USAC Race Results & Press Releases

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

March 16, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-15.926; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.167; 3. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-16.258; 4. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.469; 5. R.J. Johnson, 2, Yeley/Petty-16.473; 6. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-16.475; 7. Brody Roa, 15, Bonneau-16.482; 8. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.490; 9. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.502; 10. David Gasper, 73X, Ford-16.539; 11. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.563; 12. Matt Westfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-16.565; 13. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-16.568; 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.574; 15. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.603; 16. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.684; 17. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-16.995; 18. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-16.995; 19. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.037; 20. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.117; 21. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.356; 22. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton-17.372; 23. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-17.575; 24. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-17.996.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Matt McCarty, 2. A.J. Bender, 3. Matt Mitchell, 4. David Gasper, 5. Brody Roa, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Brent Owens, 8. Shane Sexton. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Cody Williams, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. R.J. Johnson, 6. Brent Sexton, 7. Jeff Dyer, 8. Braden Chiaramonte. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ricky Lewis, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Grant Sexton, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Logan Calderwood, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Elexa Herrera. 2:55.36.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. David Gasper (1), 2. Austin Williams (3), 3. Matt Westfall (12), 4. Brody Roa (10), 5. Logan Williams (15), 6. Tommy Malcolm (11), 7. Cody Williams (5), 8. R.J. Johnson (8), 9. Brent Owens (18), 10. Matt McCarthy (13), 11. Logan Calderwood (9), 12. Verne Sweeney (20), 13. Brent Sexton (21), 14. Austin Grabowski (17), 15. Elexa Herrera (22), 16. A.J. Bender (16), 17. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (14), 18. Ricky Lewis (2), 19. Jeff Dyer (19), 20. Charles Davis Jr. (7), 21. Grant Sexton (4), 22. Matt Mitchell (6). NT.
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**Chiaramonte flipped on the seventh lap during the second heat and was transported to a local hospital observation. Grant Sexton flipped on the second lap of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 David Gasper, Laps 10-11 Austin Williams, Laps 12-15 Ricky Lewis, Laps 16-23 Austin Williams, Laps 24-25 Brody Roa, Lap 26 Austin Williams, Laps 27-30 David Gasper.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Logan Williams (15 to 5)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: March 23 – Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, Arizona

 

 

USAC NIGHT AT THE INDY FUEL GAME

ON MARCH 15

Indianapolis, Indiana (March 12, 2024)………Ice hockey meets USAC racing as the Indy Fuel present USAC Night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday night, March 15.

As the ECHL’s Indy Fuel takes the ice for their game against the Tulsa Oilers that night, USAC drivers Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kaylee Bryson and Kody Swanson will be on hand to battle it out on the ice.

During the second intermission of the game, the stars of USAC will partake in a trike relay race. Also, fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet the drivers and get an up-close look at a real USAC racecar.

In addition to the hockey and the racing festivities, the concession stands around the Coliseum will be serving unlimited hot dogs, popcorn and chips at the game.

Doors open to the Coliseum at 6pm Eastern while the puck drops at 7pm.

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

 

 

DICK JORDAN MEMORIAL MARKER

TO BE UNVEILED MARCH 19

The town of Brownsburg and the Indiana Racing Memorial Association (IRMA) will join together to unveil a memorial marker for USAC’s longtime public relations/media man, Dick Jordan.

The memorial, donated by Tony Stewart, will be unveiled at a ceremony that will take place on Tuesday, March 19, at 2 p.m. at Arbuckle Commons, 7198 Arbuckle Commons, in Brownsburg, Ind. The event will be open to the public, and all racing fans are invited to attend.

The memorial serves as a reminder of the significant contributions of Dick Jordan to the sport of racing throughout a five-decade career with the United States Auto Club, which he tirelessly promoted. It also highlights the importance of preserving the history and legacy of Indiana's rich racing heritage.

“We are honored to be a part of this special occasion as we pay tribute to one of the greats in motorsports,” said Brownsburg Town Council President Travis Tschaenn. “It is important that we remember the impact that Dick Jordan had on the sport, and this memorial is a fitting tribute to his legacy.”

The Indiana Racing Memorial Association (IRMA) has been instrumental in preserving the history of racing in Indiana. The organization has worked extensively to create memorials that honor the great drivers, mechanics and contributors of the sport.

“We are thrilled to partner with Tony Stewart and the Town of Brownsburg to honor the legacy of Dick Jordan,” said Indiana Racing Memorial Association President Mark L. Eutsler. “The memorial serves as a reminder of the great contribution of Dick Jordan to the sport of racing and stands as a testament to the importance of preserving Indiana's rich racing heritage.”

In 2023, the town of Brownsburg and IRMA partnered to develop the Brownsburg Racing Memorial Trail, the first in Indiana, to celebrate motorsports history. The trail spans just over 2.1 miles, and now features five iconic motorsports legends across Williams Park, Town Hall Green, Arbuckle Commons and White Lick Creek Greenway.

 

 

USAC NIGHT AT THE INDY FUEL GAME

ON MARCH 15

Indianapolis, Indiana (March 12, 2024)………Ice hockey meets USAC racing as the Indy Fuel present USAC Night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday night, March 15.

As the ECHL’s Indy Fuel takes the ice for their game against the Tulsa Oilers that night, USAC drivers Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kaylee Bryson and Kody Swanson will be on hand to battle it out on the ice.

During the second intermission of the game, the stars of USAC will partake in a trike relay race. Also, fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet the drivers and get an up-close look at a real USAC racecar.

In addition to the hockey and the racing festivities, the concession stands around the Coliseum will be serving unlimited hot dogs, popcorn and chips at the game.

Doors open to the Coliseum at 6pm Eastern while the puck drops at 7pm.

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

 

 

 

TRAILER ALARMS LLC NAMED OFFICIAL TRAILER SECURITY SPONSOR OF USAC

Trailer Alarms LLC is proud to announce its partnership as the official trailer security sponsor of the United State Auto Club (USAC).

This collaboration marks a significant milestone in bolstering the safety and security of trailers across the racing community.

Trailer Alarms LLC, a leading provider of innovative security solutions for trailers, will be attending multiple USAC events throughout the year showcasing alarm systems. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and unparalleled expertise, Trailer Alarms LLC is dedicated to safeguarding the valuable assets of racers and enthusiasts alike.

“We started in 2005 from the ground up,” Trailer Alarms owner Lyle Clark stated. “I love all racing, especially dirt track open wheel racing and we love supporting racers when and where we can.”

Along with partnering with USAC, Trailer Alarms continues their partnership with Ashton Thompson Racing as a primary sponsor. Ashton will be competing in a number of races during the 2024 season with USAC.

Be sure to check out www.Trailer-Alarms.com for more info and an event schedule.

Trailer Alarms is number one in the trailer security business and has supplied security items on trailers utilized in the industries of auto racing, video production, landscaping, mobile video gaming, construction, boating, food truck as well as gas/oil testing and personal use. Furthermore, Trailer Alarms has collaborated with United States agencies such as the EPA, FEMA, Coast Guard and the Navy, just to name a few, on trailer ranging in price from $2,000 to more than $1 million.

For more information about Trailer Alarms LLC and its comprehensive range of trailer security solutions, please visit www.Trailer-Alarms.com.

 

 

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

February 24, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.241; 2. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.571; 3. Austin Williams, 17W, Dunkel-16.658; 4. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-16.675; 5. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.701; 6. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.746; 7. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-16.827; 8. R.J. Johnson, 2, Yeley/Petty-16.856; 9. Sterling Cling, 11O, O’Brien-16.866; 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.899; 11. David Gasper, 73X, Ford-16.919; 12. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.929; 13. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.003; 14. Logan Calderwood, 73, Ford-17.127; 15. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-17.223; 16. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.233; 17. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, OCC-17.343; 18. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-17.378; 19. Matt Westfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-17.474; 20. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.500; 21. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.624; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.907; 23. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.980; 24. Brent Sexton, 44S, Sexton-18.212; 25. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-18.328; 26. Blake Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-18.460; 27. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-19.157.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Mitchell, 2. Bender, 3. Mihocko, 4. Tafoya, 5. Dyer, 6. Westfall, 7. Sweeney, 8. McCarthy. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Calderwood, 2. Johnson, 3. Davis, 4. C.Williams, 5. Gasper, 6. Chiaramonte, 7. G.Sexton, 8. Hendricks, 9. S.Sexton. 2:52.74.

WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. A.Williams, 3. Cling, 4. Lewis, 5. L.Williams, 6. Grabowski, 7. B.Sexton, 8. Herrera, 9. Turnbull. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Gasper, 2. Chiaramonte, 3. L.Williams, 4. Grabowski, 5. Westfall, 6. Sweeney, 7. Dyer, 8. G.Sexton, 9. Hendricks, 10. B.Sexton, 11. Marshall, 12. Herrera, 13. McCarthy. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Matt Mitchell (6), 2. David Gasper (9), 3. Ricky Lewis (2), 4. R.J. Johnson (1), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (12), 6. Tommy Malcolm (14), 7. Logan Williams (10), 8. Braden Chiaramonte (16), 9. Matt Westfall (17), 10. Austin Grabowski (19), 11. Austin Williams (5), 12. A.J. Bender (11), 13. Logan Calderwood (13), 14. Jeff Dyer (15), 15. Brent Sexton (21), 16. Verne Sweeney (20), 17. Grant Sexton (18), 18. Tye Mihocko (4), 19. Sterling Cling (7), 20. Cody Williams (3), 21. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (8), 22. Blake Hendricks (22). NT.
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**Turnbull flipped on the second lap during the third heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1-14 Lewis, Lap 15 Mitchell, Lap 16 Lewis, Laps 17-30 Mitchell.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Austin Grabowski (19 to 10)

NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: March 16 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

 

 

JEFF NUCKLES, USAC MIDGET WINNER & PROMOTER, PASSES AWAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 22, 2024)………Jeff Nuckles, a four-time USAC National Midget feature winning driver whose perseverance and determination led him to retaining a profound presence in the sport following a paralyzing crash, passed away on February 22, 2024. He was 66 years old.

Jeff was born into racing being the Nuckles’ way of life. The family owned and operated Ohio’s Columbus Motor Speedway from its inception in 1946 until its closing in 2016. By the age of seven, Jeff, a Columbus native himself, was behind the wheel of a quarter midget along with his older brother, Jerry Nuckles.

By the mid-1970s, Jeff had entered the full midget ranks, cutting his teeth in NAMAR competition before making his USAC Midget debut in 1976 while driving the family-owned Volkswagen sponsored by Columbus Motor Speedway.

On Memorial Day weekend of 1979, Jeff broke through for his first career USAC National Midget victory at the Indianapolis Speedrome. It was there on the 1/5-mile paved oval that he’d also gain his second series win, two years later in 1981, by leading all 50 laps. The following weekend, Jeff made it two-straight victories on the USAC circuit by scoring a win at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, once again leading the entire 40-lap distance.

In 1980, Jeff earned honors as the Fort Wayne Memorial Coliseum USAC Midget indoor co-champion alongside Bob Wente. At Fort Wayne, Jeff was widely known for his colorful and entertaining entrances during driver introductions when the lights were turned off and the spotlight turned on. In 1981, Jeff was victorious on the high banks of Winchester (Ind.) Speedway as the feature winner of the non-sanctioned Sammy Sessions Memorial. In October of 1982, Jeff married Cindy and they remained husband and wife for 41 years.

While racing with his brother, it almost seemed that when you saw Jeff, Jerry wasn’t too far behind, and vice versa. For a six-year run between 1979-84, the siblings never finished more than two places apart in the final USAC National Midget standings. They were 10th and 12th in 1979, 9th and 11th in 1980, 10th and 11th in 1981, 8th and 9th in 1982, 6th and 7th in 1983, and 7th and 8th in 1984. Jeff’s top USAC point ranking came with a seventh in 1983.

Jeff’s final USAC National Midget feature triumph came in June of 1984 at Wisconsin’s Slinger Super Speedway, which vaulted him into the series point lead entering the summer months.

However, disaster struck just two months after his Slinger victory during a World Wide Auto Racing (WWAR) Midget event at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in August of 1984. On the day before his 27th birthday, Jeff was involved in an opening lap accident on the half-mile dirt oval that resulted in a cervical vertebra fracture. Doctors removed the back half of the vertebra, then took a piece of bone from Jeff’s hip and performed a spinal fusion.

The accident left Jeff paralyzed from the waist down and confined him to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. Despite the life-changing event, Jeff powered on, joining his family by working at Columbus Motor Speedway where he initially served as the track announcer and led the track’s publicity and advertising before, ultimately, becoming the track’s owner and promoter.

USAC expresses its deepest condolences to the Nuckles family and their many friends in the racing community.

 

 

“HAVING FUN AGAIN”

DAUM & RAMCO GO FULL-TIME

USAC MIDGET RACING IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 20, 2024)………“We’re back to having fun again.”

That’s Zach Daum’s modus operandi entering the 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season as he intends to chase the full series schedule for the RAMCO Speed Group team based out of Texas.

It’s a major return for Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) as he plans to take on the complete USAC National Midget circuit for the first time in a decade with the 2014 season being the most recent year he chased series points where he finished a career best fifth in the standings that year.

It was with RAMCO during May of 2023 in which Daum made a big return to victory lane as he picked up his first USAC victory since 2014. Whereas the 2014 triumph came on the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks, the 2023 score came on the Belleville Short Track. It was almost a full circle event for Daum.

“The Belleville win was pretty cool because it had been nine years since I’d last won a USAC Midget race,” Daum expounded. “We ran second, we ran third, we ran top-five, we did all that, but we just couldn’t get a win. To get that one after my last one had been at Belleville on the big track was cool.”

Daum and RAMCO revisited the winner’s circle in September of 2023 during the Driven2SaveLives BC39’s Stoops Pursuit special event. RAMCO Speed Group is owned by Kevin Ramey, Dave McManus and Chris Archer, a group which cut their teeth in sprint car racing in the Lone Star State but hold a special love for midget racing.

“We dipped our feet in the water last year and won Belleville and the pursuit race, so we proved we can be competitive right off the bat,” Daum explained. “We’ve just got to fine tune some other little things once we get out racing, but it should be no big deal to get going.”

For 2024, Daum and RAMCO will utilize Toyota power and a King Chassis, a New Zealand-built chassis in which Daum is the only builder/dealer of in the United States. In addition to competing on the full USAC Midget schedule, he will also take on the full slate of Xtreme Outlaw Midget events as well as select POWRi races.

Daum reflected on how he got back to this level in recent seasons after several years of sporadic USAC Midget racing participation with his own team between 2015 and 2020. Several stellar performances behind the wheel of a Bundy Built Motorsports machine in 2021-22 rekindled the spirit and got him back into the groove, so to speak.

“When I started running for Bundy, we were having fun going midget racing again and it kind of sucked me back in, I guess,” Daum remembered. “We had gotten off the beaten path on some cars and we were tearing up a lot of stuff. We just weren’t having fun. We’ve always said if we’re not having fun, we’re not going to do it, so I quit doing it for a little while. Now we’re building the King cars at our shop and I’m back in midget racing full-time again. I’ve always been a midget guy. It’s a lot of fun for me to run the midget stuff and I thoroughly enjoy it. We’re back to having fun again and that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Daum keeps himself actively involved in the sport outside of the cockpit, owning and operating 5d Speed Shop in Greenville, Ill., specializing in dirt and asphalt race equipment, including quarter midgets, full-size midgets, you name it. As for the last time Daum ran as many midget races as he plans to in the coming year, well, it’s been a while you might say.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve run that many midget races in one year,” Daum estimated. “We’re going to do a bunch of it this year. But the team isn’t located at my shop, so I don’t have to worry as much about getting the car ready and all that. It’s a little bit of a bonus for me and I can concentrate on keeping my business going and racing sprint cars a little bit more. It should be a fun summer.”

Since making his USAC Midget debut in 2008, the now 32-year-old Daum has accomplished much in his career, which has seen him become one of only 38 drivers to reach 200 career USAC National Midget starts. He was named USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year in 2009 and was rewarded as USAC’s National Most Improved Driver in 2011. That same year, he scored a victory at the Hut Hundred, the first of his four career USAC wins.

In 2013, 2014 and 2016, Daum raced to POWRi Midget titles, and in 2022, he captured the Xtreme Outlaw Midget series crown. However, one piece of the puzzle that remains front and center on his mind is the USAC National Midget championship.

“I really want a USAC championship,” Daum stated. “The USAC championship and the Chili Bowl, if I won those, I think I just might call it a career and be done. I know we’re going to have to beat Logan (Seavey) to do both of them, so we’ve got to get our stuff together and we can make a run at it.”

The 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season begins on April 26-27 with the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

 

 

HUNGER & DESIRE:

PURSLEY & CBI TO CHASE

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET TITLE IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 21, 2024)………Thus far, throughout the first two months of 2024, Daison Pursley has already taken a CB Industries midget on a fascinating alphabet soup run at the Chili Bowl Nationals and also captured two of his three micro sprint starts for the team.

Now, Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) will take the wheel to compete for a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in 2024 for Chad Boat’s CB Industries team aboard the PristineAuction.com – TRD – NOS Energy Drink No. 86 Spike/Speedway Toyota. Pursley will be teamed with USAC Rookie Zach Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) throughout the year on the CBI squad.

Pursley, twice a winner in USAC National Midget competition for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports in 2021, made his return to full-time midget racing in 2023 for Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports. However, toward the end of that season’s California swing, Pursley and CBI driver/friend Jesse Love began chatting in the pit area, which led to a conversation with Boat regarding 2024 plans. One thing led to another and Pursley had some new plans for 2024.

“Chad asked me what I was going to do for the Chili Bowl, and I said I truthfully didn’t have any plans locked down,” Pursley recalled. “I had a couple opportunities to race for people, but I didn’t have anything for sure. Then Chad mentioned to me that he wanted to do something, which led into 2024 USAC Midget stuff as well. All the stars aligned for us to go chase a national championship.”

After a bit of a struggle during Pursley and CBI’s first outing during the Wednesday prelim at the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., the team truly hit its stride in Saturday’s finale. Buried in the D-Main, Pursley proceeded to win it from fourth, then grabbed the fifth and final transfer spot in the C-Main after starting 16th. Mired in the 20th starting position for the B-Main, Pursley charged all the way up to fifth to advance to the feature event. There, starting 20th again, Pursley traveled all the way to fourth by the checkered flag. In all, Pursley advanced an astonishing 45 positions in just four races.

Not bad for a debut, and as Pursley noted, the chemistry between he and Boat was clear the moment they shook hands in late 2023, before they even hit the track. With that said, Pursley was already keenly aware of CBI’s abilities. After all, Pursley’s Rookie season with the USAC National Midgets came in 2020, which coincides with the very same year that CBI captured its first series championship with Chris Windom at the wheel.

“The year I came into USAC in 2020, they were the guys to beat with Chris Windom winning the championship that year,” Pursley remembered. “To be able to race for this operation is pretty cool. The equipment they have and the caliber of racing these guys want to do is absolutely unbelievable. Everything Chad does and the things he’s put together are just top-notch and I think he has everything lined up to have a really good season for Zach and me both.”

In fact, Pursley and CBI’s year is already off to a flying start. During the first week of February, together they captured micro sprint victories at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway and Florida’s Marion County Speedway within a three-night span.

Now, just a little more than two years removed from his spinal cord injury in a racing accident at Arizona Speedway, Pursley is hungry and determined to return to victory lane in USAC National Midget competition for the first time since 2021.

“I definitely want to get that first win in USAC since the accident,” Pursley stated. “I wasn’t able to accomplish that last year, but I felt like we were so, so close, and midget racing is so close right now. We finished as high as second, but we were never able to close out and finish the deal. But this year, I think it’s going to be a pretty successful season, to say the least.”

The 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season begins on April 26-27 with the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

 

 

GOT THE GIG!

HULBERT NAMED FULL-TIME

USAC NATIONAL ANNOUNCER FOR 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 19, 2024)………Bryan Hulbert has been named the full-time lead announcer for USAC national racing in 2024.

Hulbert’s role will encompass full coverage of each and every event on the Silver Crown, AMSOIL Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule on the track’s public address system as well as on FloRacing’s live stream of every race throughout the 2024 USAC national season.

Originally hailing from New Mexico, but now residing in Oklahoma, Hulbert announced the first six races of the USAC season during the recent Winter Dirt Games XV series in February in Florida, having the opportunity to announce for an organization he has long held an affinity for since his youngest days as a race fan.

“It's very humbling to get the chance to represent USAC, its drivers and sponsors,” Hulbert said. “USAC is a series I've followed since I was a kid and have always held in high regard. I'm looking forward to the season and the challenges that come with it. Winter Dirt Games gave me a chance to work with the entire team and get a feel for how the series runs on a night-to-night basis, start making connections with the teams and establishing a routine.”

Hulbert has handled announcing duties at racetracks for 18 seasons. He started as a trackside reporter in 2006 before taking on the role of lead announcer in 2007 at dirt tracks such as Southern New Mexico Speedway and Texas’ El Paso Speedway Park.

A jack of all trades in motorsports, Hulbert has worked extensively in the departments of marketing, public relations, graphic design, ad design, commercial production, voiceovers, hanging banners, production work, you name it.

Hulbert has also been a fixture on the microphone at the Chili Bowl Nationals for more than a decade, a role he will retain during the winter months following the conclusion of the USAC season.

“The fun part about my job is that I still get to be a fan and contribute to the sport I love,” Hulbert stated. “Chili Bowl and the Tulsa Shootout are the same way, and fortunately, working for USAC will allow me to keep doing what I've been doing in Tulsa with the added benefit of being able to follow teams and drivers I normally only get to see one week a year. It’s definitely going to make studying for the test a lot easier!”

Hulbert’s next gig with USAC will arrive when the National Sprint Car season resumes on Friday, April 5, for the running of the Jim Hurtubise Classic at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

 

 

5 YEARS TO THE DAY:

LEARY TRIUMPHS AGAIN

WITH USAC SPRINTS AT OCALA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 16, 2024)………The last time C.J. Leary won at Florida’s Ocala Speedway, it wound up being a very good year.

After parlaying a final night Winter Dirt Games victory in 2019 at Ocala into a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship later that season, the Greenfield, Ind. racer hopes that 2024 will bear a much similar fruit.

During Friday night’s Winter Dirt Games XV finale at the 3/8-mile dirt track, Leary took the right step in that direction by notching his first feature victory of the season, exactly five years to the day of his only other Ocala triumph, the significance of which wasn’t lost on Leary.

“This is awesome to pick up a win here,” Leary exclaimed. “It’s been since 2019 that we’ve been in victory lane here. Maybe this is a little sign of what’s to come throughout the whole season.”

Leary’s late-race surge on Friday night took him from fourth to first during the final five circuits, where he took over the point from series point leader Logan Seavey just three laps from the finish of the 30-lapper en route to victory in his BGE-Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy, the same 2020-built chassis he won with during Indiana Sprint Week at Kokomo Speedway in 2023.

The 23rd main event win of Leary’s USAC National Sprint Car career moved him to 28th on the all-time list, surpassing 27-time winners Rick Hood, Bubby Jones and Sammy Sessions while equaling Roger McCluskey on the 28 line.

Leary’s victory was of the resurgent variety, having collected four top-five finishes in each of his first four starts of the USAC season before tallying a distant ninth the night before at Ocala. What they thought was a possible engine malfunction 24 hours earlier turned out to be the same powerplant that guided the team to victory 24 hours later.

“We’ve been so fast and so good, but we had a little bit of an off night last night,” Leary recalled. “I thought we were having engine issues yesterday so we went through the whole thing and diagnosed it and couldn’t find anything wrong, so we just kept running it. This is probably the last night on this rebuild.”

Leary began his race from the fourth spot on the grid while, for the third consecutive event, Chase Stockon led the opening lap after starting from the pole position. However, by lap three, the man on the charge was Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier Kevin Thomas Jr. who utilized the outside line to his liking, blowing by Stockon on the backstretch for the top spot on lap three.

Thomas’ time up front proved to be short-lived as Seavey quickly reeled him in and initiated a successful turn one slide job on the fourth lap which thrusted him into the race lead.

Seavey continued to ride the high line through the middle stages of the race as he swiftly knifed his way through the thick throng of lapped traffic to gain a 1.5 second lead over Thomas. Seavey continued to trounce the field as he assembled a full straightaway lead over Brady Bacon who deftly dove under Thomas in turn two to slot into the second position with nine laps remaining.

From there, Seavey’s interval over Bacon dissipated abruptly, and with six laps to go, Bacon was within a couple whiskers of Seavey’s tail tank when both narrowly avoided disaster. Just ahead of Seavey and Bacon, the lapped car driven by Robert Bell, making his first series start in nearly three years, spun out, forcing the leaders to take evasive action in order to avoid as the race went yellow.

With six to go, Leary found himself mired in fourth on a track that became lathered in rubber. But it didn’t stop Leary from beginning to make a surge. Leary pressed Thomas on lap 26 and wedged into the third spot in turn three under Thomas to move up another spot on the pylon.

Suddenly, fifth running Justin Grant slowed with a flat right rear tire, which caused him to stop in turn one, indicating that tire wear and attrition had begun to rear its head. Grant, winner of three-in-a-row at Ocala in the past week, saw his run end with a season-low 20th place result.

On the immediate restart, Leary shot under Bacon off turn four on lap 27 to corral third and cross the line just before fifth running Daison Pursley became the next victim of a right rear tire’s demise, which went flat and forced him to a stop in turn one.

Now with Leary lined up on Seavey’s rear bumper for the lap 28 restart, it didn’t take long for Leary to flex his muscle. Sweeping wide through turns one and two, Leary loaded up on momentum and carried it with him for the entire length of the the backstretch, and ultimately, was able to scoot under Seavey off turn four to put himself in prime real estate at the front of the field.

Thinking a bit earlier that, when the rubber came, the track surface was going to be hard to pass on, Leary even proved his own theory to be incorrect.

“I think it just kind of paid off there by not being the leader at the end,” Leary explained. “Those guys kept shortening the track up, looking for the rubber, but I was able to keep my momentum up around the top and find some moisture.”

Leary tore away from the pack over the final three trips, and on the last of the 30 laps, poured it on by laying down his fastest lap of the feature as he was taking the checkered flag for a .835 margin of victory over Seavey, Stockon, Thomas and Jadon Rogers, who posted a fine fifth place run. Bacon was headed for a third-place result on the final lap when his right rear tire gave way off turn four, dropping him to seventh in the final running order.

