

6-Brady Bacon & Chase Stockon

5-Jadon Rogers & Jake Swanson

4-Robert Ballou & Carson Garrett

3-Alex Bright & Matt Westfall

1-Max Adams, Joey Amantea, Nick Bilbee, Shane Cottle, Ricky Lewis, Tye Mihocko & Brady Short

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

FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

3-C.J. Leary & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Geoff Ensign, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey & Chase Stockon

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

HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

5-Logan Seavey

4-Brady Bacon & Jadon Rogers

3-Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, & Matt Westfall

1-Saban Bibent, Alex Bright, Briggs Danner, Tom Harris, C.J. Leary, Daison Pursley & Carson Short

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

SEMI WINS

1-Robert Ballou, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Todd Hobson, C.J. Leary, Daison Pursley, Jake Swanson & Matt Westfall

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

FEATURE STARTS

11-Joey Amantea, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley, Jadon Rogers, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall

8-Briggs Danner

6-Alex Bright, Tom Harris, Hunter Maddox & Tye Mihocko

5-Timmy Buckwalter & Brandon Mattox

4-Zach Daum & Trey Osborne

3-Saban Bibent & Chance Crum

2-Max Adams, Shane Butler, Todd Hobson, Chase Howard, Kayla Roell, Brian Ruhlman & Mark Smith

1-Garrett Abrams, Ryan Barr, Dustin Beck, Robert Bell, Nick Bilbee, Donny Brackett, Harley Burns, Sterling Cling, Shane Cottle, Braxton Cummings, Paul Dues, Geoff Ensign, Brayden Fox, Aric Gentry, Gabriel Gilbert, Matt Goodnight, Rylan Gray, Korbyn Hayslett, Anton Hernandez, J.J. Hughes, Ricky Lewis, Zack Pretorius, Kendall Ruble Adyn Schmidt, Brady Short, Carson Short, Kobe Simpson, Kody Swanson & Shawn Westerfeld

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

2024 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFIERS

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.858)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Chase Stockon (14.075)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – C.J. Leary (16.173)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – C.J. Leary (16.151)

Feb. 15: Ocala Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.925)

Feb. 16: Ocala Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.914)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.026)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (16.151)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (15.286)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Geoff Ensign (11.496)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (13.226)

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

HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – Robert Ballou (10th to 4th)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Alex Bright (18th to 6th)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Robert Ballou (24th to 11th)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Tye Mihocko (23rd to 11th)

Feb. 15: Ocala Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 7th)

Feb. 16: Ocala Speedway – Joey Amantea (20th to 11th)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Mitchel Moles (18th to 9th)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – Jadon Rogers (19th to 6th)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – Jake Swanson (15th to 9th)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – Daison Pursley (23rd to 2nd)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Robert Ballou (16th to 7th)

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

DIRT DRAFT FASTEST HOT LAPS DRIVER

Feb 9: Ocala Speedway – C.J. Leary (14.054)

Feb 10: Ocala Speedway – Justin Grant (14.556)

Feb 12: Volusia Speedway Park – Timmy Buckwalter (16.994)

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Justin Grant (16.711)

Feb. 15: Ocala Speedway – Logan Seavey (13.946)

Feb. 16: Ocala Speedway – Briggs Danner (14.202)

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.140)

May 3: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (16.341)

May 4: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary (15.629)

May 10: Bloomington Speedway – C.J. Leary (11.688)

May 11: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (13.179)

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

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS (1956-2024)

1. [62 wins] Dave Darland

2. [53 wins] Brady Bacon

3. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow

4. [49 wins] Justin Grant

5. [47 wins] Tracy Hines

6. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt

7. [45 wins] Larry Dickson

8. [42 wins] Pancho Carter

9. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

11. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen

12. [38 wins] Robert Ballou

13. [37 wins] Sheldon Kinser

14. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler

16. [32 wins] Rollie Beale

17. [31 wins] Tyler Courtney

18. [30 wins] Chris Windom

19. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley

23. [26 wins] Tony Elliott & Dave Steele

25. [25 wins] Steve Butler, Jay Drake & Parnelli Jones

28. [23 wins] C.J. Leary & Roger McCluskey

30. [22 wins] Rick Hood, Bubby Jones & Sammy Sessions

33. [21 wins] Greg Weld

34. [18 wins] Kyle Cummins

35. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding

38. [16 wins] Damion Gardner & Jud Larson

40. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler

43. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup

47. [13 wins] Steve Chassey & Logan Seavey

49. [12 wins] Eric Gordon

50. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler

54. [10 wins] Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson

58. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley

62. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana

66. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise

76. [6 wins] Emerson Axsom, Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Shane Cottle, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider, Jake Swanson & Dick Tobias

104. [4 wins] Rob Chaney, Cary Faas, Jesse Hockett, Van Johnson, Steve Kinser, Michael Lewis, Ralph Liguori, Don Nordhorn, Lee Osborne, Red Riegel, Ken Schrader, Al Smith & Danny Smith

117. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mitchel Moles, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang

139. [2 wins] Chad Boat, Marvin Carman, Ed Carpenter, Brad Doty, Ed Elisian, Nic Faas, Cy Fairchild, Brad Fox, Arnie Knepper, Danny Lasoski, Mack McClellan, Jason McDougal, James McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Jim McWithey, Danny Milburn, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Jerry Poland, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Mickey Shaw, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Brad Sweet, Bob Sweikert, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Mike Spencer, Bud Tingelstad, Billy Vukovich, Mike Ward, Matt Westfall & Carl Williams

174. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, Ryan Bernal, Jeff Bland Jr., Stan Bowman, Alan Brown, Karl Busson, Johnny Capels, David Cardey, Bob Cicconi, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Duke Cook, Mel Cornett, Allen Crowe, Billy Engelhart, Cotton Farmer, Aaron Farney, Gary Fedewa, Blake Fitzpatrick, Pat Flaherty, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Rickie Gaunt, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Ron Gregory, Richard Griffin, Garrett Hansen, Jerry Hansen, Jim Hemmings, Josh Hodges, Bob Hogle, Jackie Howerton, Chuck Hulse, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Gordon Johncock, Chet Johnson, Page Jones, Bob Kinser, Mike Kirby, Fred Linder, Steve Long, Hank Lower, Brett Mann, Bobby Marshman, Larry Martin, Mike Martin, Brad Marvel, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Bob McCoy, Jim McElreath, Charlie Musselman, Bobby Olivero, Jim Packard, Gary Patterson, Billy Pauch, Dave Peperak, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Bud Randall, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Rodney Ritter Jr., Brody Roa, David Roahrig, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Billy Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Smokey Snellbaker, Wib Spalding, Greg Staab, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Mike Sweeney, Jeff Swindell, Clark Templeman, Tyler Thomas, Bill Tyler, Rick Ungar, Lennie Waldo, Tyler Walker, Scotty Weir, Kenny Weld, Bob Wente, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth

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

ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-2024)

1. (65) Tom Bigelow

2. (62) Dave Darland

3. (60) Tracy Hines

4. (49) Brady Bacon

5. (48) C.J. Leary

6. (39) Levi Jones & Kevin Thomas Jr.

8. (37) Larry Dickson

9. (36) Bryan Clauson

10. (35) Rich Vogler

11. (34) Justin Grant

12. (33) Chase Stockon

13. (31) Sheldon Kinser

14. (30) Pancho Carter

15. (29) Don Branson

16. (27) Dave Steele

17. (26) Jay Drake

18. (24) Gary Bettenhausen & J.J. Yeley

20. (23) Jon Stanbrough

21. (22) Steve Butler

22. (21) A.J. Foyt

23. (20) Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott & Roger McCluskey

26. (19) Greg Weld

27. (18) Parnelli Jones

28. (16) Rollie Beale, Jack Hewitt & Doug Kalitta

31. (15) Kenny Irwin Jr., Sammy Sessions & Brian Tyler

34. (14) Billy Cassella, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins & Damion Gardner

38. (13) Bobby East & Bruce Walkup

40. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom

47. (11) Robert Ballou, Jim McWithey & George Snider

50. (10) Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise, Thomas Meseraull, Mitchel Moles & Jake Swanson

55. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Johnny Rutherford, Logan Seavey & Josh Wise

59. (8) Shane Cottle, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O’Connor & Hunter Schuerenberg

64. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, Johnny Parsons, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser

80. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath & Ken Schrader

89. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley & Kevin Thomas

100. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith, Brad Sweet & Bob Wente

120. (3) Tommy Astone, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Dave Blaney, Karl Busson, Kevin Doty, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Gary Gray, John Heydenreich, Gordon Johncock, Greg Leffler, Andy Linden, Steve Long, Larry Martin, Justin Marvel, Jason McCord, Larry Moore, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Lee Osborne, Brandon Petty, Jerry Poland, Bob Pratt, Daison Pursley, Jadon Rogers, Brady Short, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Dean Thompson, Dick Tobias, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & John Wolfe

155. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Chad Boat, Keith Bloom Jr., Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Brayden Fox, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Jason McDougal, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson

199. (1) Pat Abold, Donnie Adams, Bobby Adamson, Mark Alderson, Chuck Amati, Chuck Arnold, Dick Atkins, Terry Babb, Joe Barzda, Ryan Bernal, Nick Bilbee, Lee Brewer Jr., Bill Brown, Dale Burton, Gary Cameron, Larry Cannon, Billy Cantrell, Dana Carter, Rob Chaney, Bob Cicconi, Bob Cleberg, Leon Clum, Peter Cozzolino, Briggs Danner, Don Davis, Doc Dawson, Brad Doty, Steven Drevicki, Rex Easton, Geoff Ensign, Al “Cotton” Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Jared Fox, Joe Gaerte, Harry Garrett, Rickie Gaunt, Chuck Gurney, Norm Hall, Jerry Hansen, Brian Hayden, Jonathan Hendrick, Hank Henry, Tyler Hewitt, Ted Hines, Jesse Hockett, Bob Hogle, Danny Holtsclaw, Kevin Huntley, Gary Irvin, Mike Johnson, Dee Jones, Page Jones, Todd Kane, Ray Kenens Jr., Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Buddy Kofoid, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael Lewis, Ricky Lewis, John Logan, Ed Lynch Jr., Critter Malone, Louie Mann, Mike Mann, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, Nick McCormick, Wes McIntyre, Bob McLean, Blake Miller, Jerry Miller Jr., Ron Milton, Hal Minyard, Matt Mitchell, Warren Mockler, Mike Mosley, Mike Murgoitio, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Gary Ponzini, Ande Possman, Roger Rager, Davey Ray, Rex Records, Jerry Richert Jr., Red Riegel, Travis Rilat, Manny Rockhold, Hank Rogers, Bill Rose, Joe Roush, Jerry Russell, Bobby Santos, Don Schilling, John Sernett, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Dean Shirley, Eric Shively, Randy Smith, Wib Spalding, Ned Spath, Greg Staab, Steve Stapp, Richard Summers, Bob Sweikert, Jeff Swindell, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Tom Tepe, Leon Thickstun, Ryan Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Tony Weyant, Austin Williams, Rip Williams, Eddie Wirth & Mitch Wissmiller

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

ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:

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

ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:

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

ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

SEAVEY’S USAC MIDGET VICTORY

IS EXTRA SWEET AT SWEET SPRINGS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sweet Springs, Missouri (May 19, 2024)………Before Sunday night, the last time Logan Seavey bolted out of the gate with a fast qualifying time at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, he followed it up by closing out the night with a feature victory.

He checked both of these items off his list during the inaugural USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Sweet Springs as a Rookie in 2018.

On a Sunday night six years later, now as a seasoned veteran and three-time USAC national driving champion, the Sutter, Calif. native set the tone with the fastest qualifying time, then proceeded to notch the main event victory – just like clockwork.

Whereas Seavey led the final four laps en route to his 2018 Sweet Springs triumph, on Sunday, he led just the final two after each of the top-two drivers – Daison Pursley and Kale Drake – fell by the wayside in separate bouts of misfortune during the final two laps.

Starting sixth in the 22-car field, Seavey was mired outside the top-five throughout the entirety of the first half of the 40-lap, $6,000-to-win feature, running as low as eighth before steadily moving forward due to instances of attrition plus a bit more of personal aggression during the latter stages in his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – MPV Express/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“I really sucked there early,” Seavey admitted. “I just didn’t pull the trigger there a few times when racing against the guys in front of me and I just kept giving up spots. I just needed to get more aggressive and hammer it down in there and clear people to put them away.”

Up ahead of Seavey, series Rookie Kale Drake and defending John Hinck Championship winner Jacob Denney were waging their own battle for the lead. Drake led the opening circuit from his outside front row starting spot, but Denney soon made an appearance at the head of the class as he slid Drake in turns one and two before scooting away as the new race leader.

Yet, as it turned out, Drake had a lot of fight left in him during what was just his fourth career USAC start. Drake clawed back on the bottom to wrestle the lead away from Denney on the fifth lap and remained there throughout much of the balance of the contest.

On lap 13, however, 10th running Ryan Timms got ruffled up and drifted to a stop at the top of turn two. The incident shuffled Timms to the back of the pack for the ensuing restart with 28 laps remaining.

Thereafter, the newest contender for the throne was Pursley who swiped the second spot from Denney on the 14th lap after the two went toe-to-toe for multiple laps. Once Pursley securely occupied the position, he began working on cutting into Drake's 0.8 second lead. On lap 20, Pursley was there, taking aim at the lead in turn one, but fell short of completing the slide job, opting to fall in line behind Drake and continue his pursuit.

Through the thick brush of lapped traffic, Drake continued to escape the repeated challenges from Pursley with 10 laps remaining. Heavy traffic was afoot for the pair, and Drake went on the attack rather than dilly-dallying. Now with Pursley directly on his rear bumper, Drake successfully cut right through the glut of traffic, right up in front of the lapped car of Steven Snyder Jr. As Snyder fought to regain footing on the cushion, Pursley got into the rear bumper of Snyder, resulting in Snyder spinning backwards to a stop to bring out the caution with eight laps remaining.

As Drake staved off the pressure from Pursley over the next four laps following the restart, the race was halted due to his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate, eighth running Gavin Miller, who biked in turn three and spiraled over twice to end his evening with an enormous bang on lap 36. Miller, the 2023 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year, walked away from the incident.

For then third place driver Logan Seavey, things go a big hot, prompting Seavey to take off his helmet during the red flag conditions.

“About lap 32, I started getting super hot in this thing,” Seavey revealed. “I didn’t know if the engine was running hot or what, but it was hot outside. It was our first real hot race of the year and a 40-lapper. I wasn’t getting worn out, just overheating, and there were a couple reds that helped me get cooled down.”

On the lap 37 restart, Pursley, now sporting a bouncing and dangling right front wheel due to a shock issue, made a bid for the lead and edged ahead of Drake entering turns one and two. Using every inch of the racetrack, and then some, to beat Pursley to the exit of turn two, Drake glanced his right rear wheel off the concrete on the outside turn two wall. As a result, the force of the contact hiked Drake’s front wheels off the ground as he then rode the wall for a brief moment midway down the back straight. Pursley took advantage of the situation and drove under Drake entering turn three to take hold of the lead.

That moment was a fleeting one for Pursley as, half a lap later, Drake ran right back to Pursley and eked his way underneath in turn one on lap 38 to reassume his position at the front of the field. Pursley took another run back at Drake in turns three and four but only managed to pull alongside before slotting back behind.

With Pursley’s momentum stifled ever so slightly, that opened the door for Seavey who shut under Pursley in turn one to take second. Pursley tried with all his might to get back around Seavey on the outside of turn two. But suddenly, on lap 39, Pursley’s right front dug into the cushion and sent him flipping over once before smashing into the retaining wall. Pursley walked away, but his night was finished and his shot at two USAC Midget wins in as many nights was over.

With Pursley out, the onus was now squarely on Drake who was just two laps away from USAC victory number one. As it turned out, it was not meant to be at this moment. Entering turns one and two along the cushion, Drake’s car began bouncing a total of six times before coming to a rest along the wall. A dejected Drake pounded the steering wheel and exited the car after leading a race-high 34 of the 40 laps.

“I hated that for Kale,” Seavey said. “He’s such a good racer and I’m a big fan of his. To see what he’s doing and getting a ride with Keith, it’s really cool for him to give Kale a shot. He nearly won one tonight and I know he’ll win a bunch this year. He’ll learn a lot from that there. I think maybe he just got a little soft and the tire got rolled up and the car started bouncing and stalled the engine. It’s so easy to do with these midgets.”

The coast was now clear for Seavey on the redux of the green-white-checker finish, where Seavey went the distance for the final two go-arounds to prevail by a 0.763 second margin over Ryan Timms, Jacob Denney, Zach Daum and new series point leader Cannon McIntosh.

Seavey’s 17th career USAC National Midget feature victory pushed him up to 41st on the all-time list, tying him with Jay Drake and J.J. Yeley. Despite a brake issue that plagued him all night, Seavey’s last application of the brakes came when he stopped by for a visit to victory lane.

“(The crew(9) did such a good job,” Seavey praised. “I was complaining all day about no brakes and it sure is tough to get around this place without brakes. But the car goes so well, it doesn’t really matter.”

For all intents & purposes, Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) had to pass the field twice in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio – IWX – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota. Starting 11th, Timms worked his way to eighth before spinning. He restarted at the tail on lap 13 and charged all the way back to finish second for the second straight night.

“There at the beginning, everyone was grouped up and it was really tight racing,” Timms recalled. “I went for a bomb and a couple guys in front of me on the bottom checked up and I killed it with the brake. We restarted back in I don’t know what. I just started passing cars and throwing as big of bombs as I could. It ended up being the faster line when you did it. My car was really good, and I got up to fifth and I knew it was going to be tougher to pass the top-five guys rather than the back of the field. But after some of that misfortune with Kale and Daison, we were able to bring it home second and I’m super stoked to be able to come back from dead last.”

Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) has a knack for success at Sweet Springs. He won the John Hinck Championship here a year ago, and tonight, he drove his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/LynK/Ed Pink Toyota home to a third-place finish, his best USAC National Midget result of the year thus far.

“Especially at the end, it was getting kind of crazy,” Denney remembered. “I was really good on the long runs, and I thought that if I could just circle myself in one and two on the restarts, I’d be better off. But I gave up a too many positions there and maybe if we wouldn’t have given those up, we would’ve had a better shot at it. Overall, (crew chief) Jerome (Rodela) gave me a great car, Maison (Hadley) too, and I can’t thank them and Tom Malloy enough for letting me do this.”

To start off the night, Seavey recorded his 16th career Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time with the USAC National Midgets. That moved him to 31st all-time alongside Rico Abreu, Billy Engelhart, Darren Hagen, Steve Lotshaw and Bobby Olivero.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 19, 2024 – Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Sweet Springs, Missouri – 1/6-Mile Dirt Oval – John Hinck Championship

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.474; 2. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-11.528; 3. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-11.562; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr, 9, Mounce/Stout-11.566; 5. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.574; 6. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-11.576; 7. Steven Snyder Jr., 16, Minear-11.586; 8. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.598; 9. Ashton Torgerson, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.600; 10. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.611; 11. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-11.699; 12. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-11.703; 13. Zach Daum, 7p, RAMCO-11.714; 14. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.724; 15. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-11.728; 16. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-11.737; 17. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-11.791; 18. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-12.021; 19. Branigan Roark, 44, Roark-12.061; 20. Broc Elliott, 00, Elliott-12.405; 21. Curtis Spicer, 4s, Spicer-12.492; 22. Jacob McFarlin, 33, Roark-12.639.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Zach Wigal, 3. Steven Snyder Jr., 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Branigan Roark, 8. Jacob McFarlin. 2:00.012

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Kale Drake, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Broc Elliott. 2:00.160

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Jones, 2. Ashton Torgerson, 3. Austin Torgerson, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Ethan Mitchell, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Curtis Spicer. 2:01.409

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (6), 2. Ryan Timms (11), 3. Jacob Denney (4), 4. Zach Daum (7), 5. Cannon McIntosh (8), 6. Kyle Jones (9), 7. Ashton Torgerson (12), 8. Justin Grant (14), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 10. Jake Andreotti (17), 11. Austin Torgerson (18), 12. Steven Snyder Jr. (10), 13. Zach Wigal (16), 14. Branigan Roark (19), 15. Kale Drake (2), 16. Daison Pursley (5), 17. Curtis Spicer (21), 18. Gavin Miller (13), 19. Ethan Mitchell (1), 20. Sam Johnson (15), 21. Jacob McFarlin (22), 22. Broc Elliott (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Kale Drake, Laps 2-4 Jacob Denney, Laps 5-36 Kale Drake, Lap 37 Daison Pursley, Lap 38 Kale Drake, Laps 39-40 Logan Seavey.

**Gavin Miller flipped on lap 36 of the feature. Daison Pursley flipped on lap 39 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Cannon McIntosh-209, 2-Daison Pursley-201, 3-Zach Daum-197, 4-Logan Seavey-195, 5-Ryan Timms-190, 6-Kyle Jones-183, 7-Jacob Denney-162, 8-Justin Grant-161, 9-Ashton Torgerson-158, 10-Kale Drake-155.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-64, 2-C.J. Leary-58, 3-Logan Seavey-53, 4-Daison Pursley-44, 5-Joey Amantea-41, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-37, 7-Brady Bacon-36, 8-Matt Westfall-36, 9-Justin Grant-33, 10-Kyle Cummins-32.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 4, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 20th Annual USAC Indiana Midget Week

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kevin Thomas Jr. (11.755)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (11.474)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Zach Daum

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Kyle Jones

Hard Charger: Ryan Timms (11th to 2nd)

CENTURY MARK!

PURSLEY PUNCTUATES 100TH USAC MIDGET START

WITH BELLEVILLE WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Belleville, Kansas (May 18, 2024)………Daison Pursley celebrated his 100th career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature start in style during Saturday night’s Huncovsky Classic at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track.

Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) tracked down and passed Ryan Timms with 15 laps remaining to score his first series victory since August of 2021 and his first since a severe spinal cord injury in a USAC Midget event later that same year nearly derailed his career.

Now he’s back in the hunt and back to running up front, setting the stage with a second-place result in Friday’s Belleville opener followed by a long-awaited third career series victory on Saturday at the 1/4-mile dirt oval and his first for the CB Industries team with whom he joined during the offseason.

Starting fourth on the grid for the 40-lapper in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota, Pursley made it his duty in trying to chase down early leaders Ashton Torgerson and Ryan Timms for much of the first half of the duration.

Torgerson led the opening three laps from the pole position in what was just the third USAC National Midget event he’d ever signed into. However, Torgerson’s Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate, Ryan Timms, had his car wound up on the topside and charged around Torgerson for the lead in turn one on the fourth lap. Pursley, meanwhile, followed suit, and likewise, blazed around the outside of Torgerson in the first turn to slot into second.

Timms continued to hold serve up front, but on lap 11, he nearly saw his lead crumble when he dove low entering turn one to place Jeff Stasa a lap down. As he slid up, Timms smacked the turn two curb with his right rear tire and briefly became airborne. Nonetheless, Timms hung on to the lead and fended off Pursley for the time being.

“I knew the top was going to be pretty good there early on with the rework that they did,” Pursley explained. “I thought I got ahead of Ryan there and I could kind of set my own pace. Then I tried the bottom in three and four and allowed him to slide me into one. I just tucked in behind him and let him set the pace and let the track come to us.”

The night’s only red flag was displayed when 14th running Jake Bubak (Arvada, Colo) and another driver touched wheels on the back straightaway on lap 14. Bubak got the worst end of the ordeal, digging in with the left side wheels, which sent him barrel rolling multiple times before coming to a rest on his four wheels. Bubak walked away but was done for the evening.

Timms continued to lead Pursley by a pair of car lengths as both ripped the top while gaining on lapped traffic. Yet, on lap 26, Pursley made his winning move by drifting across the nose of Timms in turn three, then gliding up to turn four where he hit the cushion, launched off and propelled forward to beat Timms back to the line by a mere single car length.

“I knew I had a really good car, so I let it come to me as the race played out,” Pursley revealed. “It was a long 40 laps and I felt like the car was getting better and better the longer we went. It's pretty cool to have a second and a first to start out the year and to click off that first win since 2021 is really neat.”

USAC’s leading National Midget Rookie, Kale Drake, shot into second past Timms on the 29th lap and pulled himself into contention for the lead behind Pursley. By this point, with just a tick more than 10 laps remaining, the race gradually migrated down toward the bottom for most combatants. While Pursley stuck to his guns on the low line, Drake was searching to find something/anything in the track surface from the middle to the top in between turns three and four. But all it ultimately did was open the door for Timms to break on through to the other side and occupy the second spot.

From there, Pursley went unfettered and unphased down the stretch to prevail for his third career USAC National Midget main event win by a 2.387 second margin an all-Oklahoma top-four consisting of Pursley, Ryan Timms, Kale Drake and Friday night winner Cannon McIntosh. Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), meanwhile, rounded out the top-five.

Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) successfully recovered from Friday’s mishap which dropped him back to 15th place at the finish line. But now the inaugural Belleville Short Track USAC Midget winner from 2023 was back in the groove in race two with a steady runner-up result in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio – IWX – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

Series newcomer Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.) could go anywhere he pleased throughout the feature, and in turn, he recorded his best career USAC result of third after starting 12th aboard the Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Eibach Springs – PageKC.com/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) stopped the clock on Saturday night at Belleville with his fifth career Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time. He's now been a fast timer in five of the last six USAC National Midget seasons.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 18, 2024 – Belleville Short Track – Belleville, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.462; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr, 9, Mounce/Stout-12.509; 3. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.518; 4. Zach Daum, 7p, RAMCO-12.532; 5. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.569; 6. Ashton Torgerson, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.637; 7. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.675; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.722; 9. Gary Taylor, 32, Dunlap-12.735; 10. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.735; 11. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.750; 12. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.762; 13. Daniel Whitley, 60x, LeVecque-12.776; 14. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.792; 15. Steven Snyder Jr., 16, Minear-12.846; 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-12.860; 17. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-12.881; 18. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-12.902; 19. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-13.024; 20. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-13.028; 21. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-13.074; 22. Jeff Stasa, 91, Stasa-13.083; 23. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-13.132; 24. Kaylee Bryson, 27, Joyner-13.214; 25. Curtis Spicer, 4s, Spicer-13.699; 26. Matt Westfall, 54, 4 Kings-NT; 27. Hank Davis, 8, Cornell-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daniel Whitley, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Kale Drake, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Austin Torgerson, 8. Jeff Stasa, 9. Curtis Spicer. 2:14.838

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Kyle Jones, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Cannon McIntosh, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Zach Wigal. 2:12.499

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Steven Snyder Jr., 4. Gary Taylor, 5. Ashton Torgerson, 6. Gavin Miller, 7. Sam Johnson, 8. Kaylee Bryson, 9. Hank Davis. 2:14.728

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, shortened to 1 lap due to multiple cars dropping out, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Bubak, 2. Austin Torgerson, 3. Sam Johnson, 4. Zach Wigal, 5. Curtis Spicer, 6. Jeff Stasa, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Hank Davis. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (4), 2. Ryan Timms (2), 3. Kale Drake (12), 4. Cannon McIntosh (10), 5. Zach Daum (3), 6. Logan Seavey (8), 7. Ashton Torgerson (1), 8. Ethan Mitchell (6), 9. Kyle Jones (17), 10. Gary Taylor (11), 11. Gavin Miller (14), 12. Justin Grant (9), 13. Zach Wigal (23), 14. Jacob Denney (13), 15. Jerry Coons Jr. (16), 16. Sam Johnson (21), 17. Jake Andreotti (18), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 19. Austin Torgerson (19), 20. Jeff Stasa (22), 21. Curtis Spicer (24), 22. Steven Snyder Jr. (15), 23. Daniel Whitley (7), 24. Jake Bubak (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Ashton Torgerson, Laps 4-25 Ryan Timms, Laps 26-40 Daison Pursley.

**Jake Bubak flipped on lap 14 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-161, 2-Cannon McIntosh-143, 3-Zach Daum-128, 4-Kyle Jones-120, 5-Ryan Timms-116, 6-Kale Drake-115, 7-Logan Seavey-115, 8-Gavin Miller-114, 9-Jerry Coons Jr.-108, 10-Justin Grant-106.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-56, 2-Logan Seavey-43, 3-Joey Amantea-41, 4-C.J. Leary-40, 5-Daison Pursley-37, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-36, 7-Brady Bacon-36, 8-Matt Westfall-36, 9-Kyle Cummins-32, 10-Tye Mihocko-32.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 19, 2024 – Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Sweet Springs, Missouri – 1/6-Mile Dirt Oval – John Hinck Championship

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Ethan Mitchell (12.731)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Ethan Mitchell (12.462)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Daniel Whitley

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Bubak

Hard Charger: Zach Wigal (23rd to 13th)

ProSource Hard Work: Austin Torgerson

USAC’S FIRST LADY!

BRYSON BESTS SILVER CROWN FIELD

ON HISTORIC NIGHT AT BELLEVILLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Belleville, Kansas (May 18, 2024)………The sign at the turn four gate of the Belleville High Banks states boldly and proudly that this place is “where legends are made.”

The legend of Kaylee Bryson is still growing, but on Saturday night at the 1/2-mile dirt oval in north central Kansas, she cemented herself in the record books by becoming the first woman to win a USAC nationally sanctioned event in the 69-year history of the organization.

On a night that will go down as one of the most historic in USAC racing lore, Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) first set the tone for the evening by capturing the pole position during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying – the first woman to achieve that distinction in USAC Silver Crown history.

At the conclusion of the 50-lap main event, she managed to one-up herself and up-end the collective racing world, taking over the lead with 16 laps remaining, then fending off a furious charge levied by C.J. Leary during the final laps to capture a dream victory for Bryson and her Sam Pierce/Sam Pierce Chevrolet – AP Driver Development – RE Technologies/Maxim/Chevy.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Bryson, the 2023 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year. “My team has worked so hard, and they’ve believed in me for so long. I’m so happy to pull off a win for them. This car was on rails tonight. There are so many people that go into this and I’m so thankful for them because, without them, this wouldn’t be possible.”

Throughout the first 34 laps, however, the story was defending Belleville Silver Crown winner Brady Bacon who was slicing and dicing the competition into smithereens. Despite starting fourth on the grid, Bacon had raced his way into the lead by the end of lap one after streaming past fellow second row starter Matt Westfall and then the front row duo of Mario Clouser and Kaylee Bryson.

Within a handful of laps, Bacon’s lead had ballooned to six seconds, and by the time he reached the tail end lead lap cars a few laps later, his torrid pace had provided him with a full 10 second lead just before the halfway point as he put ninth place Jerry Coons Jr. a lap down.

With just 17 laps to go, Bacon was still pouring it on as he blew around the outside of both Westfall and Chase Stockon to put the seventh and sixth place drivers, respectively, a lap down. With the remainder of the top-five just within reach and holding a whopping 15.8 second lead, thoughts turned toward whether Bacon could conceivably become the first driver since Jeff Bloom in 1987 at Indianapolis Raceway Park to lap the entire field during a USAC Silver Crown event.

