USAC Race Results & Press Releases

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 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.

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:

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 5:30pm 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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 and the semi-feature before concluding with the feature event.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.