Second at the stripe was Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) who finished off his six-race Florida stretch with six consecutive top-three finishes with the brand-new Abacus Racing sprint car team and their CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

“When you’re leading and it takes rubber, you think that’s the best thing,” Seavey said. “But one and two really didn’t take rubber. It was really slippery and tricky, and then you get so much speed down the frontstretch from the rubber, you just go sliding through one and two. I saw C.J. marching up the board every caution and I knew he was really good, but I guess I just assumed that he was driving around guys up a lane and then getting down in front of them on the backstretch just because it was so slick getting off two, so I moved up just half a lane and he snuck right by me. I got myself a little free after seeing guys blow tires and I freed myself up a little bit thinking I could get some weight off my right rear and make it to the end. It was the wrong decision, and I lost the race.”

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) equaled his season-best with a third-place result in his KO Motorsports/Banded Ag – Superior Tank & Trailer – Dewig Meats – AMSOIL/DRC/Fisher Chevy.

“I could see some of the guys’ tires starting to go down and delaminating a little bit, and I kind of knew we needed to save,” Stockon recalled. “Over the years, we’ve always been pretty decent in the rubber, so I was able to pick my way back up to third. We started on the pole both nights here, and on the last two nights, we’ve ended up third. Going first to third doesn’t show how hard these guys have been working on this car to get me comfortable, but we’re inching up on them.”

Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.) has had a solid start to his first full season of USAC National Sprint Car racing. On this night, he capped his Winter Dirt Games trip with a run from 20th to 11th. That performance earned him the night's Irvin King Hard Charger award.

For the second consecutive season, Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) earned the Hughes Racing/Indiana Mafia/Flamingo Sandy Winter Dirt Games Passing Master title. Throughout the course of the past week in Florida, The Mad Man passed a total of 44 cars.

Meanwhile, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recorded his 38th career USAC National Sprint Car Fast Qualifying time, moving him past three-time series champ Larry Dickson and now sits just one behind five-time titlist Levi Jones for sixth all-time.


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


USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 16, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.914; 2. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.085; 3. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.158; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.187; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.205; 6. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.267; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.307; 8. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.316; 9. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.401; 10. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.444; 11. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.462; 12. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.476; 13. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.565; 14. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.582; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.619; 16. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.626; 17. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.643; 18. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.719; 19. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.744; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.810; 21. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.886; 22. Shane Butler, 18, Butler-15.210; 23. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-15.598; 24. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.601; 25. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-15.615; 26. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-15.705; 27. Jake Bland, 24x, Maddox-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Shane Butler, 9. Chase Howard. 2:04.00

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Alex Bright, 7. Tom Harris, 8. Kobe Simpson. 2:02.78

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Robert Bell. 2:04.89

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (4), 2. Logan Seavey (3), 3. Chase Stockon (1), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 5. Jadon Rogers (7), 6. Mitchel Moles (10), 7. Brady Bacon (2), 8. Alex Bright (14), 9. Briggs Danner (12), 10. Carson Garrett (11), 11. Joey Amantea (20), 12. Robert Ballou (16), 13. Jake Swanson (15), 14. Tye Mihocko (13), 15. Kyle Cummins (19), 16. Matt Westfall (9), 17. Tom Harris (17), 18. Brandon Mattox (18), 19. Kobe Simpson (25), 20. Justin Grant (8), 21. Hunter Maddox (21), 22. Daison Pursley (5), 23. Chase Howard (24), 24. Robert Bell (23), 25. Shane Butler (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Chase Stockon, Lap 3 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 4-27 Logan Seavey, Laps 28-30 C.J. Leary.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-462, 2-C.J. Leary-424, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-400, 4-Justin Grant-388, 5-Daison Pursley-331, 6-Chase Stockon-322, 7-Briggs Danner-309, 8-Robert Ballou-305, 9-Kyle Cummins-304, 10-Mitchel Moles-295.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-37, 2-Tye Mihocko-32, 3-Alex Bright-27, 4-Joey Amantea-24, 5-Logan Seavey-20, 6-C.J. Leary-19, 7-Kyle Cummins-18, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-15, 9-Matt Westfall-15, 10-Briggs Danner-13.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-44, 2-Tye Mihocko-39, 3-Logan Seavey-35, 4-C.J. Leary-30, 5-Alex Bright-30, 6-Joey Amantea-29, 7-Kyle Cummins-27, 8-Justin Grant-26, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-25, 10-Matt Westfall-20.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 5, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – Jim Hurtubise Classic – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Briggs Danner (14.202)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.914)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

ProSource Hard Work Award: Kobe Simpson

Irvin King Hard Charger: Joey Amantea (20th to 11th)

Hughes Racing/Indiana Mafia/Flamingo Sandy Winter Dirt Games XV Passing Master Champion: Robert Ballou

 

 

 

3-FOR-3!

GRANT TOPS USAC SPRINT FIELD

FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT OCALA WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 15, 2024)………Quite frankly, Florida’s Ocala Speedway has served all of Justin Grant’s banking needs throughout Winter Dirt Games XV.

After three USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victories in three starts this year, the 3/8-mile dirt oval has been a figurative ATM for Grant and his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

In the process, Grant (Ione, Calif.) set a new milestone on Thursday night at Ocala with his 48th career series victory, surpassing USAC Hall of Fame inductee Tracy Hines for sole possession of fourth place all-time.

Furthermore, Grant became the first driver since Damion Gardner in 2010 to win at least three of the first four events to begin a USAC National Sprint Car season. Now, with seven overall scores, Grant has added to his grand total as both the winningest USAC National Sprint Car driver at Ocala Speedway and as the winningest driver in Winter Dirt Games history.

By doing so, Grant gave TOPP Motorsports a share of the top of the list in terms of the winningest teams in Winter Dirt Games history, tied with Dynamics, Inc. at six main event victories, turning his No. 4 into something more akin to what you might see on the launching pad at Cape Canaveral, located roughly two hours southeast of where he won Thursday night’s feature.

“Our car is lights out around here,” Grant exclaimed. "I feel like we’re about the same speed as everybody else early in the day, but by the time this place gets slick in feature time, this thing has been an absolute rocket ship.”

Grant’s currently active streak of three-straight wins at a single track began with back-to-back victories at Ocala to open the season last weekend. It’s a familiar scenario for Grant who is the only driver to achieve three consecutive wins at one track throughout the past four USAC Sprint Car seasons. Grant has actually accomplished it on two other separate occasions in that span, both coming at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, between 2021-22 and across three successive evenings in August of 2023.

Starting outside the front row on Thursday night at Ocala, Grant quickly established the lead by lap two as he glided underneath pole sitter and opening lap leader Chase Stockon on the inside of turn two, then was practically perfect for the remainder of the 30-lap distance.

Grant had opened up a 2.5 second lead over the field just before the midway point until third-running Timmy Buckwalter slipped over the cushion in turn one on lap 14 and slid to a stop. The incident also affected sixth place Brady Bacon whose horrible, no good, rotten start to the year got even worse when his right rear tire nicked Buckwalter’s rear bumper, flattening Bacon’s rubber as he attempted to avoid Buckwalter’s stalled machine, which prompted a visit to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area for a new tire.

As a result, Bacon restarted at the tail and managed only a 13th in the final finishing order, his fourth finish of 12th or worse in five starts this season.

Just after the ensuing restart, Logan Seavey, gunning to earn his third-straight USAC win of the week after sweeping Tuesday’s twin bill at Volusia, drag raced past Stockon on the front straight to gain the second position on lap 15. That put the only two 2024 USAC winners running one and two.

Just moments later, however, USAC Rookie Trey Osborne (20th) launched over the outside guardrail in between turns three and four on the 16th lap. Osborne walked away from the incident after becoming the second driver of the night to clear the wall after Zach Daum catapulted over the turn four rail before landing outside the track. Both drivers walked away without injury.

Mere moments before Osborne’s crash, Grant overcame a bit of tentativeness on his approach into turns three and four, knowing that in order to defeat Seavey, he was going to have to slightly alter his approach.

“I was afraid to open my entry into turn three, but three and four were getting pretty thin,” Grant explained. “I know you’ve got to open your entry here to get that moisture down the front stretch. On the lap the red came out, I had done that, and it was like, ‘okay, it’s time to move.’”

During the open red flag in which crews are permitted to make adjustments on their cars and offer sage-like advice to their drivers, crew chief Jeff Walker assured Grant that they weren’t going to be beat if they were able to string together 15 more high quality laps on the board. Importantly, both driver and team were in concert and in complete agreement that it was a necessity to get off the bottom of turn four even better than they had been.

“I think I had her figured out,” Grant confidently stated. “But it was certainly nice to have Jeff come out and just get the heart rate back down, settle me down and let me know that what I was thinking was right.”

With 10 laps remaining, the top-two breakaway of the 2023 USAC national champions resumed with Grant keeping Seavey consistently at bay by two to three car lengths at the front of the field.

For the balance of the show, that’s how it remained, and when the curtain closed, that’s how it concluded. At the finish line, Grant was 0.524 seconds ahead of Seavey with Stockon third, Daison Pursley fourth and Jake Swanson fifth.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) increased his series point lead to 27 over Grant after recording his fifth consecutive top-three result in his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy, just missing out on becoming the first driver since Damion Gardner in 2010-11 to score three-straight Winter Dirt Games triumphs.

“I think our car was good, if not maybe a touch better than Justin’s,” Seavey pointed out. “I tried to arch turn three one time and it was actually the same lap he arched three. We both were out in the black and he got away from us. When you’ve got a guy like Justin out front, unless a mistake happens, it doesn’t really matter if you’re faster than him or not. We ran a good race and ran a good line to get to his bumper. I thought I had a shot, but the only real shot you have is when there’s a mistake, but there weren’t any.”

For the second race in a row, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) stepped out into the race lead on the opening lap. This time around, however, he stuck around up front to gain his best USAC result of the season thus far, a third in his KO Motorsports/Banded Ag – Superior Tank & Trailer – Dewig Meats – AMSOIL/DRC/Fisher Chevy

“Kent Schmidt has been turning the wrenches on this thing all week,” Stockon revealed. “We’ve had a fast car and had a lot of good moments, but a little luck just didn’t go our way. I think we’re inching up on these guys. I think it’ll be a trending thing to see the 5s car back up on the podium more often. These guys – Logan and Justin – have a really good pace right now. It’s pretty cool to watch these guys battle it out, but we’d just like to be in front of them while they’re doing that.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was the biggest mover of in the feature, advancing seven spots from 14th to seventh to earn Irvin King Hard Charger honors. Meanwhile, Shane Butler (Bushnell, Fla.) grabbed the final transfer spot in the semi-feature, which earned him his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature starting spot as well as ProSource Hard Work honors for the night.


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


USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 15, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.925; 2. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-13.929; 3. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.005; 4. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.039; 5. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.039; 6. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.040; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.099; 8. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-14.100; 9. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.126; 10. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.132; 11. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.149; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.194; 13. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.212; 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.258; 15. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.340; 16. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.348; 17. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.349; 18. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.376; 19. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.445; 20. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.452; 21. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.487; 22. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.550; 23. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-14.968; 24. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.973; 25. Shane Butler, 18, Butler-15.047; 26. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.075; 27. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-16.139; 28. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-17.189.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Alex Bright, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Carson Garrett, 7. Shane Butler. 1:57.91

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Hunter Maddox. 1:56.20

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Trey Osborne, 5. Tom Harris, 6. Chase Howard, 7. Kobe Simpson. 1:58.32

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Joey Amantea, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Robert Bell. 1:57.28

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Chase Howard, 4. Shane Butler, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Kobe Simpson, 7. Robert Bell. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Chase Stockon (1), 4. Daison Pursley (4), 5. Jake Swanson (3), 6. Matt Westfall (9), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 8. Kyle Cummins (8), 9. C.J. Leary (12), 10. Jadon Rogers (10), 11. Robert Ballou (17), 12. Joey Amantea (19), 13. Brady Bacon (7), 14. Carson Garrett (11), 15. Mitchel Moles (16), 16. Tye Mihocko (20), 17. Alex Bright (24), 18. Tom Harris (15), 19. Brandon Mattox (22), 20. Trey Osborne (18), 21. Timmy Buckwalter (5), 22. Chase Howard (21), 23. Briggs Danner (13), 24. Shane Butler (23). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Chase Stockon, Laps 2-30 Justin Grant.

**Hunter Maddox flipped during qualifying. Zach Daum flipped over the turn four guardrail during the fourth heat. Trey Osborne flipped over the turn three guardrail on lap 16 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-384, 2-Justin Grant-357, 3-C.J. Leary-344, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-330, 5-Daison Pursley-297, 6-Kyle Cummins-266, 7-Robert Ballou-259, 8-Briggs Danner-257, 9-Chase Stockon-253, 10-Mitchel Moles-233.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-33, 2-Tye Mihocko-32, 3-Alex Bright-21, 4-Logan Seavey-19, 5-C.J. Leary-16, 6-Matt Westfall-15, 7-Joey Amantea-15, 8-Kyle Cummins-14, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-13, 10-Justin Grant-10.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-40, 2-Tye Mihocko-39, 3-Logan Seavey-30, 4-Justin Grant-24, 5-C.J. Leary-24, 6-Alex Bright-24, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-23, 8-Kyle Cummins-20, 9-Matt Westfall-20, 10-Joey Amantea-18.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 16-17, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Logan Seavey (13.946)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (13.925)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

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

ProSource Hard Work Award: Shane Butler

Irvin King Hard Charger: Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 7th)

 

 

GATOR SWEEP!

SEAVEY WINS BOTH ENDS OF

USAC SPRINT TWIN BILL AT VOLUSIA

Barberville, Florida (February 13, 2024)………Throughout the past few years, we’ve witnessed Logan Seavey accomplish a myriad of feats that have not been achieved by any other individuals in generations.

In 2022, he became the first driver to win on all three USAC national season finales on dirt. In 2023, he captured two USAC national victories at two different tracks within a single day. Later that same season, he swept the USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals. The list goes on and on.

On Tuesday night at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, Seavey added yet another astounding achievement to his ever-growing list. On this night, the Sutter, Calif. racer did something no other driver has done in more than 22 years – winning multiple USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship features in a single day.

Fellow Californian Bud Kaeding was the most recent to go back-to-back on the same night in October of 2001 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. Seavey’s performance was the 18th occasion in which a driver swept both ends of a USAC National Sprint Car doubleheader at the same track on the same day.

The others to accomplish the feat are Jim Hurtubise (1961 Langhorne), Roger McCluskey (1966 Terre Haute), Mario Andretti (1967 Oswego), Greg Weld (1968 Reading), Sammy Sessions (1969 Pocono), Pancho Carter (1973 Winchester), A.J. Foyt (1974 Indiana State Fairgrounds), Tom Bigelow (1974 Minnesota State Fairgrounds), Marvin Carman (1975 Winchester), Pancho Carter (1976 Eldora), Pancho Carter (1976 Winchester), Tom Bigelow (1977 Indiana State Fairgrounds), Pancho Carter (1977 Winchester), Steve Chassey (1979 Winchester), Billy Cassella (1979 Eldora), Doug Wolfgang (1991 Tri-City), Bud Kaeding (2001 Terre Haute).

So few have been able to make their way onto the list over the years and decades, and in continuing a trend that has been true since 1979, Seavey won both of his races on a dirt half-mile – the kind of place that fits him to a T.

“It’s incredible,” Seavey exclaimed. “These races are so hard to win, and to win any of them is just a dream come true for me. These big half-miles really suit me well. Once you get your momentum going, it’s easy to keep it going. I’ve been here in the past and struggled, but this thing is so good. I was really confident, and it showed here tonight. The last 13 months have been the best months of my career and my life. It’s just so cool to be out here winning USAC races.”

In addition, Abacus Racing had a perfect night as well, capturing its first two USAC National Sprint Car features in a span of a little more than an hour. The Noblesville, Ind. based team became the first entrant to win their first two USAC National Sprint Car main events on the same day since Max Dowker at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 1975, a car driven to twin-50 lap victories nearly a half-century ago.

To add to the saga, Abacus Racing’s primary powerplant met its demise as Seavey was taking the checkered flag during a heat race victory in Monday’s rain-abbreviated program. At that point, the team decided to remove the engine out of their CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy spare car and install it in their primary rather than going with the backup.

The move paid off, and here they are now, all of a sudden standing with a pair of wins and the USAC National Sprint Car point lead just four races into the team’s existence with the series, and just a handful of months removed from series titles with both the USAC Silver Crown and NOS Energy Drink Midget National Midgets in 2023.

“(Crewman) Kirk (Simpson) and Ronnie (Gardner) have worked so much harder than I feel they should’ve or needed to,” Seavey praised. “I kind of pushed them to make that call to stay in this car and change engines and keep our starting spot for later. These guys didn’t give up. They just kept working on this thing and making it better for me. When you change engines, it changes everything. With any power difference, it just changes the car completely. Our car has been so good, and to have a big change like that is tough, but you can’t really help engine problems.”

The first of two features held on Tuesday night was a 30-lapper paying $10,000-to-win, which saw Seavey starting ninth on the grid. Pole sitter Carson Garrett led the initial five circuits until outside front row starter Kyle Cummins went topside around the low-riding Garrett to take over the top spot on lap six.

By halfway, Seavey was in the thick of the mix as he charged under Brady Bacon for the second spot on lap 15. After catching Cummins on lap 20, Seavey attempted his first slider to no avail in turns one and two. When Cummins counterpunched to briefly reassume the lead, Seavey sling-shotted his way under Cummins in turns three and four to make the move stick and take over the reins of the race.

“I really was surprised actually when (Cummins) turned down off two,” Seavey recalled. “I think I just hopped the cushion a little bit when I slid him. I was nervous, and then I got an awful final restart and I spun really bad. I had to protect a lot into one and I didn’t feel like I got through one and two good at all, but I kind of got through the back stretch okay. I thought if I could just get into three good and get away from these guys, I’d be okay. I grabbed brake and I got tight, then I just kept making mistakes those last few laps, but the car kind of carried me to the win.”

Just when Seavey seemingly had it all wrapped up in a neat little package just after taking the white flag, calamity ensued. During a battle for third between Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr., Bacon and the lapped car of Jadon Rogers collided in turns three and four, resulting in Bacon and Rogers flipping over as well as the oncoming car of Trey Osborne. All drivers managed to climb out and walk away.

As was the story all night long, Seavey found no match after the green-white-checkered restart, scoring the win by 1.331 seconds over Cummins, making it two brand-new teams finishing inside the top-two. Thomas Jr. took third while fast qualifier and new one-lap track record holder C.J. Leary grabbed fourth. Meanwhile, Garrett rounded out the top-five.

Starting fourth in the second “Monday make-up” feature of the night, Chase Stockon zipped out to the opening lap lead from his pole starting position. However, third-starting Bacon quickly positioned himself at the front with a slider on Stockon for the lead in turn one on lap two.

By lap four, Seavey had already shot his way into second as he slipped by Stockon to take the spot, then began to work on reeling in Bacon. On lap 11, Seavey swiped the lead from Bacon with a strong run on the back straight. However, just as Seavey cleared Bacon, the yellow flag flew for a 360-degree spin in turn four by Stockon after he and Grant tangled in a battle for seventh. Due to the caution, Seavey relinquished his lead back to Bacon for the ensuing resumption.

It didn’t take long, however, for Seavey to fight his way back to the front. Seavey slid Bacon in turns one and two to take full ownership of the top spot on lap 14, then immediately jetted away to a 1.6 second advantage just a mere lap later.

“It’s tough when you’re leading,” Seavey said of Bacon’s predicament. “He was running fairly hard, but when you’ve got a rabbit to chase, you can always push it a little bit harder. If you’re leading and screw up, you look like a dummy. It’s hard to judge just how hard you can run. If you step over the line once, it gets you, and it did get him there, but he got saved by the yellow. This car is so comfortable on the cushion and secure, you can really hammer it in there and run well. I got to him a little bit earlier in the race and I tried too hard, and I was the one getting up over it. These big fast miles with a curb are tricky, and it’s why we love them.

Nonetheless, the action came to a halt in a major way on lap 20 as Robert Ballou (12th) barrel rolled atop turns one and two. Rogers (17th) attempted to avoid the carnage, but flipped several times himself as well, his second upside down misfortune of the night. Both drivers walked away without harm. Leader Seavey nearly got caught up in it and was forced to take evasive action to avoid the carnage, narrowly avoiding contact with four wheels above the cushion, but kept it going.

Seavey held a 3.542 second lead before the red flag with six to go, but once again, he went undeterred to the finish line, opening up a relatively comfortable gap of 1.742 seconds at the stripe for his second triumphant performance of the night while Bacon, Leary, Daison Pursley and Grant rounded out the top-five.

In addition, Seavey added to his trophy collection with a Big Gator for accumulating the best average finish of the night between the two main events, and of course, an average result of 1.0 for the entirety of the evening is simply impossible for anyone else to overtake, and that is something that nobody was able to accomplish all throughout Tuesday night.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 13, 2024 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV / DIRTcar Nationals / Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-16.151 (New Track Record); 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.375; 3. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.506; 4. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.557; 5. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.574; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-16.607; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.667; 8. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-16.700; 9. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-16.707; 10. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-16.711; 11. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.716; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.760; 13. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.784; 14. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-16.796; 15. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.816; 16. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-16.834; 17. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-16.883; 18. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-16.889; 19. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.940; 20. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-16.991; 21. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-17.005; 22. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-17.011; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-17.043; 24. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-17.083; 25. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-17.093; 26. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-17.565; 27. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Jake Swanson, 9. Tom Harris. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Timmy Buckwalter, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Chase Howard, 9. Hunter Maddox. 2:18.20

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Brian Ruhlman, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Alex Bright, 7. Trey Osborne, 8. Daison Pursley, 9. Robert Bell. 2:16.68

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Tom Harris, 3. Trey Osborne, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. Chase Howard. 2:22.45

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Kyle Cummins (2), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Carson Garrett (1), 6. Daison Pursley (25-P), 7. Mitchel Moles (4), 8. Briggs Danner (3), 9. Chase Stockon (18), 10. Justin Grant (5), 11. Robert Ballou (24), 12. Joey Amantea (12), 13. Tye Mihocko (19), 14. Timmy Buckwalter (11), 15. Tom Harris (13), 16. Matt Westfall (10), 17. Zach Daum (14), 18. Hunter Maddox (22), 19. Alex Bright (20), 20. Brady Bacon (7), 21. Jadon Rogers (15), 22. Trey Osborne (23), 23. Brandon Mattox (16), 24. Brian Ruhlman (17), 25. Jake Swanson (21). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Carson Garrett, Laps 6-19 Kyle Cummins, Laps 20-30 Logan Seavey.

**Brady Bacon, Jadon Rogers & Trey Osborne flipped on lap 29 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-237, 2-C.J. Leary-230, 3-Justin Grant-223, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-222, 5-Robert Ballou-181, 6-Briggs Danner-180, 7-Kyle Cummins-166, 8-Daison Pursley-164, 9-Carson Garrett-151, 10-Mitchel Moles-149.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-78, 2-Kyle Cummins-75, 3-C.J. Leary-72, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-72, 5-Carson Garrett-64, 6-Mitchel Moles-60, 7-Briggs Danner-56, 8-Daison Pursley-55, 9-Justin Grant-53, 10-Chase Stockon-50.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-24, 2-Tye Mihocko-16, 3-Alex Bright-13, 4-Logan Seavey-12, 5-Kyle Cummins-11, 6-C.J. Leary-10, 7-Chase Stockon-9, 8-Briggs Danner-8, 9-Mitchel Moles-7, 10-Jadon Rogers-7.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-31, 2-Tye Mihocko-23, 3-Logan Seavey-22, 4-Justin Grant-18, 5-C.J. Leary-18, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-16, 7-Alex Bright-16, 8-Chase Stockon-15, 9-Kyle Cummins-14, 10-Briggs Danner-13.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 15-16-17, 2024 – Ocala Speedway Park – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (16.711)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (16.151)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Robert Ballou

ProSource Hard Work Award: Robert Ballou

Irvin King Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (24th to 11th)


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 12-13, 2024 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV / DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-16.173 (New Track Record); 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.424; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.504; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.532; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.562; 6. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.645; 7. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-16.664; 8. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.705; 9. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-16.775; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.792; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.834; 12. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-16.838; 13. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-16.840; 14. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.893; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-16.956; 16. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-16.991; 17. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-17.112; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-17.137; 19. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-17.174; 20. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-17.231; 21. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-17.297; 22. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.336; 23. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-17.397; 24. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-17.513; 25. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-17.906; 26. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-18.141; 27. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-18.745.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Alex Bright, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Brian Ruhlman, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Daison Pursley. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Tom Harris, 6. Mitchel Moles, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Chase Howard. 2:16.61 (New Track Record)

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Timmy Buckwalter, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Hunter Maddox, 9. Robert Bell. 2:17.52

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Brian Ruhlman, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Chase Howard, 9. Robert Bell. 3:00.79

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses, held February 13) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Brady Bacon (3), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. Daison Pursley (12), 5. Justin Grant (8), 6. Alex Bright (7), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 8. Briggs Danner (10), 9. Mitchel Moles (2), 10. Kyle Cummins (13), 11. Tye Mihocko (23), 12. Tom Harris (17), 13. Carson Garrett (9), 14. Joey Amantea (18), 15. Chase Stockon (1), 16. Robert Ballou (19), 17. Matt Westfall (22), 18. Zach Daum (14), 19. Trey Osborne (24), 20. Hunter Maddox (20), 21. Brian Ruhlman (21), 22. Timmy Buckwalter (11), 23. Jadon Rogers (16), 24. Jake Swanson (15). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Chase Stockon, Laps 2-13 Brady Bacon, Laps 14-25 Logan Seavey.