Just when that thought seemed like a distinct possibility, or even a foregone conclusion, the entire complexion of the race changed in a plume of smoke. On the 34th lap, Bacon’s machine spit out a big puffy white cloud in turn four. Slowing dramatically, he steered it to the inside of the track and putted around until pulling into the pit entrance on the back straightaway. So large was Bacon’s lead that, by the time he stopped in the infield 3/4 of a lap after disaster struck, he still held the race lead!

A lap and a half later, the only yellow flag of the night was displayed for debris in turn three with a wheel cover sitting helplessly in the middle of the groove. Under the caution period, USAC Silver Crown champions Logan Seavey (flat right rear tire) and Kody Swanson (mud packed right rear wheel) pulled into the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area. In the end, both drivers experienced highly uncharacteristic turmoil with Swanson finishing 14th and Seavey 16th.

But the news that truly caught the crowd’s ear was that of race-long second place runner Bryson who was now the race leader following Bacon’s misfortune with a mere 16 laps to go. Further back, C.J. Leary was running sixth after starting 20th on the grid. Leary was unable to make a qualifying attempt earlier in the night after burning a hole in the piston during practice, forcing the team to make an emergency engine swap.

On the lap 35 restart, Bryson held steady, keeping challengers Clouser, Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. at bay. All the while, Leary had a full head of steam, picking Thomas, Grant and Clouser off one-by-one on the outside until he was right on Bryson’s tail tank for the lead with six laps to go.

Each and every revolution around the circular shaped fairgrounds dirt track requires intense focus, and even the slightest of hiccups can result in disaster, or a change in position, at the rate of the blink of an eye. Although Leary managed to hover all around Bryson, she never flinched. The message from her spotter, Chris Santucci, over the last several laps were straight to the point.

“Just drive the track,” Bryson relayed of what she was advised. “Don’t worry about anybody else. Just go out there and make fast laps, and that’s what we did, and we won.”

The enormously loud roar of celebratory cheers from the substantial crowd on hand drowned out the noise of the engines as Bryson crossed the finish line 0.607 seconds ahead of Leary at the checkered flag with Mario Clouser equaling his best career series finish of third.

Justin Grant scored a fourth while Daison Pursley tallied an impressive fifth in his series debut after restarting at the tail due to needing the assistance of a push track to fire off for the initial start.

Bryson also delivered the Pierce No. 26 its first USAC Silver Crown victory since a stop at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway 17 summers ago in 2007, won by Aaron Pierce.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 18, 2024 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-17.264; 2. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-17.347; 3. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-17.429; 4. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-17.430; 5. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-17.442; 6. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-17.451; 7. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.497; 8. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.519; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12, TwoC-17.561; 10. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.609; 11. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-17.648; 12. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-17.652; 13. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-17.665; 14. Shane Cottle, 53, Five Three-17.768; 15. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-17.789; 16. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-17.877; 17. Robert Ballou, 97, Lein-17.877; 18. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-17.894; 19. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-18.949; 20. Danny Long, 44, Long-20.191; 21. Dave Peperak, 777, Peperak-NT; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 23. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-NT; 24. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-NT; 25. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-NT.

FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kaylee Bryson (1), 2. C.J. Leary (20), 3. Mario Clouser (2), 4. Justin Grant (10), 5. Daison Pursley (12), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (13), 7. Chase Stockon (7), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 9. Robert Ballou (17), 10. Matt Westfall (3), 11. Briggs Danner (5), 12. Shane Cottle (14), 13. Taylor Ferns (6), 14. Kody Swanson (8), 15. Nathan Moore (18), 16. Logan Seavey (21), 17. Gregg Cory (19), 18. Brady Bacon (4), 19. Trey Burke (15), 20. Trey Osborne (16), 21. Mitchel Moles (11), 22. Danny Long (23), 23. Dave Berkheimer (22), 24. Bryan Gossel (24), 25. Dave Peperak (25). 21:37.67 (New Track Record)

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-34 Brady Bacon, Laps 35-50 Kaylee Bryson.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-198, 2-Kody Swanson-187, 3-Justin Grant-183, 4-Kaylee Bryson-153, 5-Mario Clouser-148, 6-Taylor Ferns-144, 7-Logan Seavey-138, 8-Bobby Santos-125, 9-Gregg Cory-103, 10-Jerry Coons Jr.-101.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 24, 2024 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – 67th Hoosier Hundred / Carb Night Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (17.552)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kaylee Bryson (17.264)

Hard Charger: C.J. Leary (20th to 2nd)

ProSource Hard Work Award: Taylor Ferns

BACON PACES FRIDAY’S BELLEVILLE

USAC SILVER CROWN PRACTICE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Belleville, Kansas (May 17, 2024)………Brady Bacon left the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks a USAC Silver Crown winner one year ago. On Friday night, he and his Chris Dyson Racing No. 9 showed that they’re still the ones to beat at the 1/2-mile dirt oval in 2024.

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was the quickest of all in Friday’s USAC Silver Crown practice at Belleville, which served as the final tune-up for teams and drivers before the 50-lap Huncovsky Classic main event set for Saturday night, May 18.

Bacon’s lap of 16.834 seconds was just a tick off Kody Swanson’s Belleville Silver Crown track record of 16.823, set in 2023. Furthermore, Bacon’s time was four tenths of a second faster than his next closest competitor.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was second fastest at 17.294 followed by Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) at 17.410. Defending series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was fourth at 17.481 while Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 17.491. Swanson won the event in 2014.

On Saturday night, May 18, at Belleville, it’s a full race day for both the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget and USAC Silver Crown divisions. The pits open at 3pm Central with the front gates opening at 5:30pm, the drivers meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing.

General admission and reserved tickets are $30. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $20. A one-day pit pass is $40 and two-day pit passes are $60. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.BellevilleHighBanks.org. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.

The entire weekend of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: May 17, 2024 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

PRACTICE: 1. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-16.834; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.294; 3. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-17.410; 4. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.481; 5. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.491; 6. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-17.553; 7. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-17.559; 8. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.561; 9. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.655; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12, TwoC-17.705; 11. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-17.732; 12. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-17.740; 13. Shane Cottle, 53, Five Three-17.767; 14. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-17.775; 15. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-17.846; 16. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-17.880; 17. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-17.98; 18. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-18.109; 19. Robert Ballou, 97, Lein-18.218; 20. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-18.276; 21. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-19.320; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-20.415; 23. Dave Peperak, 777, Peperak-21.542; 24. Danny Long, 44, Long-21.935.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 18, 2024 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

RETURN OF THE MAC!

McINTOSH MANS USAC MIDGET OPENER IN BELLEVILLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Belleville, Kansas (May 17, 2024)………Following a major changeover during the offseason, Cannon McIntosh got back on track in more ways than one during Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season opener at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track.

A mere 616 days since his most recent USAC feature victory in September of 2022, McIntosh returned to glory on the 1/4-mile dirt oval, grabbing the lead from his outside front row starting position, then dominating the 30-lap distance from start to finish.

The triumph was McIntosh’s first USAC win for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports since driving for team full-time in 2020. That year, McIntosh won twice before switching over to the family-owned Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team where he raced full-time between the 2021-23 seasons.

His remigration to KKM has already paid dividends, ending his 41-race winless streak in USAC competition and netting him his seventh career series victory, moving him into 97th on the all-time list alongside Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton and Johnnie Tolan.

McIntosh’s performance also provided car entrant Mike Curb his 199th USAC national victory, placing him just one shy of becoming the first entrant to reach the 200-win mark.

A solid start was imperative, and McIntosh made it priority number one in his Gear Wrench – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota, although he wasn’t initially able to throw down the gauntlet nor was he able to apply the dagger quite yet as he followed his teammate and pole sitter Gavin Miller for the first three-quarters of a lap. That’s when Miller left the bottom in turn four, thus opening the door for McIntosh to scoot on by on the low line.

“I knew it was going to be important to get a good start, especially with how much work they did to the bottom,” McIntosh explained. “I didn’t know if it would go away much, at least in one and two. I thought that maybe it would go away in three and four, so I just stayed committed down there after Gavin made a mistake there on the first lap. We were able to get by and I tried to minimize mistakes the whole race.”

By the end of the 10th lap, McIntosh’s lead stood at a commanding rate of 1.633 seconds until a pair of subsequent stoppages stifled his groove. First, Hank Davis (15th) teetered over the edge of the turn four cushion and slid to a stop. One lap after the restart, Ryan Timms, the 2023 opening night Belleville Short Track USAC Midget winner, snagged the turns one and two cushion before grinding to a halt on the 12th circuit.

Over the course of the next 10-lap stanza, Daison Pursley slipped by Miller for the second spot while McIntosh was in the midst of reestablishing a full straightaway edge. As he worked through a heavy throng of lapped traffic with five to go, McIntosh tapped the rear bumper of the down-a-lap car driven by Jake Andreotti in turn one. No harm, no foul was the end result as McIntosh carried onward with a 1.3 second lead to his advantage.

Still husting, McIntosh never relented, putting 10 cars in the field at least one lap down in the final running order. Yet, without rearview mirrors and little margin for error, it’s difficult to accurately differentiate between who is who and what is what, so McIntosh didn’t let up.

“I thought I heard someone coming there at the end on the outside in three and four,” McIntosh revealed. “I didn’t know if it was a lapper, but it sounded like somebody was coming, so I was trying to get as many lapped cars as I could there at the end before I was able to bring it home.”

McIntosh ultimately crossed the finish line as a winner 3.19 seconds ahead of Daison Pursley, Gavin Miller, Jerry Coons Jr. and Kyle Jones who finished with a career best USAC result of fifth place.

It was a fine debut for Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) as he came home second in his first run with CB Industries in USAC National Midget competition. It's Pursley’s best series run since May of 2023 when he also finished second in Sweet Springs, Mo. Pursley, wheeling the PristineAuction.com – NOS Energy Drink – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota, is the early USAC National Midget point leader by one single point despite not winning the feature.

There’s no inkling of a sophomore slump for Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) after night one of the USAC National Midget season. His performances a year ago rewarded him as USAC’s National Midget Rookie of the Year. Tonight, he collected a solid third place result in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Sound Gear – TRD – Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota.

Meanwhile, defending series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) set a new all-time USAC record after charging his way from the 23rd starting position to finish eighth. The result marked his 23rd consecutive top-10 feature finish with the USAC National Midgets. That broke the record held by Jason Leffler since 1997.

Ashton Torgerson (Glendale, Ariz.) finished 14th in his first career USAC National Midget start. For finishing as the last car on the lead lap in Friday night’s feature race, the Arizonian collected $250 courtesy of Buck Rice from ProSource.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) pulled off a rare feat during Friday’s Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session. He became the third driver ever to record a fast qualifying time in back-to-back USAC National Midget season openers. Bobby Grim achieved it in 1965-66 while Kevin Thomas Jr. matched it himself it in 2020-21.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 17, 2024 – Belleville Short Track – Belleville, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.018; 2. Kyle Jones, 27x, Joyner-12.098; 3. Daison Pursley, 86, CBI-12.221; 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-12.228; 5. Hank Davis, 60x, LeVecque-12.243; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.251; 7. Kaylee Bryson, 27, Joyner-12.313; 8. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.336; 9. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-12.337; 10. Kale Drake, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.384; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr, 9, Mounce/Stout-12.396; 12. Steven Snyder Jr., 16, Minear-12.408; 13. Jake Andreotti, 14, 4 Kings-12.430; 14. Ashton Torgerson, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.502; 15. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.509; 16. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.515; 17. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.539; 18. Zach Wigal, 89, CBI-12.566; 19. Zach Daum, 7p, RAMCO-12.597; 20. Austin Torgerson, 88A, Mounce/Stout-12.691; 21. Keith Rauch, 27K, Bourke-12.697; 22. Matt Westfall, 54, 4 Kings-12.896; 23. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.915; 24. Gary Taylor, 32, Dunlap-13.379; 25. Curtis Spicer, 4s, Spicer-13.487.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Zach Daum, 5. Kale Drake, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Kaylee Bryson, 9. Curtis Spicer. 2:07.977

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Ashton Torgerson, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Gavin Miller, 5. Kyle Jones, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Hank Davis, 8. Austin Torgerson. NT

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Steven Snyder Jr., 4. Jake Bubak, 5. Gary Taylor, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Keith Rauch, 8. Zach Wigal. 2:11.509

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (2), 2. Daison Pursley (4), 3. Gavin Miller (1), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 5. Kyle Jones (5), 6. Zach Daum (19), 7. Justin Grant (6), 8. Logan Seavey (23), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 10. Kale Drake (12), 11. Jacob Denney (8), 12. Jake Bubak (11), 13. Gary Taylor (24), 14. Ashton Torgerson (16), 15. Ryan Timms (7), 16. Austin Torgerson (20), 17. Matt Westfall (22), 18. Zach Wigal (18), 19. Steven Snyder Jr. (14), 20. Jake Andreotti (15), 21. Kaylee Bryson (10), 22. Hank Davis (9), 23. Curtis Spicer (25), 24. Ethan Mitchell (17), 25. Keith Rauch (21). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Cannon McIntosh.

**Gary Taylor flipped during practice.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-79, 2-Cannon McIntosh-78, 3-Jerry Coons Jr.-70, 4-Gavin Miller-69, 5-Kyle Jones-67, 6-Justin Grant-61, 7-Zach Daum-60, 8-Logan Seavey-52, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-52, 10-Jacob Denney-49.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-56, 2-Logan Seavey-41, 3-Joey Amantea-41, 4-C.J. Leary-40, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-36, 6-Brady Bacon-36, 7-Matt Westfall-36, 8-Daison Pursley-34, 9-Kyle Cummins-32, 10-Tye Mihocko-32.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 18, 2024 – Belleville Short Track – Belleville, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Kale Drake (11.983)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (12.018)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jacob Denney

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Hard Charger: Logan Seavey (23rd to 8th)

ProSource Hard Work: Ashton Torgerson

RED HILL’S SALUTE TO LEVI JONES

USAC SPRINT EVENT RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 3

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sumner, Illinois (May 16, 2024)………The return of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing to Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, Illinois is back on the schedule for Wednesday night, July 3.

The series’ first visit to the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 26 years marks the inaugural edition of the Salute to Levi Jones, honoring the seven-time USAC national driving champion and series official who was recently announced as an inductee to the USAC Hall of Fame.

Jones, who was born and raised in nearby Olney, Ill., made his first career USAC National Sprint Car start at Red Hill in 1998. He plans to be in attendance at the July 3 event.

The running of the event arrives after the originally scheduled date of April 6 was disrupted by Mother Nature. Two previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been run at Red Hill with Billy Puterbaugh Jr. winning in 1996 and Derek Davidson scoring the victory in 1998.

Grandstand tickets for the July 3 event at Red Hill are $30 for ages 13 and up. GA tickets for ages 6-12 are $5. GA tickets for ages 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $40 apiece.

Pits open at 3pm Central and the grandstands open at 5:30pm. Hot laps are set for 7pm. Modifieds will also be on the event card.

The addition of Red Hill on Wednesday, July 3, kicks off a fantastic four-race weekend for USAC across Indiana. The USAC Silver Crown Sumar Classic is slated for the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday night, July 4. The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will finish off the action-packed weekend with back-to-back events at Lincoln Park Speedway’s Bill Gardner Sprintacular in Putnamville on Friday-Saturday, July 5-6.

SHORT (TRACK) STORY!

BELLEVILLE OPENS THE

USAC MIDGET SEASON MAY 17-18

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Belleville, Kansas (May 14, 2024)………Belleville, Kansas is a small town that packs a mighty punch.

The same could very well be said to describe the type of action the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will present on the 1/4-mile short track when the series returns for back-to-back nights of full programs at the venue on Friday-Saturday, May 17-18.

In fact, it’s a twin bill in Belleville featuring a tantalizing two-night doubleheader as midgets take on the racy short track and Silver Crown grooves on the blazing fast high banks at the grounds of the North Central Kansas Fair.

Friday’s midget program will culminate in a 30-lap, $4,000-to-win feature while Saturday’s main event presents 40 laps and $6,000-to-win.

Here’s the long (and the short) of it with six Belleville storylines for the midgets!

HALLELUJAH, IT BEGINS!

Better late than never! After three earlier tries to launch the 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season, the season will now kick off in the state of Kansas at the Belleville Short Track.

This year marks the third occasion in which the USAC National Midget season begins in the Sunflower State. In 2011, Bryan Clauson won at Dodge City Raceway Park, and in 2023, Ryan Timms scored the series debut at the Belleville Short Track.

This weekend’s lineup features a slew of USAC Midget full-timers champing at the bit to get underway, 15 full-season championship hopefuls, in fact. Among the group are defending series champion, Abacus Racing’s Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), and RMS Racing’s Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.).

Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) returns for his first full season USAC run in a decade with RAMCO Speed Group while Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) returns to full-time duty for the first time in three seasons with Mounce-Stout Motorsports. Series winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) is back for his third year of full-time series duty and second with Tom Malloy’s team.

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, the winningest team in series history, will field rides for three USAC Midget feature winners in Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.). KKM newcomer Ashton Torgerson (Glendale, Ariz.), meanwhile, will be contending for Rookie of the Year honors.

CB Industries’ revamped lineup consists of series winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio), another addition to the 2024 Rookie bunch along with Hank Davis (Sand Springs, Okla.) aboard the Cornell Racing Stables machine.

Brand new teams joining the series full-time are a two-car effort for 4K Kings Racing combatants Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) and Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) as well as Joyner Motorsports’ Kyle Jones (Kennedale, Texas).

THE BELLEVILLE DOUBLE

Big track, small track. Big cars, small cars. This weekend’s racing festivities run the gamut.

Seven different drivers are planning to partake in double-duty by stepping back and forth between their Belleville rides in the Silver Crown and Midget divisions.

This group of double-dippers is highlighted by Logan Seavey, the man who won both series driving championships in 2023. He returns to the seat of his Abacus Racing midget and Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing Silver Crown car. Justin Grant is back in his familiar rides with Hemelgarn Racing’s crown car and RMS Racing’s midget.

Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) will strap into the seat of Patty Bateman’s champ car and the Central Motorsports midget. Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) will double up in his own Silver Crown ride and the new 4 Kings Racing midget. Kaylee Bryson will wheel the Sam Pierce-owned Silver Crown car and will also make her first appearance with Joyner Motorsports in a USAC Midget event.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) will make his Silver Crown debut for Team AZ Racing at Belleville and will begin his first full season as the midget pilot for CB Industries. Kyle Steffens (Saint Charles, Mo.) will compete in the Silver Crown division for his own team and will make a rare midget appearance as he will attempt to make his first career USAC National Midget start for car owner John LeVecque.

TIMMS’ TIME IN 2024?

In his first run as the full-time driver of the famed number 67 for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Ryan Timms was called upon to play the lead role as the fabled car’s newest pilot for the 2023 season. Quickly, he made his own bit of history as the first ever USAC National Midget feature winner at Belleville’s Short Track.

He recovered from a couple of self-inflicted miscues during the second half of the 30-lap feature where he saw his lead slip away twice only to gain it back each time on the very next lap. In total, Timms led 27 of the 30 laps, taking control with a slide job of Jake Andreotti 12 laps from the finish line to earn, at the time, his third career series victory.

Timms finished the 2023 campaign with a solid tally of three victories and a fourth-place finish in the standings, a big step up from where he stood in 2022. Timms is geared up to make an even further step up in 2024 from race winner to championship contender.

A BELLEVILLE DAUMINATOR

For Zach Daum, Saturday night of the 2023 event at Belleville was a homecoming. In the summer of 2014, the Pocahontas, Ill. native captured a USAC National Midget feature victory on the Belleville High Banks half-mile dirt oval during a Belleville Nationals prelim night.

Daum was back in victory lane for the first time since that very night with the USAC National Midgets, and it just so happened to take place in the same locale, albeit at a slightly smaller version of it.

One night after becoming the first driver to finish on the podium of a USAC National Midget feature at both the Belleville half-mile and quarter mile, on Saturday, Daum became the first driver to win a USAC national feature on both portions of the venue in his career. In doing so, Daum ended a substantially lengthy winless drought with the USAC National Midgets as well.

In fact, the eight year, nine months and 20-day gap between triumphs is the fourth longest span all-time between USAC National Midget wins, ranking behind only Arnie Knepper (1970-1983), Chuck Gurney (1974-1986) and Larry Rice (1975-1987).

It was quite a debut for Daum and the RAMCO team who had reached out to Daum in the week leading up to Belleville and tabbed him as their wheelman. It turns out it was a perfect match as it was the fourth USAC win as a driver for Daum and the first for the Texas-based RAMCO team.

BELLEVILLE’S FAVORITE ADOPTED SON

Jerry Coons Jr. is undoubtedly one of Belleville’s favorite drivers. The Tucson, Arizona native has been making regular visits to Belleville, Kansas dating back to 1990, and has been a fixture practically every year since.

He ranks fifth all-time in career USAC National Midget starts with 421 since his 1987 series debut. The USAC Triple Crown champ has experienced some of his finest moments at Belleville, and several accolades to go along with it.

Coons’ first career USAC National Midget win came during the 1996 Belleville Midget Nationals on the half-mile, and he ultimately became the first three-time winner of the event following scores in 2005-07-12. During a 2012 prelim night, he also won on the 1/4-mile short track.

However, last year’s finishes of 23rd and 17th left an unsavory taste in the USAC Triple Crown champions’ mouth, something he is eager to rectify this coming weekend.

SEAVEY ON DEFENSE

It’s been almost half a year since the most recent USAC National Midget race, but yes, Logan Seavey’s historic streak remains intact.

Over his last 22 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature starts, he owns eight wins, 20 top-fives and 22 top-tens, a run which started in June of 2023.

A 23rd straight top-10 finish by Seavey on Saturday would break the series record set by Jason Leffler in 1997. Leffler rode that streak into a series title in 1997, then followed up the next year in 1998 by winning the championship again. It’s certainly a feat Seavey would like to repeat in the 2024 season.

Oddly enough, it was an inauspicious start for Seavey and Abacus at Belleville in 2023 with ho-hum finishes of 6th and 16th across the two nights, certainly not indicative of what was to come throughout the rest of the year. Now, they get another crack at Belleville success this weekend.

RACE DETAILS:

On Friday, May 17, at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks, it’s opening night for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in conjunction with a practice night for the USAC Silver Crown division. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $25. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $15. A one-day pit pass is $35 and two-day pit passes are $60. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.BellevilleHighBanks.org. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.

On Saturday, May 18, at Belleville, it’s a full race day for both the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget and USAC Silver Crown divisions. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $30. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $20. A one-day pit pass is $40 and two-day pit passes are $60. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.BellevilleHighBanks.org. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.

The entire weekend of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT THE BELLEVILLE SHORT TRACK:

1 Lap - 5/19/2023 - Justin Grant - 11.736 - 76.697 mph

10 Laps - 5/19/2023 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 2:05.91 - 71.480 mph

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

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT BELLEVILLE:

5-Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland & Bobby East

3-Rico Abreu, Chad Boat, Kasey Kahne & Josh Wise

2-Bryan Clauson, Zach Daum, Jay Drake, Jason Leffler & J.J. Yeley

1-Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Billy Boat, A.J. Fike, Robby Flock, Bobby Grim, Steve Knepper, Ryan Scott, Ricky Shelton, Brad Sweet & Ryan Timms

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

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT BELLEVILLE:

1964: Bobby Grim (7/5)

1996: Jay Drake (8/1), Jerry Coons Jr. (8/2) & Robby Flock (8/3)

1997: Billy Boat (7/31), Jason Leffler (8/1) & Jason Leffler (8/2)

1998: Ricky Shelton (7/30), Jerry Coons Jr. (7/31) & Steve Knepper (8/1)

1999: Dave Darland (8/5), J.J. Yeley (8/6) & Dave Darland (8/7)

2000: Jay Drake (8/3), Kasey Kahne (8/4) & Kasey Kahne (8/5)

2001: A.J. Fike (8/2), Dave Darland (8/3) & Kasey Kahne (8/4)

2002: Ryan Scott (8/1), Bobby East (8/2) & Dave Darland (8/3)

2003: J.J. Yeley (8/7), Bobby East (8/8) & Josh Wise (8/9)

2004: Bobby East (7/30) & Bobby East (7/31)

2005: Dave Darland (7/29) & Jerry Coons Jr. (7/30)

2006: Josh Wise (7/28) & Josh Wise (7/29)

2007: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/27) & Jerry Coons Jr. (7/28)

2008: Bobby East (8/1) & Brad Sweet (8/2)

2009: Josh Wise (7/30 – SE), Bryan Clauson (8/1 – SE) & Bryan Clauson (8/1)

2013: Rico Abreu (8/1) & Christopher Bell (8/3)

2014: Zach Daum (7/31) & Rico Abreu (8/2)

2015: Rico Abreu (7/30) & Bryan Clauson (8/1)

2016: Chad Boat (8/5) & Chad Boat (8/6)

2017: Chad Boat (8/4) & Spencer Bayston (8/5)

2023: Ryan Timms (5/19) & Zach Daum (5/20)

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

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN KANSAS:

7-Bryan Clauson

6-Jerry Coons Jr. & Dave Darland

5-Bobby East

4-Jay Drake & Josh Wise

3-Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell, Chad Boat, Kasey Kahne & Jason Leffler

2-Zach Daum, A.J. Fike, Russ Gamester, Bobby Olivero, Tony Stewart, Kevin Thomas Jr. & J.J. Yeley

1-Spencer Bayston, Billy Boat, Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Robby Flock, Mike Gregg, Bobby Grim, Jeff Heywood, Tracy Hines, Mel Kenyon, Steve Knepper, Kyle Larson, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Parsons, Stevie Reeves, Ryan Scott, Ricky Shelton, Brad Sweet, Bob Tattersall, Tanner Thorson, Ryan Timms, Sleepy Tripp & Bryant Wiedeman

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

PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS AT THE BELLEVILLE SHORT TRACK

2023 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Timms (1), 2. Jake Andreotti (4), 3. Zach Daum (11), 4. Daison Pursley (14), 5. Tanner Thorson (7), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Bryant Wiedeman (17), 8. Jacob Denney (3), 9. Cannon McIntosh (13), 10. Jade Avedisian (2), 11. Chance Crum (23-P), 12. Kyle Jones (19), 13. Mitchel Moles (21), 14. Chase McDermand (8), 15. Hayden Reinbold (20), 16. Kameron Key (18), 17. Brady Bacon (12), 18. Ethan Mitchell (24-P), 19. Gavin Miller (22), 20. Taylor Reimer (16), 21. Thomas Meseraull (10), 22. Justin Grant (6), 23. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 24. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9). NT

2023 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Daum (2), 2. Jade Avedisian (5), 3. Thomas Meseraull (19), 4. Jacob Denney (11), 5. Justin Grant (12), 6. Ethan Mitchell (7), 7. Daison Pursley (16), 8. Tanner Thorson (10), 9. Gavin Miller (13), 10. Brady Bacon (15), 11. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (1), 13. Chance Crum (23-P), 14. Ryan Timms (21), 15. Kyle Jones (20), 16. Logan Seavey (8), 17. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 18. Mitchel Moles (9), 19. Mariah Ede (17), 20. Jake Andreotti (22), 21. Hayden Reinbold (14), 22. Taylor Reimer (24-P), 23. Cannon McIntosh (6), 24. Chase McDermand (3). NT

NO LETDOWN AT THE SPRING SHOWDOWN!

KTJ SCORES TRI-STATE USAC SPRINT WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (May 11, 2024)………Throughout the past decade, competitors and fans alike have become accustomed to witnessing the Rock Steady Racing number 3R perform its magic during the Spring Showdown at Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway.

First there was Hunter Schuerenberg in 2012, then Daron Clayton in 2014, and later on, Kyle Cummins did the deed in 2021. At Saturday night’s 11th running of the event on the 1/4-mile dirt oval, it was the team’s newest driver, Kevin Thomas Jr., who sealed the deal to become the fourth different driver from the team’s stable to capture a Spring Showdown victory.

Shortly following a restart, Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) chased down early race leader Mitchel Moles on lap 12, then successfully fended off the pursuit of the surging Cummins. From there on, KTJ led the final 19 laps to score his third career Spring Showdown win after previous triumphs in 2013 and 2018. No other driver owns more than one Spring Showdown win.

Overall, it’s Rock Steady Racing’s ninth USAC National Sprint Car victory at Tri-State, far and away the most successful team in that category. Fully cognizant of the resume held by the 3R at the southern Indiana venue, Thomas felt he had some weight on his shoulders to overcome.

“This is the most nervous I’ve been in a racecar in a long time,” Thomas admitted. “Especially with what Kyle has done here as a driver and them as a team. If you suck, it’s on you. So, that’s tough. But I’ve got a great deal of confidence in my team and my ability to drive a racecar. I was pumped up and I can’t remember the last time I did donuts!”

To be the man, you got to beat the man, and Thomas did just that, breaking the tie he held with Cummins atop Tri-State’s all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list. KTJ’s seventh win with the series at the track is now the standard bearer after grabbing his latest aboard the Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

A statistic that truly grabbed Thomas’ attention in the post-race celebration was the fact that his 41st career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory equaled him with the late, great Bryan Clauson for ninth place on the all-time list.

“I might cry,” Thomas stated. “There’s a lot that goes into that, and obviously, he was a good person for the sport and what he did for it and what his family has meant to it. Being able to tie him in anything is pretty emotional but there’s a lot of hard work that goes into this for a long period of time. It took me a lot longer to get there than it has for some other people but I’m hardheaded and I’m not a good learner. So, we’ll keep digging at this.”

Starting third, Thomas slotted into second on the opening lap and immediately draped his ride to the rear bumper of pole sitter Mitchel Moles. By lap nine, the top-two found themselves just a heartbeat away from reaching the tail end of the field when the first stoppage of the feature occurred.

A five-car incident was triggered by contact between Jake Swanson and Adyn Schmidt in a battle for 13th place at the exit of turn four, sending Swanson into a spin cycle. Moments later, Swanson's car was plowed by Dustin Beck and defending Spring Showdown winner Justin Grant. Grant took the worst of it, flipping over to end his suddenly frustrating night. Scheduled to start sixth, Grant pulled off during the pace laps to make a visit to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area with an ignition box issue being the culprit. He returned to the lineup but had to start from the back of the pack in 24th. Beck bowed out with major front-end damage while Aric Gentry and Kendall Ruble also became entangled in the mishap.

All the while, Thomas was champing at the bit, waiting to exhale and ultimately make his bid for the lead. He got his chance on a restart following a lap 12 caution for contact between Kayla Roell and Donny Brackett. Thomas wound it up on the resumption of the 12th lap and zipped around the outside of Moles for the top spot in turn two.

With the laps dwindling, Thomas was preoccupied with successfully weaving his way in and around lapped traffic. About seven or eight car lengths back, Cummins placed himself into the runner-up spot as he slid Moles in turn one with seven laps remaining. Moles swung back by to retake the position briefly down the back straightaway and into turn three, but as Moles slid up, Cummins countered and dove under to take over second, and Thomas was keenly aware of that sudden development.