**Robert Ballou & Jadon Rogers flipped on lap 20 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-307, 2-C.J. Leary-294, 3-Justin Grant-281, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-274, 5-Briggs Danner-229, 6-Daison Pursley-225, 7-Robert Ballou-212, 8-Kyle Cummins-209, 9-Mitchel Moles-195, 10-Carson Garrett-188.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tye Mihocko-28, 2-Robert Ballou-27, 3-Logan Seavey-15, 4-Kyle Cummins-14, 5-Alex Bright-14, 6-C.J. Leary-13, 7-Matt Westfall-12, 8-Briggs Danner-10, 9-Justin Grant-9, 10-Daison Pursley-9.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tye Mihocko-35, 2-Robert Ballou-34, 3-Logan Seavey-25, 4-Justin Grant-21, 5-C.J. Leary-21, 6-Kyle Cummins-17, 7-Alex Bright-17, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-16, 9-Briggs Danner-15, 10-Matt Westfall-15.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 13, 2024 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV / DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Timmy Buckwalter (16.994)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (16.173)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Alex Bright

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Daison Pursley

ProSource Hard Work Award: Trey Osborne

Irvin King Hard Charger: Tye Mihocko (23rd to 11th)

 

 

VOLUSIA RAINED OUT MONDAY;

USAC SPRINT DOUBLEHEADER ON TUESDAY!

Barberville, Florida (February 12, 2024)………After receiving heavy continuous rain with thunderstorms in the area and more on the way at Volusia Speedway Park, officials have concluded Monday’s DIRTcar Nationals program with the safety of teams and fans in mind.

By completing the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the DIRTcar Late Models, Monday’s program is deemed complete.

However, to make sure drivers and fans still get the shows they came for, Monday’s USAC Sprint Car Feature is being moved to the Tuesday, February 13 program and Monday’s DIRTcar Late Model Feature is being moved to Wednesday, February 14.

That will give fans a USAC doubleheader on Tuesday with the DIRTcar Late Models and then four DIRTcar Late Model Features on Wednesday in addition to the Super DIRTcar Series program.

Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park continues Tuesday, Feb. 13, with DIRTcar Late Models and USAC Sprint Cars.

Twenty-seven USAC Sprint Car drivers were on hand for Monday’s event. C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind) set a new USAC track record in qualifying with a lap of 16.173 seconds for an average speed of 111.297 mph. Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.), Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) won each of the three heat races while Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) scored a victory in the semi-feature.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) will start on the front row of Tuesday’s 25-lap makeup feature program. The first feature will be 30 laps.

On Tuesday, pits open at 1pm Eastern with grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm, engine heat at 5pm and hot laps at 5:30 followed by qualifying and racing. General admission tickets are $35. Reserved tickets are $40. Premium reserved tickets are $45. Child reserved tickets are $18. Pit passes are $45. Advance tickets available at https://dirtcarnationals.com/tickets/.

Live coverage of Tuesday’s USAC event will be streamed at https://flosports.link/usac.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 12, 2024 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV / DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-16.173 (New Track Record); 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-16.424; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-16.504; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.532; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.562; 6. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.645; 7. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-16.664; 8. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-16.705; 9. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-16.775; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.792; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-16.834; 12. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-16.838; 13. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-16.840; 14. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.893; 15. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-16.956; 16. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-16.991; 17. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-17.112; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-17.137; 19. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-17.174; 20. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-17.231; 21. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-17.297; 22. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-17.336; 23. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-17.397; 24. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-17.513; 25. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-17.906; 26. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-18.141; 27. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-18.745.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Alex Bright, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Brian Ruhlman, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Daison Pursley. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Tom Harris, 6. Mitchel Moles, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Chase Howard. 2:16.61 (New Track Record)

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Timmy Buckwalter, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Hunter Maddox, 9. Robert Bell. 2:17.52

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Brian Ruhlman, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Chase Howard, 9. Robert Bell. 3:00.79

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-170, 2-Logan Seavey-159, 3-C.J. Leary-158, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-150, 5-Robert Ballou-136, 6-Briggs Danner-124, 7-Jake Swanson-111, 8-Daison Pursley-109, 9-Joey Amantea-104, 10-Alex Bright-104.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-12, 2-Robert Ballou-11, 3-Kyle Cummins-11, 4-Tye Mihocko-10, 5-C.J. Leary-8, 6-Briggs Danner-8, 7-Mitchel Moles-7, 8-Jadon Rogers-7, 9-Matt Westfall-7, 10-Justin Grant-6.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-16, 2-Tye Mihocko-15, 3-C.J. Leary-14, 4-Alex Bright-14, 5-Logan Seavey-13, 6-Robert Ballou-13, 7-Briggs Danner-13, 8-Kyle Cummins-12, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-9, 10-Matt Westfall-9.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 13, 2024 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV / DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Timmy Buckwalter (16.994)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (16.173)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Alex Bright

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Daison Pursley

ProSource Hard Work Award: Trey Osborne

 

 

BACK-TO-BACK AT OCALA!

GRANT MOVES TO 4TH ON USAC SPRINT WIN LIST

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 10, 2024)………One night after moving into the top-five on the all-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature win list, Justin Grant rose even higher in the record books during Saturday’s second round of Winter Dirt Games XV at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

Starting fourth for the second consecutive program, Grant (Ione, Calif.) blitzed past Kevin Thomas Jr. with 10 laps remaining to earn his second victory in as many nights, this one worth $7,500, behind the wheel of the TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

The 47th career series triumph for Grant subsequently moved him ahead of Jack Hewitt on the list and into a tie for fourth all-time alongside Tracy Hines, the 2002 USAC National Sprint Car titlist. When Grant arrived on the USAC scene in 2010, and during his formative years on the trail in the ensuing years, Hines was among those who took Grant under his wing, showing him the ropes and sharing his knowledge with Grant to help him find his footing in the sport.

All these years later, here they both are, near the top of a historic list that is reserved only for the greatest the sport has ever seen.

“Tying Jack was special, but tying Tracy means a lot to me personally,” Grant explained. “Jack was a heck of a racecar driver, but I know Tracy really well. Tracy has helped me through a lot of the deepest ruts and the darkest times in my racing career. Tracy’s always been there to help me through it, whether it’s injuries or switching rides or losing rides or whatever it is. Tracy gets a rap as being a bit of a hard ass, but Tracy’s a really good guy to a lot of us younger racers and helped teach a lot of us how to do this and how to come along. I appreciate everything he did for me and it’s an honor to be tied with him.”

Furthermore, Grant also finds himself in select company as just one of 11 drivers to win the first two USAC National Sprint Car features in a season: Jud Larson (1965), Larry Dickson (1970), Pancho Carter (1978), Rich Vogler (1987), Robbie Stanley (1993), Brian Tyler (1998), Tracy Hines (2002), Jay Drake (2004), Damion Gardner (2010), Brady Bacon (2020) and now himself (2024).

But more anything, the back-to-back victories indicate a superb start to the season that now encompasses three-straight USAC National Sprint Car wins dating back to the end of the 2023 campaign. In his last 19 series starts, Grant has conquered victor in 10 of them, all of which came soon after master mechanic Jeff Walker joined TOPP Motorsports, forming a combination that has won far more since midsummer of July 2023 than any other team.

“Jeff and I have been racing together a long time,” Grant reminisced. “We speak the same language and it’s a ton of fun racing with him. He’s really, really sharp and he makes me the best that I can be. We come in and we want to be better every time. Every time I come in, he thinks the car needs to be better and I think I need to do a better job behind the wheel. So, we get together and try to make it happen.”

Initially, pole sitter Joey Amantea zipped out to lead the first three laps of his USAC National Sprint Car career. However, third-starting Thomas Jr. soon made his move on Amantea, swiping the top spot with a turn one slider on lap four. It was also a historic outing for Thomas who, on this night, became the 11th driver to reach the 400 career feature start mark with the series.

Meanwhile, further on back in the field, the battle for fifth raged on between Chase Stockon and Robert Ballou. Earlier in the night, Stockon grabbed his 33rd career Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time in USAC National Sprint Car competition, tying him with Grant for 11th all-time. Good fortune did not find Stockon in the feature on lap nine, however, as he went topside in turn three while Ballou combed the bottom. The two ultimately collided somewhere in the middle, with Stockon getting the worst end of the situation as he briefly became airborne before landing on all fours and sliding backwards to a stop beyond the cushion in turn four. Stockon restarted but managed only an 18th place result.

When action resumed, Thomas opened his lead to 1.4 seconds as the race neared the halfway mark. Yet on lap 14, 10th running Brady Bacon slipped off turn two and spun to a stop while Kyle Cummins (14th) also spun to a halt while attempting an evasive maneuver. Bacon wound up 12th after the restart while Cummins had to settle for 19th.

Grant, who had run third throughout the duration thus far, soon flexed his muscles. By lap 15, he had moved to second with an up-and-under move on Amantea at the exit of turn four. Over the next five laps, Grant swiftly sliced into Thomas’ 0.8 second advantage, and found himself within a couple car lengths by lap 20. In turn four, Thomas drifted off the bottom, swinging the door wide open for Grant to burst into the lead and straight into the history books.

“You don’t get too many opportunities here at Ocala, so you’ve got to pounce on them when they present themselves,” Grant laid out. “It was almost better to be in second there because I didn’t feel like I was really very good in three and four either. I was able to start moving around and seeing what worked better judging off KTJ, but he didn’t have that luxury. So, we were able to start getting in really high and getting a little bit of cushion to drive across. I’d gotten a couple really good runs, but I’d get to his back bumper, then have to lift. It was like, ‘man if he doesn’t miss it off four, I don’t know what I’m going to do here.’ Then, fortunately, it timed out right. I had a good run then he missed it off four and we were able to slip by.”

Grant’s 1.786 second margin of victory made him the winningest driver in the 15-year history of Winter Dirt Games. His sixth score broke a tie he had held for exactly one day alongside Damion Gardner and Bacon.

Kevin Thomas Jr. came home second with Logan Seavey third, C.J. Leary fourth and ProSource Hard Work award winner Robert Ballou fifth. Alex Bright took sixth after starting 18th, which earned him Irvin King Hard Charger honors.

For Thomas (Cullman, Ala.), two races into his full-time role with Rock Steady Racing, performed admirably, leading a race-high 16 laps while giving the new pairing its best result thus far in the Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

Straight out of the box, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) put the new Abacus Racing ride on the podium with a third-place finish in each of its first two starts in the CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 10, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.075; 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.104; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.165; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.217; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-14.277; 6. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.307; 7. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-14.332; 8. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.336; 9. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.415; 10. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.422; 11. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-14.500; 12. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.551; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.556; 14. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.578; 15. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.589; 16. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.626; 17. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.626; 18. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.660; 19. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.737; 20. Mark Smith, 43m, Witherspoon-14.740; 21. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.744; 22. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.763; 23. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.766; 24. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.809; 25. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-15.243; 26. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-15.392; 27. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-15.465; 28. Shane Butler, 18, Butler-15.738.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Joey Amantea, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Hunter Maddox. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tom Harris, 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Alex Bright, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Chase Howard. 1:58.69

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Trey Osborne, 6. Zach Daum, 7. John Mollick. 1:58.17

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Tye Mihocko, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Mark Smith, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Shane Butler. 1:58.20

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Chase Howard, 6. John Mollick, 7. Hunter Maddox. 2:31.17 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 3. Logan Seavey (5), 4. C.J. Leary (11), 5. Robert Ballou (10), 6. Alex Bright (18), 7. Daison Pursley (2), 8. Joey Amantea (1), 9. Briggs Danner (14), 10. Tye Mihocko (16), 11. Timmy Buckwalter (15), 12. Brady Bacon (17), 13. Jake Swanson (7), 14. Mitchel Moles (20), 15. Carson Garrett (9), 16. Jadon Rogers (23), 17. Matt Westfall (22), 18. Chase Stockon (6), 19. Kyle Cummins (24), 20. Trey Osborne (19), 21. Brandon Mattox (13), 22. Mark Smith (21), 23. Zach Daum (12), 24. Tom Harris (8). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Joey Amantea, Laps 4-19 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 20-30 Justin Grant.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-162, 2-Logan Seavey-147, 3-C.J. Leary-146, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-139, 5-Robert Ballou-132, 6-Briggs Danner-119, 7-Jake Swanson-105, 8-Daison Pursley-105, 9-Joey Amantea-99, 10-Alex Bright-96.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-12, 2-Robert Ballou-11, 3-Kyle Cummins-11, 4-Tye Mihocko-10, 5-C.J. Leary-8, 6-Briggs Danner-8, 7-Mitchel Moles-7, 8-Jadon Rogers-7, 9-Matt Westfall-7, 10-Justin Grant-6.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-15, 2-Briggs Danner-13, 3-Alex Bright-13, 4-Robert Ballou-12, 5-C.J. Leary-11, 6-Kyle Cummins-11, 7-Tye Mihocko-11, 8-Logan Seavey-8, 9-Jadon Rogers-8, 10-Mitchel Moles-7.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 12-13, 2024 – Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV / DIRTcar Nationals – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (14.556)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Chase Stockon (14.075)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Tom Harris

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: C.J. Leary

ProSource Hard Work Award: Robert Ballou

Irvin King Hard Charger: Alex Bright (18th to 6th)

 

 

MIRACLE GRANTED:

GRANT SCORES USAC SPRINT OPENER IN OCALA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 9, 2024)………Justin Grant’s winning performance wasn’t exactly how he drew it up, so to speak, during Friday night’s USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season opener at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

In fact, once Grant took the lead from Brady Bacon five laps from the finish line, he would rather have just driven away scot-free to victory while not having to dwell on any mixed feelings about a subsequent victory celebration.

Nonetheless, on occasion in the sport of auto racing, the best laid plans can go awry. Soon after taking, losing, then retaking the lead from Bacon on lap 26, Grant’s car kicked sideways in turn four, directly into the path of Bacon. Bacon attempted to avoid the idle Grant but clipped his right front tire into Grant’s left rear. As a result, Grant’s car got reignited, then straightened out and continued on while Bacon took the brunt of the misfortune, spinning to a stop.

Henceforth, Grant (Ione, Calif.) traveled the final five laps on the 3/8-mile dirt track toward victory in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

The parallels of this year’s season opener and the 2023 lid lifter at Ocala are uncanny. A year ago, Bacon performed a half-spin in turn four, then carried onto victory where he surpassed Jack Hewitt on the series’ all-time win list. For Bacon, that particular performance moved him into a tie for the all-time lead in career Winter Dirt Games victories with five alongside Damion Gardner. Similarly, this time around, Grant’s victory was his fifth in the yearly annual event, elevating him to the top line with Bacon and Gardner.

Grant’s score was monumental in the USAC record books as well with this being the 46th feature win of his USAC National Sprint Car career, tying himself with Hewitt for a share of fifth place on the all-time list.

“That’s really, really cool,” Grant exclaimed upon learning of the feat. “I got to do a stint in Ohio driving for Mark Hery. I learned a lot and learned a lot of racecraft there, and I was able to develop a lot of what I do now racing around Ohio racetracks with Mark. Jack was always around in those days. It’s cool to tie him and it’s really cool that we have those lists so that we can look back at the heroes and legends of our sport. Being able to climb up the list among these giants is an absolute dream come true. I never thought I’d win a single USAC Sprint Car race, so to be climbing up through there with those guys and to be tied with Jack Hewitt on the all-time wins list, it means a lot and it’s very special to me.”

The win proved to be Grant’s ninth in his last 18 USAC National Sprint Car starts dating back to July of 2023. Furthermore, it was Grant’s first season opening triumph with the series since 2017, also at Ocala.

With Grant starting fourth in the 24-car feature lineup, the initial attempt at a start didn’t fare well for 11th starting Sterling Cling. After contact with Alex Bright (14th) on the opening lap, Cling flipped several times in turn four. Zach Daum was also collected in the melee, sliding to a stop. Cling walked away under his own power, but his night evening was put on the shelf.

At that point, outside front row starter Bacon took command of the field as he stepped out front ahead of pole sitter Jake Swanson. Bacon continued to hold a firm grip on the lead throughout the first 10 laps of the race as Grant slid under Swanson in turn one to assume third on lap 11, but still remained about eight car lengths back of Bacon who soon found himself mired in lapped traffic.

Grant continued to edge closer as Bacon continued to nudge his way into the thick of traffic with Tom Harris and Timmy Buckwalter just ahead of the pair. On lap 25, Grant saw daylight on the bottom of turn one and slid up in front of Bacon and Buckwalter to take over the top spot. It proved to be short lived, however, as Grant tried to find a route around Harris to no avail. That opened the door for Bacon to skate back under Grant to retake the lead at the stripe by a wheel.

“As we were coming to Brady, I felt like we had a better racecar,” Grant explained. “I could really eat him up in three and four, but it was going to be really tough to get by him. Fortunately, with the way the lapped traffic worked out, I was able to sneak by him. Then I hit the bottom off three and four and he was able to get me back. I was able to make up a bunch of time around the top, then I got back around him, and I hadn’t entered up high since earlier in the race!”

Grant immediately fought back on the outside in turn one, working a path around Bacon and then Harris before, seemingly, setting off to a clear horizon as he entered turns three and four on lap 26. But not so fast, my friend.

“I got down in there and I got to chopping on the right rear tire with it being real low on air,” Grant recalled. “I just chopped my way and kind of half-spun, then came down the track in front of him. We banged wheels and he spun out. That wasn’t how I wanted that to go. I planned on circling the top and driving away and not having to feel bad about anything. I feel bad we ended Brady’s race there. We were having a heck of a battle, and I was looking forward to battling with him to the end. Brady’s a great racecar driver and it’s a lot of fun racing with him.”

From Bacon’s perspective, it was pure misfortune that befell him and cost him a shot an all-time record fourth career USAC National Sprint Car opening night victory.

“We led the whole race,” Bacon lamented. “Lapped traffic’s really tough here when it’s on the bottom like that. it probably backed my pace off a little bit and enabled him to catch me. Right when I was moving around to get by Harris, he got in there with us. We were mixing it up trying to get past that lapped car and I probably had the better position there in three and four. He kind of got caught in the marbles and spun out. We hit him and he kept going and stalled us.”

It was no contest for Grant after the final restart as he hustled away to a 2.219 second margin of victory over runner-up C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) while Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) rounded out the podium in third. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) earned Irvin King Hard Charger honors with his 10th to fourth high side run as Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) came home a strong fifth.

Leary turned in his best Ocala run since winning the final night in 2019. On this night, he raced his way to a runner-up result aboard his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy. Dating back to last year, it’s his third consecutive podium finish after a pair of thirds in 2023.

Likewise for Seavey who recorded his best Ocala outing since a third in 2020. But on this occasion, he achieved it with a team making its first ever USAC Sprint Car appearance. Seavey drove to third once again in his Abacus Racing/CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone – Forecheck Marketing/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.) earned ProSource's Hard Work Award for the night. After qualifying 27th out of 30 drivers in the field, Mattox worked his way into the feature lineup.

In Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) rose to seventh place all-time on the USAC National Sprint Car Fast Qualifier list. With his 37th career fast time, KTJ moved past Bryan Clauson and into a tie with Larry Dickson on the list.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 9, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.858; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.892; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.985; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.055; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.107; 6. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.207; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.214; 8. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-14.223; 9. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.263; 10. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.284; 11. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.289; 12. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.310; 13. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.395; 14. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.418; 15. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-14.458; 16. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.469; 17. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-14.492; 18. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.533; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.538; 20. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.553; 21. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.554; 22. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.683; 23. Mark Smith, 43m, Witherspoon-14.771; 24. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.825; 25. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-14.937; 26. Shane Butler, 18, Butler-14.975; 27. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.990; 28. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-15.184; 29. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-15.359; 30. Will Hull, 7s, Allen-15.905.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Tom Harris, 6. Alex Bright, 7. Chase Howard, 8. Hunter Maddox. 1:57.32

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Briggs Danner, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Trey Osborne, 7. Shane Butler, 8. Will Hull. 1:57.81

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Mark Smith, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Zach Daum. 1:57.82

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Joey Amantea, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. John Mollick. 1:58.07

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Alex Bright, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Brandon Mattox, 4. Sterling Cling, 5. Shane Butler, 6. Chase Howard, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. John Mollick, 9. Trey Osborne. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. C.J. Leary (3), 3. Logan Seavey (5), 4. Robert Ballou (10), 5. Briggs Danner (8), 6. Jake Swanson (1), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 8. Chase Stockon (7), 9. Kyle Cummins (15), 10. Jadon Rogers (9), 11. Daison Pursley (12), 12. Mitchel Moles (13), 13. Joey Amantea (17), 14. Carson Garrett (19), 15. Alex Bright (14), 16. Brady Bacon (2), 17. Tom Harris (21), 18. Matt Westfall (20), 19. Tye Mihocko (23), 20. Zach Daum (16), 21. Brandon Mattox (24), 22. Timmy Buckwalter (18), 23. Mark Smith (22), 24. Sterling Cling (11). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Brady Bacon, Laps 26-30 Justin Grant.

**Will Hull flipped during the second heat. Sterling Cling flipped on lap one of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-82, 2-C.J. Leary-76, 3-Logan Seavey-74, 4-Robert Ballou-66, 5-Briggs Danner-66, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-65, 7-Jake Swanson-60, 8-Chase Stockon-57, 9-Kyle Cummins-52, 10-Jadon Rogers-51.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-6, 2-Kyle Cummins-6, 3-Carson Garrett-5, 4-Joey Amantea-4, 5-Tom Harris-4, 6-Tye Mihocko-4, 7-Justin Grant-3, 8-Briggs Danner-3, 9-Brandon Mattox-3, 10-Logan Seavey-2.

HUGHES RACING / INDIANA MAFIA / FLAMINGO SANDY WINTER DIRT GAMES XV SPRINT CAR PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-8, 2-Robert Ballou-7, 3-Briggs Danner-6, 4-Kyle Cummins-6, 5-Joey Amantea-5, 6-Carson Garrett-5, 7-Joey Amantea-5, 8-C.J. Leary-4, 9-Logan Seavey-4, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-4.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 10, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: C.J. Leary (14.054)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.858)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Briggs Danner

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Alex Brig

ProSource Hard Work Award: Brandon Mattox

Irvin King Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (10th to 4th)

 

 

ROCK STEADY & FAST:

KTJ IS FASTEST IN OCALA PRACTICE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 8, 2024)………Kevin Thomas Jr. and Rock Steady Racing’s first night out in 2024 went just about as smooth as you can ask for.

The Cullman, Ala. driver who won at Ocala in 2021 timed in with a best lap of 13.796 seconds during Thursday night’s open practice with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

The three-hour session was the final preparation prior to the opening two races of the series season on Friday-Saturday, February 9-10, at Ocala’s 3/8-mile dirt oval.

Thomas and Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy recorded the best lap of the evening in the second of three groups that timed in on Thursday.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) was the quickest in group one and second fastest overall with a lap of 13.928. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), in the debut of the Abacus Racing sprint car, was the best in the third and final group and third overall at 13.962 seconds. Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) was fourth overall at 14.009 while two-time and defending series champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 14.016.

Rock Steady Racing, with Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) as its driver, won the most recent USAC Sprint Car event at Ocala in February of 2023. Cummins was 14th overall in Thursday’s practice at 14.216. Four-time USAC National Sprint Car titlist Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), winner of the 2023 season opener at Ocala, timed in ninth fastest overall.

For the first night of racing on Feb. 9 at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $30 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are free.

On both nights Feb. 9-10 at Ocala, pits open at 2pm Eastern, front gates open at 5pm and cars hit the track at 6pm. Outlaw 4’s will serve as the support class.

The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship events from Florida will be streamed live and on-demand at https://flosports.link/usac.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: February 8, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

PRACTICE: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-13.796; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.928; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.962; 4. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.009; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.016; 6. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.024; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.063; 8. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.083; 9. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.094; 10. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.118; 11. Timmy Buckwalter, 20, Hummer-14.136; 12. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.140; 13. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-14.210; 14. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-14.216; 15. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-14.225; 16. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.261; 17. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.325; 18. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-14.359; 19. Jake Swanson, 2B, 2B Racing-14.392; 20. Zach Daum, 5d, Daum-14.394; 21. Tom Harris, 84, Harris-14.470; 22. Trey Osborne, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.582; 23. Mark Smith, 43m, Witherspoon-14.612; 24. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Wilson-14.613; 25. Shane Butler, 18, Butler-14.972; 26. Will Hull, 7s, Hull-15.148; 27. John Mollick, 4J, Clever-15.170; 28. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-15.795.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 9-10, 2024 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, Florida – Winter Dirt Games XV – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track

 

 

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS, NOW TEAMMATES: BACON & LAWHEAD UNITE FOR ’24 USAC SPRINT SEASON

By: Pat Sullivan – USAC Media

Ocala, Florida (February 7, 2024)……… Brady Bacon and Billy Lawhead have a long history dating back nearly 30 years. They both grew up watching their fathers, Ronnie Lawhead and Leon Bacon, race in the Tulsa, Okla. area. They traveled and raced together in their early teens and also competed against each other in micro sprints.

Simply put, both men have enjoyed a successful motorsports career.

Now, Bacon and Lawhead have teamed together for the 2024 season. Lawhead will be a key component of Bacon’s quest for a fifth USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in the Dynamics Inc./Hoffman Auto Racing No. 69 starting this Friday, February 9, at Florida’s Ocala Speedway for the first of seven USAC events in a nine-night span across the Sunshine State.

Dubbed “The Kingmaker,” Lawhead has played pivotal roles in the development of both Christopher Bell, and most recently, Ryan Timms. Make no mistake about it, Bacon is convinced that Lawhead can be the key ingredient in what he hopes is a record setting year.

“I am the most excited that I have ever been,” Bacon said. “Billy Lawhead is my childhood best friend, and he was the best man in my wedding. We both learned under my dad.”

When Lawhead reflects on his time with fellow Oklahoman Ryan Timms, he noted, “Eight years together in motorsports is a long go, and I loved it, and it was successful. I am so happy for Ryan and his family given where he is at and what is to come.”

Yet it was time to make a change, and Lawhead is eager to take on a new challenge. Transitions can be hard, but he has landed in familiar circumstances.

“This makes me feel comfortable because it is family,” Lawhead said. “Brady and I grew up together and our families are still close. Our personalities are a lot alike so it will be an easy fit. I’m pumped. It has never aligned where he needed someone, and I needed something to do.”

For Bacon, there is unfinished business at hand, and by the end of the 2023 campaign, he knew his team needed a spark. He feels he has found it. Lawhead will join a solid group that includes veteran Matt Hummel who returns as crew chief. Also on board is Jamey Neeley, a former firefighter with past racing and automotive experience. Bacon knows he is fortunate to have a veteran and seasoned team behind him.

Lawhead is also convinced that all the pieces are in place for Brady to get back to the top step on the podium. He realizes that Bacon’s talent and temperament explain why he already has four USAC titles on his resume and he is poised to help his friend add to that record.

“We are obviously capable,” Lawhead said. “We have everything we need to do it. We just need to put everything together. It’s not easy but it is easier than starting from scratch.”

One thing is for certain. Bacon and Lawhead are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

THE DETAILS:

Seven nights, seven events and two different racetracks across the state of Florida present the grand opening to the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season – February 9-10 at Ocala Speedway; February 12-13 at Barberville’s Volusia Speedway Park and February 15-16-17 at Ocala Speedway.

FEB. 8-10 OCALA

Practice begins the Winter Dirt Games festivities on Thursday, Feb. 8 from 7-10pm Eastern at Ocala Speedway. Grandstand admission is free while pit admission is $20.

For the first night of racing on Feb. 9 at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $30 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are free.

On Saturday, Feb. 10, at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $35 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $45 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are free.

On both nights Feb. 9-10 at Ocala, pits open at 2pm Eastern, front gates open at 5pm and cars hit the track at 6pm. Outlaw 4’s will serve as the support class.

FEB. 12-13 VOLUSIA

On both nights, the pits open at 1pm Eastern with grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm, engine heat at 5pm and hot laps at 5:30 followed by qualifying and racing. General admission tickets are $35. Reserved tickets are $40. Premium reserved tickets are $45. Child reserved tickets are $18. Pit passes are $45. Advance tickets available at https://dirtcarnationals.com/tickets/

FEB. 14-17 OCALA

Practice begins the return to Winter Dirt Games festivities on Wednesday, Feb. 14 from 7-10pm Eastern at Ocala Speedway. Grandstand admission is free while pit admission is $20.

For race night on Feb. 15 at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $30 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are free.

On Friday-Saturday, Feb. 16-17, at Ocala, grandstand admission for ages 13 & up is $35 while kids age 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $45 apiece for ages 6 & up. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are free.

On all three nights Feb. 15-16-17 at Ocala, pits open at 2pm Eastern, front gates open at 5pm and cars hit the track at 6pm. Outlaw 4’s will serve as the support class. Micro Sprints 270-250-450 will be the support class.

COVERAGE

All seven USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship events from Florida will be streamed live and on-demand at https://flosports.link/usac.

 

 

10-RACE BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER SERIES BEGINS FEB. 13 AT VOLUSIA
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 6, 2024)………The 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season will contain a 10-race “series within a series” held in memory of one of the series’ all-time greats.

The third edition of the Bubby Jones Racing Master of Goin’ Faster presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment series will encompass 10 events on the USAC National Sprint Car schedule this season, all of which will take place at some of the most legendary tracks on the schedule, including half-miles and some of Ol Bub’s favorite places.

The driver accumulating the most total points throughout the 2024 Bubby Jones Racing Master of Goin’ Faster series will be rewarded with a $10,000 prize. Furthermore, the championship winning crew chief will collect a $2,500 bonus. Jones was a master on two sides of the sport throughout his career – behind the wheel as a driver and behind the wrench as a crew chief.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), the 2023 series champion, enters 2024 as the defending “Bubby Jones” titlist, which begins on February 13 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. during Winter Dirt Games XV. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) captured the inaugural championship in 2022.

After Volusia, May brings the Bubby Jones series to Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway for the second night of #LetsRaceTwo on May 4 while Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track welcomes the series for the 54th annual Tony Hulman Classic on May 21.

Three more legendary dirt half-miles are on the scene for the Bubby Jones series in the month of June, beginning with June 1 at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway for the Corn Belt Clash. Two Eastern Storm dates in Pennsylvania follow as part of the series in June at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway on June 14 and Port Royal Speedway on June 15.

July is highlighted by Kokomo Speedway on July 27, which takes place during the 37th annual edition of Indiana Sprint Week.

September’s $20,000-to-win Haubstadt Hustler takes the Master of Goin’ Faster series to Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway on the 14th. Eldora Speedway gets a second Bubby Jones series date for the $15,000-to-win 4-Crown Nationals on September 21. The championship decider for the mini-series concludes at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway during the $20,000-to-win Fall Nationals on October 12.

The Bubby Jones series champion driver will also receive a custom trophy provided by Potter Metal Art and a year-end acknowledgement at USAC’s Night of Champions in December.

Norman “Bubby“ Jones was a 27-time winner in USAC National competition during his National Sprint Car Hall of Fame career. Among his 27 wins are seven each at Eldora and Terre Haute, two tracks featured prominently on the schedule.

Nicknamed Ol’ Bub, the racing barber who originally hailed from Danville, Illinois, established himself as an “outlaw” racer, winning from coast-to-coast until notching high-profile victories with USAC, including the CBS-televised Du Quoin Silver Crown in 1976, as well as the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ascot Park in 1976 and the Hut 100 at Terre Haute in 1977.

Bubby reigned victorious at the Western World Championships in 1976 and, one year later, Jones made his one and only start in the Indianapolis 500 in 1977, starting 33rd and finishing 21st for car owner, Bobby Hillin.

Jones made his biggest impact with USAC on the National Sprint Car trail during the late 1970s, winning 22 total feature events. 1979 proved to be his breakout year with the series, winning on 11 occasions in one of the prolific seasons in the history of the division at places like Terre Haute, New Bremen, Eldora and the Indiana State Fairgrounds for car owner Don Siebert, and during one stretch, won four in a row before finishing as the championship runner-up.

At the dawn of the 1980s, Bubby moved west to begin the next chapter of his racing career. Competing with the California Racing Association, Jones piloted the Kazarian’s Gas Chem Products entry. In their first year together, Jones and Kazarian earned nine victories, including his first of four at the season-ending Don Peabody Classic.

By the time he hung up his helmet for good in 1991, Bubby had claimed 80 CRA feature wins (2nd overall), including a record 18 triumphs in 1983 and was a multi-time winner of the Firecracker 50, the Pacific Coast Nationals and the Don Peabody Classic. Bubby remained active in racing as a crew chief and team manager. He continued to innovate in chassis designs and the development of Surelock shifter. In 1996, Bubby played a part in the construction of Perris Auto Speedway.

Spire Sports + Entertainment will serve as the presenting sponsor of the series. SS+E has been involved in numerous race promotion and marketing efforts for tracks and events on the USAC schedule in recent years.

Founded in 2010, Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) has blossomed into a multi-tiered entity. Since then, SS+E has become a subsidiary of parent organization Spire Holdings, which includes a a diverse sports portfolio, including Spire Motorsports, SS+E, ECHL hockey teams the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush and the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits and short track promotions company Track Enterprises.

2024 BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOING FASTER SCHEDULE:

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL

May 4: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN

 

 

MEET THE 15 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR

FULL-TIMERS FOR 2024!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 5, 2024)………It’s time to go racing in 2024 with the largest contingent of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship full-time competitors in the 69-year history of the series.

The field of 15 full-time drivers and teams is stacked, packed and ready to hit the road for this coming year’s 54-race slate which begins with seven February dates in Florida at Ocala Speedway on February 9-10, Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13 and another visit to Ocala Speedway on Feb. 15-16-17.

Here’s the full list of the 15 USAC National Sprint Car full-timers for 2024!


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


C.J. LEARY | BGE-DOUGHERTY MOTORSPORTS #15x

It’s back to the 15x for C.J. Leary for the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season.

In 2023, the Greenfield, Indiana racer notched his first full season under the BGE-Dougherty Motorsports banner, giving the team its best ever USAC points finish and continued to cement the team as one of the pre-eminent favorites entering 2024.

Leary has finished inside the top-10 of USAC National Sprint Car points in 10 consecutive years, and for the last five seasons, he’s come home fifth or better in the standings each year.

He’s currently on a string of eight straight years with a feature victory, including three in 2023 at Bloomington, Eldora and Kokomo, and also wrapped up the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster title Presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment.

The 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champ is hungry to build upon the foundation of success that was laid a year ago and aims to continue his stride into the new year of 2024.


KEVIN THOMAS JR. | ROCK STEADY RACING #3R

It’s the most excited he’s been for the start of a race season in a long time. Those are ear-catching words for a driver like Kevin Thomas Jr., who stands as one of the most successful USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship drivers of his era.

The Cullman, Alabama wheelman has teamed up with Rock Steady Racing as they plan an assault on the USAC National Sprint Car season in 2024.

Thomas, the owner of 39 series wins, ranks 11th all-time in that regard while Rock Steady, led by car owner Hank Byram, has raked in 25 victories, most notably over the past decade with driver Kyle Cummins who has moved on to Petty Performance Racing team for 2024.

Thomas already got a bit of a head start with his new team last September at Gas City, and despite early mechanical obstacles, KTJ recovered to win his heat and ran as high as fourth in the feature before slotting into seventh at the finish line.

With both KTJ and Rock Steady hankering for a first USAC title run and something to prove, this new combo is poised to make some noise in the new year.


JAKE SWANSON | 2B RACING #2B

Jake Swanson hit his stride in 2023 as he piloted the Team AZ Racing ride to a career-high four points-paying wins and a career best fifth place finish in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings.

But that was then, and this is now. After five seasons with Team Arizona, Swanson has a new address for 2024 after being tabbed as the new driver of Scott Benic’s 2B Racing DRC/Claxton, which was occupied a year ago by Logan Seavey.

It’s one chapter closing and another opening with 2B Racing, which ranks 12th all-time in series wins with 33 and captured the 2005 USAC National Sprint Car title with Levi Jones at the wheel.

Swanson, who owns and operates a thriving racing shock business, during the week, got a couple beneficial runs with 2B in local Indiana competition, providing them a bit of a head start entering 2024.

Last year, Swanson hit the ground running by winning in his first sprint car start of the year. This time around, he aims to do the same on a team with a storied championship past with an eye on a championship future.


KYLE CUMMINS | PETTY PERFORMANCE RACING #3P

For more than a decade, Kyle Cummins and Rock Steady Racing were constant counterparts, racking up numerous wins in the Midwest while also cementing themselves among the premier pairings in the sport.

But David Bowie once told us about ch-ch-ch-changes! And that’s exactly what’s in store for the Princeton, Indiana driver during the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship campaign.

The brand-new Petty Performance Racing team was created by Arizona’s Jerry Petty who has transitioned from team sponsor and event sponsor into a team owner who will now field Cummins in pursuit of a USAC title in the coming year.

This formation comes on the heels of Cummins equaling his career best with four USAC National Sprint Car feature victories and a sixth-place finish in series points for 2023.

At press time, Cummins’ USAC National Sprint Car win total stands at 18, all of which have come with Rock Steady. For Cummins, it’s a new opportunity. It’s a new challenge. And among the plethora of musical chairs this offseason, this is among the most intriguing ones to watch, pairing a veteran driver with a brand-new team and the racing world to conquer.


JUSTIN GRANT | TOPP MOTORSPORTS #4

Tres. Drei. Trois. Pardon my French. But no matter how you say it – 3 is a magic number for Justin Grant in 2024.

Grant has won the past two series driving titles, and this year, he’ll push toward positioning himself among the top hierarchy of history which so few have reached by winning 3 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championships in a row.

Parnelli Jones scored three consecutive from 1960 to 62. Steve Butler notched three-straight between 1986 and 88. Robbie Stanley was crowned each year between 1991 and 93 and Levi Jones was the most recent to do the deed in 2009, 10 and 11.

Last year, Grant became the 10th driver to amass 400 career starts, and with 45 victories, another similar performance in 2024 will place him among the top-three all time in that category.

Grant enters year seven with TOPP Motorsports, who also will be eying three-in-a-row as an entrant champ, something only Damon Fortune, Tony Stewart Racing and Curb-Agajanian have done.

Grant and TOPP are on the mountaintop. They were the hunted a year ago. They’ll be the hunted in 2024. But as they’ll tell you, “Catch us if you can!”


MATT WESTFALL | RAY MARSHALL MOTORSPORTS #33m

A true renaissance man of motorsports, Matt Westfall has truly just about done it all in his racing career, and he’s done it with proficiency!

Over the years, his driving accomplishments have come in the form of championships in midgets and sprint cars and even modifieds and late models!

But his 2023 triumph at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway might have one-upped them all with it being his first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car National Championship feature victory in more than 17 seasons!

Westfall’s 2022 performance saw him post career highs in all categories of USAC Sprint Car competition. In 2023, he equaled or exceeded his previous year’s exploits across the board.

The Buckeye racer is back on the USAC Sprint Car scene full-time again in 2024 with Ray Marshall Motorsports’ yellow number 33m as they pine to build upon what they’ve laid the groundwork for throughout these past several years.

Even at the age of 47, Westfall is proving himself to the racing world time and time again. And as time has proven, you have to admit he’s getting better. Getting better all the time.


BRADY BACON | DYNAMICS, INC. #69

Brady Bacon is on the brink of something special during the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season.

The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native is back on the drive for five once more after finishing as the runner-up to Justin Grant in each of the past two seasons in 2022 and 2023 after Bacon himself captured two-in-a-row in 2020 and 2021.

No era of USAC Sprint Car racing has offered such a tug-of-war at the top of the championship fight since the era of the Larry and Gary Show between 1968 and 1971 when Dickson and Bettenhausen swapped a pair of titles across a four-year span.

In 2024, Bacon stands one title away from equaling Levi Jones as the driver with the most USAC National Sprint Car crowns. Furthermore, Bacon possesses the second most USAC National Sprint Car feature victories with 53 and is now within an arm’s reach of Dave Darland’s all-time record of 62.

Furthermore, Bacon stands alone by winning USAC Sprint Car features in more states than any other driver with 14. But more than anything else, Bacon wants one more ring for the thumb. And the only state he prefers to compete in is a championship state of mind in 2024.


JADON ROGERS | MICHAEL DUTCHER MOTORSPORTS #17GP

The combination of a winning driver and a victorious crew chief slash team owner have thus far made a fantastic match in their short time together.

Both Jadon Rogers and Michael Dutcher Motorsports possess that same energy and pedigree that has them riding high into 2024 as full-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship contenders.

The duo teamed up for the latter half of 2023 for nine USAC starts, accumulating four top-fives and six top-tens in that stretch, including an impressive 23rd to 5th run on the opening night of Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, plus a pair of fourths at Kokomo and Devil’s Bowl.

Over the past three years, no driver has won more sprint car races in the state of Indiana than Rogers, three of which came just last year in Dutcher’s patented number 17GP.

The 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year and the 2012 USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year have been on the verge of teaming up to chase the USAC trail in recent. Now, they feel on the verge of something even bigger and better in 2024.


MITCHEL MOLES | REINBOLD-UNDERWOOD MOTORSPORTS #19AZ

Perhaps no driver elicits the same electricity that Mitchel Moles exhibits each time he hits the track in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition.

That was proven by the fact that he prevailed in arguably the most exhilarating event of the 2023 USAC Sprint season when he outlasted multiple attacks on the final lap to win the debut at Illinois’ Macon Speedway.

But after what was admittedly an up and down 2023 season, the Raisin City, California native is preparing to rise up another level in 2024. He’s back in the saddle of the 19AZ full-time on the USAC tour, a team which sees Moles, owner and crew chief Andy Reinbold, plus co-owner Todd Underwood as the remaining constants from the year before.

The cast features several fresh faces turning the wrenches, including new car chief Dylan Cook, who won a USAC Sprint title with Justin Grant in 2022, plus the additions of Jacob Johnston and James Turnbull to the crew.

In what will be his third year on the USAC tour coming up, the former professional bass fisherman is angling to make year three one for the highlight reel!


DAISON PURSLEY | TEAM AZ RACING #21AZ

After a new beginning one year ago, it’s another fresh start for Daison Pursley in 2024!

Straight out of a season in which he was named USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Rookie of the Year for KO Motorsports, the Locust Grove, Oklahoma driver now finds himself as the full-time wheelman for Team AZ Racing’s number 21AZ.

For the past five years, Team AZ has fielded Jake Swanson as its driver, but after he recently departed to 2B Racing, Pursley was tabbed for the new role.

Pursley and Team AZ’s relationship dates back to October of 2023 when both parties went USAC CRA racing during the Western World Championships at Cocopah, and quickly turned it from a one-weekend deal to a full-time ride after a spectacular two-night sweep of the event.

A good first impression goes a long way, and this combo has good vibes in spades rolling into the 2024 campaign. After all, they’re one of the few pairings in the sport who can lay claim to being undefeated.

It’s full steam into the new year, and now the focus is set on keeping the ball of momentum rolling starting in Florida and beyond!

LOGAN SEAVEY | ABACUS RACING #57

For Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing, winning two out of three USAC national championships together in 2023 ain’t bad. But it could even be better.

In response, the two entities have added a sprint car team to their arsenal for the upcoming 2024 campaign to achieve what only Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley have done before – winning the coveted USAC Triple Crown in a single year.

Seavey comes off a season in which he won twice in USAC National Sprint Car competition for 2B Racing while garnering championship accolades in both the Midget and Silver Crown divisions for Abacus.

The team is new to the sprint car racing world this year, but don’t let that deceive you. Abacus Racing’s first full season of midget and Silver Crown racing resulted in a championship. Call it exceeding expectations but it was certainly no beginner’s luck.

Kirk Simpson will serve as the team’s crew chief on the DRC chassis powered by both 1-Way Technologies and Stanton powerplants.

Expectations are high for this group in its initial foray into sprint car racing, but there’s no one they’d rather have in their seat than Logan Seavey in the quest to grab the final prong of the USAC triple crown.


ROBERT BALLOU | BALLOU MOTORSPORTS #12

It’s back to the grind in 2024 for the winningest driver slash car owner in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship history.

For the past decade, he’s been a perennial front runner on the circuit, which includes a 2015 series championship and 32 victories as an independent aboard his instantly recognizable number 12.

However, last year wasn’t as kind in the win column for the Rocklin, California racer who enters his 19th season with the series. That said, he finished a solid seventh in the standings with crew chief Derrick Bye as his right-hand man while finishing as the runner-up three times and garnering a couple fast qualifying times to boot.

The Mad Man has cemented his legacy as one of the premier USAC Sprint Car drivers of his era, and of any era, He’s 27 starts away from becoming the third driver with 500 career starts, plus his 37 feature triumphs are just three away from reaching 10th all-time.

Perhaps no driver has been able to make as many triumphant bounce backs as Robert Ballou, and in 2024, he aims to bounce back in a big way. Into the win column, into the championship fight and into the record books.



CARSON GARRETT | BGE-DOUGHERTY MOTORSPORTS #15

His journey from his Rocky Mountain Midget roots to becoming USAC’s 2023 National Most Improved Driver came quite quickly in some respects. But in other ways, it’s clear to say Carson Garrett has come a long way both geographically and behind the wheel of a racecar.

Although he’s been at this game for a few years now, last season was truly Carson Garrett’s first go-around on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship trail. That’s when the switch was flipped for the 22-year-old Littleton, Colorado racer as he recorded career bests in every single statistical category, notching three top-fives and came within a whisker of winning his first series feature at Illinois’ Macon Speedway.

Garrett returns in 2024 with the same exact deal, chasing the full USAC National Sprint Car season in the BGE Dougherty No. 15 as a teammate to C.J. Leary.

Although he admitted that the USAC Most Improved Driver award completely took him by surprise, there’s no question that he’s not going to sneak up on the competition in the coming year. It’s expected. For Carson Garrett has now officially arrived on the USAC National Sprint Car scene.


JOEY AMANTEA | JPA RACING #88J

Joey Amantea has made his mark in recent years on the USAC East Coast Sprint Car tour, but in 2024, he’s taking the show on the road full-time with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.

The 19-year-old known as “The Big Show” will be a busy man in the new year, dividing his full-time racing duties with his full-time role as a college student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Lehigh University.

Working his way up the ranks through quarter midgets, 600cc micros and as a multi-time USAC 360 sprint car winner, Amantea recently plugged in a 410 Newman’s racing engine into his family-owned Triple X.

Amantea branched out from his home in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania to dabble on the USAC national trail in 2023 and turned in a pair of top-10s at Kokomo and Lawrenceburg. The whole experience heightened the team’s desires to strive for even more in the new year.

New tracks, major competition and hitting the road. It’s all part of the continuous progression of the teenage Pennsylvanian. And if there’s any guarantees in life, bet the house on Joey Amantea putting on a big show in 2024.

TREY OSBORNE | BALDWIN-FOX RACING #5 & TREY OSBORNE #6

One year ago, he was named Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, but now Trey Osborne aspires to continue his rapid ascent as a Rookie with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2024.

In a combined effort, the 21-year-old Ohioan will pilot Baldwin-Fox Racing’s DRC/Claxton number five in the majority of USAC events and fill in the remainder of the dates aboard his own Triple X number six powered by a Mopar.

As a hired gun, Osborne now finds himself on an even bigger scale with more eyes and more expectations on him than ever before. But the Don and Mel Kenyon disciple embraces the challenge as he prepares to take on the busiest and most hectic racing season of his young career.

Osborne, who stands a towering 6 foot 8, talked the talk and walked the walked in 2023, meeting his goal of winning three local Indiana races. In the coming year, he’s established a new aspiration of achieving his first three USAC victories.

And as history has already proven, it’s no tall tale to believe Trey Osborne will be a man of his word in 2024.

 

 

USAC SEASON KICK OFF PARTY MARCH 1;

SIGN UP NOW!

Speedway, Indiana (February 2, 2024)………Meet USAC’s racing stars on Friday night, March 1, at the USAC Season Kick Off Party presented by Marc Dailey Racing with support from First Gear Engineering & Technology.

The doors open at 6pm Eastern with the program beginning at 7pm at USAC headquarters, located at 4910 W 16th St. in Speedway, Indiana.

The event is free to attend, and also includes free pizza and refreshments courtesy of 2009 USAC National Midget driving champion Brad Kuhn of Fish Window Cleaning. While attendance is free, donations to RaceAid are appreciated.

Drivers expected to be on hand for a night of fun include USAC national champions Justin Grant, Kody Swanson, Brady Bacon, Logan Seavey and C.J. Leary, plus superstars Kevin Thomas Jr., Kaylee Bryson, Taylor Ferns, Daison Pursley and many more.

For those planning to attend the 2024 USAC Kick Off Party, sign-up for the event has already begun at www.raceaid.fund. Just scroll down to the “USAC Season Off Party” banner and click “Register.” From there, click the bubble next to “Register for a RACEAID Event,” fill out the accompanying information, and you’re set.

Reserving your “ticket” ahead of the event helps us all. An accurate estimate of the crowd is needed in order to reserve the correct quantity of food and beverage for the night’s festivities.

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.

 

 

USAC TRIPLE CROWN ALERT!

SEAVEY GOES ALL IN WITH ABACUS & RICE FOR 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (January 31, 2024)………Logan Seavey will tackle the full 2024 USAC national schedule with full-time duties in Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition in an attempt to become the third driver to capture a USAC Triple Crown championship season.

Seavey earned two of the three USAC national titles in 2023 in the Silver Crown and National Midget divisions, doubling his reward to $100,000 for scoring both championships. Earning the USAC Triple Crown by winning all three division championships in 2024 will net a driver a total reward of $400,000.

Only two individuals have ever achieved a USAC Triple Crown season by winning driving titles in all three USAC national series: Tony Stewart in 1995 and J.J. Yeley in 2003.

But here’s the catch for Seavey in 2024. The Sutter, Calif. driver will compete in all three series for Abacus Racing, who will attempt to defend their midget title as well as their Silver Crown championship in conjunction with Rice Motorsports. New to the equation for Abacus in 2024 is the addition of a full-time USAC Sprint Car team.

By comparison, Stewart drove for multiple teams during his USAC Triple Crown campaign (Glen Niebel and Steve Lewis) as did Yeley (Bob East/Tony Stewart and Steve Lewis). Seavey’s nemesis, fellow 2024 USAC Triple Crown competitor Justin Grant, will also pursue the feat with three different organizations (Hemelgarn Racing, TOPP Motorsports and RMS Racing).

Seavey will take on the 99-race USAC national schedule with the same familiar pieces who surrounded his efforts in 2023. Ronnie Gardner, the 2023 USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year, will turn the wrenches on the Silver Crown car while Kirk Simpson will be the crew chief for the sprint car team and Johnny Cofer will serve in the same role on the midget.

“Only a couple of guys have won all three in one year, and not many even get the opportunity to try it, so to get the chance to try for all three series titles in one year is pretty cool,” Seavey stated. “I never thought I would get to race out here and now we’re out here full-time, 100-some races a year. And it definitely doesn’t happen often to basically do it with one team. We’re living the dream.”

Abacus burst onto the scene last year in their first full USAC National Midget season with Seavey, winning eight features en route to the championship. Abacus debuted with the Silver Crown series in 2023, joining Rice’s team as a co-entrant and broke through by winning three times on their path to the title. With the brand-new USAC Sprint car effort, Abacus hopes for the same initial success, hitting the ground running beginning with the season opener on February 9 at Florida’s Ocala Speedway.

“It’s going to be tough with a brand-new team, new cars and engines and all this stuff, and other variables that come into it,” Seavey admitted. “I don’t even know if it’s the toughest one, per se, but the sprint car schedule is just so long, anything can happen throughout the season. It kind of allows you to make some mistakes, maybe, and catch up from them. But when you’re racing against guys like Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, Robert Ballou, Kevin Thomas Jr., Kyle Cummins and more, those guys are pretty good every single night, so you don’t really have a lot of room to miss.”

From the beginning, Abacus Racing team principal Brent Cox’s plans always included acquiring a sprint car for Seavey to run, and in 2024, that’s come to fruition.

“When I met with Logan in December of 2022 to get him to drive the midget, the deal was to run the midget and help to kind of put our team on the map, then go sprint car racing in 2024,” Cox explained. “We certainly exceeded expectations in the midget, so we felt inclined to give it a shot and see what we can do with that while also going sprint car racing, which has always been a dream of mine and here we are.”

Cox’s inherent drive to succeed with Abacus Racing’s USAC Sprint Car program is exactly the same as it is for the Midget and Silver Crown teams. The common denominator behind the wheel of those machines is Seavey, and Cox wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Our expectations are high, but we also know how competitive the USAC Sprint Car series is,” Cox acknowledged. “The midget was a bit of an outlier, and we won the Silver Crown series by seven points. We’re confident we’ll do well in the sprint car, but we also know it’s a brand-new thing for us and Logan. We don’t feel like we could have a better driver to do it with than Logan.”

On the USAC Silver Crown program, Rice and Abacus formally came together in name at the beginning of the 2023 season. But they officially melded together following a July accident, due to a broken wheel, at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, which required wholesale repairs on the entire machine. Working together furiously, the team got the car back together in time to finish fifth in the ensuing round at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway, which made all the difference in keeping their championship hopes alive.