“I saw the 3p was there in second and he’s going to be a real pain in my butt all year,” Thomas said. “I’m looking forward to it. He’s one of my good buddies, and that whole team over there does a great job as well. But I’m glad we started a little bit further forward than he did!”

On the final stretch run, Thomas managed to extend his lead as he continued to cut his path toward victory lane, earning the win by a margin of 2.032 seconds over Cummins, Moles, C.J. Leary and Jadon Rogers who rounded out the top-five one night after an accident at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway briefly put him in the back of an ambulance before walking away.

The win was the 27th for Hank Byram’s Rock Steady Racing team in USAC National Sprint Car competition, moving him past Daryl Guiducci’s Six-R Racing outfit for 19th on the series’ all-time entrant win list.

Kyle Cummins’ (Princeton, Ind.) last three Spring Showdown starts have placed him 1st (2021), 3rd (2023) and now 2nd (2024), which equaled his best performance of the USAC season after also finishing second last weekend at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in his Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. On Saturday night, he was also part of the first one-two USAC finish for Mark Smith’s Mach-1 Chassis, which Thomas also competes with.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) turned in his best result of the USAC season after leading the initial 11 laps and finishing third in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy, marking the best Spring Showdown finish for both driver and team.

Once again, Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) delivered the hardest charging performance of the night. The 2015 USAC National Sprint Car champion started 16th and finished seventh in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Deaton’s Waterfront Services/DRC/Ott Chevy. It's Ballou’s series-leading third hard charger award of the USAC National Sprint Car season and he’s now passed a total of 56 cars in series features this year, which gives him the lead in the ProSource Passing Master points.

Justin Grant’s (Ione, Calif.) night began proficiently as he set quick time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying to move into 11th place all-time on the USAC National Sprint Car fast qualifying list. He surpassed Chase Stockon with his 34th career Fast Qualifier award and now ranks one behind Rich Vogler for 10th all-time at 35.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 11, 2024 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – Spring Showdown – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.226; 2. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-13.271; 3. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-13.328; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.340; 5. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.348; 6. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.487; 7. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.537; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.599; 9. Carson Short, 21m, Edwards-13.651; 10. Adyn Schmidt, 12s, Schmidt-13.828; 11. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.830; 12. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-13.832; 13. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-13.885; 14. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.890; 15. Dustin Beck, 75, Hensen/Rupp-13.901; 16. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.989; 17. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.006; 18. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-14.006; 19. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-14.024; 20. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-14.068; 21. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.086; 22. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.144; 23. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-14.152; 24. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-14.152; 25. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-14.280; 26. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.288; 27. Stan Beadles, 84, Beadles-14.301; 28. Michael Daugherty, 3.14, Daugherty-14.452; 29. Sam Scott, 7s, Scott-14.546; 30. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.558; 31. Nathan Seale, 1s, Seale-15.228

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Short, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Donny Brackett, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Sam Scott. 2:16.776

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Adyn Schmidt, 5. Aric Gentry, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Hunter Maddox. 2:16.221

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Kendall Ruble, 3. J.J. Hughes, 4. Dustin Beck, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Stan Beadles, 8. Nathan Seale. 2:16.177

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Brady Short, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Michael Daugherty. 2:16.571

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Stan Beadles, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Sam Scott, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Michael Daugherty, 11. Nathan Seale. 2:53.719

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 2. Kyle Cummins (5), 3. Mitchel Moles (1), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Jadon Rogers (4), 6. Daison Pursley (8), 7. Robert Ballou (16), 8. Brady Bacon (14), 9. Brady Short (12), 10. Logan Seavey (11), 11. Chase Stockon (9), 12. Carson Short (7), 13. Adyn Schmidt (10), 14. Carson Garrett (20), 15. Matt Westfall (17), 16. J.J. Hughes (19), 17. Jake Swanson (13), 18. Joey Amantea (21), 19. Donny Brackett (24), 20. Kayla Roell (23), 21. Aric Gentry (18), 22. Kendall Ruble (22), 23. Dustin Beck (15), 24. Justin Grant (6). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Mitchel Moles, Laps 12-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.

**Justin Grant flipped on lap 9 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-789, 2-C.J. Leary-741, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-724, 4-Daison Pursley-633, 5-Justin Grant-620, 6-Kyle Cummins-620, 7-Brady Bacon-580, 8-Mitchel Moles-570, 9-Robert Ballou-561, 10-Chase Stockon-546.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-56, 2-Joey Amantea-41, 3-C.J. Leary-40, 4-Brady Bacon-36, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-32, 6-Kyle Cummins-32, 7-Daison Pursley-32, 8-Tye Mihocko-32, 9-Matt Westfall-31, 10-Mitchel Moles-29.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 21, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 54th Annual Tony Hulman Classic – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (13.179)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (13.226)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Carson Short

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Matt Westfall

Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (16th to 7th)

UNDENIED:

SEAVEY SAVORS FIRST BLOOMINGTON

USAC SPRINT WIN AT LARRY RICE CLASSIC

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bloomington, Indiana (May 10, 2024)………After seeing victory slip away on late-race restarts in three of his past four USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship starts, Logan Seavey wasn't about to let another escape from his grasp.

On a late restart in Friday night's Larry Rice Classic, Seavey was picture perfect as he delivered his first career Bloomington Speedway victory in his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

In February’s Winter Dirt Games finale at Florida’s Ocala Speedway, C.J. Leary scooted under Seavey on a restart with three laps to go. On a restart with 14 laps to go at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, Kevin Thomas Jr. gained the upper hand by steadily driving past on the bottom for the top spot. Just two laps after the restart during last Saturday’s thriller at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, Justin Grant stuck a slider in turns one and two on Seavey, then led the final three laps.

When a caution came with just four laps remaining in Friday’s main event at Bloomington, Seavey was game for the challenge, fending off the challenges from both Ricky Lewis and a surging Daison Pursley to win his third USAC National Sprint Car feature of the year.

Seavey and Abacus Racing have constructed one of the finest beginnings for a new driver and team combination in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship history. The Bloomington round served as a microcosm of the season as a whole with the beginning of their 30-lap feature playing out just about as smoothly. Seavey traveled from third to second on the opening lap and second to first on the second circuit, and from there on out, was never officially overtaken en route to the team’s third victory of the year.

Throughout the first quarter of the season, Seavey has now posted nine top-three finishes, which has allowed him to open up a 71-point lead, the largest throughout the first 10 USAC National Sprint Car events since Justin Grant 2017.

Furthermore, the race had another special, more personal meaning to Seavey. The Larry Rice Classic is held annually in memory of the three-time USAC national champion driver and television commentator. One year ago, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) captured the USAC Silver Crown National Championship at the wheel of a Rice-owned car operated by Larry’s son, Robbie.

“I’ve been running this race for a handful of years now and my friendship with Robbie has really become more like family to me,” Seavey said. “He’s given me a shot in the Silver Crown cars and he’s done so much for me over the last few years just keeping me out here and giving me a place to live at times. He’s been such a huge part of my career over the last few years. I know this race is for his dad who meant a lot to the whole sport of USAC racing, so this is really cool.”

Seavey’s 13th career USAC National Sprint Car feature win moved him up another line on the series’ career win list, pushing him past Eric Gordon and into a tie with Steve Chassey on the list for 47th all-time. The victory also marked Seavey’s first at Bloomington’s 1/4-mile red clay oval after finishing third in each of his past two Larry Rice Classic starts in 2018 and 2023.

“I’m just happy to get a win here,” Seavey exclaimed. “I always love coming to Bloomington. I never could quite win here but this thing was so good tonight.”

While Seavey’s start to the main event was superb, Jadon Rogers’ opening lap was equally misfortunate. The fifth-starting Rogers clipped an infield tire marker in turn two which launched him into orbit. While airborne, Rogers’ car was clipped by the trailing ride of C.J. Leary. As a result, Rogers’ car straightened before dropping straight down like an elevator freefalling in a shaft, landing right on top of the roll cage. Although initially loaded into the ambulance on a stretcher, Rogers eventually walked back to the Michael Dutcher Motorsports’ trailer under his own power.

When racing resumed, Bloomington regular Brayden Fox got the advantage at the start to lead the opening lap from the pole position. However, Seavey was making his stride to the front, going low to surpass Ricky Lewis for second on the first lap before shooting to the topside on the second go around where he eked out ahead of Fox by the slimmest of margins to lead lap two.

Shortly after, it became a proverbial beatdown as Seavey checked out, building a full-straightaway advantage over Fox by the completion of lap five. By lap 12, Lewis, having the best run of his young USAC career in his 18th series start, rose to second on the leaderboard with an outside pass of Fox on lap 12.

By midway, Seavey was working lapped traffic as he poked his way high and low through the backend of the field with an incredible half-lap advantage. But one driver in particular was bound and determined to close the gap, Daison Pursley, who started his race 23rd in the 24-car field. On lap 18, he scooted around the outside of Fox for the third position, then went to work on Lewis for the runner-up spot. All the while, Seavey was cruising comfortably, nearly six seconds ahead of the pack. Although the track presented its share of challenges to Seavey, he was game for it all and everything that was thrown his way to overcome.

“Since they took a little banking out, it’s really hard to get off the corners on the top of two and four,” Seavey explained. “It kind of shoves you off the front stretch and it just makes it really tricky, which I don’t know is necessarily a bad thing. The harder these tracks are, the more fun it is as a racer. You can try to figure out different things. It’s really tricky to get off the top. I was starting to give up on it there in traffic and I felt so good from the middle to the bottom that I didn’t really want to move around after that. Those guys forced me to do that on that first restart and I decided to go for it and get back to where I was good and try to get away. The last thing you want to do is get racing with these guys. They’re so good, they’ll put you away quickly.”

A caution for the spun car of 18th running USAC Rookie Rylan Gray in turn four with four laps remaining stifled Seavey’s pursuit and allowed the gap between he and all other challengers to be erased to zilch. On the ensuing lap 27 restart, Pursley nearly picked the pockets of both Lewis and Seavey, briefly edging both drivers for the lead in turn two before falling back into line behind both. Seavey acknowledged the inherent difficulties of playing the role of the chased rabbit on a restart with two hungry greyhounds right on your back bumper.

“I kind of got lost there at the end,” Seavey admitted. “I was so good in the middle and the bottom in traffic, I didn’t really know where to go. It’s hard to gauge off traffic at times but I just really didn’t know where to go on that late restart. I feel like I’ve been leading a few of these late and have given them away but we got a caution again and I finally committed to the top and got to pounding it a little bit and got away. But this car is so good everywhere, it just made it hard to make a decision.”

But the excitement was short lived as contact between Leary and Fox in turn two amid the battle for fourth sent Fox spinning to a stop, necessitating a yellow flag and erasing Fox’s career best USAC run.

On the restart, Pursley instantly climbed to second underneath Lewis on the back straightaway, then went to work on trying to chase down Seavey while Leary followed in tow to third. However, as Seavey proved all night long, he was simply too strong as he sped away to a 1.436 second victory over Pursley, Leary, Lewis and Shane Cottle.

Daison Pursley’s hard charging performance from 23rd to 2nd was his best finish yet on the 2024 USAC season aboard his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Oak Craft Elegant Cabinetry/DRC/1-Way Chevy. The 21 cars he passed also ranks among the best in series history and is certainly the best since at least 2019. In that span, three drivers have advanced 19 positions: Tyler Courtney (22nd to 3rd at Ocala in 2019); Stevie Sussex (24th to 5th at Arizona Speedway in 2019); and Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd at Lawrenceburg in 2023). Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) bested them all on this night.

“I didn’t have a good qualifying effort, but I felt fast in the heat race, and we were able to transfer, then I felt crazy good in the feature,” Pursley documented. “I don’t think I had enough for Logan there even though I was third on the restart. I think they had us covered tonight. It’s not where we want to be but it’s in the right direction. We’ll need to keep clicking off these podiums, and hopefully, we’ll get on that top step one day.”

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was involved in a first lap crash, which caused damage to his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy. Nonehteless, it didn’t slow him up much as he made his way back to third in the final laps, another fine performance for the defending Larry Rice Classic winner.

“I think the racetrack came to us, and I knew that when we rolled out there, we were going to be pretty tight,” Leary said. “I want to apologize to Brayden Fox. I got in that crash on the first lap, and it ripped the left front brake line off. We got it plugged, so I had rear brakes, but it just didn’t have enough to stop from running into him on that last restart. It’s definitely not what I wanted to do. He had a great run going and I hate that I took that away from him. I found some stuff there late in the race through the middle of three and four when I was battling Cottle and I was using it to our advantage on that last restart, but it’s a good night for us to be standing on the podium after everything we had going on.”

In Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Geoff Ensign (Sebastopol, Calif.) earned his first career USAC National Sprint Car fast time. In doing so, the 2022 Bloomington Speedway sprint car track champion became the first driver to earn his first career USAC quick time at Bloomington since Danny Holtsclaw in 2010.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 10, 2024 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – Larry Rice Classic – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Geoff Ensign, 44E, Ensign-11.496; 2. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-11.600; 3. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-11.602; 4. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-11.609; 5. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-11.656; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.665; 7. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-11.704; 8. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-11.775; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.778; 10. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-11.794; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-11.794; 12. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-11.796; 13. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-11.827; 14. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-11.836; 15. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-11.840; 16. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.858; 17. Weston Gorham, 71w, Gorham-11.879; 18. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-11.888; 19. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-11.917; 20. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-11.929; 21. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-11.956; 22. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-11.977; 23. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.993; 24. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.039; 25. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.087; 26. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.164; 27. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.206; 28. Matt Thompson, 26T, Thompson-12.250; 29. Todd Hobson, 44, Soudrette-12.271; 30. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-12.346; 31. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.368; 32. Lee Dakus, 21x, Dakus-12.485; 33. Frankie Guerrini, 04, Burton-12.510; 34. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-NT (Time of 12.110 disallowed due to missing the scales).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Geoff Ensign, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Weston Gorham, 7. Rylan Gray, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Todd Hobson. 2:03.763

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Anton Hernandez, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Saban Bibent, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Trey Osborne. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Hunter Maddox. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Brayden Fox, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Matt Thompson, 8. Lee Dakus. 2:07.299

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Gabriel Gilbert, 4. Rylan Gray, 5. Weston Gorham, 6. Saban Bibent, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Frankie Guerrini, 10. Lee Dakus, 11. Hunter Maddox, 12. Matt Thompson, 13. Braxton Cummings, 14. Todd Hobson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (3), 2. Daison Pursley (23), 3. C.J. Leary (7), 4. Ricky Lewis (2), 5. Shane Cottle (4), 6. Jake Swanson (9), 7. Brady Bacon (20), 8. Kyle Cummins (14), 9. Justin Grant (12), 10. Matt Westfall (17), 11. Robert Ballou (8), 12. Brayden Fox (1), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (22), 14. Chase Stockon (19), 15. Harley Burns (15), 16. Anton Hernandez (13), 17. Mitchel Moles (18), 18. Carson Garrett (11), 19. Rylan Gray (16), 20. Joey Amantea (24), 21. Gabriel Gilbert (10), 22. Geoff Ensign (6), 23. Chance Crum (21), 24. Jadon Rogers (5). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Brayden Fox, Laps 2-30 Logan Seavey.

**Hunter Maddox, Todd Hobson & Matt Thompson flipped during the semi. Jadon Rogers flipped on lap 1 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-743, 2-C.J. Leary-672, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-643, 4-Justin Grant-586, 5-Daison Pursley-574, 6-Kyle Cummins-540, 7-Brady Bacon-525, 8-Robert Ballou-503, 9-Chase Stockon-501, 10-Mitchel Moles-498.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-47, 2-C.J. Leary-40, 3-Joey Amantea-38, 4-Tye Mihocko-32, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-30, 6-Brady Bacon-30, 7-Daison Pursley-30, 8-Jadon Rogers-29, 9-Mitchel Moles-29, 10-Matt Westfall-29.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 11, 2024 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – Spring Showdown – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (11.688)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Geoff Ensign (11.496)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Garrett

Hard Charger: Daison Pursley (23rd to 2nd)

IT’S GONNA BE A SHOWDOWN!

USAC SPRINTS TAKE ON TRI-STATE SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (May 9, 2024)………Ring the bell! The Class (Track) is in session.

The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship shoots southbound to Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway for the Spring Showdown this Saturday night, May 11.

Defending Spring Showdown winner Justin Grant leads a stellar field into the event in which he swept from start to finish one year ago. He’ll be joined by the only two-time Spring Showdown victor, Kevin Thomas Jr., as well as past “Showdown” winners Brady Bacon, Chase Stockon, Kyle Cummins and many more vying for their piece of the prize.

Spring into the action with six storylines for Saturday!

SWEPT OFF YOUR FEET BY GRANT

Since USAC’s debut in 1956, there have been 115 sweeps in USAC National Sprint Car history. Only one has occurred at Tri-State Speedway. That was performed by Justin Grant during the Spring Showdown in 2023 when he set fast time, won his heat, then captured the feature victory by a car length over Kevin Thomas Jr.

The “sweeping” performance by Grant was the first of his career and was the first such performance on a 1/4-mile dirt track with the USAC National Sprint Cars since Kevin Thomas (no relation to Jr.) did the same 27 years ago in 1996 at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway. In the entirety of USAC’s 69-year history, there have only been three USAC Sprint Car sweeps on a 1/4-mile track with the first of its kind coming in 1995 at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway and orchestrated by Jack Hewitt.

Grant now owns two career USAC Sprint victories at Tri-State with the first coming during the summer of 2021. Now, he seemingly has the place figured out after heeding the advice of his late father-in-law Bubby Jones in terms of torsion bar selection, shock settings, and executing the feat in a chassis built to Ol Bub’s specifications. All of those aspects converged to help Grant become the most recent Spring Showdown victor.

THESE GO TO 11 FOR BACON

Four-time USAC National Sprint Car champion Brady Bacon’s most recent USAC National Sprint Car victory came right at Tri-State Speedway back in September of 2023 during the $20,000-to-win Haubstadt Hustler. This spring, he collected his second consecutive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car victory at Haubstadt.

Back in 2015, Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) scored his lone Spring Showdown triumph to date after blazing by both Tracy Hines and Kyle Cummins for the lead early in the opening laps, and from there, was never headed.

However, the 2024 USAC season hasn’t been as kind. In nine series starts, he has just four top-10 results and is mired back in seventh in the standings. It’s the furthest into a season he’s gone without a win in quite a while. Nonetheless, there is a certain numerology that indicates Tri-State might prove to be a breakthrough.

Over the previous 10 seasons, the longest Bacon has gone at the start of a USAC Sprint season without a win is 10 races. He won in his 11th start in both 2013 and 2017. This Saturday’s Tri-State event just so happens to be race number 11 of the 2024 campaign. Things that make you go hmmm.

7UP FOR KTJ & CUMMINS?

There’s been little separation when it comes to Kevin Thomas Jr. and Kyle Cummins at Tri-State Speedway, and the same goes for the stat chart. Both drivers are tied for the all-time lead in USAC National Sprint Car feature victories at Tri-State with six apiece and each will try to top each other for the record this Saturday night.

Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) is the lone two-time winner of the Spring Showdown, which began back in 2012. KTJ won the event in both 2013 and 2018, and in 2023, came home a close second to Grant at the checkered. Later in 2023, he scored another runner-up result in USAC competition at Tri-State, this time to Bacon. Thomas now drives for the winningest USAC Sprint team at Tri-State, which has won eight times with Hunter Schuerenberg (1), Daron Clayton (1) and Kyle Cummins (6).

Meanwhile, Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) has been synonymous with success at Tri-State, and he finally racked up his first victory in the Spring Showdown with a pass for the lead four laps from the finish line in 2021. One year ago, he was right in line behind Grant and Thomas as the third-place finisher in the Spring Showdown.

SALUTE YOUR SHORTS!

For the first time ever, Brady Short and Carson Short will be teammates. The unrelated Shorts will drive a pair of Randy Edwards owned cars this Saturday night at the Spring Showdown.

Both drivers own previous USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature wins at Tri-State. Brady won twice in 2015 while Carson captured his lone USAC victory thus far in 2016. However, a Spring Showdown victory is not a part of either driver’s resume yet. With that said, the Edwards No. 61m did win the Spring Showdown in 2020 with Stephen Schnapf as the driver.

It is worth noting that it’s not the first time the Shorts have worked together. Brady once served as Carson's crew chief when Carson drove the Chase Briscoe Racing No. 5 back in 2018.

Don’t sell them short. This is a pair to watch this Saturday night.

BECK KNOWS WHERE IT’S AT

Dustin Beck may be a relative unknown to many sprint car fans nationwide, but at Tri-State Speedway, he is a hot commodity. New to the sprint car world within the last couple of years, Beck (Petersburg, Ind.) was a hot shoe in a modified, and has won his share over the years at Tri-State.

Late in 2023, in a sprint car, he strung together a pair of third place finishes late in the season at Tri-State, then finished on the podium with a third-place result with USAC in last September’s Haubstadt Hustler.

Now he’s looking to become USAC’s first first-time National Sprint Car winner since Jadon Rogers at – you guessed it – Tri-State Speedway in September of 2022.

In 53 USAC Sprint Car appearances at Tri-State, there have been six drivers who notched their first USAC win at the track: Daron Clayton (2006), Hunter Schuerenberg (2008), Blake Fitzpatrick (2010), Carson Short (2016), Stephen Schnapf (2020) and Jadon Rogers (2022).

A DOABLE DOUBLE?

The Bloomington/Tri-State weekend has become a staple of the USAC National Sprint Car schedule over the past two decades. The two tracks have contested events on consecutive nights on 20 occasions dating back to 2006. In that time frame, no driver has swept both events in the same weekend.

Fourteen drivers have triumphed at both tracks in their USAC Sprint careers: Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Cory Kruseman, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brady Short, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr., Chris Windom and J.J. Yeley.

Furthermore, only three individuals have won at both tracks within the same season: J.J. Yeley (2003), Kevin Thomas Jr. twice (2017 & 2021) and Dave Darland (2018). Only one of those won at each place within the same week (Yeley), but none have done so within the confines of the same weekend.

Four more in this Saturday’s field have won a USAC Sprint Car race at Tri-State, but a win has eluded them thus far at Bloomington. Among that group are Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), reigning series champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) and Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.). Conversely, C.J. Leary has won twice with USAC at Bloomington, but a Tri- State victory has not been in the cards to this point. They all aim to change that stat this Saturday night.

RACE DETAILS

Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana will host the 11th running of the Spring Showdown this Saturday night, May 11, at its 1/4-mile, high-banked dirt oval, and culminates with a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature event.

The Spring Showdown features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship plus the Midwest Mini Sprint Association.

Pits open at 3pm Central, grandstands at 4:30pm, drivers meeting at 5:15pm and cars get on track at 6pm followed immediately by qualifying and racing.

Adult general admission tickets are $30, students (ages 13-18) are $20 and children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35 (all ages).

If you’re unable to make it to the track, you may also watch this Saturday’s event LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac

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

SPRING SHOWDOWN USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS

2-Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Brady Bacon, Daron Clayton, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, Stephen Schnapf, Hunter Schuerenberg, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom

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

SPRING SHOWDOWN USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS

2012: Hunter Schuerenberg (5/12)

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (5/11)

2014: Daron Clayton (4/26)

2015: Brady Bacon (4/18)

2016: Chase Stockon (4/16)

2017: Chris Windom (4/15)

2018: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/28)

2019: Rained Out

2020: Stephen Schnapf (6/14)

2021: Kyle Cummins (4/17)

2022: Rained Out

2023: Justin Grant (4/15)

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

TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS

6-Kyle Cummins & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Daron Clayton

4-Cory Kruseman

3-Rick Hood

2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brady Short, Jon Stanbrough & Chase Stockon

1-Steve Butler, Dave Darland, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Blake Fitzpatrick, Damion Gardner, Tracy Hines, Kenny Jacobs, Levi Jones, Casey Riggs, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley

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

TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS

1983: Rick Hood (9/4)

1984: Steve Butler (5/28) & Rick Hood (9/2)

1988: Kenny Jacobs (8/7)

1989: Rick Hood (6/3)

2000: Cory Kruseman (7/30)

2001: Tony Elliott (5/13) & Jay Drake (7/22)

2002: Tracy Hines (5/19) & Cory Kruseman (7/21)

2003: J.J. Yeley (7/20)

2004: Cory Kruseman (7/18)

2005: Cory Kruseman (7/17)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (7/15) & Daron Clayton (9/2)

2007: Daron Clayton (7/21)

2008: Hunter Schuerenberg (7/19)

2009: Levi Jones (7/18)

2010: Blake Fitzpatrick (7/17)

2011: Damion Gardner (7/16) & Casey Riggs (9/17)

2012: Hunter Schuerenberg (5/12), Jon Stanbrough (7/21) & Daron Clayton (9/15)

2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5/11) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9/14)

2014: Daron Clayton (4/26), Robert Ballou (7/19) & Daron Clayton (9/13)

2015: Brady Bacon (4/18), Brady Short (7/18) & Brady Short (9/19)

2016: Chase Stockon (4/16), Carson Short (7/16) & Kyle Cummins (9/17)

2017: Chris Windom (4/15), Kyle Cummins (7/15) & Kevin Thomas, Jr., (9/16)

2018: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4/28), Dave Darland (7/28) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9/15)

2019: Kyle Cummins (7/27) & Kyle Cummins (9/14)

2020: Stephen Schnapf (6/14), Kyle Cummins (8/2) & Chase Stockon (9/19)

2021: Kyle Cummins (4/17), Justin Grant (7/31) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/18)

2022: Robert Ballou (7/30) & Jadon Rogers (9/17)

2023: Justin Grant (4/15) & Brady Bacon (9/16)

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY

1 Lap - 7/30/2000 - Levi Jones - 12.644 - 71.180 mph

6 Laps - 7/17/2005 - Hud Cone - 1:20.59 - 67.006 mph

8 Laps - 7/15/2006 - Shane Hollingsworth - 1:49.6565.664 mph

10 Laps - 9/2/2006 - Dave Darland - 2:09.026 - 9.757 mph

12 Laps - 9/14/2013 - Chase Stockon - 2:42.02 - 66.658 mph

30 Laps - 7/18/2015 - Brady Short - 7:31.50 - 59.801 mph

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

PAST SPRING SHOWDOWN FEATURE RESULTS:

2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Hunter Schuerenberg, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Daron Clayton, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Brady Short, 7. Jeff Bland Jr., 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Kyle Cummins, 10. Wes McIntyre, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Damion Gardner, 13. Casey Shuman, 14. Casey Riggs, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Jonathan Hendrick, 17. Chase Briscoe, 18. Chet Williams, 19. Dakota Jackson, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Brandon Mattox, 22. Nic Faas, 23. Bobby East. 9:33.03

2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Brady Short, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Wes McIntyre, 8. Landon Simon, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Casey Shuman, 12. Kyle Cummins, 13. Tracy Hines, 14. Nick Drake, 15. Chase Briscoe, 16. Danny Holtsclaw, 17. Shane Cottle, 18. Dakota Jackson, 19. Josh Burton, 20. Daron Clayton, 21. Seth Parker, 22. C.J. Leary, 23. Tyler Courtney, 24. Bryan Clauson, 25. Jon Stanbrough. NT

2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Daron Clayton, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Brady Short, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. C.J. Leary, 9. Jarett Andretti, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Carson Short, 12. Kyle Cummins, 13. Robert Ballou, 14. Tracy Hines, 15. Thomas Meseraull, 16. Bradley Sterrett, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Shane Cockrum, 19. Jeff Bland Jr., 20. Brandon Mattox, 21. Kevin Thomas Jr., 22. Chris Windom. NT

2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Brady Short, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Carson Short, 11. Chase Briscoe, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Logan Jarrett, 15. Ted Hines, 16. Shane Cockrum, 17. Chet Williams, 18. Donnie Brackett, 19. Justin Grant, 20. James Lyerla, 21. Jeff Bland Jr., 22. Travis Hery. NT

2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Carson Short, 4. Chad Boespflug, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Brady Short, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. Kent Schmidt, 11. Dakota Jackson, 12. Justin Grant, 13. Landon Simon, 14. Dave Darland, 15. Aaron Farney, 16. James Lyerla, 17. Isaac Chapple, 18. Matt Goodnight, 19. Brandon Morin, 20. Kody Swanson, 21. Nevil Algieo, 22. Max McGhee. NT

2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Chad Boespflug, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Brady Short, 5. Carson Short, 6. Jarett Andretti, 7. Aaron Farney, 8. Max McGhee, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. C.J. Leary, 11. Chase Stockon, 12. Stevie Sussex, 13. Tyler Courtney, 14. Chet Williams, 15. Isaac Chapple, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Landon Simon, 18. Brandon Morin, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. Hunter Schuerenberg, 21. Clinton Boyles, 22. Aric Gentry, 23. Dakota Jackson, 24. Donny Brackett, 25. Josh Hodges. NT

2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 2. C.J. Leary (6), 3. Logan Seavey (7), 4. Dave Darland (4), 5. Justin Grant (2), 6. Chris Windom (10), 7. Robert Ballou (20), 8. Kody Swanson (1), 9. Carson Short (3), 10. Chase Stockon (14), 11. Joe Stornetta (19), 12. Tyler Courtney (15), 13. Brandon Mattox (21), 14. Brady Bacon (18), 15. Donny Brackett (9), 16. Stephen Schnapf (12), 17. Isaac Chapple (16), 18. Kyle Cummins (8), 19. Collin Ambrose (22), 20. Aric Gentry (13), 21. Brian Karraker (11), 22. Tyler Thomas (23), 23. Stevie Sussex (17). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Stephen Schnapf (1), 2. Robert Ballou (2), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 4. Carson Short (4), 5. Justin Grant (5), 6. Chris Windom (9), 7. Chase Stockon (11), 8. Brady Bacon (10), 9. Jadon Rogers (12), 10. Brady Short (21), 11. Donny Brackett (6), 12. C.J. Leary (7), 13. Brandon Mattox (16), 14. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 15. Kendall Ruble (13), 16. Max Adams (17), 17. Aric Gentry (20), 18. Kent Schmidt (24), 19. Dustin Clark (19), 20. Logan Seavey (23), 21. Dakota Jackson (8), 22. Kyle Cummins (3), 23. Anton Hernandez (22), 24. Jonathan Vennard (18), 25. Dave Darland (25), 26. Chayse Hayhurst (26). NT

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (11), 2. Jadon Rogers (5), 3. Chase Stockon (1), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Brady Bacon (8), 6. Robert Ballou (12), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 8. Tanner Thorson (13), 9. Kendall Ruble (19), 10. Chris Windom (4), 11. Jake Swanson (2), 12. Max Adams (15), 13. Critter Malone (14), 14. Kent Schmidt (3), 15. Paul Nienhiser (22), 16. C.J. Leary (16), 17. Cole Bodine (23) (P), 18. Carson Short (21), 19. Shane Cottle (17), 20. Chet Williams (18), 21. Nic Harris (20), 22. Brandon Mattox (10), 23. Aric Gentry (24) (P), 24. Stephen Schnapf (9). NT

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (6), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (7), 4. Jadon Rogers (4), 5. Brady Bacon (1), 6. Emerson Axsom (3), 7. Carson Garrett (16), 8. Brady Short (9), 9. Robert Ballou (8), 10. Chase Stockon (10), 11. C.J. Leary (11), 12. Daison Pursley (5), 13. Jake Swanson (12), 14. Logan Seavey (20), 15. J.J. Hughes (14), 16. Matt Westfall (18), 17. Mitchel Moles (17), 18. Donny Brackett (21), 19. Kendall Ruble (19), 20. Dustin Beck (13), 21. Aric Gentry (15), 22. Sam Scott (24-P), 23. Kurt Gross (22), 24. Brandon Mattox (23-P). NT

B-TOWN BOUND!