“Brent and I met at the Chili Bowl the year before, so everything kind of happened really fast,” 2021 and 2023 USAC Silver Crown entrant champion Rice remembered. “We really didn’t know each other all that well until Winchester. When we crashed there, it was a massive effort by a lot of people, and if we wouldn’t have had the Abacus guys to help and to take it up to their shop so they could work on it while Ronnie was at work, we would’ve never been ready. That’s when the team really came together as more of a ‘team’ rather than individual teams. This year, I think we’re going to be more prepared and more organized. We know each other now and we have more of a gameplan earlier in the year, so hopefully, we can implement that on the racetrack.”

For Rice, who hired Seavey prior to the 2020 Silver Crown season, it’s the feeling of having the perfect puzzle pieces of driver, crew and team all jelling together just perfectly at the exact right time.

“Logan’s a huge part of how quickly the race team grew as fast as it did,” Rice praised. “Without him being able to bring a fifth-place car home fifth instead of crashing it, that allowed us to go to the next race and learn even more. If he had crashed a couple cars, we would’ve been in a lot of trouble. By Logan taking care of the equipment early on in our development, it was very crucial to where we are now.”

For Seavey, the plan is set and the goal is clear. After winning two out of three USAC national titles a year ago, the hunger and desire to grab a third has him thrilled, especially to be able to do it with the same group of people he had so much success with in 2023.

“Overall, it gives me comfort and confidence knowing that every time I go to the track this year, I’m working with the same people,” Seavey explained. “With the momentum we have, I don’t want to say ‘we expect’ because it’s going to be tough. But I don’t think you can ever not be disappointed to not win a championship. Obviously, that’s the goal. If you’re not a little bit disappointed when you get beat, you’re not doing the right thing. It’s a competitive sport, and if you’re not looking for more when you’re getting beat, you’re not going to catch up. Our goal is to win all three, and if we don’t, we’re going to be a little disappointed. We’re going to give it our best effort, and to win all three in one year would be crazy.”

The Rice Motorsports/Abacus Racing USAC Silver Crown ride will consist of a DRC chassis on dirt and a Beast chassis on pavement with a Felker Racing Engine under the hood while carrying sponsorship from STIDA and Legacy 40.

Abacus Racing’s sprint car will be a DRC chassis with both 1-Way Technologies and Stanton power while the team’s midget will have a Stanton SR-11x engine between the frame rails of a Spike chassis. Primary sponsors on the sprint car and midget will be CG CPAs, Indy Custom Stone, Forecheck Marketing and Dozerz Nutz & Boltz.

 

 

BALLOU & THE LEIN MACHINE GEAR UP

FOR 2024 USAC SILVER CROWN DIRT SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (January 27, 2024)………Robert Ballou is going USAC Silver Crown racing with the Wisconsin-based team owned by Hans Lein for the full seven race dirt track slate in 2024.

Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), one of the most prolific drivers in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship history and a driver/entrant champion of the series in 2015, has made just 16 previous Silver Crown starts in his career between 2010-21 with a best finish of second at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in 2012.

In 2013, Ballou led 80 of 100 laps at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds before running out of fuel while leading. Winning USAC Silver Crown races remains a category that Ballou aspires to conquer, and he feels this opportunity provides him with that shot after three years away from the series.

“If I couldn’t get into a car that was capable or build my own, then I wasn’t ever going to do it again,” Ballou said of Silver Crown racing. “I truly believe that this car is more than capable. With Greg Nelson being the crew chief, his resume speaks for itself. Hans (Lein) has had unbelievable racecars for about 40 years now. I think we should jell pretty well.”

Lein’s black and yellow No. 97 has twice won in USAC Silver Crown competition, both with Tyler Courtney behind the wheel. Together, they scored victories during the 2017 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora and in the 2019 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. In 2023, Mitchel Moles drove the car throughout the season, winning the pole for the round at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway.

For the past decade, Ballou has been an independent on the USAC National Sprint Car tour, and in fact, is the winningest driver/owner in series history. Accustomed to working and overseeing his own team and equipment, this will be a bit of a change for Ballou with the car being based in Wisconsin, around a 600-mile round trip distance from his Tipton, Ind. residence.

“It’s hard,” Ballou acknowledged. “They asked Ricky Thornton Jr. that question a couple weeks ago when he drove the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports midget at the Chili Bowl. He’s pretty hands on. He mounted his seat and asked them if they needed any help, and they said, ‘no, we got it.’ So, he got in his car and went home. He wasn’t sure what to do. It’s a similar situation here. This car is based in Wisconsin, so it’s not like I can go help out even if I wanted to. But Greg doesn’t really need any help. He’s unbelievable. He builds a really nice racecar and Hans gives him all the funding to make the thing fast. Then, from there, it’s left up to the driver to do his job.”

The dirt side of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown schedule consists of dates at Kansas’ Belleville High Banks on May 17-18; Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway on June 15; Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track on July 4; Kansas’ Salt City Speedway on July 19-20; the Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 17; Illinois’ Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on August 31 and Ohio’s Eldora Speedway on September 20-21.

All those dirt tracks range in size from a half-mile to a full mile, which are right in Ballou’s wheelhouse. His 16 career USAC Sprint Car wins on half-miles rank seventh all-time. Despite the larger characteristics of a Silver Crown car in comparison to a USAC Sprint Car, it’s a trait on the “big tracks” he cites from the early years of his career running a winged sprint car that taught him to keep the car straight and keep the momentum up at venues like California’s Calistoga Speedway. It’s an applicable skill that he feels translates to running a Silver Crown at the larger places he’ll face in 2024.

“I can only assume it’s just because I used to keep the car so straight,” Ballou stated. “I learned how to drive off the right front in a wing sprint car. It’s comforting to roll in straight and lean on the right front. As far as speed, you really don’t notice it, if you will.”

Ballou is amped at the prospect of crossing a USAC Silver Crown win off the list in 2024. He’s won 37 times in USAC National Sprint Car competition, which ranks 12th all-time. With how he feels USAC Silver Crown racing has morphed over the years into a full-out, elongated sprint car race over 50-100 miles, that fits right with the Mad Man’s style.

“It’s a totally different type of racing nowadays; it’s gone more toward sprint car racing,” Ballou said of today’s Silver Crown racing style. “You used to run around for 80 laps, then get after it. It’s a sprint dang near the whole time, so a lot plays into it.”

 

 

WESTFALL & ANDREOTTI JOIN NEW

4 KINGS RACING USAC MIDGET TEAM IN ‘24

Pleasant Hill, Ohio (January 26, 2024)………4 Kings Racing will field two full-time entries on the 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail for drivers Matt Westfall and Jake Andreotti.

Founded by a passionate group of racing enthusiasts and industry veterans Rex Turner, Fred Edwards, Matt Westfall and Steve Bordner, 4 Kings Racing, a new team to the USAC National Midget ranks, aims to establish itself as a powerhouse in various racing disciplines, showcasing a blend of skill, innovation, and sportsmanship.

Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) will pilot the team’s No. 54 entry with primary sponsorship from Metalloid. Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) will wheel the team’s No. 14 with primary sponsor from AccroSeal. Both entries will be DRC Chassis powered by Stanton engines and will also carry sponsorship from Lucky 7 Technologies.

“We are thrilled to introduce 4 Kings Racing to the motorsports community,” team spokesperson Turner stated. “Our lineup of talented drivers, combined with our dedication to innovation, positions us for success in the upcoming season. We believe in fostering a culture of teamwork, resilience and continuous improvement, and we look forward to making our mark on the track.”

The collaboration with Westfall brings together two forces in the motorsports world, promising an exciting and competitive campaign. Westfall will be racing the full USAC National Midget schedule for the first time in his career, but possesses an extensive lineage in midgets, capturing a NAMARS Midget crown back in 1998 and has been a regular campaigner in USAC ever since.

Westfall began his racing career in karts at the age of five and has driven and won auto racing championships in a wide variety of machinery, including midgets, sprint cars, modifieds and late models. In 2023, Westfall captured a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway. In 2024, he takes on the prospect of multiple roles as both a driver and team owner.

“I’ve embraced the challenge of not just driving a race car but steering the destiny of a team,” Westfall remarked. “Owning the track and the team is a dynamic dance between speed and strategy. Together, we are crafting a legacy that isn’t measured in victories, but in the resilience to push boundaries, break records and redefine what’s possible in the world of racing. Buckle up, because this journey is about more than just crossing the finish line, it’s about setting a new standard of excellence.”

Andreotti, meanwhile, is a seasoned driver with an outstanding track record. His Rookie campaign with the USAC National Midgets in 2023 resulted in a best career feature result of second on the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track and finished second in Rookie points. In 2022, he captured Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors at the Turkey Night Grand Prix in Ventura, Calif. with a fourth-place finish.

Additionally, in 2023, Andreotti picked up a pair of USAC Western States Midget main event wins and turned in a triumphant performance with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars. In recent years, he’s won in Australia and scored several marquee victories in micro sprints, including the Clay Cup, the Mark Hagopian Memorial, the High Banks Hustle (prelim) and the Showdown in Beantown as well as track championships at Delta Speedway and Lemoore Raceway.

“I am thrilled to be a part of 4 Kings Racing,” Andreotti exclaimed. “This inaugural team comes with a reputation of excellence, and I believe together, we can achieve great success on the track. It’s an exciting opportunity, and I am grateful for the chance to contribute my skills and experience to the team.”

Team co-owner Fred Edwards also shared his excitement about the formation of USAC’s newest team.

“Having Matt and Jake on board is a significant boost for our team,” Edwards commented. “Their proven track record and versatility makes them ideal fits for the challenges that lie ahead. We are looking forward to a season filled with competitiveness and success.”

Follow 4 Kings Racing on social media for latest updates and behind-the-scenes content: 4.KingsRacing on Instagram, @4KingsRacing on Twitter, 4KingsRacing on Facebook and 4KingsRacing on YouTube.

The 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season begins on April 26-27 with the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

 

 

 

KTJ & MOUNCE-STOUT TEAM UP

FOR FULL USAC MIDGET RUN IN ‘24

Speedway, Indiana (January 25, 2024)………Three years after his most recent pursuit of a full USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule, Kevin Thomas Jr. is back on the trail in 2024.

This coming season, the Cullman, Ala. racer will contest the full tour for Collinsville, Oklahoma-based Mounce-Stout Motorsports, whom KTJ made nine starts with in part-time duty throughout the 2023 campaign. The ride will carry No. 9 and feature primary sponsorship from Inferno Armor and Rockwell Security.

In 153 career USAC National Midget starts, Thomas has accrued six feature victories and was named series Rookie of the Year in 2014. Back in 2015, Thomas led the points for a time before ultimately finishing a career-best third in the final standings. One item he’s looking to add to his illustrious resume is a USAC National Midget driving title, and he believes he’s in the right spot to get that done.

“I would like to win a midget championship,” Thomas stated. “I came close before but just didn’t get it done. It’s the same thing on the sprint car side. I feel like putting yourself in the best position with a team that has the same goals as you and having the same understanding of what we need to do to get that done, that goes a long way.”

Thomas’ last run at a USAC National Midget title came in 2021 with Petry Motorsports. Since that point, he’s partook in part-time USAC duty with a few different teams. His most prominent address of 2023 in midget racing was with Mounce-Stout and grabbed a best result of 4th at Bloomington Speedway during USAC Indiana Midget Week.

“I was just a fill-in guy here and there, but their stuff was always extremely fast,” Thomas said. “I also like the people who are involved with it too. In this day and age, that goes a long way with me as far as the way things are run and the kind of people you are. If you’re going to spend the entire year with somebody, you just want it to all flow and for everybody to have the same goals and have an understanding of what we plan on doing. They check all those boxes. If you can do it with the right people at the right time, I feel like it will be worth your while.”

For team co-owner Jay Mounce, he’s gotten to watch him race from afar over the years, but a year ago, he got a first-hand experience working alongside the veteran driving presence that Thomas brings to the team.

“He has a lot of knowledge and he’s been around the sport long enough to understand what he needs to be successful, which is a little different than what our program has kind of been based around – more of a developmental type of deal,” Mounce explained. “He’s one of those guys who can be a national champion given the right opportunity.”

The Mounce-Stout team owns one career USAC National Midget feature victory with Jacob Denney at the wheel in 2022. What started in the years leading up to that triumph and continued afterward is the continuous upward trajectory of the team whose shop sits 25 miles north of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s SageNet Center, home of the Chili Bowl Nationals. The difference with KTJ in the seat is having a driver who’s been in the business for quite some time, and thus, can get acclimated quickly and help the symbiosis between driver and team even that much stronger.

“Last year, we were able to see if he had any ideas or thoughts on not only making our program better as a whole but also to just to see where we’re at,” Mounce said. “With younger kids, it’s harder to tell. Everybody’s competitive now and you don’t really know if you’re in that top-five percent of guys who need to be doing this for a living, essentially. He has enough experience, and he came in and hit the ground running. We could plug him in and just see if we were really as fast as we thought we were.”

Thomas has noticed the rise of Mounce-Stout as well, and it’s a large piece of the puzzle as to why he connected with them to begin with in 2023 and why they plan on continue that growth in the coming year.

“The work ethic is there, and the passion is there,” Thomas said of Mounce-Stout Motorsports. “I feel like that’s one of the only reasons I want to do it. I see the want-to and I see the potential of it as well. I have a good feeling about these guys, and I have a good feeling about the opportunity that’s ahead. If we do things right, and we all do our jobs at a high level, nothing says we can’t go win a championship and go win races. I feel like if we put good racecars on the track and we stay on top of our duties as crew members and racecar drivers, then it comes down to whether I do my job or not. I feel like I can, so we’ll just go from there and we’ll see.”

The 2024 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season begins on April 26-27 with the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

 

 

 

MASTERS COURSE! PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER AWAITS USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (January 22, 2024)……… Longtime USAC supporter ProSource has once again posted a $2,500 reward to the driver who passes the most total cars during feature events throughout USAC’s 2024 national season.

The bonus payday awaits the driver who advances the most positions combined during the feature events throughout USAC’s Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget season.

No driver advanced more positions during the 2023 USAC national season than Locust Grove, Oklahoma’s Daison Pursley, who earned the title of ProSource Passing Master for the first time in his career after passing a total of 199 cars in just 62 feature starts throughout the year.

Pursley became the third different winner of the season long ProSource Passing Master award. Since 2020, Buck Rice of ProSource has offered the annual bonus. Past winners include Chris Windom (2020) and Justin Grant (2021 & 2022).

ProSource, of Grand Saline, Texas, has also rewarded USAC competitors through Qualifying, Hard Charger, Hard Work and individual event hard charger awards and will do so again in 2024. A $500 reward from ProSource is set to be paid out for the driver passing the most cars throughout the entirety of Winter Dirt Games XV (all prelims & features).

USAC's 2024 national season begins with seven Winter Dirt Games XV USAC National Sprint Car events in the state of Florida during the month of February. Ocala Speedway hosts the series on February 9-10. Barberville’s Volusia Speedway Park is the host for back-to-back nights on February 12-13. Ocala Speedway will round up the busy week with a trio of events on February 15-16-17.

 

 

BRYAN HULBERT TO ANNOUNCE USAC’S WINTER DIRT GAMES XV IN FLORIDA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (January 23, 2024)………Bryan Hulbert has been named the lead announcer for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship’s 2024 season opening events during February’s seven-race Winter Dirt Games XV series in Florida.

A veteran announcer with the American Sprint Car Series and a fixture on the microphone at the Chili Bowl Nationals for more than a decade, Hulbert will assume dual roles with USAC during the events at Ocala Speedway on February 9-10 and Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13 before returning to Ocala Speedway on February 15-16-17. Hulbert will handle duties on both the track’s public address system as well as on FloRacing’s live stream of each event.

Hulbert most recently announced a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship thriller at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds in 2023, and delivered the call for what was one of the most memorable finishes of the year – a pass for the victory by Bryant Wiedeman with two laps to go.

Having the opportunity to be the voice for that particular race was memorable for Hulbert, and he’s eager to get started with USAC in Florida this winter.

“It means a lot to me to announce for a series with the kind of reputation and prestige that USAC has,” Hulbert said. “To even be called upon and asked to go down and represent USAClike that, it’s very humbling and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Hulbert, originally hailing from Las Cruces, N.M. has been announcing at racetracks for 18 seasons. He started as a trackside reporter in 2006 before taking on the role of lead announcer in 2007 at dirt tracks such as Southern New Mexico Speedway and Texas’ El Paso Speedway Park.

He’s a jack of all trades in motorsports, having worked extensively in the departments of marketing, public relations, graphic design, ad design, commercial production, voiceovers, hanging banners, production work, you name it. This occasion also won’t be Hulbert’s first rodeo in Florida. In years past, he’s announced the King of the 360s in the Sunshine State as well as events at Ocala. However, Volusia is one that’ll be new in his repertoire.

Hulbert has engrossed himself in the racing scene, and his affinity for USAC has been ingrained in him since his earliest days as he took a keen interest for the series’ drivers and events via the weekly newspaper that served as the bible for all motorsports aficionados, Hulbert included.

“I’ve known about USAC since I was a kid,” Hulbert recalled. “National Speed Sport News was the weekly go-to, so I’d always read about what was going on. USAC has a great product and it’s stood the test of time in what it delivers and what it produces. I’ve had the chance to call the sprint car side and I’ve had a chance to call the midget side. Both have been a lot of fun to be a part of.”

 

 

USAC SILVER CROWN DEBUTS AT KANSAS’ SALT CITY SPEEDWAY JULY 19-20, 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Hutchinson, Kansas (January 15, 2024)………The USAC Silver Crown National Championship has added a new date at a venue with a rich racing history to the 2024 series schedule.

For the first time ever, Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, Kan. will host the USAC champ cars on its famed dirt half-mile for two consecutive nights on Friday-Saturday, July 19-20. An open USAC Silver Crown practice will take place on Friday, July 19, with a full program consisting of practice, qualifying and a 100-lap feature set for Saturday, July 20.

Located at the Kansas State Fairgrounds, Salt City Speedway (named so for its salt mining industry) first contested auto racing events in 1910, making it one of the most historic tracks in the country. Phil Nightingale has experienced his share of memories at the place, dating back to being a fan, then a driver and now as the track’s new general manager, and he can already feel the buzz.

“I’m more than excited about this; I’m over the moon,” Nightingale exclaimed. “This is a dream come true to put together a big race like this, especially with it being my first year as the promoter of the track. Being able to bring the champ cars to Hutchinson is huge. Every person I’ve talked to about USAC coming has been so excited to see these cars race.”

The reveal of this particular event on the schedule this year is significant in a myriad of manners. According to a report from The Hutchinson News, “The Kansas State Fair Board voted Tuesday (January 9, 2024) to rescind its November 2022 vote to demolish Hutchinson Raceway Park at the fairgrounds and accepted a one-year proposal for future use.”

When Nightingale got wind of the move to dismantle more than a century worth of racing history in Hutchinson, he stepped into action. It was personal to him. He was raised 25 miles from the track, and it’s a venue where both he and his son, Jake Nightingale, raced. In fact, Jake won in his first start at the track in a modified in 2015. The process of continuing racing at the joint came rather quickly.

Nightingale met with the fair board in September of 2023, then met with the board again in October and November. Just last week, his proposal received approval via a 13-0 vote to resume racing activities at the venerable central Kansas track.

“The track has a lot of history and it’s close to my old stomping grounds,” Nightingale explained. “When I heard that the fair board had voted to demolish the track, that’s when my adrenaline got running. It was time for me to step in and do something to try to help and promote the racetrack to keep it alive.”

Furthermore, USAC Silver Crown Competition Director Tommie Estes won an NCRA Sprint Car feature at the track in 1989 and will be instrumental in the track preparation for the mid-July event.

Six previous USAC Silver Crown events have been held in the state of Kansas dating back to 2006. Two occurred on the pavement of Kansas Speedway in Kansas City while each of the last four having taken place on the dirt at the Belleville High Banks. In fact, USAC Silver Crown racing will make multiple appearances in Kansas in 2024 with another weekend scheduled for Belleville on May 17-18.

Never has there been a repeat USAC Silver Crown winner in Kansas with six different drivers making it to victory lane, including Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and seven-time series champion Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) who’ll try to become the first multi-time Kansas Silver Crown winner at Salt City. Reigning series champ Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) will attempt to win his first in Kansas at Salt City in 2024.

Times and additional details for the July 19-20, 2024, Salt City Speedway event will be announced at a later date. But for now, the fact that USAC Silver Crown racing is debuting in Hutchinson, to Nightingale, it’s a perfect match for racing history.

“I’ve always been a gearhead, I’ve always loved motors and I’ve always loved hearing loud noises and all that kind of stuff,” Nightingale stated. “We’re just so excited to bring those racers here. Number one for me is to just hear those cars screaming around that racetrack. That’s going to be the most fun.”

 

 

24 DATES SET ON 2024 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE

Speedway, Indiana (January 6, 2024)………The calendar for the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car racing season has been set with 24 events on the docket in the states of California and Arizona in 2024.

The series, featuring new title sponsorship from Avanti, will open and close at its most oft-visited venue, southern California’s Perris Auto Speedway where USAC CRA will travel to on 10 occasions throughout the 2024 campaign. The season begins at Perris on February 24, and makes monthly trips to throughout the year on March 16, April 27, May 25 (Salute to Indy), June 22, July 13, August 17 and September 21.

The season at Perris is highlighted by the return of the Oval Nationals, which is back on the schedule after a one-year hiatus for the 27th running of the event for two-straight nights on November 8-9.

A similar slate is on the plate for Somerton, Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway, which makes an early-season USAC CRA schedule appearance on March 2. Late in the year, USAC CRA is back at Cocopah on November 1-2 for the 57th edition of the Western World Championships.

A pair of additional Arizona state races have been scheduled for Mohave Valley Raceway, which hosts the 410 c.i. sprint cars twice on April 6 and again on October 12.

The newly christened Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. will feature its most substantial USAC CRA schedule yet, featuring three dates at the track this season on June 8, August 31 and September 28.

For the first time since 2022, Nipomo, California’s Santa Maria Raceway is back on the USAC CRA docket which has four dates at the track. A two-night affair at Santa Maria will take place on July 5-6, before the series travels back to the track on August 10 and September 7.

Furthermore, two slots remain listed as “To Be Announced” for May 4 and October 19.

Brody Roa (Garden Grove, Calif.) enters the 2024 season as the reigning USAC CRA Sprint Car driving champion. Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance come in as the most recent entrant titlists with the series.

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2024 AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE

Feb 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

Mar 2: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ

Mar 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

Apr 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ

Apr 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

May 4: TBA

May 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Salute to Indy)

Jun 8: The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA

Jun 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

Jul 5: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA

Jul 6: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA

Jul 13: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

Aug 10: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA

Aug 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

Aug 31: The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA

Sep 7: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA

Sep 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA

Sep 28: The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA

Oct 12: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ

Oct 19: TBA

Nov 1: Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, AZ (Western World Championships)

Nov 2: Cocopah Speedway - Somerton, AZ (Western World Championships)

Nov 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)

Nov 9: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)

 

 

USAC ANNOUNCES RULE UPDATES FOR 2024 SEASON

Speedway, Indiana (January 4, 2024)………USAC has announced a number of rule updates and enforcements to be implemented beginning with the 2024 season for USAC’s Silver Crown National Championship, AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship divisions.

Rule updates were discussed and voted upon by USAC competitors during the annual competition meetings held on December 5, 2023, at USAC headquarters in Speedway, Ind.

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2024 USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RULE UPDATES

203: CAR CONSTRUCTION & BODY | USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(F) The front part of the body, known as the nose assembly, shall not be wider than the parallel lines of the body and may not exceed the width of the frame. The nose piece and/or the front bumper shall not exceed 23-inches from the leading edge of the front axle. See Section 206C regarding the front bumper.

(O) Wind screens will be allowed. Measurements will be taken from the bottom of the lower frame rail to the top of the wind screen, which should be no greater than 38-inches. The sail panel may extend rearward to the triangular bar at the back of roll cage. Sail panels may not extend forward past a cross plane established by the back seat. Side visors are not permitted.

(U) Airfoils, wings, spoilers or other aerodynamic appendages will not be permitted. A one-inch (1”) turnout will be allowed along the bottom of the body panels from the front of the nose piece to the rear of the rear axle. The Chief Steward or the Technical Director may have any panel or part removed which is not within the spirit or intent of this rule.

206: BUMPERS/NERF BARS | USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(C) The front bumper must not extend more than 23-inches from the leading edge of the front axle.

209: WHEELS | USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(K) Wheel covers will be allowed on both pavement and dirt track cars.

216: ENGINE SIZE LIMITS | USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(2) Cylinder heads may be manufactured from aluminum alloy providing that the original factory configuration is maintained. All aftermarket cylinder heads are subject to the approval of the USAC Technical Director.

APPROVED CYLINDER HEADS:

-Chevrolet: Any OEM or aftermarket cylinder heads with intake & exhaust valves in-line.

-SB-2

-RSO

-MOPAR:MOPAR R5/P7

-Ford: Ford C3 and D3 Toyota: Phase 9

218: IGNITIONS & ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT | USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(I) Only one ignition switch is allowed in the cockpit. A second ignition switch can be utilized but must be in the engine compartment.

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2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RULE UPDATES

302: DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT | USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(E) All cars must weigh a minimum of 1,350 pounds, including the driver. Rule was formerly 1,375 pounds.

304: ROLL CAGE & CHASSIS | USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(D) Safety bars or outlaw bars will be mandatory. Sizing will be 1.375” x .083.” One solid bar, no slip joints allowed.

315: IGNITIONS & ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT | USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(I) Only one ignition switch is allowed in the cockpit. A second ignition switch can be utilized but must be in the engine compartment.

1312: EVENT PROCEDURE | USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(F) All standard format events will consist of 24 feature starters unless otherwise noted. If four (4) heat races are held, the top-five (5) finishers will transfer to the feature. If three (3) heat races are held, the top-six (6) finishers will transfer to the feature.

(G) If 48 or more cars are in competition, five (5) heat races will be held with the top-four (4) finishers transferring to the feature.

(H) Semi-Feature, C-Main & D-Main events will be lined up by heat race finish. The front row of the semi will be reserved for the fastest two non-transfers.

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2024 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RULE UPDATES

403: CAR CONSTRUCTION & BODY | USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(L) Right side cockpit body panels may be a maximum of thirty-six inches (36”) high as measured from the bottom of the frame rail. Opening must be 150 square inches and not distract driver’s vision as determined by chief steward. The right-side panel cannot extend out any further than four (4”) inches. This includes turnouts from the frame uprights (cage post).

416: IGNITION & ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT | USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(J) Only one ignition switch is allowed in the cockpit. A second ignition switch can be utilized but must be in the engine compartment.

1412: EVENT PROCEDURE | USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

(F) All standard format events will consist of 24 feature starters unless otherwise noted. If four (4) heat races are held, the top-five (5) finishers will transfer to the feature. If three (3) heat races are held, the top-six (6) finishers will transfer to the feature.

(G) If 48 or more cars are in competition, five (5) heat races will be held with the top-four (4) finishers transferring to the feature.

(H) Semi-Feature, C-Main & D-Main events will be lined up by heat race finish. The front row of the semi will be reserved for the fastest two non-transfers.

 

 

BURKE JOINS LEGACY AUTOSPORT WITH RWR FOR 2024 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON

Pittsboro, Indiana (December 29, 2023)………Legacy Autosport announced that Trey Burke will drive the No. 60 RFL Facility Solutions, TeamWWF, Texas Micro Optics, Metalloid, Legacy Autosport Chassis (pavement) and DRC (dirt) full-time on the 2024 USAC Silver Crown National Championship trail.

Burke (Alvin, Texas) is a fourth-generation race car driver from Texas who transplanted to Indianapolis, Ind. at age 17. He grew up on the dirt tracks and has been strapping in behind the wheel since the ripe age of nine. Trey has been successful on dirt and asphalt with configurations of ovals, road and street courses. He has raced in the ladder series of both INDYCAR and NASCAR.

“'I know this is a great opportunity for me,” Burke said. “I am humbled by the fact that Mike and Butch Meyer, along with Robbie Wilson, asked me to be part of this team. I know this was a ride that a lot of drivers were after, and I am grateful for being chosen.”

Burke, a Rookie with the USAC Silver Crown series in 2023, finished 10th in the overall points standings, second best among all first-year drivers in the series. For 2024, he joins an outfit that became first time USAC Silver Crown winners this past season with Davey Hamilton Jr. providing the team’s first series victory at WWT Raceway in Madison, Ill.

“I want to thank Legacy and Robbie for believing in me,” Burke stated. “At the end of the day, as a driver, that's all you can ask for. When a group of people believe in you, it changes your perspective and gives you that extra confidence you want. I am looking forward to representing Rick Mattson at RFL Facility Solutions, TeamWWF and Fred Edwards at Metalloid in the Silver Crown series.”

The owner of Legacy Autosport, Louis Michael Meyer, is the great grandson of Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the first to celebrate a 500 win with a swig of milk in victory lane. Nearly a full century later, the Meyer name remains at the forefront of the sport and looks forward to adding more history in the coming year with Burke.

“All of us on the team are excited to get to the track and get working with Trey,” Meyer remarked. “He has shown he has the speed and the patience to compete at the top of this series, and I feel that with the right preparation, he can be there at the end for the win. Trey comes from a family with a rich racing history, starting with his great grandfather building some of the first Indy roadsters and has racing experience through every generation after. Trey is a fourth-generation racer like me, and I am looking forward to helping him succeed and add to his own family legacy.”

Burke joins a Legacy Autosport team, which will feature Davey Hamilton Jr. in a full-time ride for the team as well as Nathan Byrd competing in all the pavement rounds during the 2024 campaign.

“We are doing something that has not been done, running a team of three Silver Crown cars,” Meyer revealed. “This is something that could not have happened without the support of Robert Wilson Racing. Robbie is a true racer and huge supporter of Legacy Autosport. He was our first customer and now partner and friend. With already getting a win at Gateway in our first season with the new chassis, I am excited to have Davey, Nathan and now Trey continue to showcase what the new pavement car can do and compete for the championship.”

You can get more info and keep up with the USAC Silver Crown series at www.USACracing.com and catch all the racing action on the FloRacing streaming app and follow @legacyaotosport on Facebook and Instagram or visit www.LegacyAutosport.com for more info.

 

 

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS’ 2024 SCHEDULE REVEALED

Speedway, Indiana (December 26, 2023)………The 43rd season of USAC Western States midget competition prepares for the 2024 season with 11 race dates at six different dirt ovals throughout the Golden State of California.

The season opens and closes in the city of Bakersfield, Calif. The slate kicks off on March 23 at Bakersfield Speedway, which has hosted 124 USAC Western States Midget events dating back to 1987.

Thereafter, the next round of the series continues down the road to the newly-named The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. on March 30. The series returns to Kern County on October 5 where a champion will be crowned in the season finale during the George Snider Classic, honoring the 1971 USAC Dirt Track National Champion (Silver Crown).

Merced Speedway’s fairgrounds track brings the series in on April 13 while the seaside oval of Ventura Raceway will host the series on three separate occasions on June 1, July 27 and September 14.

Two dates are allotted for Nipomo, California’s Santa Maria Raceway on June 8 and August 24. Hangtown USA’s Placerville Speedway presents a pair of USAC Western States Midget action-packed events on July 6 and September 7.

Both Placerville events will be co-sanctioned by the USAC Western States division and the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA). Four dates in all will carry the USAC Western States/BCRA co-sanction designation, including the March 30 date at Kern Raceway and on April 13 at Merced.

Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) enters 2024 as the reigning USAC Western States Midget champion, a series which also boasts as its champions the likes of Jeff Heywood, Sleepy Tripp, Robby Flock, Billy Boat, Jay Drake, Wally Pankratz, Cory Kruseman, Ronnie Gardner and Michael Faccinto, just to name a few.

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

2024 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SCHEDULE:

Mar 23: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA

Mar 30: (B) The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA

Apr 13: (B) Merced Speedway – Merced, CA

Jun 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA

Jun 8: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA

Jul 6: (B) Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA

Jul 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA

Aug 24: Santa Maria Raceway – Nipomo, CA

Sep 7: (B) Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA

Sep 14: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA

Oct 5: The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, CA

**(B) represents an event co-sanctioned by the Bay Cities Racing Association

**This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

23 DATES FOR USAC EAST COAST SPRINTS IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 26, 2023)………The USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars Presented by Capitol Custom Trailers features a slate of 23 events ready to roll for the 2024 season.

The series enters its seventh season of competition with a full schedule that sees the series venture to 13 different tracks in four different states (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania & New York).

The championship season begins with the first of three dates at Delaware’s Georgetown Speedway on April 5 with return visits set for May 17 and September 27.

Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, N.J. is the most oft-visited track of the series season with five stops set for April 6, July 6 and October 4 with a non-winners race taking place on October 18 with the season finale arriving on October 19.

Williams Grove Speedway’s famed half-mile welcomes the series to the Mechanicsburg, Pa. dirt oval on April 12 and June 17. Traditional Keystone State venues dot the calendar, including Lincoln Speedway (Abbottstown, Pa.) on April 13, Bedford Speedway on Apr. 26 and two trips to Port Royal Speedway on Apr. 27 and Aug. 17.

Bechtelsville, Pa.’s Grandview Speedway kicks off the month of May on the 11th of the month, then is followed by the first of a pair of races at Delmar’s Delaware International Speedway on May 25 and Aug. 10.

Three tracks will appear on the USAC East Coast Sprint Car schedule for the first time in 2024, all in the state of New York, which the series hasn’t visited since 2021. The series makes it a weekend there on June 28 at Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y., and on June 29, the series appears for the first time ever at Fonda Raceway. USAC EC returns late in the season with a debut at Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, N.Y.

The bullring of Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa. is circled twice on the schedule on July 10 and August 18. Meanwhile, Mill Hall, Pa.’s Clinton County Fairgrounds brings in the series on August 2.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) enters the season as the two-time and reigning USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion (2022 & 2023). Steven Drevicki (Reading, Pa.) is the lone three-time series titlist in 2018-19-20 while Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) notched the 2021 crown.

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

2024 USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL CUSTOM TRAILERS SCHEDULE

Apr 5: Georgetown Speedway – Georgetown, DE

Apr 6: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ

Apr 12: Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA

Apr 13: Lincoln Speedway – Abbottstown, PA

Apr 26: Bedford Speedway – Bedford, PA

Apr 27: Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA

May 11: Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA

May 17: Georgetown Speedway – Georgetown, DE

May 25: Delaware International Speedway – Delmar, DE

Jun 7: Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA

Jun 28: Utica-Rome Speedway – Vernon, NY

Jun 29: Fonda Raceway – Fonda, NY

Jul 6: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ

Jul 10: Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA

Aug 2: Clinton County Fairgrounds – Mill Hall, PA

Aug 10: Delaware International Speedway – Delmar, DE

Aug 17: Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA

Aug 18: Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA

Sep 13: Outlaw Speedway – Dundee, NY

Sep 27: Georgetown Speedway – Georgetown, DE

Oct 4: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ

Oct 18: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ (Non-Winners Race)

Oct 19: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ

 

 

HALL TABBED AS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES DIRECTOR STARTING IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 14, 2023)………Scott Hall, a prominent promoter, racer and series organizer on the west coast open wheel dirt track racing scene, has been named the series director of the USAC Western States Midget series.

Hall, of Roseville, California, officially took his post on the final of November 2023, and has informed us that he has formulated a 16-race schedule for the 2024 season throughout the Golden State.

Hall contends to have a working relationship with the Bay Cities Racing Association to help strengthen and bolster midget racing on the west coast in the now and in the future. Hall’s background in the sport includes a variety of roles and in the formation of multiple sprint car series.

“I’ve raced with a lot of these guys who are now running BCRA at the management level,” Hall said. “I’ve done a lot of promoting in the past with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and I’ve helped develop that, and also redeveloped the Hunt Wingless Series out here. And I’m still on the board for each one of those series.”

Hall also has a deep connection in racing with his daughter, Taylor Hall, who has raced two seasons in outlaw karts and one season in micros sprints in recent years and is now making the move to midget racing. Hall has witnessed several up-and-coming racers in his day and finds passion in helping them develop into becoming the next stars of the sport.

“I’m all about developing the next generation,” Hall stated. “I have my finger on the pulse of the next generation of racers. Racing with my daughter has had us in the trenches (of the sport).”

Hall’s racing lineage runs deep. His grandfather, Jimmy Sills Sr., was a winner on the BCRA Midget circuit in the early to mid-1950s. Jimmy Sills Jr. became a household name as a three-time USAC Silver Crown champion in 1990-94-96 and raced coast-to-coast with USAC, the World of Outlaws, NARC and more, just to name a few.

Recalling his upbringing, Hall can vividly remember watching the Saturday Night Thunder telecasts on ESPN during the early 1990s featuring the USAC Western States Midget at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway. The excitement and deep appreciation of the sport was firmly ingrained at the point.

“USAC Western States Midget racing is big to us and our family,” Hall acknowledged. “As a family, we used to sit around the TV and watch Jimmy run Saturday Night Thunder in a midget at Ventura. I see an opportunity with the number of midgets that are in this country right now and to try to bring that back.”

Hall aims to facilitate that type of thrill again for competitors and fans alike starting in 2024. It’s a feeling he can recall from the recent past that instilled a passion for the sport inside him, and he wants to pass on the passion to the current and future generations on the west coast.

“(Former USAC Western States Midget Series Director) Tommy (Hunt) and those guys had it down south and they were getting 60 midgets,” Hall recalled. “I’ve seen it in its prime, so I know what it’s capable of and it’s near and dear to me. I ran sprint cars out here, but I was a little big to run a midget. I’ve always loved non-wing racing and all my wins as a driver have come in non-wing cars. I have a passion for it and all those memories are with me so it’s a big deal to me.”

With his day job in the construction business (roofing and solar), Hall devotes the rest of his time to motorsports, and aims to bring together the two worlds in the form of marketing partners, the life bread of the sport.

“Sales and marketing through racing is a great combination,” Hall explained. “What I think it will take for the midget series to get back up is to work some marketing angles. There’s a lot of passion out here on the west coast for midget racing, and we need to tap into that and do what we’ve done with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. We grew 360 c.i. racing from almost a demise when Civil War was at its end to consistently getting car counts of 30-40.”

All in all, all the work put in comes down to a true passion of the sport, something which Hall possesses in droves, in keeping the sports and the series thriving for years to come and its deep roots in the state of California.

“It’s very important to myself and everybody in my family,” Hall said. “Midget racing started with my grandpa when he got back from World War II and was running indoor tracks in the bay area. The true history of midget racing in California goes back pretty far. To see that history die would be horrible, but as we bring it back, I want to share some of those old memories of how deep midget racing runs in California.”

 

 

TURNING POINT: GARRETT NAMED USAC’S MOST IMPROVED DRIVER FOR 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 14, 2023)………Carson Garrett’s journey from his Rocky Mountain Midget roots to becoming USAC’s National Most Improved Driver came quite quickly in some respects. But in other ways, it’s clear to say that he’s come a long way both geographically and behind the wheel of a racecar.

In his first two seasons competing on a part-time basis with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2021-22, Carson Garrett had appeared in 23 events and qualified for the feature in only 11 of them, with nary a top-10 finish among his results.

The switch was seemingly flipped for the Littleton, Colo. racer in 2023 as he became the first driver from his home state to ever be named as USAC National Most Improved Driver. The 22-year-old recorded career bests in every single statistical category, notching three top-fives and came within a whisker – just 93 hundredths of a second – of winning his first series feature at Macon Speedway in Illinois, and he even added a couple Midwest Sprint Car Series scores at Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway to boot.

The improvements on track were readily apparent for Garrett, but so too were the intricate details of setting the car up and providing valuable info that guided his performance. That was a skill that Garrett possessed none of just a couple seasons ago.

“Honestly, it’s been a little bit of a journey going from starting out as a hobby to finally understanding it and wanting to work on my own stuff,” Garrett explained. “This year, I feel like I was a lot more involved in my feedback toward the crew guys than I was in the previous year. The first year, I had nothing. I was just there.”

Garrett’s first career top-10 with the USAC Sprint Cars turned some heads, not only for where he achieved it (Ohio’s Eldora Speedway) but also for where he came from. His advancement from 20th to 6th during May’s #LetsRaceTwo proved to be among the biggest charges of the season. To illustrate the point, Garrett noted that the setup they utilized was virtually the same as the one he’d used in previous years, further indicating his vast improvement in the seat. But for Garrett, the progression truly took on a new level just a bit before that.

“I feel like it started last year,” Garrett acknowledged. “We got good enough at Haubstadt and we felt good. I told the guys I want to be this good everywhere else. At the start of this year, it just got rolling and when we ran at Eldora, that was a crazy race. I was passing car after car and then I thought, hey wait, these are the top few guys up here. I was like, ‘holy cow!’ I was surprised myself.”

The roll continued throughout the summer months and led to him being in contention regularly during one of the biggest weeks on the USAC National Sprint Car calendar.

“Indiana Sprint Week was killer for us,” Garrett recalled. “We were having pretty good luck, and I think it was three nights in a row, I started on the pole of the feature. It just seemed like we had the momentum going and we were all having fun doing it. KTJ, C.J. and Jake Swanson have all been a big help, and when Jake goes to Haubstadt, he’s like, ‘what are you doing here because I want to get better here.”

Another prideful point for Garrett was the fact that he didn’t use up his equipment, which kept him on track and intact not only from race-to-race but throughout the entire year.

“Between my primary and secondary car, I didn’t tear them up this year,” Garrett pointed out. “I never got upside down, but one of our cars had to get fixed when I was running second during the Indiana Sprint Week race at Lawrenceburg when my tire blew, and I hit the wall. It bent the frame a little bit, but other than that, I felt like we had pretty good luck throughout the year.”

Two major components have aided the team in their rise up the rankings. In 2022, crew chief Doug Dougherty was tabbed to turn the wrenches after assisting Garrett when he raced for KO Motorsports in 2021. Also in 2022, a second car was added to the BGE Dougherty Motorsports stable for Kevin Thomas Jr., which began as only a couple race deal. Ultimately, KTJ gave the team its first three USAC victories. In 2023, C.J. Leary, the 2019 series titlist, was hired for the second seat.

All those pieces, facets and additions have allowed Garrett to build relationships, and as a result, he now feels more comfortable asking the right questions to help improve his performance and blossom into a more well-rounded and versatile racer.

“A couple times this year, I told C.J. what we’re doing, and said, ‘man, if I did that to my car, I’d go out there and be upside down. I won’t do that,’” Garrett said with a laugh. “It’s just preference. I like my car a lot tighter than C.J. does, but with the aspect of him doing our LST Shocks, it’s been huge for me to learn and understand the adjustments and what to try. C.J. is an awesome person to go to and he’ll help anyone out. He won’t fib anything. He’s going to be straightforward and honest with everybody.”

In 2022, Garrett branched out to a new deal alongside his father, Broc Garrett, who owned the equipment. Prior to that, Carson was flying back and forth from Colorado to Indiana with his bag and helmet in hand before making the permanent move to Indiana prior to the 2022 season. Now, as a full-time transplant, Garrett has gotten more time behind the wheel, more time with his crew and more time invested in the sport as he’s taken his efforts up another level.

“I think it’s just seat time and becoming closer with my crew guys and trusting what they’re doing on the car as far as just giving them the right feedback on what I need and what our car needs,” Garrett said. “Doug has been a great help for us since he came along and guided us and helped us by saying you guys should try this or that, and from that point on, he’s been setting the car up. Now I feel like I’m at the point where I can tell them what I need. I’ll tell them my suggestions of what I think they should do. Then we can kind of meet in the middle. Sometimes he says something that I may not think that the car needs. We’re both honest with each other and that just makes me more comfortable with how my car is going to react to the different adjustments we make.”

Garrett returns in 2024 with the same exact deal, chasing the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship with the BGE Dougherty No. 15. Although he admitted that the Most Improved Driver completely took him by surprise, there’s no question that he’s not going to sneak up on the competition in the coming year. It’s expected. Carson Garrett has now arrived on the USAC National Sprint Car scene.

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

USAC NATIONAL MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD WINNERS:

1966: Bill Mehner (Midget)

1967: Gary Bettenhausen (Midget)

1968: None

1969: None

1970: Larry Rice (Midget)

1971: Bill Renshaw (Midget)

1972: Pancho Carter (Midget)

1973: Bobby Olivero (Midget)

1974: Steve Lotshaw (Midget)

1975: Mark Alderson (Midget)

1976: Tom Bigelow (Indy Car) & Steve Lotshaw (Midget)

1977: Tom Sneva (Indy Car) & Chris Cumberworth (Midget)

1978: Danny Ongais (Indy Car) & Jeff Heywood (Midget)

1979: Tom Bigelow (Indy Car) & Stan Fox (Midget)

1980: Jerry Karl (Indy Car) & Warren Mockler (Midget)

1981: George Snider (Indy Car) & Warren Mockler (Midget)

1982: Mark Alderson (Silver Crown) & Steve Knepper (Midget)

1983: Steve Chassey (Silver Crown) & Kenneth Nichols (Midget)

1984: Manny Rockhold (Silver Crown) & Joe Corrigan (Midget)

1985: Duke Cook (Silver Crown) & John Andretti (Midget)

1986: Warren Mockler (Silver Crown) & Paul Clark (Midget)

1987: Kenny Jacobs (Silver Crown) & Dan Boorse (Midget)

1988: Andy Hillenburg (Silver Crown) & Michael Lang (Midget)

1989: Ron Dunstan (Silver Crown) & Russ Gamester (Midget)

1990: Gary Hieber (Silver Crown) & Roy Caruthers (Midget)

1991: Russ Gamester (Silver Crown) & Tyce Carlson (Midget)

1992: Tony Elliott (Silver Crown) & Dan Drinan (Midget)

1993: Mike Bliss (Silver Crown), Bill Rose (Sprint) & Andy Michner (Midget)

1994: Randy Tolsma (Silver Crown), Kevin Thomas (Sprint) & Steve Barth (Midget)

1995: Dave Darland (Silver Crown), Jason McCord (Sprint) & Brian Gerster (Midget)

1996: Kevin Thomas (Silver Crown), Brian Hayden (Sprint) & Tracy Hines (Midget)

1997: Brian Tyler (Silver Crown), Derek Davidson (Sprint) & Jay Drake (Midget)

1998: J.J. Yeley (Silver Crown), Kevin Doty (Sprint) & Travis Welpott (Midget)

1999: Brad Noffsinger (Silver Crown), Robbie Rice (Sprint) & Clay Klepper (Midget)

2000: John Heydenreich (Silver Crown), Brandon Petty (Sprint) & Michael Lewis (Midget)

2001: Jerry Coons Jr. (Silver Crown), Levi Jones (Sprint) & Steve Paden (Midget)

2002: Rich Tobias Jr. (Silver Crown), Kevin Briscoe (Sprint) & Danny Ebberts (Midget)

2003: Tyler Walker (Silver Crown), Marc Jessup (Sprint) & Tom Hessert (Midget)

2004: Bud Kaeding (Silver Crown), Dickie Gaines (Sprint) & Davey Ray (Midget)

2005: Wayne Reutimann Jr. (Silver Crown), Mat Neely (Sprint) & Brad Kuhn (Midget)

2006: Aaron Pierce (Silver Crown), Daron Clayton (Sprint) & Brad Loyet (Midget)

2007: Mat Neely (Silver Crown), Jesse Hockett (Sprint) & Kevin Swindell (Midget)

2008: Cole Whitt

2009: Shane Hmiel

2010: Kody Swanson & Tanner Swanson

2011: Zach Daum & Casey Riggs

2012: Chase Stockon

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr.

2014: Shane Cockrum

2015: Tanner Thorson

2016: Chad Boespflug

2017: Tyler Courtney

2018: Isaac Chapple

2019: Tanner Carrick

2020: Brandon Mattox

2021: Jake Swanson

2022: Kaylee Bryson

2023: Carson Garrett

 

 

CRUCEAN/MAHONEY VIDEO PARTY SET FOR JANUARY 19 AT USAC

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 13, 2023)………Save the date! On Friday night, January 19, 2024, join us for a Salute to the Crucean/Mahoney Movie Parties Presented by Marc Dailey Racing.

There, we will relive the famed Crucean/Mahoney movie parties at USAC headquarters, located at 4910 W. 16th Street, Speedway, IN 46224. Doors for the event will open at 6pm Eastern.

The event is a fundraiser for USAC RaceAid, formerly known as the USAC Benevolent Foundation. The event will include an evening of historic USAC racing movies from the Dick Wallen collection, plus appearances by USAC Stars past and present. A silent memorabilia auction will be held, and furthermore, snacks and refreshments will be served.

The event is free to attend although donations to RaceAid are encouraged and appreciated. Crucean and Mahoney are both inductees of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and did so much to promote racing and were so vital to the preservation of racing history, particularly USAC.

Advance tickets can be purchased now at www.raceaid.fund. Just scroll down to the ribbon on the page entitled “Salute to the Crucean/Mahoney Movie Parties,” then click on “Register.” Next, click on “Register for a RaceAid Event,” then check the box next to “Salute to the Crucean/Mahoney Movie Parties.” Follow prompts from there, fill out the info and you are set to go for one of the highlights of the winter racing season.

Also, a new throwback Sprint Car Pictorial T-shirt is now on sale and can also be purchased at www.raceaid.fund. USAC’s Rich Forman will produce a special edition salute to the Crucean/Mahoney produced Sprint Car Pictorial magazine, chockfull of historic photos.

The USAC RaceAid program is a fresh brand relaunch of the USAC Benevolent Fund, started in 1959, to assist USAC members and their families in times of need. Over the years, RaceAid has helped hundreds of people in the racing community. We have donated more than $1.3 million dollars to USAC racers in need.

How can you donate to USAC RaceAid? At home, visit www.RaceAid.fund. The USAC #RACEAID program is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all donations are tax deductible.

The Movie Party is just one of the events planned during the upcoming winter season at USAC headquarters, including a Salute to Racing Photography exhibit slated for a TBA date in February as well as a March “tip-off” show with USAC champions and other drivers. If you would be interested in supporting one of these events, please reach out to USAC via Facebook or on the “Contact” tab at www.usacracing.com.

 

 

98 USAC NATIONAL EVENTS IN 15 STATES FOR 2024!

Speedway, Indiana (December 12, 2023)………Get ready! 98 USAC National racing events across 15 United States are scheduled for the upcoming 2024 season between February and November.

The slate includes 54 Sprint Car events, 30 for the Midgets and 14 for the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.

Which one are you planning to attend first?