STORYLINES FOR FRIDAY’S

USAC LARRY RICE CLASSIC AT BLOOMINGTON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bloomington, Indiana (May 9, 2024)……….There’s nothing quite like southern Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway in the springtime.

One of the most scenic venues on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship slate, the 1/4-mile oval remains serene and peaceful until Friday night when the switch is flipped, the red clay is slung onto the hillside, and suddenly, all is right with the world.

The annual edition of the Larry Rice Classic has been an early season USAC staple dating back to 2011, although the Larry Rice Classic itself has roots that date back to 1993. This year, however, the event’s traditional mid-April date has migrated to mid-May.

Yet the song remains the same for round 10 of the season this Friday night, May 10, and the goal of winning at one of the longest continually operating racetracks in the world remains ever-present. It’s been that way since the joint opened back in 1923.

Here are a handful of storylines to keep your mind occupied with entering Friday’s event.

LEARY CONSTRUCTING A CHAMPIONSHIP RESUME

Don’t look now, but C.J. Leary is having an exceptional start to his 2024 USAC National Sprint Car season.

Throughout his first nine appearances, he holds an average finish of 5.3 and his resume consists of a win, seven top-fives and nine top-tens. In that span, the only aberration came last Friday at Eldora when he had mechanical difficulties with his primary BGE-Dougherty Motorsports ride and had to jump into a backup car. Starting at the tail of the feature field in 24th, he still managed to move up eight spots to 16th.

Best of all for Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), this Friday’s spring race at Bloomington is the very same event in which he won a year ago when he paced all 30 laps. Overall, he has hoisted the winning trophy twice after USAC Sprint Car events at Bloomington in the summer of 2018 and in the spring of 2023. Furthermore, Leary’s one-lap track record of 10.685 seconds, set in 2019, is the one everyone’s been chasing for the past five seasons.

KTJ TRYING TO ADD ANOTHER BANNER IN BLOOMINGTON

Kevin Thomas Jr.’s new home with Rock Steady Racing has been just that – “Rock Steady.” The first-year pairing of veteran team and driver has resulted in them being the only ones in the series to rack up a top-10 finish in all nine of their starts thus far, including a victory at Lawrenceburg in April.

Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) stands second in USAC points entering Bloomington on Friday and could tie a long-standing record as the winningest driver in USAC Sprint Car history at Bloomington Speedway. His four wins are one shy of Bryan Clauson’s record of five between 2009 and 2016.

Not to mention, KTJ is among the three springtime Bloomington USAC winners expected in this Friday’s field, having won in 2021 with a pass on Brady Bacon with only three laps remaining. Bloomington’s red clay is also where Thomas won his first career USAC feature in the summer of 2012.

GRANT ONE AWAY FROM 50

The talk of the town of the past weekend was Justin Grant, not only for his victory on Saturday night at Eldora, but also for his celebratory exploits that saw him get into the wall and upside down on his cool down lap.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) has already won four USAC National Sprint Car features in his first nine starts of 2024. That's the most since Damion Gardner in 2010. The last time a driver won five of the first 10 was Larry Dickson in 1970. Oddly, Grant stands fourth in points due to a three-race stretch in which he finished 20th, 22nd and 22nd.

The next victory for Grant would be a milestone as he currently possesses 49 career USAC National Sprint Car wins, one shy of becoming the fourth driver to reach 50-plus along with Dave Darland (62), Brady Bacon (53) and Tom Bigelow (52).

BURNS-O-MATIC

Harley Burns (Brazil, Ind.) has been automatic at Bloomington Speedway thus far in 2024, winning both sprint car races on the docket in April and May. The 2023 Bloomington sprint car track champion grabbed a 19th place result in his lone spring USAC start to date and is among a number of local Indiana up-and-comers looking to make some noise this Friday night in USAC competition.

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) ran second to Burns at Bloomington a week ago ahead of Brayden Fox (Bloomington Ind.) in third, a driver who’s already earned two fast qualifying times in his young career with USAC. Rylan Gray (Greenfield, Ind.) took third at Bloomington in April while Hunter Maddox (Bloomington, Ind.) scored a fourth that same night. Maddox currently ranks as the top USAC National Sprint Car Rookie in points.

Meanwhile, Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) and Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) and 2022 Bloomington track titlist Geoff Ensign (Sebastopol, Calif.) are among the west coast to Midwest transplants who have had success in B-Town and aim to translate that to USAC success come Friday night.

YES, IT’S EARLY, BUT HERE’S THE POINT

Over the past two-race weekend, three drivers managed to bump themselves up in the USAC National Sprint Car point standings.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), a 2022 USAC winner at Bloomington, jumped up from eighth to sixth by virtue of his narrow runner-up result at Eldora. Kevin Thomas Jr. rose from third to second while Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) elevated from ninth to eighth.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) continues to dominate the standings after garnering eight podium finishes in nine starts. His point lead has blossomed to 62, the largest such lead through nine series events since Justin Grant’s 70-point advantage in 2020.

Thomas (602) and Leary (600) are separated by just two points in the tussle for second. Grant sits fourth with Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) a solid fifth at the moment. Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Moles, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) all occupy spots six through 10 with just 30 points of separation between them.

HONORING LARRY RICE

Friday night’s event at Bloomington also marks the 31st anniversary of the inaugural Larry Rice Classic. The race originated as a USAC National Midget event in 1993 at Bloomington and was won by Tony Elliott behind the wheel of Ralph Potter’s V-6 powered machine.

Rice was one of USAC’s finest ambassadors, claiming National Championships in the Silver Crown (1977 & 1981) and Midget series (1973). A 1993 inductee into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, Rice won 15 USAC National Midget features in addition to five Silver Crown and three Sprint features.

After a stint as a school teacher, he worked his way to the pinnacle of auto racing, and in 1978, shared the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors with Rick Mears after his 11th place finish. He eventually became the color analyst for ESPN’s Thursday & Saturday Night Thunder program which featured USAC racing events. He also worked for K & K Insurance, specializing in motorsports insurance. His major victories included the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, the Hut Hundred Midget race at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and the 1981 Hoosier Hundred Silver Crown race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Rice passed away in 2009 after a bout of cancer.

RACE DETAILS

The 45th USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in the history of Bloomington Speedway will take place on Friday night, May 10, culminating with a $5,000-to-win, 30-lap feature.

The Larry Rice Classic features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship along with the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars and Hornets.

Pits open at 4pm Eastern with the grandstands opening at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm & cars on track at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing to immediately follow.

General admission tickets are $30 for ages 11 and up. GA tickets for ages 10 and under are free. Pit passes are $40 for ages 11 and up. Pit passes are $15 for ages 10 and under.

If you’re unable to make it to the track, you may also watch this Friday’s Bloomington event LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-664, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-602, 3-C.J. Leary-600, 4-Justin Grant-533, 5-Daison Pursley-502, 6-Kyle Cummins-484, 7-Brady Bacon-468, 8-Mitchel Moles-462, 9-Chase Stockon-460, 10-Robert Ballou-454.

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

SPRING USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY:

2-Bryan Clauson & Dave Darland

1-Brady Bacon, Chad Boespflug, Bobby East, Jack Hewitt, C.J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom

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

SPRING USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY:

1986: Jack Hewitt (5/2)

2011: Chris Windom (5/20)

2012: Bobby East (5/18)

2013: Dave Darland (5/17)

2015: Bryan Clauson (4/17)

2016: Bryan Clauson (4/15)

2017: Chad Boespflug (4/14)

2018: Dave Darland (4/27)

2019: Brady Bacon (4/12)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/16)

2022: Rained Out

2023: C.J. Leary (4/14)

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY:

5-Bryan Clauson

4-Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Dave Darland

2-Brady Bacon, Kevin Briscoe, Tony Elliott, C.J. Leary & Chris Windom

1-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Chad Boespflug, Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins, Jay Drake, Bobby East, Brad Fox, Jack Hewitt, Tracy Hines Rick Hood, Bob Kinser, Cory Kruseman, Sheldon Kinser, Larry Martin, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brady Short, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas, Rich Vogler & J.J. Yeley

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

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY:

1982: Rich Vogler (9/11)

1983: Larry Martin (9/10)

1984: Sheldon Kinser (7/27)

1985: Rick Hood (6/28) & Bob Kinser (8/23)

1986: Jack Hewitt (5/2)

1996: Kevin Thomas (7/26)

1997: Brad Fox (7/25)

1998: Tony Elliott (7/24)

1999: Cory Kruseman (7/23) & Tony Elliott (8/27)

2000: Jay Drake (7/21)

2001: A.J. Anderson (7/27)

2002: Kevin Briscoe (7/26)

2003: J.J. Yeley (7/25)

2004: Kevin Briscoe (7/23)

2005: Tracy Hines (7/15)

2006: Brady Short (7/14)

2007: Dave Darland (7/20)

2008: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/18)

2009: Bryan Clauson (7/17)

2010: Jon Stanbrough (7/16)

2011: Chris Windom (5/20) & Hunter Schuerenberg (7/15)

2012: Bobby East (5/18) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/20)

2013: Dave Darland (5/17) & Bryan Clauson (7/19)

2014: Bryan Clauson (7/18)

2015: Bryan Clauson (4/17)

2016: Bryan Clauson (4/15) & Brent Beauchamp (7/15)

2017: Chad Boespflug (4/14) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/14)

2018: Dave Darland (4/27) & C.J. Leary (7/27)

2019: Brady Bacon (4/12) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/26)

2020: Chris Windom (9/11)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/16) & Brady Bacon (7/30)

2022: Kyle Cummins (7/29)

2023: C.J. Leary (4/14) & Emerson Axsom (7/28)

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

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY

1 Lap - 4/12/2019 - C.J. Leary - 10.685 - 84.230 mph

6 Laps - 7/25/2003 - Kent Christian - 1:13.96 - 73.012 mph

8 Laps - 7/18/2008 - Jesse Cramer - 1:36.63 - 74.511 mph

10 Laps - 4/14/2017 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 1:51.72 - 80.559 mph

12 Laps - 4/14/2017 - Chase Stockon - 2:20.84 - 76.683 mph

30 Laps - 4/12/2019 - Brady Bacon - 6:47.18 - 66.310 mph

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

PAST SPRINGTIME BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR RESULTS:

1986 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Randy Kinser, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Warren Mockler, 5. Rick Hood, 6. Bob Kinser, 7. Andy Stapp, 8. Jac Haudenschild, 9. Craig Keel, 10. Tony Elliott, 11. Alan Brown, 12. Stevie Reeves, 13. Dick Colburn, 14. Mark Owsley, 15. Sheldon Kinser, 16. Bobby Adkins, 17. Kelly Kinser, 18. Kevin Huntley, 19. Charlie Swartz, 20. Rich Vogler. NT

2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Danny Holtsclaw, 7. Bobby East, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Keith Bloom Jr., 10. Jon Sciscoe, 11. Blake Fitzpatrick, 12. Brady Short, 13. Casey Riggs, 14. Bub Cummings, 15. Robert Ballou, 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Bryan Clauson, 19. Casey Shuman, 20. Daron Clayton, 21. Chris Babcock, 22. Brady Bacon. NT

2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bobby East, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 9. Josh Burton, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. Casey Shuman, 12. Chris Windom, 13. Damion Gardner, 14. Dave Darland, 15. Robert Ballou, 16. Jonathan Hendrick, 17. Chase Briscoe, 18. Coleman Gulick, 19. Hunter Schuerenberg, 20. Brent Beauchamp, 21. Brady Short, 22. Darren Hagen, 23. Bud Kaeding, 24. Jeff Bland, Jr. NT

2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Kevin Thomas, 3. Brady Short, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 10. Matt Westfall, 11. C.J. Leary, 12. Tracy Hines, 13. Chris Windom, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Jordan Kinser, 16. Casey Shuman, 17. Tyler Courtney, 18. Nick Drake, 19. Chase Briscoe, 20. Bobby East, 21. Dakota Jackson, 22. Landon Simon, 23. Danny Holtsclaw. NT

2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Carson Short, 7. Brady Short, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Logan Jarrett, 15. Justin Grant, 16. Chase Briscoe, 17. Kyle Cummins, 18. Landon Simon, 19. Jarett Andretti, 20. Jerry Coons Jr., 21. Max McGhee, 22. Aaron Farney, 23. Ted Hines, 24. Shane Cockrum, 25. Brandon Morin. NT

2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Hunter Schuerenberg, 8. Jarett Andretti, 9. Brady Short, 10. Max McGhee, 11. Carson Short, 12. Kody Swanson, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Chad Boespflug, 15. Justin Grant, 16. Jon Stanbrough, 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 18. Kyle Cummins, 19. Aaron Farney, 20. C.J. Leary, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Brandon Mattox, 23. Jeff Bland Jr., 24. Brent Beauchamp. NT

2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chad Boespflug, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Brady Short, 7. Jeff Bland Jr., 8. Kyle Cummins, 9. Brent Beauchamp, 10. Nick Bilbee, 11. Tyler Thomas, 12. Josh Hodges, 13. C.J. Leary, 14. Shane Cottle, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Tyler Courtney, 17. Jon Stanbrough, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Isaac Chapple, 20. Max McGhee, 21. Clinton Boyles, 22. Landon Simon, 23. Jerry Coons Jr., 24. Hunter Schuerenberg. NT

2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (2), 2. Chris Windom (4), 3. Logan Seavey (15), 4. Chad Boespflug (3), 5. C.J. Leary (5), 6. Jeff Bland Jr. (8), 7. Chase Stockon (1), 8. Brady Bacon (13), 9. Joe Stornetta (10), 10. Tyler Courtney (12), 11. Justin Grant (14), 12. Tyler Thomas (7), 13. Jordan Kinser (11), 14. Kyle Cummins (17), 15. Nick Bilbee (18), 16. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 17. Robert Ballou (16), 18. Isaac Chapple (19), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (21), 20. Lee Underwood (22), 21. Stevie Sussex (9), 22. Kody Swanson (23), 23. Dakota Jackson (20). NT

2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2), 3. Jason McDougal (4), 4. Tyler Courtney (9), 5. C.J. Leary (6), 6. Justin Grant (3), 7. Chad Boespflug (5), 8. Chase Stockon (7), 9. Chris Windom (12), 10. Robert Ballou (13), 11. Jordan Kinser (11), 12. Josh Hodges (8), 13. Dakota Jackson (15), 14. Carson Short (16), 15. Dave Darland (20), 16. Isaac Chapple (17), 17. Stephen Schnapf (10), 18. Joe Stornetta (19), 19. Lee Underwood (14), 20. T.J. Artz (21), 21. Dustin Christie (18), 22. Zach Daum (22). 6:47.18 (New Track Record)

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 2. Brady Bacon (5), 3. Kyle Cummins (7), 4. Shane Cottle (1), 5. Chris Windom (4), 6. Tanner Thorson (11), 7. C.J. Leary (9), 8. Justin Grant (6), 9. Scotty Weir (16), 10. Robert Ballou (20), 11. Jake Swanson (13), 12. Dave Darland (15), 13. Carson Garrett (8), 14. Mario Clouser (10), 15. Tye Mihocko (22), 16. Paul Nienhiser (3), 17. Carson Short (17), 18. Max Adams (12), 19. Cole Bodine (19), 20. Brayden Fox (14), 21. Matt Westfall (23) (P), 22. A.J. Hopkins (21), 23. Sterling Cling (24) (P), 24. Ricky Lewis (18). NT

2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (2), 2. Jake Swanson (3), 3. Logan Seavey (1), 4. Justin Grant (9), 5. Emerson Axsom (11), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 7. Chase Stockon (5), 8. Robert Ballou (8), 9. Mitchel Moles (6), 10. Matt Westfall (17), 11. Daison Pursley (13), 12. Jordan Kinser (20), 13. Brent Beauchamp (15), 14. Jadon Rogers (22), 15. Geoff Ensign (7), 16. Sterling Cling (19), 17. Carson Garrett (23-P), 18. Brady Bacon (4), 19. Harley Burns (21), 20. Kyle Cummins (14), 21. Dalton Stevens (12), 22. Brady Short (16), 23. Tim Creech (18). NT

RACING IN WORD & IMAGE EVENT

SET FOR MAY 9 AT USAC HEADQUARTERS

Speedway, Indiana (May 7, 2024)………Racing in Word & Image, a RaceAid benefit showcasing many of the greatest authors and photographers in motorsports, will be held at USAC headquarters on Thursday, May 9.

The doors open at 5:30pm Eastern at the United States Auto Club building, located at 4910 W 16th St. in Speedway, Indiana.

Photographers showcasing their work at the event include the likes of John Mahoney, Joe DeFabis, Randy Jones, David Nearpass, Bob Mays, Rich Forman, Steve Baker, Cameron Neveu, Steve Lafond and more.

Several tables will also be devoted to vintage racing books from John Mahoney, Bob Mays, Bones Bourcier, Dave Argabright, Lee Anne Patterson, Rick Shaffer, Mark Montieth & more, just to name a few.

As part of the fundraiser, books and photos can be purchased via a live auction, plus there will be interviews, drinks, pizza and snacks at the event emceed by Pat Sullivan.

A special thanks to Marc Dailey Racing and First Gear Engineering and Technology for their support along with Marie Hall, SprintCarStats and former racer/official Jack Calabrase.

Admission to the one night only event is free, although a donation to RaceAid is highly encouraged. Since 1959, the United States Auto Club Benevolent Foundation (now USAC RaceAid) has provided financial aid to the families of auto racing participants with ties to USAC who have been injured and/or need assistance.

USAC RACEAID also provides support to surviving family members with immediate and ongoing expenses. Over the years, the foundation has provided millions of dollars to help members and their families in times of need. The needs, whether small or large, never cease.

SUNDAY SWEEP!

KODY SWANSON SCORES 3RD STRAIGHT USAC RICH VOGLER CLASSIC AT WINCHESTER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Winchester, Indiana (May 5, 2024)………In his younger days, Kody Swanson was so inspired by the path Ryan Newman took on his way to racing stardom, that in some respects, Kody followed in his footsteps, and that even extended to his education off the racetrack.

Now firmly entrenched as the most successful USAC Silver Crown competitor of all-time, Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has followed in Newman’s path on the racetrack as well, and like Newman, has become a dominator of the hallowed 37-degree banks of Indiana’s Winchester Speedway.

On Sunday afternoon, Swanson swept the entire program during the 33rd running of the Rich Vogler Classic, establishing the fastest time in practice, then capturing the pole in qualifying before leading all 100 laps around the half-mile paved oval in his Doran-Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Wilke Orthodontics – Glenn Farms/Beast/Lanci Ford en route to his third consecutive Winchester USAC Silver Crown victory after scoring the previous two editions in 2022 and 2023.

That brings in the connection with Newman who, before Swanson on Sunday, was the most recent driver to score three-straight USAC wins at Winchester, achieving the feat entirely within the 1999 season by collecting a sprint car win followed by two additional triumphs in the midgets. In 2000, Newman also swept both the sprint car and midget portion of the Vogler Classic at Winchester, which was sanctioned by NAMARS during that particular year.

“That’s really special because I remember how good Ryan was and how strong he was here,” Swanson said. “When I was growing up and getting into racing, I took a year of mechanical engineering because Ryan Newman did. He made his career by winning big races. He won on the high banks; he had a degree and he understood how to communicate with crew chiefs. I wanted to try and do that to see if I could make it very far. I sure am thankful that I have made it all the way to USAC, especially the Silver Crown division.”

Swanson’s fifth career Vogler Classic triumph (2016-19-22-23-24) spans across two venues – Indianapolis Raceway Park and Winchester – and now has him just one shy of Tracy Hines’ all-time win record of six in the event, which was set between 1996 and 2013. Furthermore, Swanson has jetted out to victories in the opening two races of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season following his win in April’s opener at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway. It’s the third occasion in which he’s won the opening two rounds of the series (2015-19-24), and the previous two resulted in series championships.

Gridded alongside first time Silver Crown front row starter Dakoda Armstrong, Swanson gained the upper hand right from the start, establishing a healthy full second lead before the first stoppage on lap 16 as 12th running Travis Welpott made heavy contact against the outside wall in turns three and four before grinding to a halt with extensive damage on the right front of his familiar orange and white machine. Welpott, a middle school teacher and wrestling coach by day, walked away from the incident.

Throughout the first half of the contest, Armstrong kept Swanson relatively in check as he held steady in the second spot, far and away his best performance thus far with the series. In the back of Swanson’s mind was the notion that he wasn’t yet seeing the full scope of what his competition had to offer, and that they might be saving their equipment for a final push in the latter stages.

“These races are hard because not everybody shows their hand all the time,” Swanson explained. “Part of that is trying to figure out where you really stand. Bobby Santos comes through the field and he’s so good at it. C.J. came with him and Dakoda was really strong too. There are a bunch of good cars in this series, so you’re never really know until the end.”

One of those drivers who may have had something for him down the stretch was Armstrong. However, on lap 58, shortly after the yellow was displayed for the stalled car of 13th running Kyle Steffens, heartbreak befell Armstrong who was summoned to the pits by his fellow competitors and race officials who were signaling to him that his left rear wheel nut had come off. Remarkably, the wheel stayed on, and he was able to drive it back to the pits. But after surrendering the second spot, he returned to finish a disappointing 14th.

With Armstrong’s absence, Santos moved up to second while C.J. Leary slotted into third. Meanwhile, Swanson dropped the hammer and pulled out to a 2.865 second lead over Santos, and soon enough, that fact was carved into stone. In the end, Swanson merely had to navigate smoothly under and around a smidge of lapped traffic, which proved to be of no resistance as Swanson crossed under chief starter Jake Croxton’s checkered flag 5.554 seconds ahead of the field.

Bobby Santos took second in the final running order ahead of C.J. Leary while 2021 Vogler Classic winner Justin Grant made one last ditch effort around the outside of Taylor Ferns off the final turn to swipe the fourth spot just in the nick of time while Ferns rounded out the top-five.

As for Swanson, winning the Vogler Classic is always special, and this one in particular was special in its own way.

“The Rich Vogler Classic sure means an awful lot to me,” Swanson stated. “It means even more if you can see the FloRacing documentary and see all the little details about him. I hate that Eleanor (Rich Vogler’s mother) couldn’t be here but I’m glad to know she’s checking in on us. Plus, my grandfather turned 88 on Friday and he’s always been a good luck charm for me on his birthday weekend. It's a special weekend.”

In three of his four career USAC Silver Crown starts at Winchester, Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) has stood on the podium as one of the top-three finishers. A third in 2021 was followed by a second in 2023 and yet another second on Sunday in his DJ Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson Race Products/Beast/Speedway Chevy.

“We’ve just got to get our car a little bit better here,” Santos noted. “We’re close but we’ve just got to keep working on it. C.J. raced me clean there and they were probably a little better than we were at the end, and I was probably holding them up a little bit.”

After consecutive fourth place finishes in his first two Winchester Silver Crown starts in 2022-23, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) set a new benchmark on Sunday with a third-place result in his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Penske – Hoosier Tire/Beast/Ford. It’s a fine start to his Silver Crown season as he recorded his second consecutive third-place result after finishing in the same spot at Toledo two weeks earlier.

“I had a spirited battle there with Bobby and I think we might’ve been a little bit better, but I just got sloppy at the end,” Leary admitted. “We were struggling on the restart and had a little bit of a stumble. It took me three or four laps to run him back down and get our tires hot. I was just going for it there at the end but didn’t get it done.”

Each successive Silver Crown start seemingly results in another record extending performance. Sunday marked his 49th career pole position with the series while his victory was his 42nd, both head and shoulders above the fray in the record books.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 5, 2024 – Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – 33rd Rich Vogler Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-14.665; 2. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-14.958; 3. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-15.000; 4. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-15.009; 5. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-15.070; 6. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-15.133; 7. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-15.205; 8. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-15.235; 9. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-15.304; 10. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-15.365; 11. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-15.390; 12. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-15.442; 13. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-15.449; 14. Davey Hamilton Jr., 19, Legacy/Wilson-15.489; 15. Jackson Macenko, 124, Hayes/Bohanon-15.597; 16. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-15.695; 17. Tyler Roahrig, 41, Newman-15.825; 18. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-15.870; 19. Nathan Byrd, 40, Legacy/Wilson-16.349; 20. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-16.730; 21. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-17.696; 22. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-17.909.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (5), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Taylor Ferns (3), 6. Logan Seavey (4), 7. Davey Hamilton Jr. (14), 8. Kyle Robbins (12), 9. Trey Osborne (16), 10. Jackson Macenko (15), 11. Nathan Byrd (19), 12. Kaylee Bryson (11), 13. Gregg Cory (20), 14. Dakoda Armstrong (2), 15. Kyle Steffens (18), 16. Derek Bischak (8), 17. Mario Clouser (10), 18. Trey Burke (9), 19. Travis Welpott (13), 20. Dave Berkheimer (21), 21. Nathan Moore (22), 22. Tyler Roahrig (17). 36:25.647

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Kody Swanson.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-152, 2-C.J. Leary-131, 3-Bobby Santos-125, 4-Justin Grant-122, 5-Taylor Ferns-107, 6-Logan Seavey-107, 7-Davey Hamilton Jr.-95, 8-Tyler Roahrig-85, 9-Mario Clouser-84, 10-Kaylee Bryson-80.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-47, 2-C.J. Leary-36, 3-Joey Amantea-34, 4-Tye Mihocko-32, 5-Jadon Rogers-29, 6-Mitchel Moles-28, 7-Alex Bright-27, 8-Logan Seavey-23, 9-Kyle Cummins-23, 10-Matt Westfall-22.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 17-18, 2024 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (14.729)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (14.665)

Hard Charger: Nathan Byrd (19th to 11th)

CHECKERS & WRECKERS:

GRANT WINS IT, THEN WEARS IT

WITH USAC SPRINTS AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (May 4, 2024)………The jubilation following a hard-fought victory is one of the most satisfying experiences in all of sport.

However, the celebration displayed by Justin Grant in the immediate moments after his USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship score on Saturday night at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway was certainly one that won’t soon be forgotten.

It seems oddly fitting that it came directly after an unforgettable 30-lap feature in which Grant (Ione, Calif.) threw everything – the kitchen sink and a bag of chips – at leader Logan Seavey down the stretch of the #LetsRaceTwo finale before prevailing with a turn one slider just three laps from the finish line.

After crossing the finish line 1.397 seconds ahead of Seavey to pocket the $10,000 prize, Grant proceeded with a cool down lap on the half-mile dirt oval, then a subsequent victory lap which seemed positively routine…until it wasn’t. Appearing to be winding up his car for a series of donuts, Grant stood on the gas and slapped his right rear tire against the turn three outside wall, sending him for a ride consisting of 2.5 tumbles.

Ironically, it was in this very same event one year ago in which Grant flipped in the identically same spot while battling for the lead. That one cost him a chance at victory. This one only cost him the chance to pull into victory lane under his own power aboard the TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

“I was awfully, awfully excited at the end of that one, obviously,” Grant acknowledged after being towed to victory lane. “What an idiot. I feel like a moron. I just got too excited, jumped the wall and turned that thing over. I feel like an idiot. Hopefully (my crew) won’t be too mad at me. (Car owner) Kevin Birchmeier has put up with a lot of BS out of me over the years so, hopefully, we’ll weather that one. But I know he’s excited we won.”

Grant needn’t beat himself up too much. Grant’s victory was already his fourth of the USAC National Sprint Car season in just nine starts. He’s the first driver to accomplish that feat since Damion Gardner in 2010. Furthermore, the victory was a nice sigh of a relief after his past three series starts netted finishes of 20th, 22nd and 22nd.

Likewise, his 49th career USAC National Sprint Car victory placed him just one tally shy of becoming the fourth driver to reach the 50-win mark, and he achieved this one in round two of the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment, the 10-race slate named in honor of his late father-in-law.

“It was really, really, really a fun race,” Grant stated. “Logan’s a really good racecar driver and he’s gotten rolling around this place really good. I feel like we were ‘gloves off,’ giving each other everything we had with every trick we could come up with. I was running around this place harder than I’d ever run around it just trying to keep pace, let alone race him.”

Starting fifth, Grant got up on the horse and instantly went to work, swiping fourth on the opening lap and third on the second circuit. Meanwhile, pole starter Kevin Thomas Jr. dashed away to lead the opening six laps. Fourth starting Seavey was hustling too, and on lap seven, he ably slid Thomas for the lead in turn one. Grant followed suit a lap later in the same spot to grab second.

Seavey built up a 1.5 second lead nearing midway, but lapped traffic stifled his groove a bit, chopping his advantage nearly in half to eighth tenths. A yellow flag for a loose wheel cover lying in the middle of turn four completely erased Seavey’s interval, allowing Grant to be right on the back of his rear bumper for the lap 18 restart. Grant went on the attack, sliding Seavey for the top spot in turn three on the restart, but Seavey was able to counterpunch and drive back underneath Grant to retain the lead for the time being.

Grant wound his car up on the high side and got a run off turn four to pull even to the inside of Seavey at the start/finish line with 10 laps to go. As Seavey attempted to slide himself into turn one in order to prevent Grant’s own slider in turn one, the two drivers brushed wheels. On the very next go around, they did the very same thing, touching tires as Seavey dug in to keep Grant at bay.

A yellow flag for the slowing car of 21st running Paul Dues on the back straightaway gave everyone a chance to catch their breath with five laps remaining. But that was only a momentary cease from the madness as Grant fired a big shot in turn three on the lap 26 restart. As Grant slid up to surpass Seavey, it was a meeting of chrome as Grant’s rear bumper and Seavey’s front bumper locked horns, sending Grant bouncing his right rear tire off the wall. Simultaneously, Seavey turned down and was able to stave off Grant by three-quarters of a car length at the stripe.

Never straying more than an arm’s length from Seavey, Grant’s deciding move came with three to go as his turn one slide job stuck and Seavey’s response back underneath only drew even with Grant on exit. Up top, Grant had the downhill momentum on his side and promptly drove away from Seavey from there on out. Brady Bacon wound up third with Kevin Thomas Jr. fourth and Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier C.J. Leary rounding out the top-five.