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

2024 CHRONOLOGICAL USAC NATIONAL SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY

Feb 9: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000 | Sprint

Feb 10: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $7,500 | Sprint

Feb 12: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000 | Sprint

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $10,000 | Sprint

Feb 15: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000 | Sprint

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000 | Sprint

Feb 17: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $10,000 | Sprint

APRIL

Apr 5: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Jim Hurtubise Classic | $6,000 | Sprint

Apr 6: Red Hill Raceway | Sumner, IL | Salute to Levi Jones | $10,000 | Sprint

Apr 12: TBA | Sprint

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | $6,000 | Sprint

Apr 20: Toledo Speedway | Toledo, OH | Rollie Beale Classic | $8,000 | Silver Crown

Apr 26: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix | $4,000 | Midget

Apr 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix | $5,000 | Midget

MAY

May 3: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo | $10,000 | Sprint

May 4: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo | $10,000 | Sprint

May 5: Winchester Speedway | Winchester, IN | Rich Vogler Classic | $8,000 | Silver Crown

May 10: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Larry Rice Classic | $5,000 | Sprint

May 11: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Spring Showdown | $5,000 | Sprint

May 17: Belleville Short Track | Belleville, KS | $4,000 | Midget

May 17-18: Belleville High Banks | Belleville, KS | Huncovsky Classic | $8,000 | Silver Crown

May 18: Belleville Short Track | Belleville, KS | $6,000 | Midget

May 19: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex | Sweet Springs, MO | John Hinck Championship | $6,000 | Midget

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Tony Hulman Classic | $10,000 | Sprint

May 22: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Circle City Salute | $5,000 | Sprint

May 23: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Circle City Salute | $10,000 | Sprint

May 24: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Hoosier Hundred | $25,000 | Silver Crown

May 31: Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA | Corn Belt Clash | TBA | Sprint

JUNE

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA | Corn Belt Clash | TBA | Sprint

Jun 4: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $4,000 | Midget

Jun 5: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $4,000 | Midget

Jun 6: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $4,000 | Midget

Jun 7: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $5,000 | Midget

Jun 8: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $5,000 | Midget

Jun 9: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $5,000 | Midget

June 11: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000 | Sprint

June 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ | Eastern Storm | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 13: Big Diamond Speedway | Pottsville, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | Open Wheel Madness | $8,000 | Silver Crown

Jun 16: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 21: Madison International Speedway | Oregon, WI | Bytec Dairyland 100 | $8,000 | Silver Crown

Jun 22: Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, WI | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 23: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 28: Macon Speedway | Macon, IL | Top Gun Weekend | $6,000 | Sprint

Jun 29: Macon Speedway | Macon, IL | Top Gun Weekend | $10,000 | Sprint

JULY

Jul 4: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Sumar Classic | $8,000 | Silver Crown

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular | $5,000 | Sprint

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular | $10,000 | Sprint

Jul 9: Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | Tuesday Night Thunder | $4,000 | Midget

Jul 10: Mitchell County Fairgrounds | Beloit, KS | Chad McDaniel Memorial | $4,000 | Midget

Jul 12: Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship | $4,000 | Midget

Jul 13: Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship | $10,000 | Midget

Jul 20: TBA | Silver Crown

Jul 25: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000 | Sprint

Jul 26: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000 | Sprint

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000 | Sprint

Jul 28: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000 | Sprint

Jul 31: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000 | Sprint

AUGUST

Aug 1: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Don Smith Classic | $8,000 | Sprint

Aug 2: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Sheldon Kinser Memorial | $8,000 | Sprint

Aug 3: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000 | Sprint

Aug 10: Jennerstown Speedway | Jennerstown, PA | Silver Crown Showdown | $10,000 | Silver Crown

Aug 16: TBA | Silver Crown

Aug 17: Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, IL | Bettenhausen 100 | $10,000 | Silver Crown

Aug 22: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | $6,000 | Sprint

Aug 23: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | $6,000 | Sprint

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | $30,000 | Sprint

Aug 31: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds | Du Quoin, IL | Ted Horn 100 | $10,000 | Silver Crown

SEPTEMBER

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | Firemen's Nationals | $5,000 | Midget

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | Firemen’s Nationals | $5,000 | Midget

Sep 5: (E) RPM Speedway | Crandall, TX | $6,000 | Sprint

Sep 6: (E) Texarkana 67 Speedway | Texarkana, AR | Wingless Short Track Nationals | $6,000 | Sprint

Sep 7: (E) Texarkana 67 Speedway | Texarkana, AR | Wingless Short Track Nationals | $10,000 | Sprint

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | $5,000 | Sprint

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Haubstadt Hustler | $20,000 | Sprint

Sep 19: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | James Dean Classic | $4,000 | Midget

Sep 19: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | James Dean Classic | $5,000 | Sprint

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | BeFour The Crowns | $5,000 | Midget

Sep 20-21: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | $15,000 | Silver Crown

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | $15,000 | Midget

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | $15,000 | Sprint

OCTOBER

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Fall Nationals | $6,000 | Sprint

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Fall Nationals | $20,000 | Sprint

Oct 19: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Championship Saturday | $10,000 | Silver Crown

Oct 25: (E) Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | $6,000 | Sprint

Oct 26: (E) Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | $10,000 | Sprint

NOVEMBER

Nov 15: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100 | $5,000 | Midget

Nov 16: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100 | TBA | Midget

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway | Tulare, CA | TBA | Midget

Nov 22: Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness | $5,000 | Midget

Nov 23: Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness | $5,000 | Midget

Nov 26: Bakersfield Speedway | Bakersfield, CA | November Classic | $5,000 | Midget

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, CA | Turkey Night Grand Prix | $15,000 | Midget

TBA

TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39 | $5,000 | Midget

TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39 | $5,000 | Midget

TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39 | $20,039 | Midget

 

 

HAMILTON JOINS LEGACY FOR FULL-SEASON USAC SILVER CROWN GO IN 2024

Speedway, Indiana (December 9, 2023)………Nearly all of Davey Hamilton Jr.’s racing exploits throughout his career have come on pavement. Now, the Boise, Idaho native is adding dirt into the mix for 2024 as he takes on the full USAC Silver Crown National Championship schedule for the first time.

The third-generation racer will wheel the Legacy Autosport No. 19 in all 14 events on the upcoming season’s schedule. Last year, Hamilton Jr. collected his first career USAC Silver Crown win at the largest venue on the schedule – the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill.

That race came on pavement, but the dirt is a new world to Hamilton Jr. He comes from a long lineage of terrific pavement racers, being the grandson of National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Ken Hamilton and son of 11-time Indianapolis 500 starter Davey Hamilton.

“I’m going dirt racing now; I never thought I’d say that,” Hamilton stated. “To be going full-time with the USAC Silver Crown series is great. I’ve run quite a bit of races with USAC, but last year, when these guys (at Legacy Autosport) gave me a call and gave me an opportunity, I couldn’t say no. Now I’m going to focus on helping the Legacy guys develop their new program.”

Basically, Hamilton’s dirt experience consists of a brief appearance in Ted Finkenbinder’s midget at the 2017 Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. as well as a few starts in a micro sprint in his earlier days, which makes this practically an entirely new experience.

“I’m not a dirt guy,” Hamilton admitted. “I went and did Cory Kruseman’s school a couple weeks ago (at California’s Ventura Raceway) and that was an experience of a lifetime. I want to do the best that I can, and I want to be on top. I want to compete with (Logan) Seavey and compete with (Kody) Swanson on a full-time basis. A lot of people don’t have me on their radar when it comes to winning races with USAC, but I’ve proved it on the bigger pavement tracks. The past two years at (WWT Raceway), I’ve been in contention, but I think now that I get to focus fully on and do a full season, once I get in the vibe of things, I think we’ll be in contention for sure. I’m excited about the schedule and I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Hamilton was hired by Legacy Autosport midseason in 2023, which has an interesting origin of its own. The owner of Legacy Autosport, Louis Michael Meyer, is the great grandson of Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the first to celebrate a 500 win with a swig of milk in victory lane.

As far as Hamilton and Legacy, officially, their first start came at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway in August of 2023 and lasted just three laps before their engine expired. Their ensuing appearance resulted in a victory and came just 10 months after the Legacy’s debut appearance the season before. Hamilton feels there’s a lot of potential this season, feeling that they all fit together and click well while having their priority set on finishing all the races and just being there at the end.

“For them to get a win at this level in their first year, it shows a lot,” Hamilton said in praise of Legacy Autosport. “This team is in the shop everyday just fine tuning on it. The car itself is just a beautiful piece and everything is just proper on it. I think I get to drive the coolest looking car, but I’m a little biased. It’s definitely a beautiful car and they work on these things every day. For the success they’ve shown, they’re dedicated to making this a long-term success with USAC. I’m excited for them and I’m excited for myself to get this opportunity.”

The 2024 USAC Silver Crown campaign begins on April 20 at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway for the running of the Hemelgarn Racing-Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic on the half-mile paved oval.

 

 

SEAVEY & GRANT SHARE SPOTLIGHT

AT 2023 USAC NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (December 8, 2023).........USAC national driving champions Logan Seavey and Justin Grant shared the spotlight along with other 2023 USAC champions and special award recipients at Friday night’s 68th USAC Night of Champions celebration at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.

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USAC NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

A total of 75 USAC national events were held from sea to shining sea during the 2023 campaign, from February’s events in the gator country of Barberville, Florida all the way to November’s night on the beach in Ventura, California.

We were witnesses to milestones, photo finishes, historic streaks, hard charges, a double-up champion, a repeat titlist and a return to the throne.

With the curtain closed on the 68th year of USAC racing, we salute all the individuals and teams who thrived through the yearlong grind on the trail and also those who earned the right to stand on the stage Friday night as one of the very best at their discipline.

USAC SILVER CROWN 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Logan Seavey – Sutter, California

USAC SILVER CROWN 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing – Brownsburg, Indiana

Logan Seavey and Rice Motorsports fell just a few points short of a USAC Silver Crown championship in each of the past two seasons, but in 2023, they weren’t denied. Three dirt wins met the expectations of the team’s desires at Port Royal, Springfield and Eldora. However, the pavement side of the equation saw a huge stride for the team with four top-five results.

However, a July accident at Winchester nearly derailed their championship hopes and aspirations. With all hands on deck between Rice Motorsports and new team co-entrant Abacus Racing, and the sands of the hourglass running short, the team rebuilt their car just in time to finish 5th at Toledo, marking the moment when the two factions truly became one team.

When all was said and done, Seavey, Rice and Abacus prevailed with a scant seven-point edge in earning the title, and coupled with his midget championship, Seavey became the first driver since Levi Jones in 2011 to double up with multiple USAC national titles in a season, which earned him a $50,000 bonus, doubling his point fund payout to $100,000 for the year.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Logan Seavey – Sutter, California

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Abacus Racing – Noblesville, Indiana

Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing’s 280-point final championship margin at the conclusion of the 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season was the largest in nearly two decades since Bobby East’s title in 2004, and it came after they found themselves mired sixth in the standings, 110 points out of the lead in June.

Their run of 22 consecutive top-10 finishes to end the season sealed the deal and tied Jason Leffler’s series record set in 1997, the very same year Seavey was born. Seavey won at Macon Speedway mere hours after winning the USAC Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, becoming just the third driver to win multiple USAC national events at two different racetracks in a single day, a feat previously only accomplished by Billy Vukovich in 1967 and J.J. Yeley in 2004.

Seavey also performed a complete USAC sweep of the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora and led the midget series in feature laps led with 214 as well as 21 top-fives and 24 top-tens in 27 starts. He’s now a two-time USAC National Midget champion and his team is a first-time series titlist.

USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant, Ione, California

RICHARD HOFFMAN USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Indiana

Justin Grant and TOPP Motorsports endured a nearly two-month struggle in the late spring/early summer months which overlapped with a change in team personnel and a period of confidence-shaking woes that found the team as far down as sixth in the standings entering mid-summer.

What followed was one of the most dominant stretches in series history for himself, sidekick Jeff Walker and TOPP Motorsports’ Kevin Birchmeier, accounting for a career-high 11 series victories in 2023, including eight in his final 17 starts, and 13 straight top-tens to close out the year.

Grant became the 13th different point leader in a record setting year in terms of point lead changes and was also victorious at Gas City in the closest USAC finish of the season while earning the most lucrative weekend of his career when he cashed $44,500 in a single night by completing a Sprint Car Smackdown sweep at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway. To boot, he finished off the year with $20,000 more in his pocket as the winner of the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg.

Both Grant and TOPP are now two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champions, and for the second year in a row, the first team to do so since Brady Bacon and Dynamics, Inc. in 2020-21. The efforts were worth another $50,000 for their title run.

USAC SILVER CROWN 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Kody Swanson – Kingsburg, California

USAC SILVER CROWN 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: Doran-Binks Racing – Lebanon, Ohio

Kody Swanson became the first driver to reach 40 career USAC Silver Crown wins during a summer stretch in which he collected three consecutive victories at Madison, Winchester and Toledo, making it the fourth occasion in which he won three-in-a-row with the series. No other driver has more than one such streak! He shared the series lead with nine top-fives in 11 series starts and topped all drivers with 433 laps led and six fast qualifying times. For an incredible 10 straight years now, he’s finished either first or second in the standings. Finishing as the runners-up for the USAC Silver Crown series in 2023 were Kingsburg, California’s Swanson and Lebanon, Ohio’s Doran-Binks Racing.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant, Ione, California

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: RMS Racing, Western Springs, Illinois

They’ve made a habit of it throughout their time together, and once again, for the third season in a row, Justin Grant and the RMS Racing team finished inside the top-three of the standings, and this year, both driver and entrant wound up as the runners-up. Grant led 94 laps while accumulating 12 top-fives in 27 starts and was simply spectacular in a masterful drive at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, the Ione, Calif. driver and Western Springs, Illinois based team went undefeated throughout the weekend to capture the $20,039 dollar prize at the Driven2SaveLives BC39.

USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: Dynamics Inc., Milford, Ohio

For the fourth consecutive year, Brady Bacon and his Dynamics, Inc. team finished top-two in the standings on the strength of seven victories, equaling his career high. Bacon’s $20,000 dollar Haubstadt Hustler victory at Tri-State gave him 53 career USAC National Sprint Car feature wins, pushing the Broken Arrow, Okla. product to second all-time in that category. He also added a second Indiana Sprint Week crown and a pair of victories in Illinois & Texas which set a record for the most different states won in by a USAC National Sprint Car driver at 14. At Wilmot, this combo became the winningest driver/entrant pairing in series history with 41 scores and now they’re your 2023 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car runners-up.

USAC SILVER CROWN 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant – Ione, California

USAC SILVER CROWN 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: Hemelgarn Racing – LaSalle, Michigan

For the eighth straight season, Justin Grant and Hemelgarn Racing found themselves inside the top-five of the USAC Silver Crown standings at season’s end, finishing third both the driver and entrant standings for 2023. On Labor Day weekend this year, they broke an 18-race string without a victory when he scored the 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds dirt mile. After a somewhat sluggish start which saw them fall to ninth in points, the Ione, Calif. driver and LaSalle, Mich. team rebounded with authority, recording six top-sixes to cap the season.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Bryant Wiedeman – Colby, Kansas

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: CB Industries – Mooresville, North Carolina

Bryant Wiedeman became a first-time USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winner in 2023, utilizing a low-side pass on the white flag lap to seal a victory in his home state of Kansas at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds. The Colby, Kan. racer ascended to a fourth-place finish in the standings a year ago, just 13 points out of third. However, this year, he took the next step up the ladder by leading 32 laps and grabbing nine top-five results in 26 starts while also bringing his CB Industries team back to the podium at year’s end with Wiedeman and Mooresville, North Carolina’s CBI taking third in the driver and entrant standings, respectively.

USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Emerson Axsom – Franklin, Indiana

USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: Clauson Marshall Newman Racing – Fishers, Indiana

One year after corralling Rookie of the Year honors, Emerson Axsom came back with a sensational sophomore season in which he won on back-to-back nights at Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway en route to the Eastern Storm title before adding another win at Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway. In all, he garnered a series-high 29 top-tens in 36 starts while bringing his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing team to its best points finish in four years. In 2023, Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and Clauson Marshall Newman (Fishers, Ind.) tallied a third-place finish in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driver and entrant standings.

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USAC INDIVIDUAL & SPECIAL AWARDS

ROGER McCLUSKEY AWARD: Dave Darland – Lincoln, Indiana

Who would have thought that a straggly kid from Lincoln, Indiana would have come this far? Dave Darland is the absolute epitome of the word “excellence” in every sense of the word. He’s one of seven members of the Triple Crown club, winning championships across all three of USAC’s divisions – Silver Crown, National Midgets and National Sprint Cars where he is the winningest driver in series history.

Darland’s total of 115 USAC feature victories (nationally and regionally) ranks fifth all-time and his 1,334 USAC National feature starts between 1986 and 2023 also ranks number one. He also scored at least one USAC national feature victory in a remarkable 24 consecutive seasons between 1993 and 2016.

He’s raced everywhere and won nearly everything in his long and storied career. He’s won on pavement and dirt, won from coast-to-coast, and titles upon titles, and was one of the most popular drivers to ever compete on the USAC trail. Along the way, he affectionately earned the nickname, “The People’s Champ,” which certainly about sums it up.

The accolades go on and on and we could be here for eternity reciting them, but this man has solidified his position as one of the all-time greats in all motorsports, and that’s a status he will retain for eternity.

It brings me great pleasure to introduce to you this year’s recipient of the Roger McCluskey Award – the incomparable Dave Darland!

MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPION: Justin Grant, Ione, California

A second USAC National Sprint Car championship in as many years isn’t the only impressive accolade Justin Grant repeated in 2023. For the third consecutive season, and fourth time overall, Grant (Ione, Calif.) was rewarded as the Mike Curb USAC National Driver Champion. He amassed the most total points across the three USAC national divisions throughout the duration of the 2023 campaign and is now just the third driver to win the honor in three consecutive seasons, joining J.J. Yeley and Bryan Clauson in that department. He’s also now one of only two drivers to capture this reward four times in his career along with Tracy Hines. For his performance, Grant collected an extra $10,000.

JOHNNY CAPELS “GOLDEN GREEK” USAC CHIEF MECHANIC OF THE YEAR: Ronnie Gardner – Rice Motorsports & Abacus Racing

It’s a rare feat to win multiple championships in a single year in any aspect of the sport, but Ronnie Gardner was able to achieve that as a crewman in 2023. A five-time USAC Western States Midget titlist as a driver in his own right, he turned in the steering wheel for a wrench and has kept on winning. This year, between his efforts with driver Logan Seavey, Abacus Racing and Rice Motorsports, he amassed a pair of championships in USAC National Midget and USAC Silver Crown competition. The Johnny Capels “Golden Greek” award is reserved for those special individuals who are in the trenches and this year’s recipient is certainly among those as he earned a $10,000 reward for his efforts.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN' FASTER CHAMPIONSHIP: C.J. Leary – Greenfield, Indiana

C.J. Leary has won a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, an Indiana Sprint Week title and an Eastern Storm crown in his career. In 2023, the Greenfield, Ind. driver added another highlight to his impressive reel by capturing the second annual Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Championship Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment. Leary earned $10,000 for his efforts in the 10-race miniseries and an extra $2,500 for his BGE Dougherty Motorsports team. For Leary, it’s another feather in his cap as he also received a custom trophy provided by Potter Metal Art.

PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER: Daison Pursley – Locust Grove, Oklahoma

Daison Pursley’s conquests in USAC’s National Sprint Car Midget divisions saw him pass a total of 199 cars in 62 feature starts throughout the 2023 season. Those efforts paid off for the Locust Grove, Okla. driver as he earned the title of ProSource Passing Master. Pursley earned a $2,500 prize and becomes the third different winner of the season-long award which rewards the USAC nationally licensed driver who advanced the most positions during feature events throughout the entirety of USAC’s 2023 national season between Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midgets.

MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS SILVER CROWN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kaylee Bryson – Muskogee, Oklahoma

Throughout the 2023 season, Kaylee Bryson ascended to heights never before reached in USAC’s 68-year history. She became the first woman to finish inside the top-five of the standings in a USAC national series and is now the first woman to earn USAC National Rookie of the Year honors of any kind, earning the honor with the Silver Crown series this past season. One year ago, the Muskogee, Oklahoma native became the first woman to earn USAC National Most Improved Driver honors and she’s also the first Okie to win this award.

MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS BOB STROUD NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Gavin Miller – Allentown, Pennsylvania

Just a few years ago, Gavin Miller stood on the stage at USAC’s Night of Champions as a decorated quarter midget racer. Now the six-time USAC .25 Midget champ is making a name on the USAC National Midget scale by becoming the first Pennsylvanian to win a series feature since Steve Buckwalter 13 years ago. Miller’s win at Bloomington and an eighth place finish in the standings propelled the Allentown, Pa. racer to becoming just the third Keystone State native to receive recognition as the Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year after John Andretti in 1983 and Andrew Layser in 2019.

MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Daison Pursley – Locust Grove, Oklahoma

There are comeback stories and then there is the comeback story of Daison Pursley. In 2021, the Locust Grove, Okla. native suffered a spinal injury that kept him inside hospitals and rehab centers for several months. His perseverance and desire ultimately led him back to the driver’s seat. Right out of the box in 2023, he got the racing world’s attention with a $10,000 score at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, a night he said he’ll always remember. Defying the odds is part of Pursley’s game, and in 2023, he became the first Oklahoman to win the Max Papis Innovations USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year award since Gary Cameron in 1992.

NATIONAL MOST IMPROVED DRIVER: Carson Garrett – Littleton, Colorado

Hailing from Littleton, Colorado, Carson Garrett becomes the first ever Rocky Mountain State driver to ever be named a USAC National Most Improved Driver. Garrett recorded career bests in every single statistical category throughout the 2023 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season. In his third year with the series, he notched three top-fives and came within a whisker – just 93 hundredths of a second – of winning his first series feature at Macon Speedway in Illinois. He also made one of the biggest charges of the year when he advanced from 20th to 6th at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

RACE ORGANIZER OF THE YEAR: Steve O’Neal – Port Royal Speedway

For several years now, Steve O’Neal has been the face of Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, overseeing a transformation of the facility that fits its moniker to a T as The Speed Palace. He’s long been an advocate for USAC racing in the Keystone State, and since 2012, has been an ardent supporter of USAC Sprint Car racing’s annual running of Eastern Storm. In 2022, he was instrumental in doubling USAC’s participation at Port Royal, adding a Silver Crown event to the night, thus creating one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. In 2023, O’Neal was celebrated as USAC’s Race Organizer of the Year.

USAC SPECIAL APPRECIATION (INDIVIDUAL): Dave & Kim Rudisell – Lawrenceburg Speedway

This year, we bid farewell to one of the most supportive and prevalent USAC promoters in the club’s history. USAC celebrated Dave and Kim Rudisell with an honorable send-off as recipients of USAC’s Special Appreciation award. For the past 17 years, they have operated Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway. Between 2007 and 2023, they organized more than 40 USAC National Sprint Car events, eighth most all-time. The last of those 40 served as this past year’s season finale and was the richest race of any kind ever held in the 74-year history of the track. They also promoted 16 USAC National Midget events at The Burg, and in all, they promoted 56 USAC national events which ranks 14th all-time in USAC history.

USAC SPECIAL APPRECIATION (INDIVIDUAL): Chet Christner – FloRacing

Since 2017, Chet Christner has announced several hundreds of USAC national events on the public address system and to a worldwide audience on FloRacing at racetracks from coast-to-coast. With noted catchphrases such as “Drop the Hamma,” “Like a Rat on a Cheeto” and “Going Faster than Breath Mints at a Singles Bar,” etc., Christner’s colorful descriptions, humor and entertaining play-by-play calls captivated legions of race fans. Additionally, he produced a plethora of content and was a substantial help behind the scenes in the technological department in regard to the race day set-up for race broadcasts. Christner has opted to step away from announcing USAC events at the end of the 2023 season, but nonetheless, he will always remain a treasured member of the USAC family.

CAR IQ FAB FOUR CHAMPION: Jade Avedisian – Clovis, California

It was an absolutely fabulous season for Jade Avedisian as she captured the inaugural Car IQ Fab Four championship in 2023. The first of its kind competition determine the top women drivers within all USAC circle track racing based on an equal ratio of average finish in USAC’s Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget series in addition to an online fan vote. During the season ending Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway, Clovis, California’s Avedisian was rewarded with a $10,000 prize courtesy of Car IQ.

DICK JORDAN AWARD: Nikki Klepper – USAC Licensing & RaceAid

Nikki Klepper is, without a doubt, the backbone of so many behind the scenes aspects that go hand in hand with the success of USAC racing. Without her tireless contributions, the USAC Night of Champions wouldn’t even be a possibility. Not only does she make this event happen, she routinely makes it special. Nikki has worked in the front office of USAC for several years in charge of licensing, and recently, has taken on the role as head of USAC’s Benevolent Foundation, now called USAC RaceAid, and has taken it to new heights.

Under her guidance, care and leadership within USAC, Klepper was chosen as the honoree of this year’s Dick Jordan Award of Excellence, honoring an individual who has displayed tireless dedication and commitment to the betterment of USAC. One who has had a profound positive impact within the USAC family and has earned the ultimate respect of their peers within the sport. One who has created a lasting legacy that will persist for generations to follow. One who has set a standard by upholding the values and work ethic as Dick Jordan did throughout his 50-year career with USAC.

ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL FAST PASS: Dave Berkheimer – Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

A new contingency award was introduced for the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season with the intention of rewarding a driver and team who are the backbone of the sport. Dave Berkheimer exemplifies that fact, having been a fixture on the series trail for the past eight seasons since 2016. This year, the first car in the running order a lap down was issued an Engler Machine & Tool Fast Pass. The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvanian grabbed five of those throughout the year, which earned him a $4,000 prize – $2,000 each to driver and owner – and he is both of those.

DIRT DRAFT MOST POPULAR DRIVER AWARDS: Kaylee Bryson, Logan Seavey & Thomas Meseraull

Also new for 2023 was the introduction of the Dirt Draft Most Popular Driver award. The winner of these awards were chosen based on who was selected most often by Dirt Draft contest participants in each USAC national division throughout the year. Drivers who were picked most often will earn a bit of bonus money tonight. Those winners are Kaylee Bryson for the Silver Crown series, Logan Seavey for the Sprint Cars and Thomas Meseraull in the Midgets.

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REGIONAL SPRINT & MIDGET SERIES

USAC’s Regional Sprint Car and Midget series hit dirt tracks from the east to the west throughout 2023, producing five USAC champions. It’s a group that includes a pair of first time USAC titlists and a bevy of others who returned to the forefront as USAC champions once more.

AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT DRIVER CHAMPION: Brody Roa – Garden Grove, California

AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT ENTRANT CHAMPION: Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance – Menifee, California

After more than 12 years of touring with the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Cars and finishing as the runner-up three times, Brody Roa (Garden Grove, Calif.) finally reached the pinnacle in 2023 as he scored his first career series driving title. This season also presented him with a new ride owned by Tom and Christy Dunkel/BR Performance of Menifee, Calif., which paid dividends with eight victories and an entrant championship. It’s Roa’s fourth overall USAC title following previous crowns with the Focus Midgets, West Coast Sprints and Southwest Sprints, but it’s his first driving title with USAC CRA.

WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPION: Brody Fuson – Bakersfield, California

Teenage sensation Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) finished second in the point standings the last two years, but in 2023, he took the next step to become a champion in his Rusty Carlile-owned machine. He earned the most feature wins in a season with the series since Ronnie Gardner in 2016, tallying five victories and 10 top-fives in 11 starts while adding six fast times. In the process, at 18 years of age, he became the youngest ever USAC Western States Midget driving champion.

RAPID TIRE SERVICE EAST COAST SPRINT CHAMPION: Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pennsylvania

It was a season in which Briggs Danner embarked on a journey with a new team, but in the end, the result was precisely the same in 2023 as it was in 2022. Joining the Hogue Racing Enterprises outfit, Danner used a string of consistency to reach the top of the chart in becoming a USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars Presented By Capitol Custom Trailers champion. The Allentown, Pennsylvania driver’s two wins and a series-high 12 top-fives in 14 starts highlighted the campaign, and it seemed fitting that three years after winning in his first ever sprint car start, he clinched his second straight title at the very same venue – New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CHAMPION: Wyatt Burks, Topeka, Kansas

The most successful driver in the history of USAC Midwest Wingless Sprint Car racing did it again in 2023 with the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Cars. Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Kan.) backed up previous championships in 2020 and 2022 with a second consecutive crown, and third overall, this season in downright dominant fashion, winning the title by a record 375-point margin on the strength of six series victories, 17 consecutive top-tens and eight-straight top-fives to close it out for the third time in the four-year history of the series.