One night after seeing his series record streak of seven top-three finishes to start a season conclude with a flat tire and an 11th place result, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) returned to form on Saturday night in his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy. Seavey scored his best career #LetsRaceTwo finish of second after leading a race high 21 laps and keeping himself up at the top of the standings in both the USAC National Sprint Car points as well as the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster championship.

“What a freaking race,” Seavey exclaimed. “This place is so cool. This is one of my favorite racetracks in the world to come to and that’s what it’s about. Last night was not fun for me, but to come here and run the curb right up against the wall like that is as cool as it gets. It showed there that Justin is going to run hard and do whatever he can do to win, and I made the wrong decision there to cross him over. I thought I could drive around it. There aren’t very many Justin Grant sliders you can drive around. That’s not saying anything bad about him. It’s just knowing who you’re racing with, and I made the wrong decision. He won and I lost. That’s how they go, and we’ll come back stronger.”

Similarly to Grant and Seavey, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) experienced a pleasant return to the podium in his Dynamics, Inc./Bazell Race Fuels – Davis Brothers Trucking – Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy. Bacon started seventh and finished third on Saturday, one night after a flat tire dropped him to a disappointing 19th place result.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 4, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – #LetsRaceTwo – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-15.286; 2. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-15.480; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.506; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-15.518; 5. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-15.571; 6. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.607; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-15.643; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-15.656; 9. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-15.754; 10. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.770; 11. Max Adams, 63, F & F-15.785; 12. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-15.801; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.807; 14. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-15.823; 15. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-15.864; 16. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.896; 17. Todd Hobson, 44, Soudrette-16.006; 18. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-16.076; 19. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-16.093; 20. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-16.097; 21. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-16.128; 22. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-16.152; 23. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-16.155; 24. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-16.275; 25. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-16.392; 26. Bryce Dues, 23D, Dues-16.783; 27. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Hunter Maddox, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. Chance Crum, 9. C.J. Leary. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Max Adams, 6. Saban Bibent, 7. Paul Dues, 8. Bryce Dues, 9. Todd Hobson. NT

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Korbyn Hayslett, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Ryan Barr. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Todd Hobson, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Chance Crum, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Korbyn Hayslett, 6. Paul Dues, 7. Ryan Barr, 8. Bryce Dues, 9. Braxton Cummings. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (5), 2. Logan Seavey (4), 3. Brady Bacon (7), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 5. C.J. Leary (10), 6. Daison Pursley (3), 7. Mitchel Moles (2), 8. Carson Garrett (9), 9. Jake Swanson (15), 10. Briggs Danner (12), 11. Todd Hobson (17), 12. Matt Westfall (8), 13. Kyle Cummins (6), 14. Robert Ballou (13), 15. Jadon Rogers (19), 16. Max Adams (14), 17. Saban Bibent (20), 18. Korbyn Hayslett (21), 19. Chase Stockon (11), 20. Joey Amantea (22), 21. Chance Crum (24), 22. Matt Goodnight (18), 23. Paul Dues (23), 24. Hunter Maddox (16). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 7-27 Logan Seavey, Laps 28-30 Justin Grant.

**Justin Grant flipped after the feature checkered flag.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-152, 2-C.J. Leary-139, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-138, 4-Justin Grant-134, 5-Kyle Cummins-123, 6-Carson Garrett-121, 7-Daison Pursley-117, 8-Mitchel Moles-117, 9-Briggs Danner-105, 10-Brady Bacon-103.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-47, 2-Joey Amantea-34, 3-C.J. Leary-33, 4-Tye Mihocko-32, 5-Jadon Rogers-29, 6-Mitchel Moles-28, 7-Alex Bright-27, 8-Logan Seavey-23, 9-Kyle Cummins-23, 10-Matt Westfall-22.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 10, 2024 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – Larry Rice Classic – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (15.629)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (15.286)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Todd Hobson

Hard Charger: Jake Swanson (15th to 9th)

PHOTO FINISH!

BALLOU WINS USAC SPRINT CAR THRILLER

BY .016 AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (May 3, 2024)………Robert Ballou wasn’t 100 percent sure his car would stick, nor did he even think he was close enough to take his shot on the final two turns of Friday night’s #LetsRaceTwo opener at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Residing a half-straightaway back from leader Kyle Cummins as he took the white flag, Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) put his right rear tire right up next to the outside wall all the way around the half-mile dirt oval, and ultimately, tracked down the low-riding Cummins to win at the stripe by mere inches – .016 second to be precise – and pocket $10,000 for his efforts.

The margin of victory is the second closest in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition during the decade of the 2020s, trailing only the .005 second margin he was on the other side of during the July 2023 Indiana Sprint Week round at Gas City I-69 Speedway in which he finished second to Justin Grant.

This time, it was Ballou’s turn to shine in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Deaton’s Waterfront Services/DRC/Ott Chevy as he recorded his 38th career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory, surpassing 1977-81-82 series champion Sheldon Kinser for sole possession of 12th place on the all-time list.

Ballou’s seventh career USAC National Sprint Car triumph at Eldora now puts him among the all-time elite at Eldora. Jack Hewitt ranks number one with 13 career victories. Larry Dickson and Tracy Hines collected nine wins apiece. Pancho Carter and Rich Vogler each notched seven.

But Ballou doesn’t exactly need statistics to prove he’s elite at Eldora. He thoroughly demonstrated that once again with his 11th to first run on Friday night.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to make it,” Ballou admitted. “My car was not very good, and I was being a little girl and wasn’t very good up on it. Before that last caution came out, I finally got brave enough to run straight and it was getting faster. I was tired of getting passed and it’s been a tiresome 500 and something days.”

The win came 546 days, to be exact, since his most recent USAC National Sprint Car victory at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway in November of 2022, which translates to just one day shy of 18 months. Similar to that race, Ballou saved his heroics for the latter stages after restarting fifth with nine laps remaining of the 30-lap distance.

“When that last caution came out, I got rolling. I was trying to count the laps and I knew it had to be getting close,” Ballou recalled. “When I got to third, I’m like, ‘man, he’s slowing down but I just don’t think I can get to him.’ When they threw the white, I said, ‘we’re either going to pull out a backup car or we’re going to try and get a win.’ I sent it into three there and wasn’t sure if it was going to end up in the suites or not. But luckily, it held on.”

In a feature race with as many twists and turns as a snake in a canyon, Ballou dealt with his fair share of hurdles to overcome. Following qualifying, Ballou and his crew changed engines to a unique powerplant that has a history as long as Ballou’s entire sprint car career.

“This is the Brettnacher motor,” referring to the engine that driver Aaron Farney and their team used when he was a competitor on the USAC National Sprint Car trail. “They let me have this motor after they quit racing. It’s from 2004 when I first started racing sprint cars. So, it’s all gone full circle. Thanks to the Brettnachers and the Farney family for everything that they’ve done for me over my career.”

The main event featured five different leaders taking their turn up front. Two-time USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion Briggs Danner was the first to step out front as he led the initial three circuits from the pole position. A lap four caution resulted in a flat tire for fifth running Logan Seavey, who made a beeline for the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area under the yellow for repairs. The series point leader returned to the track, but managed only an 11th place finish, ending his series record streak of seven consecutive top-three finishes to begin a season.

Just as the yellow was displayed, Grant had surged ahead of Danner for the lead on the high side of turn four but had to relinquish the position due to the rule dictating that scoring reverts to the last completed lap. Danner resumed as the leader, but it proved to be short lived. On the lap four restart, Grant slid under Danner in turn three to take over the top spot and proceeded to lead the next nine trips.

All the while, ninth starting Max Adams was sneaking along the bottom in pursuit of his first career USAC National Sprint Car victory. Lap by lap, he edged ever closer to Grant, and on lap 13, he pulled ahead on the low line between turns three and four. During the ensuing laps, despite an issue with his right rear tire, Grant caught back up to Adams. But on lap 18, Grant slapped the turn three and four outside wall with his right rear wheel, knocking the right rear shock off, and dropping him all the way back to fifth.

By lap 22, Grant pulled into the pits with his rear wheels bouncing like basketballs. Brady Bacon (6th) followed suit with a right rear tire issue as did Daison Pursley (7th). All returned to the field but all finished 15th or worse in the final tally.

Up front, Cummins was able to get the outside of Adams for the lead on the restart, and finally moved ahead using the middle of the racetrack on lap 23. Meanwhile, Ballou was charging, going topside around Matt Westfall for fourth on lap 24, then by Danner for third on lap 27, Adams for second on lap 29, and lastly, Cummins for the win on the 30th and final lap.

Kyle Cummins’ (Princeton, Ind.) best Eldora run to date had come during the #LetsRaceTwo opener of 2023 where he led nine laps and finished third. This time, he led seven laps and looked assured to grab his first win in the Petty Performance Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Premier Recycling/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. But Ballou ultimately had something to say about that.

“That one definitely hurts a little bit,” Cummins acknowledged. “But to be honest with you, I’d rather it be the other way around. If I’m going to win, I want it to be up on the fence. I don’t want my Eldora win to be around the bottom. Even though it sucks for me, it made it exciting for the fans, I guess.”

Max Adams’ (Loomis, Calif.) previous best USAC National Sprint Car finish was a fourth at Macon (Ill.) Speedway in 2023. His previous top Eldora Speedway result came in a ninth in this event a year ago. He topped both of those marks in his first ever drive in the F & F Racing/zMax – Western Speed Racing – FK Indy/DRC/FG3 Chevy.

“That was a pleasure to drive,” Adams praised. “I’ve never ran something that good around here before. We ripped the brake caliper off early in the race, like lap one or two. We kind of rode around for a little bit with no brakes to see if we could maintain and we ended up picking cars off and got to the lead. I really didn’t want to see that last caution come out, but that’s just the name of the game. I’ve got to get better on restarts, and I’ve got to get better here later in the night. But this was awesome. I’m truly at a loss for words. I would’ve liked to have gotten the win on that one and I felt like we had a good shot at it, but third is awesome.”

During Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recorded his 39th career Fast Time award with the USAC National Sprint Cars, tying himself with five-time series champion Levi Jones for sixth on the all-time list.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 3, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – #LetsRaceTwo – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.151; 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-16.256; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.306; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.505; 5. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-16.553; 6. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.558; 7. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.567; 8. Max Adams, 63, F & F-16.573; 9. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-16.581; 10. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.605; 11. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.612; 12. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.632; 13. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.652; 14. Todd Hobson, 44, Soudrette-16.761; 15. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-16.781; 16. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran-16.805; 17. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-16.825; 18. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-16.838; 19. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-16.855; 20. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.908; 21. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-16.974; 22. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-16.989; 23. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-17.029; 24. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-17.063; 25. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-17.110; 26. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-17.114; 27. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-17.118; 28. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-17.318; 29. Keith Sheffer II, 86, Sheffer-17.347; 30. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-17.571; 31. Jack James, 99, James-17.592; 32. Bryce Dues, 23D, Dues-18.133.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Saban Bibent, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Zack Pretorius, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Jake Swanson, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Keith Sheffer II.

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Chance Crum, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Braxton Cummings, 6. Todd Hobson, 7. Korbyn Hayslett, 8. Paul Dues.

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Ryan Barr, 7. Jack James, 8. Jadon Rogers.

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Max Adams, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Kody Swanson, 7. Rylan Gray, 8. Bryce Dues.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Todd Hobson, 4. Kody Swanson, 5. Ryan Barr, 6. Korbyn Hayslett, 7. Keith Sheffer II, 8. Bryce Dues, 9. Paul Dues, 10. Rylan Gray, 11. Jack James, 12. Matt Goodnight. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Robert Ballou (11), 2. Kyle Cummins (7), 3. Max Adams (9), 4. Briggs Danner (1), 5. Matt Westfall (12), 6. Jadon Rogers (19), 7. Mitchel Moles (14), 8. Carson Garrett (16), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 10. Chase Stockon (22), 11. Logan Seavey (4), 12. Chance Crum (21), 13. Todd Hobson (15), 14. Kody Swanson (17), 15. Daison Pursley (2), 16. C.J. Leary (24), 17. Jake Swanson (8), 18. Hunter Maddox (10), 19. Brady Bacon (13), 20. Joey Amantea (23), 21. Braxton Cummings (18), 22. Justin Grant (3), 23. Zack Pretorius (20), 24. Saban Bibent (6). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Briggs Danner, Laps 4-12 Justin Grant, Laps 13-22 Max Adams, Laps 23-29 Kyle Cummins, Lap 30 Robert Ballou.

**Jack James & Matt Goodnight flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-590, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-536, 3-C.J. Leary-533, 4-Justin Grant-452, 5-Daison Pursley-440, 6-Kyle Cummins-436, 7-Chase Stockon-428, 8-Robert Ballou-412, 9-Mitchel Moles-405, 10-Brady Bacon-396.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-47, 2-Joey Amantea-32, 3-Tye Mihocko-32, 4-C.J. Leary-28, 5-Mitchel Moles-28, 6-Alex Bright-27, 7-Jadon Rogers-25, 8-Kyle Cummins-23, 9-Matt Westfall-22, 10-Logan Seavey-21.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 4, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – #LetsRaceTwo – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (16.341)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr. (16.151)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Saban Bibent

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Swanson

Hard Charger: Jadon Rogers (19th to 6th)

SUNDAY’S WINCHESTER USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST REVEALED SUNDAY’S WINCHESTER USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST REVEALED

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Winchester, Indiana (May 2, 2024)………Twenty-two cars and drivers are expected to be on hand when the USAC Silver Crown National Championship visits the 37-degree high banks of Indiana’s Winchester Speedway this Sunday, May 5.

Among the entries for the 33rd running of the Rich Vogler Classic are seven-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), who has won the event in each of the past two seasons. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) is also entered, and the 2020 Silver Crown champion captured the inaugural series race at Winchester back in 2021.

They’re among the three past USAC Silver Crown champions in Sunday’s field along with defending titlist Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.). Swanson, Grant and Seavey headline a group of competitors which includes six past USAC Silver Crown series winners, four of whom are vying for a first Winchester win: Seavey, Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and Davey Hamilton Jr. (Boise, Idaho).

The list of experienced Winchester Silver Crown racers consists of Derek Bischak (3rd in 2023), Taylor Ferns (3rd in 2022), Travis Welpott (6th in 2021), Kaylee Bryson (7th in 2023), Kyle Robbins (8th in 2021-22), Mario Clouser (9th in 2023), Nathan Byrd (11th in 2022), Gregg Cory (15th in 2022), Trey Burke (16th in 2023), Kyle Steffens (17th in 2023) and Dave Berkheimer (19th in 2021).

First-time Winchester Silver Crown entrants this Sunday include Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) and Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Sunday’s Rich Vogler Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, plus Crown Vics and Vintage Cars. Pit pass sales, pit parking and display parking begins at 8am Eastern. Spectator gates open at 10am. Silver Crown practice hits the track at noon. Silver Crown qualifying starts at 1:15pm. An on-track autograph session will take place at 2:20pm. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 3pm. The 100-lap Silver Crown feature will take the green flag at 3:10pm.

General admission tickets are $30 (ages 13 and up). Reserved seating is $35. Children age 12 and under are free. Children reserved seats are $15. Pit passes are $40 apiece. All tickets are available at gate on race day. Save $5 by purchasing advance tickets online at www.eliteracingpromotions.com.

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

2024 RICH VOGLER CLASSIC ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas-Joe Moore)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Legacy Autosport-Robert Wilson Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes Racing-Nick Bohanon Racing)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

A BIGGIE AT THE BIG E! USAC MEETS ELDORA FOR #LETSRACETWO FRI-SAT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (May 2, 2024)………There are few things in life that stir up the senses like Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

From the pure adrenaline rush of witnessing a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car on the hammer at speed up against the outside wall to the history of the place that was carved out of a western Ohio field some seven decades ago, there is simply nothing else like it.

And when you get the chance to double up that feeling across one weekend, you don’t hesitate to make this stop priority number one.

$10,000 are on the line each night for the victor of the Friday-Saturday, May 3-4, #LetsRaceTwo USAC events featuring a one-of-a-kind two-night doubleheader alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.

Here’s some of the storylines we’re watching at The Big E!

SEAVEY WATCH CONTINUES

As has seemingly become a tradition on the list of the weekly storylines is the thought of keeping an eye on Logan Seavey.

When it comes to Eldora, in each of the last three features he’s started there, he’s won all of them. Last September, he swept the USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals with successive victories in the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget divisions all within a single night.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and Abacus Racing ran their streak to seven consecutive top-three podium finishes with the USAC National Sprint Cars in 2024, which is already an all-time record to start a season. Something’s got to give this weekend as Seavey’s #LetsRaceTwo record to date stands at three starts and finishes of 10th, 18th and 17th dating back to 2021.

Seavey and 2006 Eldora USAC Sprint Car winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) are the lone drivers in this weekend’s field to own previous series wins at Eldora, but none so far during #LetsRaceTwo.

#LETSWINTWOMORE

No other driver has won more #LetsRaceTwo contests than Robert Ballou or Justin Grant who each have scored three apiece over the years. Furthermore, these two drivers possess more USAC National Sprint Car wins at Eldora than any other driver in this weekend’s field with Ballou at six and Grant at five.

In fact, during the first year of the event nearly a decade ago, the two traded victories with Ballou mastering night one while Grant slipped by C.J. Leary in turn one for a masterful last lap victory. Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) can count #LetsRaceTwo triumphs in 2015-17-21 while Grant (Ione, Calif.) collected his paydays in 2015-17-23.

On the season, two-time series champion Grant (Ione, Calif.) already owns three feature wins but is coming in off results of 20th and 22nd in his last two starts. Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), the 2015 series champion, has raced to a pair of top-fives this season but is more than eager to work his way back toward the top following a five-race stretch of finishes outside the top-10.

ANOTHER ONE ON THE BOARD FOR C.J. & BRADY

Overall, four drivers come into this weekend’s fray at Eldora as the owners of past #LetsRaceTwo feature wins. The aforementioned duo of Ballou and Grant have had their share, but Brady Bacon (2018) and C.J. Leary (2023) have also experienced personal elation in the event as well.

Back in 2018, Bacon had his work cut out for him, charging from his eighth starting spot by first tickling the twines of the bottom groove before hitting the high line, then shuffled into the top spot to earn what remains his most recent USAC Sprint victory at Eldora.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), meanwhile, had long yearned to crack the code of what it would take to capture a win during #LetsRaceTwo. Not once, not twice, not thrice, but on four occasions, he’d finished as the runner-up in the event, doing so in 2015, again in 2016, and on both nights in 2019. But in 2023, he uncovered the combination to unlock a long desired, yet elusive piece on his resume.

After a harsh start to 2024, Bacon, the four-time USAC Sprint champ, has recovered to with a pair of runner-up finishes in his last four starts to climb back to seventh in points. Leary, the 2019 USAC titlist, has been solid, finishing all seven of his series starts inside the top-10 to reside second in points.

THE UNTAMED LAND

As impressive as the winners list of #LetsRaceTwo is, the rundown of drivers still searching for their first USAC National Sprint Car win at Eldora is almost equally as impressive.

Of the group expected to compete this weekend at Eldora, many have experienced the thrill of victory in a USAC National Sprint Car feature event in one fashion or another to various degrees. However, these individuals have long held a constant craving to add their name as an Eldora USAC winner.

Among those are Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), a runner-up finisher on the second night of #LetsRaceTwo in 2023. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) ranks 10th on USAC’s career National Sprint Car win list and captured the most recent USAC outing at Lawrenceburg on April 13, but at #LetsRaceTwo, his best thus far is a third in 2017. Likewise, veteran Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) collected a third in 2018 and repeated with another third on night one in 2023.

One of Jadon Rogers’ (Worthington, Ind.) finest USAC runs to this point came at #LetsRaceTwo with a third in 2021, as did Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) in 2023 after leading the opening nine laps of night one. Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has finished a best of second with both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC Sprint divisions at Eldora and he’ll be back in a rare sprint car appearance this weekend for Saturday night only in the Wedgewood Motorsports No. 98.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) enters Eldora coming off a fourth place run at #LetsRaceTwo a year ago while 2023 USAC National Most Improved Driver Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) made a surge from 20th to 6th in 2023. Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) ran ninth in his latest #LetsRaceTwo appearance last year. Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) has been impressive early in the going, residing fifth in USAC points, and his latest series run at Eldora resulted in a solid 10th.

EAST COAST BRETHREN

Briggs Danner and Joey Amantea have experienced their share of success on the USAC National Sprint Car circuit. But where they’ve really made their mark in recent years is with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series.

Both drivers won with the series a week ago as two-time USAC EC champ Danner (Allentown, Pa.) scored the season opener at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway while Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.) was victorious in a stirring slider fest at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway the following evening.

With the 410 under the hood, Danner’s best result at #LetsRaceTwo came in an 11th place performance in 2023. However, he did finish 5th at last September’s 4-Crown. Amantea, meanwhile, looks to make his first Eldora start.

RACE DETAILS

#LetsRaceTwo features two-straight nights of full racing programs featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Cars on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.

On both days, ticket sales begin at the main gate, turn 4 and pit gate at 1:30pm Eastern. The grandstands open at 2pm. The drivers meeting will take place at 5pm. Cars will be on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing for both divisions immediately following.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.eldoraspeedway.com. For ages 14 and up, general admission tickets are $35 while reserved seats are $40. For ages 13 and under, general admission tickets are free while reserved seats are $10. Pit passes are $40 each night ($75 for a two-day pit pass).

The USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car portion of the event from Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing both nights at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-537, 2-C.J. Leary-491, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-478, 4-Justin Grant-422, 5-Daison Pursley-398, 6-Chase Stockon-379, 7-Brady Bacon-364, 8-Kyle Cummins-361, 9-Mitchel Moles-346, 10-Robert Ballou-337.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 9/22/2006 - Jerry Coons Jr. - 14.712 - 122.349 mph

4 Laps - 7/29/1962 - Don Davis - 1:22.39 - 87.389 mph

6 Laps - 6/19/2004 - Matt Westfall - 1:37.56 - 110.701 mph

8 Laps - 4/21/2012 - Robert Ballou - 2:05.51 - 114.732 mph

10 Laps - 8/6/2005 - Bill Rose - 2:40.19 - 112.367 mph

12 Laps - 4/1/2006 - Jay Drake - 3:10.23 - 113.547 mph

15 Laps - 8/7/2004 - Josh Wise - 4:42.31 - 95.640 mph

30 Laps - 5/9/2015 - Justin Grant - 8:26.25 - 106.667 mph

40 Laps - 6/10/1972 - Sam Sessions - 12:27.59 - 96.309 mph

50 Laps - 10/6/1974 - Pancho Carter - 16:57.72 - 88.433 mph

ALL-TIME #LETSRACETWO USAC SPRINT WINS:

3-Robert Ballou, Tyler Courtney & Justin Grant

1-Brady Bacon, Chad Boespflug, Bryan Clauson, C.J. Leary & Chris Windom

ALL-TIME #LETSRACETWO USAC SPRINT WINNERS:

2015: Robert Ballou (5/8) & Justin Grant (5/9)

2016: Bryan Clauson (5/6) & Chad Boespflug (5/7)

2017: Justin Grant (5/12) & Robert Ballou (5/13)

2018: Brady Bacon (5/11) & Chris Windom (5/12)

2019: Tyler Courtney (5/10) & Tyler Courtney (7/17)

2020: Not Held

2021: Tyler Courtney (5/8) & Robert Ballou (5/8)

2022: Rained Out

2023: Justin Grant (5/5) & C.J. Leary (5/6)

ALL-TIME ELDORA USAC SPRINT CAR WINS

13-Jack Hewitt

9-Larry Dickson & Tracy Hines

7-Pancho Carter & Rich Vogler

6-Robert Ballou, Rollie Beale, Tom Bigelow, Tyler Courtney & Bubby Jones

5-Dave Darland, Justin Grant & Jac Haudenschild

4-Steve Butler, Kevin Doty, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Kevin Huntley & Sammy Sessions

3-Billy Cassella, Rob Chaney, Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood, Frankie Kerr, Sheldon Kinser, Lee Kunzman, Jud Larson, Greg Weld & J.J. Yeley

2-Brady Bacon, Gary Bettenhausen, Don Branson, Larry Cannon, Derek Davidson, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Steve Kinser, C.J. Leary, Jan Opperman, Larry Rice, Mickey Shaw, George Snider, Bruce Walkup & Chris Windom

1-Mario Andretti, Chad Boespflug, Stan Bowman, Bryan Clauson, Allen Crowe, Dickie Gaines, Tray House, Jackie Howerton, Arnie Knepper, Kyle Larson, Eddie Leavitt, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Jerry Poland, Bill Puterbaugh, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Red Riegel, Johnny Rutherford, Joe Saldana, Logan Seavey, Terry Shepherd, Jimmy Sills, Danny Smith, Jon Stanbrough, Robbie Stanley, Tony Stewart, Brad Sweet, Clark Templeman, Brian Tyler, Rick Ungar & Matt Westfall.

ALL-TIME ELDORA USAC SPRINT WINNERS:

1962: Stan Bowman (4/22) & Roger McCluskey (7/29)

1963: Allen Crowe (5/12)

1964: Johnny Rutherford (4/5) & Jud Larson (7/5)

1965: Jud Larson (4/18), Jud Larson (5/9), Red Riegel (7/3) & Don Branson (10/17)

1966: Arnie Knepper (4/3), Larry Dickson (4/17), Don Branson (7/3) & Mario Andretti (9/4)

1967: Rollie Beale (4/16), Mickey Shaw (7/2) & Rollie Beale (7/22)

1968: Rollie Beale (4/7), Larry Dickson (7/20) & Mickey Shaw (9/29)

1969: Tom Bigelow (4/6), Larry Cannon (6/8) & Greg Weld (7/26)

1970: Gary Bettenhausen (4/5), Greg Weld (5/2), Larry Dickson (7/25), Greg Weld (8/15) & Larry Dickson (9/11)

1971: Gary Bettenhausen (4/4), Sammy Sessions (6/12), Larry Dickson (7/24) & Bill Puterbaugh (9/19)

1972: Rollie Beale (4/2), Sammy Sessions (6/10), Lee Kunzman (7/22), Jerry Poland (9/17), Sammy Sessions (10/22) & Don Nordhorn (10/22)

1973: George Snider (4/1), Sammy Sessions (4/29), Lee Kunzman (8/11), Pancho Carter (9/16), Lee Kunzman (10/21) & Pancho Carter (10/21)

1974: Jan Opperman (3/31), Bruce Walkup (7/13), Pancho Carter (10/6) & Larry Cannon (10/6)

1975: Tom Bigelow (4/13), Rollie Beale (6/21), Billy Cassella (7/12), Rollie Beale (10/5) & Larry Dickson (10/5)

1976: Sheldon Kinser (3/28), Larry Dickson (4/11), Jackie Howerton (6/19), Clark Templeman (6/20), Jan Opperman (7/10), Tom Bigelow (8/7), Pancho Carter (9/19), Tom Bigelow (10/9), Pancho Carter (10/10) & Pancho Carter (10/10)

1977: Tom Bigelow (4/10), Bubby Jones (4/17), George Snider (4/17), Tom Bigelow (6/18), Bruce Walkup (6/19), Pancho Carter (7/9), Bubby Jones (9/18), Eddie Leavitt (10/9) & Bubby Jones (10/9)

1978: Joe Saldana (6/17) & Bubby Jones (9/17)

1979: Bubby Jones (4/29), Bubby Jones (6/2), Larry Rice (8/25), Billy Cassella (10/14) & Billy Cassella (10/14)

1980: Rich Vogler (4/6), Larry Dickson (7/26), Sheldon Kinser (10/12) & Larry Dickson (7/12)

1981: Dave Peperak (4/25), Sheldon Kinser (6/20), Rich Vogler (7/3) & Steve Kinser (10/11)

1982: Jack Hewitt (4/24), Jac Haudenschild (7/17) & Steve Kinser (10/3)

1983: Rich Vogler (6/4) Jack Hewitt (8/2) & Jack Hewitt (9/25)

1984: Jac Haudenschild (4/1), Steve Butler (4/28), Rick Hood (7/14) & Jack Hewitt (8/16)

1985: Jac Haudenschild (4/27), Rick Hood (4/28) & Larry Rice (10/6)

1986: Rich Vogler (4/5), Rick Hood (4/26) & Rich Vogler (9/28)

1987: Rich Vogler (3/28), Rick Ungar (4/25), Rich Vogler (6/13) & Tony Elliott (9/27)

1988: Jac Haudenschild (3/27), Jack Hewitt (4/23), Jack Hewitt (5/14), Jack Hewitt (6/18), Steve Butler (7/16) & Steve Butler (9/25)

1989: Steve Butler (9/24)

1990: Jack Hewitt (4/7) & Jack Hewitt (9/30)

1991: Jack Hewitt (9/22)

1992: Terry Shepherd (3/28) & Danny Smith (10/4)

1993: Robbie Stanley (3/27), Jack Hewitt (8/11) & Tony Elliott (10/3)

1994: Frankie Kerr (4/2), Tray House (6/25), Frankie Kerr (8/10) & Kevin Doty (9/25)

1995: Kevin Doty (4/1), Byron Reed (8/9) & Tony Stewart (9/23)

1996: Frankie Kerr (8/7) & Jimmy Sills (9/28)

1997: Kevin Huntley (3/29), Kevin Huntley (6/22), Brian Tyler (8/6) & Jack Hewitt (9/20)

1998: Kevin Doty (5/2), Dave Darland (5/24), Kevin Doty (6/20) & Jack Hewitt (9/26)

1999: Derek Davidson (3/27), Derek Davidson (5/1), Tracy Hines (5/30), Tracy Hines (7/28) & Dave Darland (9/25)

2000: Jay Drake (4/1), Dave Darland (4/29), Tony Elliott (5/28) & Tracy Hines (9/30)

2001: Tracy Hines (4/28), Jay Drake (6/22), J.J. Yeley (6/23) & Bud Kaeding (9/22)

2002: J.J. Yeley (5/26), Tony Elliott (6/22) & Bud Kaeding (9/21)

2003: Boston Reid (5/3), J.J. Yeley (5/25), Jon Stanbrough (6/21) & Jac Haudenschild (9/20 – SE)

2004: Jay Drake (6/19), Kevin Huntley (8/7) & Dickie Gaines (9/25)

2005: Jay Drake (4/30), Rob Chaney (5/29), Kevin Huntley (6/18), Rob Chaney (8/6) & Levi Jones (9/24)

2006: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/1), Rob Chaney (4/29), Matt Westfall (6/17) & Tracy Hines (9/23)

2007: Robert Ballou (4/28) & Robert Ballou (9/22)

2008: Tracy Hines (5/10), Tracy Hines (6/14) & Brad Sweet (9/20)

2009: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/11) & Jerry Coons Jr. (9/26)

2010: Robert Ballou (5/12) & Levi Jones (9/25)

2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)

2012: Tracy Hines (4/21), Dave Darland (7/28) & Tracy Hines (9/22)

2013: Chris Windom (9/21)

2014: Dave Darland (4/19) & Brady Bacon (9/21)

2015: Robert Ballou (5/8), Justin Grant (5/9) & Thomas Meseraull (9/26)

2016: Bryan Clauson (5/6), Chad Boespflug (5/7) & Justin Grant (9/24)

2017: Justin Grant (5/12), Robert Ballou (5/13) & C.J. Leary (9/23)

2018: Brady Bacon (5/11), Chris Windom (5/12) & Tyler Courtney (9/22)

2019: Tyler Courtney (5/10), Tyler Courtney (7/17) & Tyler Courtney (9/28)

2021: Tyler Courtney (5/8), Robert Ballou (5/8) & Tyler Courtney (9/25)

2022: Justin Grant (9/24)

2023: Justin Grant (5/5), C.J. Leary (5/6) & Logan Seavey (9/23)

#LETSRACETWO USAC SPRINT RESULTS (2015-PRESENT):

2015 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Dave Darland, 8. Shane Cottle, 9. Aaron Farney, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Landon Simon, 14. Daron Clayton, 15. Matt Goodnight, 16. Brady Bacon, 17. Chad Boespflug, 18. Dallas Hewitt, 19. Jake Simmons, 20. Kody Swanson, 21. Justin Grant, 22. Dustin Smith. NT

2015 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Aaron Farney, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Chris Windom, 12. Dallas Hewitt, 13. Landon Simon, 14. Kody Swanson, 15. Adam Cruea, 16. Brandon Whited, 17. Tyler Hewitt, 18. Robert Bell, 19. Matt Goodnight, 20. Daron Clayton, 21. Jerry Coons Jr. 8:26.25

2016 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Dallas Hewitt, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Chad Boespflug, 8. Shane Cottle, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Kody Swanson, 11. Max McGhee, 12. Chase Stockon, 13. Chris Windom, 14. Scotty Weir, 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16. Kyle Cummins, 17. Justin Grant, 18. Aaron Farney, 19. Carson Short, 20. Jerry Coons Jr., 21. Cody Gardner, 22. Robert Ballou, 23. Jarett Andretti, 24. Tony DiMattia. NT

2016 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chad Boespflug, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Kody Swanson, 8. Carson Short, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Scotty Weir, 11. Brandon Whited, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Shane Cottle, 15. Dallas Hewitt, 16. Tony DiMattia, 17. Cole Ketcham, 18. Max McGhee, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. Matt Westfall, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Chris Windom, 23. Robert Ballou. NT

2017 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Dallas Hewitt, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Tyler Courtney, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. C.J. Leary, 14. Jarett Andretti, 15. Chad Wilson, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Chad Boespflug, 18. Josh Hodges, 19. Landon Simon, 20. Dustin Smith, 21. Isaac Chapple, 22. Corey Smith, 23. Nick Bilbee. NT

2017 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. Aaron Farney, 11. Chad Boespflug, 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14. Josh Hodges, 15. Isaac Chapple, 16. Corey Smith, 17. Tyler Hewitt, 18. Mario Clouser, 19. Matt Goodnight, 20. Landon Simon, 21. Kyle Simon, 22. Toby Alfrey. NT

2018 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (8), 2. Robert Ballou (1), 3. Chris Windom (2), 4. Justin Grant (10), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 6. Tyler Courtney (3), 7. Chase Stockon (5), 8. Dave Darland (12), 9. C.J. Leary (4), 10. Kyle Cummins (11), 11. Joe Stornetta (9), 12. Nick Bilbee (14), 13. Dallas Hewitt (16), 14. Matt Westfall (15), 15. Chad Wilson (18), 16. Paul Dues (17), 17. Isaac Chapple (13), 18. Chad Boespflug (7), 19. Carmen Perigo (19), 20. Matt Goodnight (20). 9:24.44

2018 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (2), 2. Tyler Courtney (5), 3. Chase Stockon (3), 4. Brady Bacon (10), 5. Robert Ballou (8), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 7. C.J. Leary (6), 8. Matt Westfall (12), 9. Kyle Cummins (15), 10. Dallas Hewitt (14), 11. Dave Darland (11), 12. Paul Dues (20), 13. Chad Boespflug (9), 14. Carmen Perigo (18), 15. Chad Wilson (17), 16. Isaac Chapple (13), 17. Riley VanHise (21), 18. Bill Rose (16), 19. Matt Goodnight (19), 20. Joe Stornetta (1), 21. Justin Grant (7). NT

2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (7), 2. C.J. Leary (6), 3. Brady Bacon (5), 4. Chris Windom (10), 5. Carson Short (3), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 7. Chase Stockon (4), 8. Justin Grant (1), 9. Jason McDougal (12), 10. Isaac Chapple (18), 11. Ty Tilton (17), 12. Nick Bilbee (20), 13. Matt Westfall (16), 14. Dustin Smith (21), 15. Carmen Perigo (15), 16. Brian VanMeveren (23), 17. Matt Goodnight (22), 18. Dustin Ingle (19), 19. Josh Hodges (14), 20. Timmy Buckwalter (9), 21. Chad Boespflug (13), 22. Robert Ballou (8). 23. Dave Darland (11). NT

2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (4), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Brady Bacon (3), 4. Chase Stockon (2), 5. Chris Windom (9), 6. Matt Westfall (10), 7. Tom Harris (18), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 9. Zane Hendricks (8), 10. Isaac Chapple (13), 11. Dallas Hewitt (19), 12. Scotty Weir (17), 13. Carson Short (7), 14. Jason McDougal (11), 15. Dustin Christie (14), 16. Dave Darland (15), 17. Brody Roa (12), 18. Matt Goodnight (21), 19. Michael Fischesser (22), 20. Corey Smith (20), 21. Justin Grant (6), 22. Brian VanMeveren (23), 23. Kody Swanson (16). NT

2021 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (1), 2. Robert Ballou (4), 3. Jadon Rogers (2), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Chris Windom (9), 6. Brady Bacon (6), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 8. Chase Stockon (11), 9. Matt Westfall (10), 10. Logan Seavey (5), 11. C.J. Leary (7), 12. Isaac Chapple (16), 13. Jake Swanson (14), 14. Paul Nienhiser (12), 15. Dallas Hewitt (21), 16. Steven Drevicki (18), 17. Brandon Mattox (13), 18. Tanner Thorson (17), 19. Stevie Sussex (15), 20. Carmen Perigo (19), 21. Korbyn Hayslett (20), 22. Ryan Barr (22). 10:06.253

2021 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Robert Ballou (1), 2. Tyler Courtney (7), 3. Chris Windom (3), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Paul Nienhiser (8), 6. Justin Grant (2), 7. C.J. Leary (9), 8. Jake Swanson (11), 9. Isaac Chapple (16), 10. Steven Drevicki (17), 11. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 12. Max Adams (14), 13. Paul Dues (22), 14. Matt Westfall (10), 15. Dallas Hewitt (21), 16. Stevie Sussex (12), 17. Matt Goodnight (18), 18. Chris Phillips (20), 19. Carmen Perigo (15), 20. Korbyn Hayslett (19), 21. Jadon Rogers (13), 22. Tanner Thorson (4). 9:30.305

2023 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (6), 2. Brady Bacon (9), 3. Kyle Cummins (1), 4. Emerson Axsom (4), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 6. Scotty Weir (12), 7. C.J. Leary (2), 8. Kody Swanson (17), 9. Jake Swanson (7), 10. Mitchel Moles (5), 11. Chase Stockon (20), 12. Dallas Hewitt (14), 13. Robert Ballou (8), 14. Brandon Mattox (22), 15. Briggs Danner (10), 16. Daison Pursley (15), 17. Matt Westfall (3), 18. Logan Seavey (16), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (21), 20. Jadon Rogers (19), 21. Carson Garrett (23-P), 22. Max Adams (13), 23. Dalton Stevens (18). NT

2023 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (2), 2. Jake Swanson (6), 3. Chase Stockon (3), 4. Mitchel Moles (5), 5. Kyle Cummins (4), 6. Carson Garrett (20), 7. Emerson Axsom (1), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 9. Max Adams (12), 10. Robert Ballou (9), 11. Briggs Danner (13), 12. Matt Westfall (24-P), 13. Daison Pursley (18), 14. Dallas Hewitt (8), 15. Kody Swanson (14), 16. Jadon Rogers (19), 17. Logan Seavey (23-P), 18. Brady Bacon (10), 19. Geoff Ensign (16), 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (21), 21. Keith Sheffer II (22), 22. Justin Grant (7), 23. Zack Pretorius (15), 24. Scotty Weir (17). NT

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

April 27, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.527; 2. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.553; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.668; 4. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.676; 5. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.699; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.731; 7. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-16.733; 8. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-16.738; 9. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.798; 10. David Gasper, 73X, Ford-16.828; 11. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.839; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.873; 13. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-17.031; 14. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-17.089; 15. Brody Roa, 8M, May-17.127; 16. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-17.264; 17. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.333; 18. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.456; 19. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-17.658; 20. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-18.303; 21. Shane Sexton, 74, SCDE-18.552; 22. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-18.912.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Matt Mitchell, 2. David Gasper, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Braden Chiaramonte, 5. Logan Williams, 6. Grant Sexton, 7. Brent Sexton, 8. Joey Bishop. 2:58.35.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Matt McCarthy, 2. Austin Grabowski, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Chris Bonneau, 6. Chris Gansen, 7. Elexa Herrera. 2:54.57.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Cody Williams, 3. Tommy Malcolm, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Shane Sexton. 2:55.64.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. A.J. Bender (1), 2. Cody Williams (4), 3. Tommy Malcolm (2), 4. Austin Williams (16), 5. R.J. Johnson (3), 6. Matt McCarthy (14), 7. Brody Roa (15), 8. Chris Gansen (11), 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12), 10. Joey Bishop (22), 11. Verne Sweeney (18), 12. Elexa Herrera (20), 13. Austin Grabowski (17), 14. Matt Mitchell (6), 15. Chris Bonneau (9), 16. Brent Sexton (19), 17. David Gasper (10), 18. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 19. Grant Sexton (8), 20. Braden Chiaramonte (13), 21. Shane Sexton (21), 22. Logan Williams (7). NT.
----------------------------
**David Gasper flipped on the twenty-fifth lap of the feature. Brent Sexton flipped on the twenty-sixth lap of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 A.J. Bender, Laps 4-10 R.J. Johnson, Laps 11-12 A.J. Bender, Lap 13 R.J. Johnson, Laps 14-19 A.J. Bender, Lap 20 R.J. Johnson, Laps 21-30 A.J. Bender.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Austin Williams (16th to 4th)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: May 25 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Salute to Indy”

USAC MIDGETS' KOKOMO GRAND PRIX SHIFTS

TO SATURDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 27-28

Kokomo, Indiana (April 25, 2024)………The dates for this weekend’s Kokomo Grand Prix have been shifted by one day and will now run on Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28.

With forecasts calling for rain on the originally scheduled date of Friday, the decision has been made to contest the complete event in full with two consecutive nights of full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

Adult general admission tickets for each night of the Kokomo Grand Prix are $30 with kids age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35 apiece each night.

The field will feature the likes of 2019 Kokomo Grand Prix winner Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) and 2022 Kokomo Indiana Midget Week winner Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), plus reigning series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) as well as two-time and defending USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.).

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) will be among the USAC National Midget winners on hand this weekend along with Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) and more.

Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

MALCOLM-GASPER USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR BATTLE RESUMES AT PERRIS
By Lance Jennings

APRIL 24, 2024... With one point separating Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm and David Gasper, the chase for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship resumes this Saturday (April 27th) at Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the fifth point race will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, GAS Chassis PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, PASSCAR Super Stocks, and PASSCAR Factory Stocks. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

USAC/CRA shows at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed and beware of online scammers with fake video links. Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The series rule book is online at usacracing.com, appendix E.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 251 USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-four different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 51 “home track” series wins and Matt Mitchell won the season opener on February 24th. David Gasper added his name to the record books on March 16th and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012. The complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

Heading to the fifth championship point race, there have been four feature winners and four different point leaders. After racing from twelfth to third at Mohave Valley Raceway on April 6th, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Yucaipa, California) became the new point leader with a one point margin over the competition. Piloting Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating DRC, Malcolm has posted one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, and four top-10 finishes on the season. Tommy “Thunder” will be looking to earn the fourth victory of his career this Saturday night.

Leading rookie contender David Gasper (Goleta, California) is second in the USAC/CRA point chase. Racing the Josh Ford Motorsports’ #73X Surecan LLC / King Racing Products Triple X, Gasper charged from tenth to fourth at Mohave Valley. As this writing goes to press, the two-time California Lightning Sprint Champion has one feature win, one semi main win, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, three top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led on the season. David will have his sights on regaining the point lead with another victory at Perris Auto Speedway.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) ranks third in the championship standings. Driving Ricky and Michele Johnson’s #51 Avanti Windows & Doors / Martin Family Auto Museum Sherman, Johnson placed tenth at Mohave Valley Raceway. To date, the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion has one semi-main win and four top-10 finishes in the campaign. The second generation driver and 2005 Rookie of the Year will be looking for the eighth USAC/CRA win of his career at Perris.

Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits fourth the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams led the opening laps at Mohave Valley before scoring ninth at the checkered flag. At press time, the 2014 Rookie of the Year has one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, four top-10 finishes, and 3 feature laps led on the year. This Saturday, Logan will be looking to earn his first USAC/CRA victory at Perris Auto Speedway.

Ricky Lewis (Oxnard, California) is fifth in the chase for the championship. Racing his #41 Morris Farms / J&M Racing DRC, Lewis scored a twelfth place finish at Mohave Valley. With one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, two top-10 finishes, and 22 feature laps led to his credit, Ricky might skip Perris to race in the Midwest.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Logan Calderwood, A.J. Bender, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Verne Sweeney, Grant Sexton, Matt Mitchell, Brody Roa, Brent Owens, Matt McCarthy, Chris Gansen, and more.

The Avanti Windows & Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Sexton Fire Protection, WC Friend Company, and Woodland Auto Display, for their support.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-David Gasper, 1-Matt Mitchell, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 9-Matt Mitchell, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-C.J. Leary, 2-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Chris Windom, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-David Gasper, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Jason York.

2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1-Tommy Malcolm-253, 2-David Gasper-252, 3-R.J. Johnson-243, 4-Logan Williams-239, 5-Ricky Lewis-233, 6-Austin Williams-214, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-206, 8-Logan Calderwood-203, 9-A.J. Bender-195, 10-Matt Westfall-186. The complete point standings can be found at usacracing.com/standings/sprint-cars/cra

LINCOLN PARK TO OPEN

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE,

GAS CITY OFF

Speedway, Indiana (April 25, 2024)………The 37th annual edition of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week’s schedule has been rearranged for late summer of 2024 due to the closure of Gas City I-69 Speedway.

The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship ISW date on July 26 will not be held at Gas City as originally scheduled. The Lincoln Park Speedway ISW event, originally slated for July 25, has been moved to Friday, July 26, to replace the Gas City date. Lincoln Park will now serve as the opener for the seven-race series.

Lincoln Park Speedway will host the ISW opener for the first time since 2001 on July 26. From there, the tour travels to Kokomo Speedway on July 27, followed by dates at Lawrenceburg Speedway on July 28, Circle City Raceway on July 31, the Terre Haute Action Track on August 1, Bloomington Speedway on August 2 and Tri-State Speedway on August 3.

Additionally, Lincoln Park Speedway will host an Indiana Sprint Week Eve party at Moose Lodge 212, located on West Franklin Street in Greencastle, Indiana on Thursday, July 25. Sales will stop once the capacity of the hosting venue is reached. The party will be held in an air-conditioned facility featuring a cash bar, a free dinner that includes a salad bar provided by Lincoln Park Speedway, a band, a dance floor and door prizes. Shuttles will also be provided for campers from the track to the venue.

A ticket to the party is complimentary with an advanced ISW ticket purchase. When you check in at the party, you will be provided with your ISW band for the following day’s racing event.

An additional perk of an advanced ticket is that you will be able to enter the facility 30 minutes prior to scheduled gate opening time on race day. Furthermore, everyone who purchases an advanced ticket will have their name put into a drawing for two passes. Lincoln Park Speedway will purchase two pit passes in the winner’s name for all the other ISW events.

Call Lincoln Park Speedway at (765) 653-3485 and press option 3 for advanced ticket purchases. Indiana Sprint Week tickets are $30 for general admission.

An additional announcement regarding the James Dean Classic event on September 19 will be announced as soon as possible.

MEET THE 2024

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FULL-TIMERS!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (April 23, 2024)………It’s that special time of year when both spring and the front wheels of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets are in the air.

The 2024 season opens this Friday-Saturday, April 26-27 at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway with a lineup featuring 16 full-time championship takers who plan on contesting the entire 30-race schedule this coming year.

The list consists of USAC national champions, many time feature winners, those on the cusp of a breakthrough, longtime veterans and a stellar Rookie crop looking to ply their trade on the dirt tracks across the United States of America throughout the year.

Here’s the full list of the 16 USAC National Midget full-timers to keep your eyes affixed to in 2024!

LOGAN SEAVEY | ABACUS RACING #57

He was number one a year ago, and this year, he’s aiming for a repeat. Logan Seavey strung together one of the most magical USAC National Midget seasons in recent memory with eight wins and 21 top-fives in 27 starts, resulting in a second career series title after achieving the same in 2018.

Seavey could also set a record in his first outing of the season. He enters the year with 22 consecutive top-10 finishes, one shy of surpassing Jason Leffler’s 1997 series record. Leffler followed up his 1997 championship season with another in 1998, just what Seavey intends to do.

Seavey and Abacus Racing burst onto the scene in 2023 in what was their first full USAC National Midget season. Together, they’ve already won three of the first seven USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car races to start 2024 and are coming off a USAC Silver Crown championship in ’23.

JUSTIN GRANT | RMS RACING #2

A second consecutive runner-up finish in the 2023 USAC National Midget points didn’t appease Justin Grant all that much. It just made him that much hungrier entering 2024.

His RMS Racing team has pared down its stable to one full-time entry with the focus squarely set on Grant grabbing the championship. He’s won a USAC National Midget feature in each of the past seven years, tops in the series.

JG is coming off a season in which he scored a mega victory at the Driven2SaveLives BC39. A repeat IMS victory coupled with a championship would be even sweeter in 2024.

RYAN TIMMS | KEITH KUNZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN MOTORSPORTS #67

Ryan Timms’s 2023 USAC National Midget season was his busiest and most successful to date as he won three times at Belleville, Lawrenceburg and Angell Park en route to a fourth-place finish in the standings.

Still just 17 years old but entering his fourth year of USAC National Midget competition, the Oklahoma City native has posted feature victories in each season to date between 2021 and 2023.

Now Timms’ focus is set toward a USAC National Midget championship in his second full-time season at the wheel of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports number 67.

DAISON PURSLEY | CB INDUSTRIES #86

Daison Pursley has found a new address for his 2024 USAC National Midget efforts aboard Chad Boat’s CB Industries number 86.

Thus far this year, Pursley has already taken a CBI midget on a fascinating alphabet soup run at the Chili Bowl where he advanced from the D to the A, then charged from 20th to fourth in the A-Main, advancing a total of 45 positions on the night.

Pursley, twice a winner in USAC National Midget competition for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports in 2021, eyes a return to victory lane and contend for a title this year, a championship CBI previously experienced with Chris Windom in 2020.

JACOB DENNEY | TOM MALLOY #25

At this time a year ago, Jacob Denney was preparing for high school graduation. Now, he’s preparing for his second full-time season with Tom Malloy in the USAC National Midget ranks.

The two-time USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champ turned heads in his debut USAC National Midget season in 2022. He was even better the following year in 2023, recording victories at Sweet Springs and Tri-State along with nine other top-fives to finish seventh in series points.

The Galloway, Ohio racer led the points for a while in the early going of 2023, but now has the ambition to keep it up top all year long in the coming year.

GAVIN MILLER | KEITH KUNZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN MOTORSPORTS #97

Pennsylvania has long been a hotbed for some of the finest open wheel dirt track racers in the United States of America. Gavin Miller of Allentown, Pa. is among the new breed who struck a chord on the USAC National Midget trail in 2023.

His efforts earned him Rookie of the Year honors for the famed Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team. In doing so, he became just the third Keystone State native to receive the award following John Andretti in 1983 and Andrew Layser in 2019.

All told, Miller accumulated 56 laps led, five top-fives, an eighth place points finish and his first career victory during USAC Indiana Midget Week at Bloomington. Rest assured, he’ll have more highlights to come in the new year.

CANNON MCINTOSH | KEITH KUNZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN MOTORSPORTS #71K

It’s a homecoming for Cannon McIntosh coming into the 2024 USAC National Midget season. The Bixby, Oklahoma wheelman competed for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports back in 2020 where he scored two wins and a career best fifth place finish in the standings.

At the helm of the Dave Mac-Dalby car ever since, along with a few starts for CB Industries, McIntosh has been a fixture in the series, accumulating more feature starts (124) than any other driver in the series in the decade of the 2020s.

He’s already won for KKM this year and aspires to become a USAC championship contender in 2024.

JAKE ANDREOTTI | 4 KINGS RACING #14

Jake Andreotti was a busy man throughout the 2023 USAC National Midget season, gathering 26 starts with a best finish of second in the season opener at Belleville during his Rookie campaign.

By season’s end, he and the Tom Malloy team had parted ways, leading the Castro Valley, California native to be tabbed as the new driver for the series’ newest full-time team – 4 Kings Racing.

The 2022 Don Basile Rookie of the Race at the Turkey Night Grand Prix picked off a pair of USAC Western States Midget main event wins a year ago and now is gunning to make his mark on the national scene.

MATT WESTFALL | 4 KINGS RACING #54

Andreotti’s teammate on the 4 Kings Racing team will be veteran racer Matt Westfall, who is also among the team’s co-founders.

Known primarily in recent years for his prowess in sprint cars, late models and modifieds, the Pleasant Hill, Ohio native has quite a track record in midgets as well. Back in 1998, Westfall earned the NAMARS Midget championship.

Back then, his car sported the number 54, and in 2024, it will be just the same as Westfall competes on the full USAC National Midget tour for the first time in his grand career.

HAYDEN REINBOLD | REINBOLD-UNDERWOOD MOTORSPORTS #19AZ

Perhaps no driver made larger strides from beginning to finish during the 2023 USAC National Midget season than Hayden Reinbold.

Hailing from Gilbert, Arizona, Reinbold put together a run of three top-10 finishes in the final quarter of the season at Eldora, the Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and out west in Bakersfield.

Driving the family owned Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports machine once again in 2024, the 20-year-old Reinbold is keen on becoming a regular front-running contender, where he’s turning top-tens into top-fives and top-fives into victories along the way.

KEVIN THOMAS JR. | MOUNCE-STOUT MOTORSPORTS #9

Kevin Thomas Jr. is back on the USAC National Midget trail in 2024 for Mounce-Stout Motorsports with whom he made nine starts with in part-time duty throughout 2023.

In 153 career USAC National Midget starts, Thomas has accrued six feature victories and was named series Rookie of the Year in 2014. Back in 2015, he led the points for a time before ultimately finishing a career-best third in the final standings.

One item he’s looking to add to his illustrious resume is a USAC National Midget driving title, and he believes he’s in the right spot to accomplish that goal.

ZACH DAUM | RAMCO SPEED GROUP #7P

Zach Daum is back to having fun again and it’s shown in recent times. This year, he plans to have a whole lot of it as he will complete full-time on the USAC National Midget circuit for the first time in a decade.

The 2014 season has been the Pocahontas, Illinois driver’s highwater mark with USAC to this point, finishing fifth in that year’s standings. He’ll take on the full circuit with the RAMCO Speed Group team based out of Texas.

It was with RAMCO during May of 2023 in which Daum made a big return to victory lane as he picked up his first USAC triumph since 2014 at Belleville, the same place the veteran midget racing standout will launch his championship pursuit in 2024.

KYLE JONES | JOYNER MOTORSPORTS #27X

For Kyle Jones and Corey Joyner, it’s always been a dream to compete full-time with USAC’s National Midget division. Together, they’ll achieve that dream for the first time in 2024 with Jones driving the Joyner Motorsports’ number 27x on the complete 30-race slate.

The 30-year-old Jones from Kennedale, Texas is a veteran of 21 career series dating back to 2015 and has been a fixture in dirt open wheel circles throughout the past decade. In 2023, he even became the highest finishing Texan ever at the Chili Bowl.

Going all-in on their collaboration is Joyner, the youngest car owner in the series at 23, who has stepped out from behind the wheel to field a team of his own. This is where he wants to be for quite a while, and the first step begins this year.

ASHTON TORGERSON | KEITH KUNZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN MOTORSPORTS #67K

Rising star Ashton Torgerson has not yet stepped into the ring for a USAC National Midget event thus far. This year, the Arizonian takes on the quest as a series Rookie for the venerable Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team.

The multi-time micro sprint champion has been a standout in all kinds of open wheel machinery. He picked up a Tulsa Shootout score during the winter and has recently been successful with the winged 360 sprint cars, winning multiple races along the west coast.

He’s already made a visit to victory lane this season at Farmer City with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget series and will also now attempt to double up the deed by becoming a USAC winner. This is definitely one Rookie to watch.

ZACH WIGAL | CB INDUSTRIES #89

Fresh off a USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget championship a year ago, Zach Wigal will take the next step in his young racing career by competing full-time as a Rookie of the Year candidate on the 2024 USAC National Midget tour for CB Industries.

This won’t be Wigal’s first venture with CB Industries. Over the past two seasons, he’s competed in the team’s micro sprint quite frequently and already possesses a familiarity with the crew going into year three with the team.

The Belpre, Ohio competitor has been dreaming about this moment for as long as he can remember, and now, that dream has become a reality.

HANK DAVIS | CORNELL RACING STABLES #8

Cornell Racing Stables will return to the USAC National Midget trail in 2024 with Rookie of the Year contender Hank Davis as their wheelman in the team’s trademark gold leaf number 8.

The Sand Springs, Okla. product captured the racing world’s attention when he scored an A-Main victory on a preliminary night during the 2023 Chili Bowl.

The iconic Cornell team accrued nine career USAC victories in its heyday between 1967 and 1979 with drivers such as Bob Hare, Roger West, Gary Ponzini and Rich Vogler. Hank Davis has plans on being the next.

LAWRENCEBURG REPLACES GAS CITY

ON 2024 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK SLATE

Speedway, Indiana (April 24, 2024)………The 20th annual edition of USAC Indiana Midget Week will now feature a visit to Lawrenceburg Speedway on Wednesday night, June 5.

The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship’s IMW date, originally scheduled at Gas City for June 5, will not be held due to the closure of the track, making the move to Lawrenceburg necessary. Lawrenceburg will now serve as the host of the second round of the six-race series in early June.

USAC Indiana Midget Week celebrates its 20th year in 2024 with another fine slate across six consecutive evenings in the Hoosier state. For the first time in its young history, Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis launches the frenzied week of racing on June 4. Lawrenceburg follows up on June 5 with Lincoln Park Speedway (June 6), Bloomington Speedway (June 7), Tri-State Speedway (June 8) and Kokomo Speedway (June 9) rounding out the busy week.

Lawrenceburg Speedway is one of the originals of Indiana Midget Week. The venue hosted the very first IMW event in 2005, and since then, has hosted a total of 17 IMW events, more than any other track.

A $15,000 total point fund has been posted for the top-five drivers in the final 2024 USAC Indiana Midget Week point standings. The breakdown of pay for the top-five in the end-of-week standings is as follows: 1) 6,000, 2) $3,000, 3) $2,500, 4) $2,000, 5) $1,500.

Additional announcements regarding the USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week event on July 26 and the James Dean Classic event on September 19 will be announced as soon as possible.

PERSEVERANCE!

SWANSON RETURNS FROM INJURY TO DOMINATE

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN OPENER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (April 20, 2024)………Four months ago, Kody Swanson saw his season and the future of his racing career hang in the balance.

A Christmas morning accident at his parents’ home resulted in a severely broken left foot. Multiple surgeries later, the Kingsburg, Calif. native was affixed with a walking boot and a pair of crutches. Throughout the arduous rehabilitation process, Swanson longed for the day that he could return to the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.

On Saturday afternoon at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway, that long awaited day had finally arrived.

Just six days following a runner-up finish with the 500 Sprint Tour in his first race back, Swanson one-upped himself during the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Presented by Marco’s Pizza. He led off by taking the top time in practice, then laid down the fastest lap in qualifying and concluded with a masterpiece driving performance in which he led all 100 laps in succession.

Swanson’s 41 career Silver Crown victories are far and away above anyone else who’s ever handled a champ car. However, without question, this win had an even more significant sense of accomplishment, perhaps more than any of the previous 40 he’s earned during his illustrious career.

“I don’t want to keep talking about it, but I don’t want it to get lost on how important it is to me,” Swanson stated. “My foot was wrecked. But I had so many people who were a part of it and helped me recover – Dr. Tim Weber for patching me back together and everybody who’s been a part of it. That’s carried me through this winter to race like I did today and to have a chance to get back in a car. God blessed me and I’m extremely grateful.”

Swanson’s record shattering afternoon at the 1/2-mile paved oval came aboard his Doran-Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Wilke Orthodontics – Glenn Farms/Beast/Lanci Ford. When the question of “who’ll stop the reign” is posed regarding Swanson’s prowess at Toledo, as it turns out, nobody has been able to since 2017.

His eighth overall Silver Crown victory at Toledo (2011-15-18-19-21-22-23-24), tied him for the all-time record in terms of the most victories by any driver at a single track. He’s now equaled with Jack Hewitt and his eight wins at Eldora Speedway along with that of his younger brother, Tanner Swanson, who scored eight at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Furthermore, Kody’s sixth consecutive Silver Crown triumph at Toledo produced an all-time USAC record for the most consecutive wins at one single track. The previous standard had been held by, not surprisingly, himself, with five-in-a-row at Salem Speedway between 2016-20. Dave Steele also won five-straight at Phoenix International Raceway from 2002-06, a dominant stretch that has a highly personal significance to him.

“It’s incredibly special because Dave Steele had five and he dominated Phoenix and the Copper World,” Swanson recalled. “That was the season opener for many years, and it was the first Silver Crown race I ever got to see in person. I was just a fan, and when he won at Phoenix, that was one of those five.”

Even more, Swanson’s fifth career USAC Silver Crown season opening win also tied him for the all-time lead alongside Steele.

What’s interesting is that Swanson has achieved his six-race Toledo winning streak with three different teams over that time span: DePalma Motorsports (2018), Nolen Racing (2019) and Doran-Binks Racing (2021-22-23-24).

Swanson, the only driver to have started all 11 Silver Crown events at Toledo, has now led 778 out of the 1200 laps ever run during the past 11 editions, which puts it at an astonishing clip of 64.8 percent.

On a chilly day in which temperatures hovered around the 50-degree mark at its peak, Swanson had the field covered, but not in a blanket. His qualifying lap at an average speed of 120.676 mph was the fastest a Silver Crown car had run at Toledo in five years. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, Swanson’s Toledo stranglehold seemingly never loosens its grip. Nonetheless, Swanson admitted that the cool temps bring out the best in him.

“I just feel like I get along with Toledo Speedway better when it’s cold,” Swanson explained. “I feel like, sometimes, I struggle here in August, and last year, I was behind. I felt like C.J. (Leary) had us but he had some misfortune on his part which allowed us to get back into it. To have a streak like this, you’re going to have to have a little good luck.”

Only one caution slowed the proceedings, that being a lap 32 spin off turn four by Rookie Jackson Macenko who was making his Silver Crown debut on this day. He ran as high as seventh and was running 12th at the time of the incident which involved no contact.

Swanson’s winning margin was 3.441 seconds with C.J. Leary taking second. Tyler Roahrig finished third while Justin Grant took fourth and Bobby Santos rounded out the top-five.

For the second straight season, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) finished as the runner-up to Swanson at the finish line. With that said, this one came in a much more pleasant experience following last year’s disappointment when he led a race-high 77 laps before a tire bleeder issue dropped him to second near the end of the race. All in all, it was a solid start to the campaign for Leary and his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Penske – Hoosier Tire/Beast/Ford.

“Second is definitely a lot easier to take this year than it was last year,” Leary admitted. “I felt like we just weren’t as good as Kody. On short run speed, we were pretty good, but we were pretty snug all day. We kept losing stagger and I don’t know if it was the cold temperatures or what. On a 10 or 12-lap run, I felt like we could keep pace with Kody, but after that, we would get tight. All in all, it was a good day. I’m not a pavement guy, but it’s a lot of fun coming out and racing with these guys.”

Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), a veteran of only six previous Silver Crown starts, entered this season with a brand-new team making its first ever series appearance on Saturday at Toledo. In the end, they couldn’t have asked for a much better start to their racing partnership. Roahrig began his race from the outside of the front row, then fell back to fourth by the opening lap before getting by Grant just five laps before midway to swipe the final spot on the podium in his Mike Newman/Firstline Systems, Inc. – Newman Racing – Drywall Distributors/Beast/Jackson Chevy. In seven career Silver Crown starts, Roahrig has now finished third or better in five of them.

“I could catch (Leary), but then he’d get away. I just didn’t have quite enough to pass him,” Roahrig acknowledged. “It was a great first outing for our 41 team. Mike Newman made this all possible for me. I didn’t really have a Silver Crown ride after last year. I’ve just got to thank everyone that’s a part of this team. It sure was a battle getting this thing done this week.”

Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) started 18th and advanced through the field to an 11th place finish, earning herself hard charger honors for the day, which came after her Sam Pierce owned team changed a right rear tire following qualifying.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 20, 2024 – Toledo Speedway – Toledo, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Presented By Marco’s Pizza

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-14.916; 2. Tyler Roahrig, 41, Newman-15.147; 3. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-15.167; 4. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-15.201; 5. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-15.203; 6. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-15.220; 7. Jackson Macenko, 124, Hayes/Bohanon-15.224; 8. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-15.274; 9. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-15.354; 10. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-15.538; 11. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-15.599; 12. Davey Hamilton Jr., 19, Legacy-15.740; 13. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-15.839; 14. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-15.884; 15. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-15.887; 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 24, Haggenbottom-15.896; 17. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-15.997; 18. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-16.107; 19. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-18.564; 20. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-20.083.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. C.J. Leary (3), 3. Tyler Roahrig (2), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Bobby Santos (4), 6. Mario Clouser (9), 7. Logan Seavey (6), 8. Taylor Ferns (11), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 10. Davey Hamilton Jr. (10), 11. Kaylee Bryson (18), 12. Kyle Steffens (15), 13. Gregg Cory (12), 14. Jackson Macenko (7), 15. Travis Welpott (16), 16. Trey Burke (13), 17. Dakoda Armstrong (8), 18. Dave Berkheimer (17), 19. Nathan Moore (19). 28:00.63

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Kody Swanson.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-76, 2-C.J. Leary-67, 3-Tyler Roahrig-64, 4-Justin Grant-61, 5-Bobby Santos-58, 6-Mario Clouser-55, 7-Logan Seavey-52, 8-Taylor Ferns-49, 9-Jerry Coons Jr.-46, 10-Davey Hamilton Jr.-43.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-37, 2-Tye Mihocko-32, 3-Joey Amantea-29, 4-Alex Bright-27, 5-Logan Seavey-21, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-21, 7-Mitchel Moles-21, 8-C.J. Leary-20, 9-Kyle Cummins-18, 10-Matt Westfall-15.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 5, 2024 – Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – 33rd Rich Vogler Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (15.042)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (14.916)

Hard Charger: Kaylee Bryson (18th to 11th)

OPEN THE GATES! TOLEDO HOSTS USAC SILVER CROWN OPENER ON SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (April 20, 2024)………The new USAC Silver Crown season brings new life, new machinery, new driver/team combinations and a breath of fresh air spiked with methanol. Just the way we like it.

With 23 entries set for this Saturday’s 11th running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled by Marco’s Pizza on April 20 at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway, it’s what we’ve waited these past six months for.

While we’ve waited patiently since last October, the half-mile of Ohio’s Toledo Speedway has been lying in wait just the same, ready to spring into action the only way we know how – for 100 laps at more than 120 miles per hour.

Here’s eight storylines to watch coming up this weekend at Toledo!

WHO’LL STOP THE REIGN OF KODY?

With inspiration from Creedence Clearwater Revival, the first thought that comes to mind is, “And I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the reign (of Kody Swanson)?”

Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has raced to seven overall USAC Silver Crown victories at Toledo in 2011-15-18-19-21-22-23. That number is just one shy of the most victories by any driver at a single track in USAC Silver Crown history. Jack Hewitt owns eight victories at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway while Kody’s brother, Tanner Swanson, has scored eight at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Kody’s current run of five consecutive Silver Crown wins at Toledo also has him on the verge of another record. He currently stands in a three-way tie for the lead in that particular department. Dave Steele won five-in-a-row at the Phoenix International Raceway from 2002-06 while Kody also won five-straight at Salem Speedway between 2016-20.

As the owner of seven poles and seven victories in Silver Crown competition at Toledo, Swanson is the winningest USAC driver in the history of the track. He’s also the only driver to have started all 10 previous USAC Silver Crown events contested at Toledo dating back to 2010 and has now led 678 of the 1,100 total laps ever run in Silver Crown competition at Toledo for a percentage of 61.6%.

The seven-time USAC Silver Crown champion, however, is returning from a broken left foot suffered in the offseason. A victory on Saturday in just his second race back from injury would undoubtedly be one of the most special of his career.

REDEMPTION TIME FOR LEARY

C.J. Leary seemingly has a score to settle after a magnificent run during his most recent outing at Toledo in 2023.

That day, Leary took over the lead from Kody Swanson on lap two and proceeded to lead a race-high 77 laps in succession. The hellacious battle between the two came to a head on lap 78 when Swanson was able to get a nose under Leary’s car in turns three and four to take command.

The runner-up result proved to be Leary’s best finish of the 2023 season. Now the Greenfield, Ind. racer possesses the hunger to revisit USAC Silver Crown victory lane for the first time since June of 2022 at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, 18 races ago. That night also served as the lone pavement victory of his USAC career.

FIRST THINGS FIRST FOR SANTOS

In six of his eight career Silver Crown starts at Toledo, Santos has placed on the podium, and he’s also taken the runner-up position four times in 2018-19-21-22.

USAC TRIPLE CROWN CHAMP IN THE HOUSE

Speaking of former Toledo Speedway winners such as Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos, there’s also another former winner who’s making a rare pavement start of late. That’s 2008 USAC Silver Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr.

In fact, all 10 past Silver Crown wins at Toledo Speedway will be represented in the field between Swanson’s seven, Santos’ one and Coons’ two, which came in the inaugural champ car event at the track in 2010 before scoring again in 2012, a race in which his 100-lap track record of 27:07.40 still stands.

Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) has only made one pavement Silver Crown start dating back to 2019, but this weekend, the veteran of 184 career series starts (4th all-time) will take the reins of John Haggenbottom’s No. 24 at Toledo.

SEAVEY BEGINS HIS TITLE DEFENSE

Logan Seavey has a second consecutive USAC Silver Crown championship on his mind coming into Toledo after basking in the glow of his 2023 series title with Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing. After two years of doing the chasing, now the shoe is on the other foot with everybody attempting to hunt Seavey down.

The Sutter, California racer’s defense begins on the pavement of Toledo where he’s held serve by finishing fourth and fifth over the past two seasons in 2022-23, respectively. Although all eight of his Silver Crown wins thus far have come on dirt, arguably, you could say that he won the championship by virtue of his pavement performances.

Seavey finished as high as second on the pavement at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 2023. Now, after making continuous strides over the past few seasons, Seavey and the team are prepared to stride all the way to the top of the pylon as a first-time pavement winner.

UPCOMING ATTRACTIONS

Can anyone break into the Swanson-Coons-Santos triumvirate on Saturday? There are more than a few who’ve had solid showings in the past and could very well edge their way to the front of the field.

Aside from the aforementioned Leary and Seavey, 2020 Silver Crown champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) has previously captured the pole at Toledo in 2018 and grabbed a best of third in 2022 along with a fourth in 2019 and 2023. Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) was a beast in his podium run a year ago at Toledo when he equaled his career-best of third.

Meanwhile, Davey Hamilton Jr. (Boise, Idaho) charged from 14th to fifth in 2021 and also became a first-time winner with the series in 2023. Six-time Silver Crown victor Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) had a fine run to fifth during the 2022 race at Toledo.

Also securing top-10 Silver Crown finishes over the years at Toledo are Goodyear, Arizona’s Nathan Byrd (6th in 2021), Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Kaylee Bryson (6th in 2023), Auburn, Illinois’ Mario Clouser (7th in 2023), Shelby Township, Michigan’s Taylor Ferns (8th in 2023), Pendleton, Indiana’s Travis Welpott (9th in 2019) and New Castle, Indiana’s Dakoda Armstrong (10th in 2023), all of whom are seeking their first career Silver Crown wins this Saturday.

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES

New combos and new drivers will also find themselves in the mix on Saturday at Toledo. Legacy Autosport is providing three cars for Davey Hamilton Jr., Nathan Byrd and Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas). Burke’s ride is teamed in conjunction with Robert Wilson Racing. Hamilton and Burke will be chasing the full series schedule for their respective teams.

Two-time Little 500 winner Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.) has been spectacular in limited Silver Crown starts, finishing on the podium in four of his six career appearances! This year, he’ll tackle the pavement for Washington’s Michael Newman.

Three Silver Crown Rookies will be on hand at Toledo, all of whom are making their Toledo Speedway debuts with the Silver Crown series: Columbus, Ohio’s Trey Osborne (BCR Group), Kaufman, Texas’ Nathan Moore (Chip Thomas) and Cincinnati, Ohio’s Jackson Macenko (Brad Hayes Racing-Nick Bohanon Racing).

They’ll join a group of series veterans returning to their familiar rides: Saint Charles, Missouri’s Kyle Steffens (Steffens Motorsports), Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Dave Berkheimer (Berkheimer Racing) and Shelbyville, Indiana’s Gregg Cory (Williams Racing), the 2022 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year.

BEALE STREET IN TOLEDO

Saturday’s event marks the 51st USAC National racing event held in the city of Toledo, Ohio since the Stock Cars made their debut at the nearby Toledo Raceway Park in 1956, won by the aptly named Bud Moneymaker. USAC made its first visit to the new Toledo Speedway with the sprint cars in 1969, won by Bruce Walkup.

The event also honors legendary Toledo native, 1973 USAC Sprint Car champion driver and longtime USAC official Rollie Beale. Beale scored 32 race victories during his illustrious career and was one of the most respected drivers in USAC history. He retired in 1977 and joined the USAC officiating crew, eventually becoming chief steward for both the Silver Crown and National Sprint Car series for many years.

In 1991, Beale was awarded USAC’s Ross Hadley award for dedication to the sport. He was also enshrined in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996 and captured a monumental victory in the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in 1966. He passed away at the age of 84 in February of 2014.

RACE DETAILS

An open practice session will be held at Toledo Speedway on Friday, April 19. Pits open at 2pm Eastern with practice on track from 4-8pm. The first hour will consist of USAC Silver Crown practice only. Pit passes are $20 and rigs can stay parked in the pits overnight.

Saturday’s Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled by Marco’s Pizza race day features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus the ARCA Salenbien Excavating Late Model Sportsman & the Safety Kleen ARCA Factory Stocks.

The USAC pit gate opens at 10am Eastern when rigs can begin parking on parking pads 1-30. The track ticket office and spectator gates open at 12:30pm. USAC Silver Crown practice will take place from 12:30-1:15pm. USAC Silver Crown Qualifying begins at 1:45pm. Parade laps for the vintage cars are set for 2:35pm. Pre-race ceremonies will commence at 2:50pm. Racing action starts at 3pm followed by driver introductions and the Rollie Beale Classic 100-lap feature.

General admission tickets are $25 apiece. Kids age 6-12 are $5. Ages 5 & under are free. Add $1 per ticket for advance online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/.

Tickets are $25, kids 6-12 are $5, while ages 5 and under are free. Add $1 per ticket for online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/. Online ticket sales end at 9pm Eastern on Friday, August 4.

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

2024 ROLLIE BEALE CLASSIC ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Robert Wilson Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes Racing-Nick Bohanon Racing)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 10/15/2011 - Kody Swanson - 14.809 - 121.548 mph

100 Laps - 6/29/2012 - Jerry Coons Jr. - 27:07.40 - 110.606 mph

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN WINS:

7-Kody Swanson

2-Jerry Coons Jr.

1-Bobby Santos

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS:

2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (10/16)

2011: Kody Swanson (10/15)

2012: Jerry Coons Jr. (6/29)

2015: Kody Swanson (5/1)

2017: Bobby Santos (7/28)

2018: Kody Swanson (5/4)

2019: Kody Swanson (4/28)

2021: Kody Swanson (10/10)

2022: Kody Swanson (8/6)

2023: Kody Swanson (8/5)

PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:

RESET BUTTON:

OSBORNE STARTS A NEW BEGINNING

WITH USAC SILVER CROWN AT TOLEDO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (April 16, 2024)………At the beginning of 2024, all of Trey Osborne’s plans for the season were seemingly laid out with full-time rides in both the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and Silver Crown divisions.

However, by mid-February, he practically had to restart much of it all from scratch.

Osborne was injured during a flip over the turn three wall during a USAC Sprint Car feature event at Florida’s Ocala Speedway, which resulted in its share of pain and physical damage. After inventory was taken, it was discovered that Osborne had broken one vertebra in his back, endured a compression fracture in two more vertebrae and knocked the top off a fourth vertebra.

After having his back brace removed shortly thereafter, Osborne was advised to lay low for the next month with his trips mainly consisting of checkups, X-rays and MRIs. In the meantime, Osborne and Baldwin-Fox Racing mutually agreed to part ways with each other and pursue other opportunities. A month later, toward the latter part of March, Osborne was back in the seat of a sprint car in local Indiana competition, splitting time between his own No. 6 and Jerry Burton’s No. 04.

“Luckily, I really didn’t miss that much racing because it was kind of the off month for everyone,” Osborne said of the month of March. “None of my own stuff was really together or ready. On the first lap, first corner, I got about 20 feet in the air and slammed down on the wheels to check my back out, and it checked out okay. I’m pretty thankful to be back in a racecar. I’ve just got to get comfortable again, and it’s definitely a little bit different now. But I’m right on the edge of being right back where I need to be.”

Duane Harris from Industrial Hydraulics, Inc. in Indianapolis, Ind. has sponsored Osborne’s sprint car for the past two seasons, and since February, has offered Osborne both a place to live and work. It’s been a rough-and-tumble, whirlwind couple of months for the 21-year-old Columbus, Ohio racer, but the 2023 Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame is cognizant of the up-and-down nature of the sport.

“It’s just the way stuff goes sometimes,” Osborne admitted. “Last year, everything went just about perfectly. This year has started out a little rough.”

Osborne has bounced back before, and in a roundabout way, the injuries he suffered as a child built the foundation for his love of sprint car racing. At 10 years of age, a quarter midget accident at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus produced a broken arm in several places, plus a punctured kidney and spleen. In the aftermath, a required stay in the hospital altered his racing future.

“The way I learned what a sprint car was came about because of (USAC CEO) Kevin Miller,” Osborne revealed. “Kevin sent me a USAC hat that I still have and then he sent me a bunch of DVDs of USAC races, which we played in the hospital. At the time, all I ever really wanted to do was just be like a pavement NASCAR tour modified driver. That was my goal. Then I learned what non-wing sprint cars were while I was lying in a hospital bed, so that was actually what got me interested in this whole deal. I remember that vividly because that whole time sucked except for those videos.”

His USAC Silver Crown plans for 2024 remain unchanged as he pursues Rookie of the Year honors with the series in the BCR Group No. 81. Toward the end of 2023, Osborne got his feet wet with a pair of starts on the dirt at Eldora Speedway and on the pavement of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

This weekend, he’ll take on Ohio’s Toledo Speedway for the first time in the USAC Silver Crown season opener. It’s an experience Osborne has been highly anticipating in more ways than one.

“(Car owner) Malcolm (Lovelace) has been awesome through this whole process,” the 6’8” Osborne stated. “He changed a few things around on his racecars so I can fit in them a little better. I should be even better now since being comfortable in the longer races is very important. I like that they’re longer races and it’s a little different. I’m really, really looking forward to it.”

Although Osborne possesses just one previous pavement start in the champ cars, he does own quite a bit with the USSA Kenyon Midget series where he captured its championship in 2018. His lone pavement Silver Crown effort thus far produced hard charger honors last October at IRP where he started 19th and finished 12th. After a somewhat tentative beginning, Osborne is prepared to build upon that foundation this coming weekend.

“At the halfway point of the IRP race, we were really fast for a 25-lap stint,” Osborne recalled. “During qualifying on pavement, I overthought the cold tires thing. Right afterwards, I was like, ‘you know what you used to do when you qualified the midget, you just drove the ---- out of it, and it still stuck, so just do that.’ I feel I’ve got my head in the right place now as far as the pavement stuff goes, which I probably didn’t have at IRP. We’re going to test at Toledo on Friday and get some more notes. I’m going to put everything I have into it and hopefully come away with a really good finish on Saturday.”

RACE DETAILS

General admission tickets are $25 apiece. Kids age 6-12 are $5. Ages 5 & under are free. Add $1 per ticket for advance online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/.

ENTRY LIST:

23 USAC SILVER CROWN TEAMS

TAKE ON TOLEDO FOR 100 LAPS ON SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (April 15, 2024)………Twenty-three USAC Silver Crown drivers and teams are entered for the running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled by Marco’s Pizza on Saturday, April 20, at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

All three past USAC Silver Crown winners at Toledo will be in the field for Saturday’s season opener for the champ cars at the half-mile paved oval.

Seven-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has undoubtedly been the master of the race, starting from the pole six times and winning five in a row and six overall, including the 2011-15-18-19-21-22 editions. The driver of the Doran Racing No. 77 stands as the all-time winningest USAC driver at Toledo.

Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) captured a pair of Rollie Beale Classic Silver Crown victories in both 2010 and 2012. The 2008 Silver Crown champ also scored the pole position at Toledo in 2010. One of seven members of USAC’s career Triple Crown Club, Coons will wheel the No. 24 entry owned by Haggenbottom Racing.

Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) possesses victories in USAC’s Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget divisions at Toledo in his fantastic career. Back in 2017, the past NASCAR Modified champion took top honors in the 100-lap Silver Crown affair at Toledo and will be driving his familiar No. 98 for the DJ Racing team.

Those three past winners are joined by past USAC Silver Crown champions by the likes of Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey (2023), Ione, California’s Justin Grant (2020) and Peru, Indiana’s Russ Gamester, the 1989 USAC National Midget driving titlist.

An array of Silver Crown veterans in the Toledo field include Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.), Davey Hamilton Jr. (Boise, Idaho), Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.), Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) and Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.).

Three USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contenders are in the lineup for their first go at Toledo. The class consists of Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) and Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Saturday’s event honors legendary Toledo native, 1973 USAC Sprint Car champion driver and longtime USAC official Rollie Beale. Beale scored 32 race victories during his illustrious career and was one of the most respected drivers in USAC history. He retired in 1977 and joined the USAC officiating crew, eventually becoming chief steward for both the Silver Crown and National Sprint Car series for many years.

General admission tickets are $25 apiece. Kids age 6-12 are $5. Ages 5 & under are free. Add $1 per ticket for advance online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/.

ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)

26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport)

41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)

48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Robert Wilson Racing)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes Racing-Nick Bohanon Racing)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

® USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series Rookie of the Year contender

ROCK SOLID:

KTJ GETS USAC SPRINT WIN #40

AT BURG’S JUSTIN OWEN MEMORIAL

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (April 13, 2024)………It took Kevin Thomas Jr. just seven races into his new gig at Rock Steady Racing to return to winning form with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.

The Cullman, Ala. native, who was last a USAC victor nearly 19 months ago, put that long wait to rest during Saturday night’s inaugural Justin Owen Memorial at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Thomas and his Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy became the fourth and final different leader in the 30-lap main event at the 3/8-mile dirt oval, making the winning move on the bottom of turns one and two to get by Logan Seavey on a restart with 14 laps remaining.

“Man, we finally got one in the 3R; it’s about time,” Thomas exclaimed. “I’m picky and it takes a lot for me to get comfortable, but they did it. I’m super proud of these guys and everybody that works hard and has to deal with me during the week asking them to change stuff. It means a lot. If you know me, you know I’m a lot to deal with. There’s a lot to be said about my wife and my team to put up with that just for the joy of winning. We’re finally winners here in 2024 and I couldn’t be happier.”

The win was a monumental one for Thomas as he notched his 40th career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory, equaling 1969 and 1971 series champion Gary Bettenhausen for 10th on the all-time list.

Furthermore, Thomas’ score was the sixth of his career in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Lawrenceburg, tied for second all-time behind only Dave Darland’s seven. Thomas also became the first driver to capture the annual springtime Burg USAC show twice, also doing so in 2013. Until Saturday night, there had been 10 different winners in 10 spring Lawrenceburg USAC events dating back to 2006, and right from the moment race day began, a good omen was at hand.

Rock Steady Racing crewman Brian Karraker woke up Saturday morning in Nostradamus mode. Karraker texted Thomas prior to leaving for the track that he had a dream in which they won the race after starting from the seventh starting spot. As it shook out, Thomas started seventh on the grid and immediately began to forge a path toward the front.

Nonetheless, outside front row starting C.J. Leary owned the early upper hand as he broke away to the lead. However, the 2013 Lawrenceburg track champion’s run up front was short lived as he biked in turn four on the sixth lap. As he was making a miraculously recovery to gather control and avoid wall contact, he free-fell all the way back to fifth as pole sitter Kyle Cummins slipped underneath to grab the top spot.

At that moment, Seavey had his ride wound up on the topside, allowing him to track down Cummins on the 11th trip. There, in turn three, Seavey blitzed to the bottom and slid up across the nose of Cummins to put himself at the top of the pylon before opening a half-second lead as the race crossed the halfway point. Simultaneously, Thomas was digging on the bottom and swiftly edged ahead of Cummins at the exit of turn two on lap 16.

Moments later, the first red flag of the night was displayed when Robert Ballou and Daison Pursley touched wheels in the battle for eighth in turn four on the 17th lap. Ballou got the worst end of the deal as he elevated airborne, then dug in with the front bumper and rode out two turnovers before coming to a rest. Ballou was able to return to the race after repairs were made in the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area, but last week’s Lawrenceburg opening night winner was mired back in 19th at the finish line.

On the ensuing restart, Seavey led the field high and wide into turn one, four wheels over the cushion. Thomas proposed a different plan and steadily drove by Seavey on the bottom to take over the top spot by the time the pair reached turn two on the heavy and tricky surface that Thomas and crew figured out a way to master both high and low.

“You had to be in the right spots at the right time,” Thomas explained. “It was challenging to pass people, but we got lucky that we were really good around the bottom and could also run the top.”

One driver who found catastrophe was Justin Grant. Vying to become the first to win three consecutive USAC National Sprint Car features at Lawrenceburg, Grant biked on the entry to turn three on lap 19 while running sixth. As Grant hopped, Jake Swanson was unable to avoid contact and ramped over Grant’s left front wheel with his right rear, subsequently knocking out the front end on Grant’s ride. With his wheels pointing two different directions at once, Grant fought to wrangle control of his car until it suddenly veered right on him, sending him flipping three times. Grant was able to walk away from the wreckage.

Seavey sought to return the favor on the ensuing restart as he made his bid for the lead with 11 to go. Seavey dove underneath Thomas on the entry to turn three but skittered into the cushion as Thomas dipped back under off turn four to retain control. A half lap later, Bacon followed Thomas’ path on the bottom and wrestled his way past Seavey into second.

As the leaders navigated lapped traffic, Bacon was able to shave his way to within three car lengths of Thomas with two laps to go. However, that was as close as Bacon got as Thomas locked up the shop with his first checkered flag of the season by a 0.969 second margin. Bacon took second with Seavey third, Leary fourth and Swanson fifth.

The event featured one of the largest crowds for a USAC event at Lawrenceburg Speedway in recent memory and included a large throng of Justin Owen’s family and friends. The event was held in memory of Owen, the 2022 Lawrenceburg sprint car track champion who passed away from injuries sustained in a racing accident at the track on April 8, 2023. The occasion was certainly among the most meaningful victories of Thomas’ career.

“It means a lot,” Thomas stated. “Justin was a big staple down here at Lawrenceburg. He ran here a lot, and he was really fast. You hate to lose somebody that young, but he was doing what he loved to do. At the end of the day, if we could all go out doing the things that we love to do, it would probably be a little bit better of a place to live.”

After a tumultuous six-race Florida trip in February, Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was more than ready to hit the reset button on his season. On Saturday, Bacon finally found good fortune, finishing as the runner-up in his Dynamics, Inc./Bazell Race Fuels – Davis Brothers Trucking – Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Contrary to Bacon, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was nearly immaculate in Florida, finishing inside the top-three in all six of his starts. The current series point leader kept the streak rolling and set a new record on Saturday by becoming the first driver to open a USAC National Sprint Car season with seven consecutive podium finishes, breaking the record held by Tracy Hines since 2002.

Several special bonuses were up for grabs throughout the night. Grant (Ione, Calif.) pocketed $800 for recording the second fastest time in both hot laps and qualifying. Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) took home $400 for his hard charging effort from 18th to 9th in the feature. Meanwhile, 10th place runner Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) earned a hefty sum of $4,004 as the top-finishing Lawrenceburg Speedway regular in the feature.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 13, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – Justin Owen Memorial – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.026; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.057; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.065; 4. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.219; 5. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.310; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.333; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.345; 8. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-14.413; 9. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.420; 10. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.495; 11. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.515; 12. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.520; 13. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.522; 14. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.549; 15. Shawn Westerfeld, 4J, Fischesser/Owen-14.565; 16. Garrett Abrams, 32, Abrams-14.625; 17. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.642; 18. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.653; 19. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.739; 20. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.920; 21. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-14.973; 22. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-14.984; 23. Nate Carle, 14c, Carle-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Garrett Abrams, 7. Joey Amantea, 8. Ryan Barr. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Saban Bibent, 7. Hunter Maddox. 2:00.68

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Shawn Westerfeld, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Nick Bilbee, 7. Kayla Roell. 2:01.64

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 2. Brady Bacon (9), 3. Logan Seavey (4), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Jake Swanson (3), 6. Daison Pursley (6), 7. Kyle Cummins (1), 8. Chase Stockon (8), 9. Mitchel Moles (18), 10. Nick Bilbee (11), 11. Jadon Rogers (14), 12. Carson Garrett (17), 13. Matt Westfall (13), 14. Joey Amantea (19), 15. Shawn Westerfeld (15), 16. Saban Bibent (10), 17. Ryan Barr (22), 18. Kayla Roell (21), 19. Robert Ballou (12), 20. Hunter Maddox (20), 21. Garrett Abrams (16), 22. Justin Grant (5). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 C.J. Leary, Laps 6-10 Kyle Cummins, Laps 11-17 Logan Seavey, Laps 18-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.

**Robert Ballou flipped on lap 17 of the feature. Justin Grant flipped on lap 19 of the feature.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: May 3-4, 2024 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – #LetsRaceTwo – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (14.140)

A.J. Strasinger Trucking Second Fastest in Hot Laps: Justin Grant (14.278)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley (14.026)

Ron’s Roost Second Fastest in Qualifying: Justin Grant (14.057)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Impressive Creations Hard Charger: Mitchel Moles (18th to 9th)

Justin Owen Family & Friends Top-Finishing Lawrenceburg Regular: Nick Bilbee (10th)

THE LONG ROAD BACK:

KODY SWANSON RETURNS

FROM INJURY TO RACE AGAIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (April 12, 2024)………For any racer with the level of accomplishments Kody Swanson has accrued throughout his career, there are always obstacles to overcome and hills to climb en route to a successful season.

Swanson knows this all too well, and to prove it, he’s racked up seven driving titles and 40 victories on his illustrious USAC Silver Crown resume. However, the 2024 season has presented him with an unanticipated obstacle unlike any other he’s ever faced.

On Christmas morning roughly three-and-a-half months ago, Swanson’s season and the future of his racing career instantly came into question in a split second. An accident at his parents’ house in Kingsburg, Calif. resulted in a severely broken left foot. Swanson was ultimately rushed into surgery that same day.

After returning to his parents’ home, he remained there until after the new year until he was cleared to fly back home to his Brownsburg, Ind. residence. Fitted with an external fixator designed to keep his fractured bones stabilized and aligned, Swanson arrived home and made an appointment with Dr. Timothy Weber and his team at OrthoIndy, which has been the location of many racecar driver restorations over the years.

An MRI was followed by a CT scan to see the lay of the land, so to speak, and on January 12, Swanson underwent a second surgery to install plates and screws into his foot. The physical anguish in the aftermath of the accident goes without speaking, but the mental agony that goes along with it can prove to be just as painful.

“At the beginning, it was really hard to know what the status was,” Swanson began. “My first thought was, ‘well, I’m going to miss the Chili Bowl.’ At surgery that first night, I found out what they’d seen after they’d gotten inside and saw what kind of damage was really done. The numbers they threw out ended with six months, and you think, ‘wow, am I really going to be out through the month of May and through June?’ Then it’s, ‘what’s the recovery going to be like after something this big?’”

Among the individuals who have been key in Swanson’s recovery is USAC Triple Crown champion Tracy Hines. Hines can relate to Swanson’s predicament. In 2007, Hines suffered a fractured pelvis, a broken left femur and a dislocated right knee, among injuries, in an off-road dirt bike crash. Hines encouraged Swanson to keep his mind on the task at hand and laid out the stark realities of the situation and the expectations of what’s in store in the days, weeks and months ahead.

“Tracy is someone that I’ve leaned on pretty heavily, especially at the beginning, in knowing what to expect, making sure I ask the right questions and what I need to be aware of on my end so I can try to help the healing process as much as I can,” Swanson explained. “Justin Grant is another one who encouraged me to get into OrthoIndy where they have such a great group who’ve seen things like this before. Just like you want the right people working on your racecar, you also want the right people patching you back together. I’ve been really fortunate that on every step along the way, I’ve had great help.”

However, from the start, Swanson wasn’t keen on the idea of an agonizing six-month wait to get back to work.

“Pushing forward, it’s like, ‘okay, that’s our official timeline,’” Swanson remarked. “If I do my job all the way right, maybe it’ll heal quicker. So far, I’ve been fortunate that that’s what’s happening, and it’s been healing really well. I had regained my stability and was able to begin walking ahead of schedule. I was able to put weight on it and do all those things to try and regain the mobility and strength that I had lost over that time.”

Through rigorous rehabilitation sessions and physical therapy, Swanson began to see the improvements as well as the figurative light at the end of the tunnel. He took on the anti-gravity treadmill at 35% weight starting February 13, and from that point forward, made regular visits to the gym at PitFit, despite still utilizing crutches.

“They brought me a chair and allowed me to sit down,” Swanson recalled. “I could do some upper body work and do whatever I could to try and keep my cardio and my body strength up in order to recover as quickly as I could to be ready for that first opportunity.”

A major milestone was reached on March 4 when Swanson took his first steps without the aid of crutches by walking across a parking lot with full weight. Throughout the three-month process, Swanson spoke of how he made it a priority to take advantage of the forced slow down.

“I feel like if God wanted me to see something through this to make sure I didn’t miss it, it’s that there are so many things in this fast-paced life that we take for granted. I have an even greater appreciation for it now and enjoy the little things so much more.”

In a sense, this isn’t completely new territory for Swanson. During the 2011 USAC National Midget Hut 100 at Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway, a turn three ramp over another driver’s wheel sent Swanson into a series of flips that resulted in a broken skull and pelvis (in two places) as well as a fractured collarbone. However, the difference in this recent incident is that the bones needed to be reset in his foot. It’s a surgery and recovery that Swanson admitted was “a different experience.”

With that said, Swanson’s mindset was also set on getting back behind the wheel of a racecar. After all, a mere eight weeks after the 2011 accident, he was back in victory lane at Indianapolis Raceway Park with the USAC Silver Crown series.

On April 4, Swanson’s X-Rays allowed the surgeons to give him the blessing to get back on track. On April 9, he returned to the seat of the Doran Racing sprint car for a practice session at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway where all went well. Now the focus is set to “race mode” for the USAC Silver Crown opener on Saturday, April 20, at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

“As you recover, you just focus on the next one – the next opportunity and the next race – and it’s the same way I’ve approached it before,” Swanson revealed. “It would be great to kick off the comeback with a win, but at the same time, the series is as competitive as it gets, and there are a lot of guys wanting to win all the same. For me, it’s just about focusing on trying to be as ready as I can be for it.”

Swanson is thankful for all the support he’s had along the way from the people who’ve helped directly, to the people who’ve called, and especially his wife, Jordan. As Kody puts it, she’s had to help patch him back together twice now in addition to keeping the household going with two young sons to care for.

He’s mentally and physically preparing for the demanding 100-lap, 50-mile test on the half-mile paved oval of Toledo, and as everyone has become undeniably aware of by this point, Swanson won’t allow himself to be outworked and he won’t miss any details along the way. Even an unintended pun couldn’t slip by Swanson without a laugh.

“Time will tell to see how good it goes, but I’m going to put one good foot forward to try and be as ready as I can be.”

4JO: BURG PRESENTS USAC SPRINT

MIDWEST OPENER ON SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (April 11, 2024)………4JO.

The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway race on in the memory of the 2022 track champion this Saturday night, April 13, with the inaugural running of the Justin Owen Memorial.

As we race on with the thoughts of Justin on our minds, we race on at a place that was a like a second home to him, where he made himself a fan favorite and where we created a lasting legacy that continues on inside the heart and soul of racers, crew members, track workers and fans alike this weekend.

A PERFECT 10!

Ten Spring dates. Ten Spring winners.

That’s the lay of the land for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship as the series arrives at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway this Saturday night for the series’ Midwest season opener.

In the time Lawrenceburg has greeted USAC with an April date since 2006, the result has seen 10 races and 10 different winning drivers emerge: Jon Stanbrough (2006), Levi Jones (2007), Josh Wise (2009), Jerry Coons Jr. (2010), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2013), Justin Grant (2014), Logan Jarrett (2015), Dave Darland (2016), Chris Windom (2017) and Brady Bacon (2021).

At least three of those drivers will attempt to become the breakthrough artist this Saturday night as they try to chip through the stranglehold that has seen nary a repeat victor throughout all these years: Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant and Brady Bacon.

JG FOR THREE!

Plenty of drivers have captured two consecutive USAC National Sprint Car feature wins at Lawrenceburg over the years. Rick Hood was the first to do so in 1985-86, and in the following years, Brian Tyler (1997), Dave Darland (1998), Jon Stanbrough (2003-04), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2013), Brady Bacon (2020-21) and Justin Grant (2018-19 & 2023) have followed suit.

However, no driver has won three-in-a-row at Lawrenceburg. Grant (Ione, Calif.) is gunning to become the first to do so this Saturday night after sweeping a pair of victories at the track in 2023.

Furthermore, one more victory this weekend would equal Grant as the winningest USAC Sprint Car driver in the history of Lawrenceburg Speedway alongside Dave Darland, who accumulated seven between 1998-2016.

To add to that, Grant has already earned three USAC National Sprint Car wins throughout the first six races of the 2024 season. Only five previous drivers have scored at least four wins in their first seven starts, a mark Grant looks to equal on Saturday: Don Branson (1959), Jim Hurtubise (1962), Jud Larson (1965), Larry Dickson (1968 & 70) and Damion Gardner (2010).

SEAVEY’S HISTORICAL PODIUM RUN

Throughout the first six events in 2024, no driver has been as consistent as Logan Seavey with nary a finish outside the top-three! His results of 3rd, 3rd, 1st, 1st, 2nd and 2nd have him squarely positioned in the number one spot of the series point standings.

Tracy Hines (2002) is the only other driver to start off his season with six-straight top-three results in USAC National Sprint Car competition. However, no driver has ever reached seven top threes to start a new season.

Seavey will aim for a brand-new record this Saturday night after having previously scored a USAC Sprint Car victory in July of 2021 at Lawrenceburg. Surprisingly, Saturday’s race will mark Seavey’s debut springtime appearance at the track.

BALLOU A BURG WINNER ALREADY

Robert Ballou is the lone driver in the field who has reached Lawrenceburg Speedway victory lane in 2024. Just last Saturday night, the 2015 USAC National Sprint Car champion captured the track’s season opening sprint car feature event.

Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) won a USAC National Sprint Car feature at Lawrenceburg all the way back in 2011, and he’s eager to grab another one come Saturday night.

The winningest driver/owner in series history with 32 career victories in in his own Ballou Motorsports No. 12 last scored a USAC triumph in November of 2022 at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.

LEARY’S ON THE BEAT

Of late, no one has been more solid than C.J. Leary who’s already won three sprint car features throughout the early going of the season.

The 2019 USAC Sprint titlist won the most recent series feature earlier this February at Florida’s Ocala Speedway. On the last weekend of March, he reeled off two consecutive “local” Indiana victories in as many nights, first during the No Way Out 40 at Paragon Speedway and again 24 hours later at Brownstown Speedway.

His USAC track record thus far in 2024 has been stellar as well, stringing together results of 2nd, 4th, 4th, 3rd, 9th and 1st in six series starts, which has him second in the standings entering Lawrenceburg.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) owns two USAC Sprint wins at Lawrenceburg in 2017 and 2020 as well as the 2013 track title. On three occasions, he’s finished as the runner-up at Lawrenceburg’s spring USAC show in 2015, 2016 and 2021.

BONUSES ABOUND

Saturday’s inaugural Justin Owen Memorial is a special one, honoring the life and memory of the driver who passed away in a qualifying crash during the April 2023 USAC event at Lawrenceburg.

The 26-year-old Owen was the 2022 sprint car track champion at Lawrenceburg, scoring

two feature wins en route to the title at the 3/8-mile dirt oval in southeastern Indiana where he’d long been a regular competitor for the past several seasons.

Among his greatest achievements were a victory in the season-closing Dick Gaines Memorial at Lawrenceburg in 2022. With USAC, Owen made two feature starts, both at Lawrenceburg in 2019 and 2021.

For Saturday, a $400 bonus will be awarded to the driver with the second fastest hot lap time, as well as the second fastest qualifier and the hard charger.

Additionally, a special award for the highest finishing 2023 Lawrenceburg Speedway top-10 points driver will also be up for grabs. This award will be based on Justin Owen Memorial T-Shirt sales, with the prize being a minimum of $2500 and a maximum of $4000. The eligible drivers for this award include Nick Bilbee, Joss Moffatt, Garrett Abrams, Noah Whitehouse, Ryan Barr, Nathan Carle, Sterling Cling, Saban Bibent, Dustin Webber and Braxton Cummings.

RACE DETAILS

No less than eight past USAC National Sprint Car winners at Lawrenceburg are expected to be on hand for Saturday’s event which culminates with a $5,400-to-win 30-lap feature. Past Lawrenceburg USAC National Sprint Car winners in the field include Justin Grant (6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), Brady Bacon (3), C.J. Leary (2), Robert Ballou (1), Kyle Cummins (1), Logan Seavey (1) and Chase Stockon (1).

This Saturday, April 13, marks the first Midwest appearance of the season for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at new promoter Shane McHenry’s Lawrenceburg Speedway. The event also presents the KFI Modifieds and Impact Sports Pure Stocks.

Pits open at 3pm Eastern, with the front gates opening at 4:30pm and hot laps at 6pm with qualifying and racing to follow. Grandstand admission for ages 13 and up is $25 while kids age 7-12 are $8 and children age 6 & under are free. Pit passes are $35 apiece.

If you’re unable to make it to the track, you may also watch this Saturday’s Lawrenceburg event LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-462, 2-C.J. Leary-424, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-400, 4-Justin Grant-388, 5-Daison Pursley-331, 6-Chase Stockon-322, 7-Briggs Danner-309, 8-Robert Ballou-305, 9-Kyle Cummins-304, 10-Mitchel Moles-295.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/9/2008 - Levi Jones - 12.926 - 104.441 mph

8 Laps - 9/28/2013 - Tracy Hines - 1:51.91 - 96.506 mph

10 Laps - 7/10/2008 - Cole Whitt - 2:18.19 - 97.692 mph

12 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Stevie Sussex - 2:51.39 - 94.521 mph

30 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Josh Hodges - 7:21.09 - 91.818 mph

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

7-Dave Darland

6-Justin Grant

5-Jon Stanbrough & Kevin Thomas Jr.

4-Jack Hewitt

3-Brady Bacon, Kevin Briscoe, Bryan Clauson & Rick Hood

2-Tony Elliott, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Danny Milburn & Brian Tyler

1-Robert Ballou, Jeff Bland Jr., Mark Cassella, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Kevin Doty, Jay Drake, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Josh Hodges, Logan Jarrett, Thomas Meseraull, Rodney Ritter Jr., Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

1983: Danny Milburn (9/18)

1984: Rick Hood (6/9) & Danny Milburn (9/16)

1985: Rick Hood (6/8)

1986: Rick Hood (6/7)

1988: Jack Hewitt (6/4)

1989: Rodney Ritter Jr. (7/1)

1992: Kevin Thomas (8/8)

1993: Jack Hewitt (7/10)

1994: Jon Stanbrough (6/18)

1995: Jack Hewitt (7/1)

1996: Mark Cassella (8/31)

1997: Brian Tyler (7/19) & Brian Tyler (8/30)

1998: Kevin Doty (5/30), Dave Darland (7/18) & Dave Darland (8/29)

1999: Kevin Briscoe (6/5), Jack Hewitt (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/28)

2000: Kevin Briscoe (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/26)

2001: Dave Darland (7/26)

2002: Kevin Briscoe (7/25)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/31), Jay Drake (6/1) & Jon Stanbrough (7/24)

2004: Jon Stanbrough (7/22)

2005: Dickie Gaines (7/21)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (4/22)

2007: Levi Jones (4/21), Jon Stanbrough (7/11) & Dave Darland (7/12)

2008: Jeff Bland Jr. (7/9) & Brady Short (7/10)

2009: Josh Wise (4/18), Dave Darland (7/10), Jerry Coons Jr. (8/22 Special Event) & Damion Gardner (10/2)

2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/17) & Dave Darland (7/9)

2011: Robert Ballou (7/10), Levi Jones (10/1)

2012: Justin Grant (7/15) & Chase Stockon (9/29)

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/14) & Bryan Clauson (9/28)

2014: Justin Grant (4/5) & Bryan Clauson (9/27)

2015: Logan Jarrett (4/4), Brady Bacon (7/12) & Thomas Meseraull (10/3)

2016: Dave Darland (4/2), Bryan Clauson (7/10) & Josh Hodges (10/1)

2017: Chris Windom (4/1), C.J. Leary (7/9) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/30)

2018: Tyler Courtney (7/22) & Justin Grant (9/29)

2019: Justin Grant (7/21) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/5)

2020: C.J. Leary (7/26) & Brady Bacon (10/3)

2021: Brady Bacon (4/3), Logan Seavey (7/25) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/2)

2022: Kyle Cummins (10/1)

2023: Justin Grant (7/24) & Justin Grant (10/7)

PAST APRIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FEATURE RESULTS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

APRIL 2006 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Mat Neely, 6. Josh Wise, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Dickie Gaines, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Matt Westfall, 11. Derek O’Dell, 12. Jason Knoke, 13. Brady Short, 14. John Wolfe, 15. Daron Clayton, 16. Bryan Clauson, 17. Cory Kruseman, 18. Justin Marvel, 19. Brandon Petty, 20. Ted Hines, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Jerry Coons Jr. NT

APRIL 2007 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Kevin Swindell, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Josh Wise, 6. Brett Burdette, 7. Jesse Hockett, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Shane Hollingsworth, 10. Jon Stanbrough, 11. Darren Hagen, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Tracy Hines, 14. Daron Clayton, 15. Chris Windom, 16. Damion Gardner, 17. Mat Neely, 18. Jimmy Light, 19. Brady Short, 20. Chad Boespflug, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Dustin Morgan, 23. Matt Westfall. NT

APRIL 2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Josh Wise, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Brad Sweet, 4. Chad Boat, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Jesse Hockett, 8. Cole Whitt, 9. Brady Short, 10. Jon Stanbrough, 11. Brett Burdette, 12. Tracy Hines, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Chris Windom, 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 16. Robert Ballou, 17. Jonathan Hendrick, 18. Jimmy Light, 19. Bryan Clauson, 20. Nic Faas, 21. Jeff Bland Jr., 22. Shane Cottle, 23. Hunter Schuerenberg. NT

APRIL 2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Chris Windom, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Brady Short, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Justin Grant, 10. Hunter Schuerenberg, 11. Bryan Clauson, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. Blake Fitzpatrick, 14. Shane Hmiel, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Jonathan Hendrick, 17. Ricky Williams, 18. Brett Burdette, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. Henry Clarke, 21. Dave Darland, 22. John Memmer. NT

APRIL 2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Coleman Gulick, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Shane Cottle, 9. Landon Simon, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Dave Darland, 12. Tracy Hines, 13. Justin Grant, 14. Tyler Courtney, 15. Logan Hupp, 16. Ted Hines, 17. Nick Drake, 18. Kyle Robbins, 19. Christopher Bell, 20. Robert Ballou, 21. C.J. Leary, 22. Matt Westfall, 23. Chris Windom. NT

APRIL 2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Hunter Schuerenberg, 9. Bryan Clauson, 10. Logan Jarrett, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Kody Swanson, 13. Chris Windom, 14. Travis Hery, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Shane Cockrum, 17. Parker Price-Miller, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Tracy Hines, 20. Chris Gurley, 21. Kevin Thomas Jr., 22. Thomas Meseraull. NT

APRIL 2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Logan Jarrett, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Justin Grant, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Kyle Cummins, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Tyler Courtney, 15. Chad Boespflug, 16. Kyle Robbins, 17. Landon Simon, 18. Daron Clayton, 19. Travis Hery, 20. Logan Hupp, 21. Bryan Clauson, 22. Chris Windom, 23. Casey Shuman, 24. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT

APRIL 2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Scotty Weir, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Max McGhee, 6. Dallas Hewitt, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Justin Grant, 10. Aaron Farney, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Kyle Cummins, 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16. Landon Simon, 17. Carson Short, 18. Cole Ketcham, 19. Shawn Westerfeld, 20. Chad Boespflug, 21. Shane Cottle, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Joss Moffatt. NT

APRIL 2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Chad Boespflug, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Landon Simon, 6. Josh Hodges, 7. Shawn Westerfeld, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9. Jarett Andretti, 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Dallas Hewitt, 12. Tyler Courtney, 13. Tyler Thomas, 14. Corey Smith, 15. Isaac Chapple, 16. Jeff Bland Jr., 17. Max McGhee, 18. Kody Swanson, 19. Nick Bilbee, 20. Hunter Schuerenberg, 21. Carson Short, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Chase Stockon. NT

APRIL 2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (6), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Chris Windom (10), 4. Justin Grant (1), 5. Thomas Meseraull (9), 6. Jadon Rogers (11), 7. Paul Nienhiser (5), 8. Cole Bodine (3), 9. Robert Ballou (22), 10. Stevie Sussex (4), 11. Sterling Cling (7), 12. Nick Bilbee (14), 13. Tanner Thorson (13), 14. Jake Swanson (16), 15. Max Adams (20), 16. Dave Darland (8), 17. Scotty Weir (19), 18. Matt Westfall (12), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (17), 20. J.J. Hughes (15), 21. Kyle Cummins (18), 22. Brandon Mattox (P) (24), 23. Garrett Abrams (21), 24. Chase Stockon (P) (23). NT

JASON SMITH APPOINTED AS PRESIDENT OF USAC RACING,

MARKING A NEW CHAPTER IN THE ORGANIZATION’S EXPANSION

Speedway, IN (April 9, 2024) - USAC Racing, the esteemed governing body overseeing various competition divisions within the United States Auto Club, proudly announces the appointment of Jason Smith as its new President.

This significant leadership change reflects USAC’s remarkable growth over the past decade, marked by its expansion into off-road, powersports, and road racing.

With over 20 years at USAC in various competition positions, Jason Smith brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in motorsports leadership to his new role. With a deep understanding of the industry and a passion for advancing racing at all levels, Smith is poised to lead USAC Racing into its next chapter of success.

The newly formed President position of USAC Racing will report to the United States Auto Club’s CEO Kevin Miller, and work alongside the executive team reporting to the USAC Board of Directors.

“USAC Racing has undergone tremendous growth and transformation over the past 15 years,” remarked Kevin Miller, CEO of the United States Auto Club. “Jason’s appointment as President of our Competition Division signifies our commitment to further expanding our presence in the racing world while upholding the values and standards that have defined USAC for decades. I am honored to have worked with him since my first day at USAC in 2007.”

In his new capacity, Jason Smith will oversee the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of USAC Racing, working closely with stakeholders to ensure the continued success and growth of the organization. His vision for USAC includes enhancing the fan experience, fostering innovation in racing technology, and cultivating a diverse and inclusive racing community.

“I am honored to lead USAC Racing at such an exciting time in its history,” said Jason Smith. “The past decade has seen remarkable expansion and diversification within our organization, and I am committed to building upon this foundation to further elevate USAC’S position as a leader in motorsports”

Under Jason Smith’s leadership, USAC Racing will continue to support and promote a wide range of racing disciplines, including sprint cars, midgets, Silver Crown, off-road, powersports and road racing. With a focus on innovation, inclusivity, and excellence, USAC Racing remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsports and providing thrilling experiences for fans and participants alike.

AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

April 6, 2024 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-14.491; 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.525; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-14.569; 4. Cameron La Rose, 5, Mihocko-14.577; 5. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.607; 6. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-14.613; 7. Logan Williams, 5, McCarthy-14.667; 8. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.750; 9. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.770; 10. David Gasper, 73X, Ford-14.781; 11. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.833; 12. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.856; 13. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-14.862; 14. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-14.953; 15. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-15.109; 16. Mark Henry, 39R, Henry-15.153; 17. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-15.193; 18. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.269; 19. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-15.433; 20. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Dunkel-15.486; 21. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-15.506; 22. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-15.540; 23. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-15.618; 24. Jim Vanzant, 3V, Vanzant-15.854; 25. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-15.863; 26. Camie Bell, 29C, Bell-16.500; 27. Brody Roa, 8M, NT; 28. Brody Wake, 78B, Wake-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Transfer To Feature) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Brent Sexton, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Jeff Dyer, 7. R.J. Johnson. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Transfer To Feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Austin Grabowski, 3. Grant Sexton, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. David Gasper, 6. Logan Calderwood, 7. Camie Bell. NT

BILLSJERKY.NET THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Transfer To Feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Logan Williams, 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Brent Owens, 5. Andrew Sweeney, 6. Elexa Herrera. NT.

SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, Top 4 Transfer To Feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Tommy Malcolm, 3. Cameron La Rose, 4. Mark Henry, 5. Tom Dunkel, 6. Jim Vanzant. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps, Top 6 Transfer To Feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Jeff Dyer, 3. David Gasper, 4. Logan Calderwood, 5. Andrew Sweeney, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Tom Dunkel, 8. Elexa Herrera, 9. Camie Bell. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 2. Cody Williams (2), 3. Tommy Malcolm (12), 4. David Gasper (10), 5. Logan Calderwood (7), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (5), 7. Cameron La Rose (3), 8. J.J. Yeley (13), 9. Logan Williams (1), 10. R.J. Johnson (9), 11. Grant Sexton (21), 12. Ricky Lewis (6), 13. A.J. Bender (11), 14. Austin Williams (14), 15. Austin Grabowski (18), 16. Verne Sweeney (20), 17. Mark Henry (16), 18. Brent Sexton (17), 19. Andrew Sweeney (19), 20. Jeff Dyer (22), 21. Charles Davis Jr. (8), 22. Brent Owens (15). NT.
----------------------------
**Brody Roa flipped during qualifications.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Logan Williams, Laps 4-13 Cody Williams, Laps 14-26 Kevin Thomas Jr., Lap 27 Cody Williams, Laps 28-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Grant Sexton (21 to 11)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: April 27 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

USAC's HALL OF FAME

CLASS OF 2024 REVEALED

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (April 3, 2024)………The USAC Hall of Fame 2024 class of inductees for 2024 has been revealed.

USAC’s 11th hall of fame class includes photographers Gene Crucean and John Mahoney; car owners The Hoffman Family; champion drivers Rickey Hood and Levi Jones, plus promoter Tom Marchese and mechanic/car owner Jud Phillips.

The official 2024 USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at USAC headquarters in Speedway, Indiana on Friday afternoon, September 27, 2024, during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 weekend for the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

MEET THE NEW USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS:

GENE CRUCEAN

Born on February 16, 1943, in Hammond, Indiana, Gene Crucean’s lifelong racing adventure took him to several facets of the sport. While attending events as a child with his father at the northern Indiana/Chicago area racetracks, Crucean began his collection of racing photography.

In time, his world revolved around the sport, and he was crafty in how he officially began his involvement in an official capacity starting in 1965 at the Terre Haute Action Track, armed with a camera and a USAC credential via the fictitious Northwest News. Since that point, Crucean has captured a plethora of iconic USAC moments.

As an Indiana University freshman in 1962, Crucean met fellow photographer John Mahoney. A lifelong friendship was forged and the most dynamic of duos was born. In 1968, Crucean/Mahoney founded Sprint Car Pictorial magazine, and in 1976, they leased the Indianapolis Speedrome to promote a USAC Midget event won by Bruce Robey.

Soon after, Crucean purchased a midget from Robin Miller and became a team owner. With Roy Caruthers as his driver, the team annually appeared in the series standings between 1983-92, finishing fifth in 1990. In 1988, Crucean and Caruthers scored a monumental victory at the Hoosier Dome Invitational.

HOFFMAN FAMILY

In the annals of USAC racing, nobody has accrued as much success as the Hoffman family. Since USAC’s formation in 1956, the Ohio-based outfit has won 146 feature events across the board in sprint car, midget and Silver Crown competition.

August “Gus” Hoffman founded the team in 1929 after discovering a car in a field and began contesting events in the Ohio/Kentucky area. For the next quarter-century, Hoffman’s team competed regularly in sprint car races. By 1956, Gus’ midget was a winner in USAC’s inaugural season at Ohio’s Dayton Speedway with driver Eddie Sachs.

Gus entered USAC’s Sprint ranks in 1957, and with Don Branson behind the wheel at Ohio’s New Bremen Speedway, scored the first of the team’s 135 USAC National Sprint Car wins to date. Gus’ son, Richard, joined the team as an owner in 1964, and in time, Richard’s son Rob became a mainstay on the team, making it a three-generation effort.

After a decade-plus of Indy Car racing, the Hoffman team hit its stride starting in 1989 with the first of its record 13 USAC National Sprint Car entrant titles with drivers Rich Vogler, Steve Butler, Dave Darland, Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons Jr. and Brady Bacon.

RICKEY HOOD

Perhaps the most significant testament to an individual’s skill is how quickly adaptable one is to their surroundings and how resilient they are to sudden obstacles.

Rickey Hood showcased these skills in spades throughout his illustrious racing career. In fact, no driver has become a winner in all three of USAC’s national divisions quicker than Hood with a victory in his Silver Crown debut as well as triumphs in his second starts with both the sprints and midgets – a total of five appearances.

Born into the ultra-competitive Memphis racing scene on July 15, 1952, as the son of National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Clarence “Hooker” Hood, Rickey cemented his own status as USAC star in 1984 by virtue of his first career USAC National Sprint Car driving title. At the conclusion of the season, however, a freak accident occurred when an errant sprint car hit Rickey in the pits, breaking both of his legs.

In his comeback season of 1985, once again teamed with car owner Damon “Blackie” Fortune, Rickey performed even better by becoming the first driver to capture both the USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown titles in the same season, thus earning the Jimmy Caruthers Memorial Award for Spirit and Determination.

LEVI JONES

From the time he set off rolling down the road with his dad and their family-run racing operation, Levi Jones was determined to become a champion.

Originating from humble beginnings, Jones, born on June 10, 1982, wasn’t afraid to test his abilities against USAC’s best from the outset. From the time he turned 16, the Olney, Illinois native learned the ropes, the trials and the tribulations. After nearly seven seasons of USAC competition, he broke through for his first USAC Sprint Car win in 2004 on the dirt in Charlotte, North Carolina.

From that point forward, no driver was as consistently successful as Levi. He earned his first USAC Sprint crown in 2005 for 2B Racing before joining Tony Stewart Racing’s stable where he reeled off successive championships in 2007-09-10-11. To boot, he added back-to-back USAC Silver Crown titles in 2010-11 for TSR for a total of seven USAC national points championship in his masterful career.

In 2015, he hung up his helmet and joined USAC as its national series director and was ultimately named Vice President of Competition for the club’s Circle Track Division through 2021. Jones was also instrumental in establishing many new foundational events for USAC, most notably the BC39 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

JOHN MAHONEY

Few, if any, individuals have witnessed more USAC events through a camera’s viewfinder, and perhaps nobody has been more adept at snapping an action or candid shot and transforming it into an art form more exquisitely than John Mahoney.

Born in Indianapolis on August 18, 1943, Mahoney was raised in the center of the racing universe, and it wasn’t long before he was hooked. Mahoney’s earliest racing memories recount visits to the Indianapolis 500 and the Hoosier Hundred during the mid-1950s. However, it was a USAC Sprint Car race at Terre Haute which laid the foundation for a lifelong addiction to the sport.

Early on, Mahoney took his store-bought box camera into the pits after the races. With the assistance of his brother, Steve, Mahoney developed the photos for posterity. At Indiana University, Mahoney met fellow student Gene Crucean, and the instant bond between them forged a lifelong friendship.

The Crucean/Mahoney partnership led to the creation of Sprint Car Pictorial, race promotion and even the ownership of a USAC Midget team. From 1984-85, Mahoney served as USAC’s Assistant Director of the USAC News Bureau as well as the Silver Crown Series Coordinator. In 2019, Mahoney was the inaugural recipient of the Dick Jordan Award of Excellence.

TOM MARCHESE

One of the most prevalent promoters in both AAA and USAC history, Tom Marchese’s stewardship at Wisconsin State Fair Park’s Milwaukee Mile ranks among the longest and most successful tenures in motorsports history.

Born in Sicily in 1899, Tom immigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin at a young age and forged his own path forward in the burgeoning automobile industry. As a teenager, he began working as a mechanic at the Holmes Motor Company’s Ford dealership. In the years to come, Tom turned the wrenches for his brother, driver Carl Marchese, and together in 1929, they paired up to finish fourth at the Indianapolis 500.

Later in 1929, Tom was approached with the opportunity to promote a race at Milwaukee. He obliged, and kickstarted a career which turned out to be the first of a long and successful tenure as a race organizer, annually hosting a smorgasbord of AAA, and later, USAC events which offered a hefty purse and a packed house.

In all, Tom promoted 80 USAC events between 1956-68, and under his watch, Milwaukee hosted more National Championship and Stock Car races than any other venue. Tom was prominent in the formation of USAC and was among the first appointees to USAC’s Board of Directors. Tom passed away on March 6, 1990, at the age of 90.

JUD PHILLIPS

A mechanical magician throughout multiple generations of open wheel racing, Jud “Christin” Phillips was a master of his craft on champ cars and sprint cars in a career that spanned from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Born on April 20, 1927, in Vancouver, Wash., Phillips first gained fame for his work on the wrenches for car owner Bob Estes, earning the 1956 USAC Midwest Sprint Car title with driver Pat O’Connor. In 1959, Phillips served as the crew chief for Don Branson’s USAC Midwest Sprint Car crown. With Branson in 1964, Phillips, now as a car owner, earned the USAC National Sprint Car entrant title.

Phillips constructed Bruce Homeyer’s Konstant Hot Specials, which scored back-to-back USAC National Sprint championships in 1962-63, namely with Roger McCluskey at the wheel. The same Phillips-built machine corralled the series title again in 1966, this time with Clarence “Mutt” Anderson as the car owner and McCluskey the wheelman.

In his Indy Car career, Phillips oversaw the transition from front engine cars to rear engines, from roadsters to wings and ground effects, and he found success in all. Overall, Phillips orchestrated 18 victories for drivers Branson, Mike Mosely, Billy Vukovich, Tom Sneva, and his headline win with Bobby Unser at the 1968 Indianapolis 500. Phillips passed away in January of 1997.