WEST COAST SPRINT CHAMPION: Ryan Timmons – Pleasant Hill, California

Ryan Timmons has been a stalwart of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car scene dating back to the 2015 season, but this year marked a major breakthrough in becoming the 2023 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion. The 28-year-old racer from Pleasant Hill, California, took third in the series standings for 2018, then followed up with a pair of runner-up finishes in both 2019 and 2021. But as 2023 ultimately proved, this year was his year. He struck first and never relented as he led the standings from start to finish with a pair of wins over the course of the year at California’s Bakersfield Speedway.

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USAC DEVELOPMENTAL SERIES

Three developmental Midget series, plus the Midwest Mini Sprint Association, took part in a total of 60 events spanning 10 different states in 2023 from coast to coast and produced four first-time USAC champions with the theme of these series this year being record-breaking points battles, all of which came down to the wire.

MIDWEST MINI SPRINT ASSOCIATION CHAMPION: Mike Larrison – Avon, Indiana

Mike Larrison has competed in nearly every kind of open wheel racing machine in his career. The Avon, Ind. wheelman has driven Silver Crown cars, midgets and sprint cars with and without a wing and on dirt and pavement. He’s driven in the Indy Lights series and has even finished inside the top-10 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A couple years back, he switched his focus to the Midwest Mini Sprint Association, becoming the series’ Rookie of the Year in 2022. The following year, he took the next step and became the top dog in becoming the 2023 Midwest Mini Sprint Association champion.

EASTERN FOCUS MIDGET CHAMPION: Logan Sulyi – Raleigh, North Carolina

Logan Sulyi prevailed in the closest USAC Eastern Midget Association points battle ever in 2023, winning the championship by just four points and one on-track position. Sulyi (Raleigh, N.C) earned the title in style, winning the final two events of the year in his home state of North Carolina. He began his career in quarter midgets and karts before moving on to midgets in 2022 where he finished third in points, setting the stage for a title run. In 2023, he landed inside the top-four in all but one of his 10 starts, winning three times in all, and now he’s your USAC Eastern Midget Association champ.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RADICAL FOCUS MIDGET CHAMPION: Devin Westover – Saratoga Springs, Utah

Devin Westover’s USAC Rocky Mountain Radical Midget championship in 2023 was truly special in so many ways. After 17-year-old Chaz Groat passed away in a 2021 highway accident, Chuck and Julie Groat made the decision to race on in their son’s memory. Westoer (Saratoga Springs, Utah) was handpicked by the family to drive Chaz’s Lucky #13 midget moving forward and he paid them off with a title run by four markers in what was the closest title race in series’ history. He won four times on his path to the title and became Utah’s first USAC champion since Jim Waters 12 years ago in 2011.

MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET CHAMPION: Zach Wigal – Belpre, Ohio

Points weren’t top of mind for Zach Wigal at the beginning of the 2023 USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget season. After trailing late in the year, the Belpre, Ohio teenager made up substantial ground to take over the point lead with one race remaining. Needing to finish within two spots of fellow Buckeye Bryce Massingill in the Gas City finale to clinch, he did just that, finishing exactly within two positions. In the end, Wigal wound up going the distance to win the series title by the narrowest margin in series history, three points and one single position.

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INTERNATIONAL SNOWMOBILE RACING CHAMPION: Mike Rempel – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Hard work, dedication and true sportsmanship are the name of the game for this individual. This year, he placed first in Factory Mod 2 and placed second in points for Pro Stock 800, which is considered as one of the discipline’s premier classes. Overall, he accumulated a total of 509 points, 16 points better than any other rider. Furthermore, both he and his father, Gil, are among the most reliable sportsmen in the series, and they have been known to spend hours picking rocks out of the clay at Hay Days to help provide a better racing surface for all competitors. Tonight, we present to you the 2023 International Snowmobile Racer of the Year, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, this is Mike Rempel!

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NASCAR YOUTH SERIES .25 MIDGET CHAMPIONS

.25 MIDGET PAVEMENT & DIRT CHAMPIONS

LIGHT WORLD FORMULA PAVEMENT, SENIOR HONDA DIRT, LIGHT 160 DIRT,

SENIOR ANIMAL DIRT & LIGHT WORLD FORMULA DIRT CHAMPION: Lincoln Smith

.25 MIDGET PAVEMENT CHAMPIONS

MOD WORLD FORMULA PAVEMENT CHAMPION: Tyler Lupton

JUNIOR 160 PAVEMENT CHAMPION: Roo Reaves

JUNIOR HONDA PAVEMENT CHAMPION: Easton Gardner

SENIOR HONDA PAVEMENT CHAMPION: Colton Kelly

LIGHT 160 PAVEMENT & SENIOR ANIMAL PAVEMENT CHAMPION: Case James

HEAVY HONDA PAVEMENT, UNRESTRICTED ANIMAL PAVEMENT, HEAVY WORLD FORMULA PAVEMENT &

HEAVY 160 PAVEMENT CHAMPION: R.J. Deighton

.25 MIDGET DIRT CHAMPIONS

JUNIOR HONDA DIRT CHAMPION: Ryker Sumner

HEAVY WORLD FORMULA DIRT CHAMPION: Reice Widger

MOD WORLD FORUMULA DIRT CHAMPION: Kaden Wenger

JUNIOR 160 DIRT CHAMPION: Avelina Gosselin

HEAVY 160 DIRT CHAMPION: Augustine Punke

HEAVY HONDA DIRT & UNRESTRICTED ANIMAL DIRT CHAMPION: Avery McMellen

JUNIOR ANIMAL PAVEMENT & JUNIOR ANIMAL DIRT CHAMPION: Jax Wittmer

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Chris Jockish and Jockish Flowers provided the floral decorations for the USAC Night of Champions. Bob Baker, president of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, provided a Hall of Fame membership to each of USAC’s 2023 champion drivers. Dave Olson served as the photographer for the evening’s event and Drake York handled all on-stage interviews.

Among the awards each national driver and entrant champion received are championship rings as well as canvas artwork designed by Rich Forman and a free one-year subscription to FloRacing, the official media provider for USAC. Each USAC driving champion also received a jacket courtesy of Hoosier Racing Tire, the official tire of the United States Auto Club.

 

 

A UNIQUE ROAD:

BRYSON TO TACKLE USAC SILVER CROWN

& TRANS AM RACING IN 2024

Speedway, Indiana (December 8, 2023)………Kaylee Bryson will be stepping up her game in two widely different disciplines throughout the 2024 season.

Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) will compete for two national championships in the coming year as she continues to pilot the AP Driver Development / Logical Systems / SamPierceChevy.com No. 26 USAC Silver Crown machine for Sam Pierce Racing as the reigning series Rookie of the Year.

Bryson has also been named by LSI Racing as the primary driver for the Logical Systems / AP Driver Development / SamPierceChevy.com fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes in the Trans Am series SGT class.

“I am just so happy to be able to drive my two favorite types of race cars for the entire season and race for two championships,” Bryson stated. “Of the 10 different types of cars that I raced in 2023, the Champ Car and Trans Am racing were definitely my favorites. A full season in Trans Am will allow me to develop the road racing skillset I will need to move up [to IndyCar or NASCAR],” Bryson said.

Throughout the 2023 season, Kaylee Bryson ascended to heights never before reached in USAC’s 68-year history. She became the first woman to finish inside the top-five of the standings in a USAC national series and is now the first woman to earn USAC National Rookie of the Year honors of any kind, achieving the feat with the Silver Crown series this past season. One year ago, in 2022, she became the first woman to earn USAC National Most Improved Driver honors and she’s also the first Okie to win this award.

“I have a lot of confidence in chasing the Silver Crown championship as I have realized how important qualifying is without heat races in this series, and I have now raced on almost every track at least once and ran really well on the pavement.”

Bryson posted six top-ten USAC Silver Crown finishes in 2023, five of them on the pavement, and finished fifth out of 75 drivers in USAC Silver Crown driver points.

“It’s so amazing to be able to run for two championships at once and have 26 races that don’t conflict. I have to thank Larry Bailey (LSI owner) and Sam and Aaron Pierce for this really cool opportunity. I can’t wait to start testing in January after the Chili Bowl.”

Bryson and LSI Racing will spend considerable time testing during January and February in Florida in preparation for the Trans Am opener at Sebring International Raceway in late February. She raced in the 2023 Sebring event, running in second place in class before retiring with a mechanical issue.

For further information please visit SamPierceRacing.com, www.USACracing.com and www.GoTransAm.com.

 

 

ROCK STEADY WITH KTJ:

THOMAS JR. TAKES THE WHEEL OF THE 3R

FOR 2024 USAC SPRINT SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 7, 2023)………”This is the most excited I’ve been for the start of a race season in a very long time.”

Those are ear-catching words for a driver like Kevin Thomas Jr., who stands not only as one of the most successful USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship drivers of his era, but of any era.

Now, the Cullman, Ala. driver has teamed up with the similarly esteemed Rock Steady Racing outfit as they plan an assault on the USAC National Sprint Car season in 2024.

Thomas, the owner of 39 career USAC National Sprint Car feature victories, ranks 11th all-time in that regard while Rock Steady, led by car owner Hank Byram, has raked in 25 series wins throughout the team’s span, most notably over the past decade with driver Kyle Cummins.

Cummins recently departed the Rock Steady team at the conclusion of the 2023 season, and for many of those years that Cummins and Rock Steady were a force, Thomas Jr. was among their primary nemesis.

“We’ve been competitors for a long, long time,” Thomas noted. “There’s always been a competitive edge that we’ve had against each other. Now we get to put them together and that makes me pretty happy.”

Funny enough, Thomas already got a bit of a head start with his new team last September at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway when he was asked to fill in as a last-minute replacement for Cummins whose wife was due to give birth to their newborn son. In fact, it was Cummins who suggested KTJ would be the man for the job that night.

Despite early obstacles such as a sparkplug issue in hot laps followed up by a lost cylinder in qualifying, Thomas recovered to win his heat race and ran as high as fourth in the feature before slotting into seventh at the finish line. Whether it wound up as an unplanned tryout for the team or not, both sides were pleased with their performance on short notice.

“It was one of those things where it was understood what our goals were and the way we wanted to do things,” Thomas explained. “There wasn’t a whole lot of back and forth and the decision (to drive for them) was quite easy for me just because of the speed that the car has in general. I was a free agent at that time, and I just ran the car a month prior, and things just started to fall into place.”

Byram found KTJ compatible to work with and cites that the number one thing right now is that his driver is extremely fired up, which is always good sign in his eyes, which in turn has him feeling likewise. Yet, like the formation of any new relationship, racing or otherwise, there’s always a bit of anxiousness that comes along with it. For Byram and his team, KTJ solidified to them that the proper pieces were in place in their equipment and in the seat.

“You always have apprehension whether he’s going to like the car like Kyle (Cummins) did or is he going to think it’s terrible,” Byram pondered. “He was just tickled to death with how the car performed, how it handled and how it drove. Any time you put a driver of his caliber in your car, and they get out and they’re happy, it just makes you feel that, as an owner and as a team, we’ve done our jobs. You can always think you have a good car but sometimes it takes more than one opinion. Now we’ve got more than one opinion.”

Crew Chief Tim Spindler echoed those sentiments and even ran down the checklist of the team’s hit list on the circuit each year and feels that they’ll have no issue hitting the ground running starting in February of 2024.

“For our team, chasing Indiana Sprint Week, Smackdown at Kokomo and the Haubstadt Hustler, those are the events we circle on the calendar, and KTJ has had a lot of success at all those events,” Spindler stated of Thomas, who owns two Indiana Sprint Week titles, a single Smackdown final night score and a record four Haubstadt Hustler triumphs himself. “He’s always been the guy we had to beat at those type of races, so when we had the opportunity to get hooked up with him, we went for it, and I believe he’ll fit our program very nicely.”

The Rock Steady group, with a crew consisting of Byram, former racers Tim Spindler and Brian Karraker, plus longtime Indiana Pacers equipment manager Josh “Country” Conder, jelled with KTJ in their first go-around at Gas City. For these past 15 years or so, the two have faced off many a time as direct competitors, yet still maintained a mutual respect.

“That’s one of the things I was very curious about,” Thomas relayed regarding the inner workings of the team’s showings with Cummins. “How does this whole deal operate over here? The majority of the time, you’re looking at their tail tank on the track. But whenever you get to hop into one of those cars, a couple things run through your head. First, you want to make sure you do well, but you also wonder, is the quarterback that good or is the team that good? I think both are good, but with the way the car handles and goes around the racetrack and the communication I had with Tim Spindler, it was easy, and it flowed. I didn’t have to pry for information, and they didn’t either.”

Thomas sang the praises of this new venture and opportunity, offering the fact that he’s been at this sport from all angles over the years as a hired gun and as a driver who doubled as the leadership of his operation at times. Thus far, he likes what he’s seen up close, first hand.

“I got to tell them what I felt, and I got to go get a hot dog while Tim made sure the thing went fast,” Thomas quipped of his partnership with the team at Gas City this year. “That makes the job super easy for a racecar driver. I’ve owned cars and I’ve set my own cars up. I’ve worked with crew chiefs, and I’ve worked without crew chiefs. I’ve kind of been all over the board and it’s nice being able to put your trust into people who have the same goals as you. I feel like I’m a bit more intense than most people, especially verbally, but other than that, they give me a calming effect because I just get to worry about driving the racecar.”

Thomas Jr. will wheel the Mach-1/Stanton Chevy, sponsored by Tim Mason ReMax, Inferno Armor, Competition Suspension, Inc., Eddie Gilstrap Ford and Lucas Oil Center starting with the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season opening Winter Dirt Games at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10-15-16-17, plus two nights at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13.

 

TREY DOUBLE:

OSBORNE CHASING TWO

USAC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TITLES IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 7, 2023)………Few drivers have won, let alone pursued multiple USAC National Rookie of the Year awards in a single season.

However, Trey Osborne is up for the challenge in 2024 as he plans full season runs with both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.

The 20-year-old Columbus, Ohio racer will pilot the familiar Baldwin-Fox Racing orange No. 5 in numerous events on the USAC National Sprint Car tour throughout the coming season. In the races that the Baldwin-Fox car will not compete in, Osborne plans to fill in those dates on the trail behind the wheel of his own No. 6.

Furthermore, Osborne, who stands a towering 6’8” and regularly sports a visor reading “Tall” on his racecars, has been tabbed as the full-time driver of the BCR Group No. 81 for the complete USAC Silver Crown season on both dirt and pavement.

With a combined USAC slate consisting of 68 events at press time (54 Sprint and 14 Silver Crown), Osborne is ready to take on the busiest and the most hectic racing season of his career, more than doubling his usual yearly schedule.

“It’s going to be pretty huge,” Osborne acknowledges. “The most races I’ve ever ran in a season was like 35. To go from that to essentially running two whole USAC schedules is going to be pretty challenging, but I’m ready to go.”

Winning multiple USAC national Rookie of the Year awards in a single season isn’t unprecedented but remains relatively rare. In fact, it has occurred on just six occasions throughout the initial 68 years of competition, first by Kenny Jacobs (1986) and additionally by Darren Hagen (2005), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2007), Chad Boat (2008), Kyle Larson (2011) and Logan Seavey (2018).

Recently, Osborne made the move from his most recent residence in Indianapolis, Indiana to West Lafayette in the northern part of the Hoosier State where he now makes his living quarters in the basement of Ken and Margo Baldwin’s home while landing a day job at team co-owner Bob Fox’s construction company where he works, builds and maintains the business’ fleet of equipment.

It’s essentially the same as what Osborne was doing before, just in a new locale and with a race-friendly boss who allows him time off for his racing endeavors when those moments arise. The only change in Osborne’s eyes is that, as a newly-hired gun in the racing game, he now finds himself on an even bigger scale with more eyes and more expectations on him than ever before.

So far, Osborne has talked the talk and walked the walk. When he stated his preseason goal of winning three local Indiana sprint car races in 2023, he achieved it even though, at first, he thought he was a bit crazy in saying that, but he made it happen with a pair of victories at Paragon Speedway and another score at Gas City I-69 Speedway.

Similarly, in 2024, he’s set what he feels are attainable goals. As he enters the biggest racing venture of his young career, he’s set his own personal bar to what he believes is achievable in 2024.

“I want to consistently be able to contend,” Osborne stated. “I want to win at least three USAC races, whether that’s just Sprint Car or Silver Crown combined, I don’t care. I want to be competitive the whole season and get better at the larger tracks because I’ve never run these big racetracks. I’ve always competed on smaller tracks, but as long as I keep progressing and keep getting support from the people I have, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do that.”

In his lone run with Baldwin-Fox during the October 2023 unsanctioned Kokomo Klash, Osborne threw his familiar Triple X setup on the team’s DRC, and admittedly, it didn’t do well by his standards. Since then, Osborne has been working on measuring the differences between the two cars while working in-step with DRC’s Joe Devin, telling him how we wants the car to feel and to get a baseline setup heading into the series season openers in February in Florida.

Osborne noted that his own Triple X/Mopar and Baldwin-Fox’s DRC/Claxton require differing driving styles, and this year will present him the challenge of adapting back and forth between the two pieces of machinery.

Similar things can be said for Osborne’s Silver Crown exploits in the coming season as he learns the heavier and longer champ cars on both dirt and pavement in a pair of separate, purpose-built pieces for each surface courtesy of team owner Malcolm Lovelace and crew.

The all-Ohio team is based out of Springfield, roughly 45 minutes from Osborne’s original stomping grounds of Columbus. Late in 2023, the pairing made two starts, one on the dirt at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway and in the finale on the pavement of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park where Osborne earned hard charger honors by advancing from 19th to 12th, serving notice that even when the chips are down, they can still succeed, laying the groundwork of confidence to achieve even better things lying ahead.

Osborne mentioned that the biggest thing Lovelace wants from him is to watch what the track is doing and try to continuously learn the driving side and just leave the car side of the equation up to Lovelace and his crew. Osborne did just that in his most recent Silver Crown outing.

“After a practice session (at IRP), I’d go, well, I was doing this wrong and I know it, but I kind of have to stop to reset and realize it,” Osborne recalled. “By the time I got to do that, I really just needed more time to be better for the race. Throughout the midsection of the race, my spotter told me I was running top-three lap times for a couple laps. I fell off toward the end, and realized I just need to remember to pay attention to where I’m lifting and where I’m braking on the pavement because I haven’t had to do that nearly as much on dirt just because everything changes so fast.”

Osborne will launch his 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season with Winter Dirt Games XV at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10-15-16-17, plus two nights at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13.

 

 

BIG SHOW:

AMANTEA GOES FULL-TIME

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RACING IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 7, 2023)………Joey Amantea has made his mark in recent years on the USAC East Coast Sprint Car tour, but in 2024, he’s taking the show on the road full-time with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.

The 19-year-old Mount Pocono, Pa. native and Mechanical Engineering major at Lehigh University will take on the 54-race tour in 2024 aboard his family-owned JPA Racing No. 88J featuring a Triple X Chassis and power from Newman’s Racing Engines.

In recent years, Amantea has tackled a part-time USAC East Coast Sprint schedule with the 360 c.i. engine under the hood, notching a pair of victories on the half-mile dirt ovals of Pennsylvania’s Selinsgrove Speedway and Delaware International Speedway.

However, in 2023, Amantea installed a 410 c.i. powerplant and branched out extensively with the USAC National Sprint Cars, making nine series starts, including a pair of impressive top-10 results in a pair of marquee events. During the Indiana Sprint Week round at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Amantea made a spirited charge from the 18th starting position to finish seventh.

In his first attempt at Kokomo Speedway’s Sprint Car Smackdown, Amantea ran a solid ninth. Each time out, Amantea could sense his own improvement by leaps and bounds after competing and thriving against this discipline’s top talent on their home turf, so to speak. It was an up close and personal challenge he went face-to-face with and performed admirably.

“With the USAC national guys, you’re on edge, even under caution it seems like,” he said with a laugh. “A tremendous amount of knowledge was gained by running against them. They showed me how much harder I needed to drive from what I’m used to and how much harder I still can go as a driver. That’s been huge for myself and my whole team because, honestly, it’s made all of us better due to the face we’ve got to have our car on point every single time we hit the track.”

The whole experience led himself, his father, Joe Amantea, and crew chief Brian Zyck to make the next step and take Joey on the USAC national tour full-time in the coming year.

“Indiana Sprint Week was really the start of us thinking out loud that, hey, we can do this,” Amantea recalled. “Around that time, the talks began, and then we went out to Smackdown and made the show our first time doing it. It was then that my dad said, ‘yeah, let’s go do it.’”

Amantea’s red and black machine is adorned with the name of the family businesses – JPA Masonry and Amantea Real Estate. While Amantea pursues his college degree, he’s determined to some day make a living constructing racecars.

It was an interesting beginning to Amantea’s racing career as neither of his parents had any real tangible connection to the sport initially. Soon, a quarter midget found its way into the Amantea family garage and young Joey began competing extensively in the small cars between the ages of 5-12 against the likes of two-time USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion Briggs Danner.

It was in those early years that Amantea earned the nickname of “The Big Show” from a track public address announcer who witnessed Joey in a quite memorable last to first hard charging effort. On the opening lap, an incident turned Amantea around to a stop, forcing him to restart at the tail of the field where he proceeded to pass every car in his path, including the final one on the last turn of the last lap to earn a remarkable win. And to this day, the moniker has stuck.

Soon, Amantea found himself on the rugged and talent-laden Pennsylvania 600cc Micro Sprint circuit, capturing a Rookie title at Pennsylvania’s Hamlin Speedway. By 2020, at the age of 15, Amantea was behind the wheel of a sprint car, making his debut USAC East Coast feature start at the speedy half-mile of Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway.

New tracks, major competition and hitting the road while trying to balance a rigorous college workload with a full-time pursuit of the USAC National Sprint Car schedule. It’s all

part of the continuous progression of the teenage Pennsylvanian.

“I’m looking to see how far I can take my abilities as a driver from the beginning to the end,” Amantea said. “I have a few personal goals I’m setting for myself this season. I want to win, and I think we can get that along with a top-10 finish in points and multiple podiums. But mainly, I want to grow as a driver from start to finish, then be able to look back at the end of the season and see how much more I’ve improved. That’s something I’m looking forward to and that excites me.”

Joey Amantea and the JPA Racing team will begin their 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship seasonal quest with Winter Dirt Games XV at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10-15-16-17, plus two nights at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13.

 

 

DIRTY 30, CLEAN SLATE:

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET DATES

REVEALED FOR 2024 SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 6, 2023)………The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship enters the 2024 season loaded for bear with 30 events on the calendar from April through November at dirt tracks spanning California, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.


SEASON OPENERS IN KOKOMO

Opening the year are two consecutive nights of the Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway, the lone track on the 2024 schedule that was also on the calendar during USAC’s inaugural year of 1956.


HITTING DOUBLES & TRIPLES

Five more events will be held in tandem alongside additional USAC series to make for tantalizing doubles and even tripleheaders throughout the year.

The Belleville (Kan.) Short Track will roll out the welcome mat for two-straight nights of midget racing on May 17-18. That same weekend, the USAC Silver Crown National Championship will make a two-night escapade to the adjoining Belleville High Banks half-mile which surrounds the inner 1/4-mile dirt oval.

Fall brings the heat by way of a James Dean Classic USAC twin-bill for the National Midgets and the AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway on September 19. That same weekend, Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway presents the BeFour The Crown showdown on September 20, then closes out with a $15,000-to-win affair at Eldora’s half-mile on September 21.

The 42nd running of the 4-Crown at The Big E provides the one and only opportunity of the year to witness all three USAC national divisions in one night, with the winner’s share being increased from $10,000 to $15,000 from 2023 to 2024 for all three series, plus the High Limit Sprint Cars.


TO MID-AMERICA AND TO THE NORTH

USAC National Midget racing will also make its fair share of voyages to Mid-America throughout the spring and summer months with a stop at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex for the John Hinck Championship arriving on May 19.

Mid-America Midget Week goes full send in mid-July with four events during a five-night span in three different states. First up is Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for Tuesday Night Thunder on July 9. One night later, it’s northbound to Kansas for the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds on July 10.

Jefferson County Speedway in the great state of Nebraska presents two nights of racing to close out Mid-America Midget Week for the Midwest Midget Championship on July 12-13 where the finale pays $10,000-to-win.

Way up north lies Wisconsin’s legendary Angell Park Speedway which will hold two nights of the 39th running of the Firemen’s Nationals on Labor Day weekend, September 1-2.


6 STRAIGHT NIGHTS OF USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK

USAC Indiana Midget Week celebrates its 20th birthday in 2024 with another fine slate of six events across six consecutive evenings in the Hoosier state.

For the first time in its young history, Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis launches the frenzied week of racing on June 4. Gas City follows up on June 5 with Lincoln Park Speedway (June 6), Bloomington Speedway (June 7), Tri-State Speedway (June 8) and Kokomo Speedway (June 9) rounding out the busy week.


ADDITION TO TRADITION FOR THE WESTERN SWING

USAC’s end-of-season National Midget California swing has expanded with the addition of a first-time venue and the reshuffling of the dates.

Placerville Speedway’s Hangtown 100 kicks it all off on November 15-16 with the season’s only 100-lap midget race. For the first time ever, Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway presents the USAC National Midgets with a date on November 20.

The annual ventures of Midget Madness continue November 22-23 at Merced Speedway. Meanwhile, Bakersfield Speedway’s November Classic moves from its previous slot as the opening night of the swing and will now serve as the penultimate round of the series season on November 26.

California’s Ventura Raceway will be the host once again of the 83rd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix on Saturday night, November 30. For 2024, the longest-running midget racing event on the schedule has increased its winner’s share from $10,000 to $15,000.


TO BE ANNOUNCED / DETERMINED

Three notable TBA designations can be found on the 2024 USAC National Midget schedule. The sixth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 is a certainty for 2024 and will take place at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on yet-to-be-determined dates. Once again, the finale will pay a season high $20,039 to the victor.


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2024 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Apr 26: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix | $4,000

Apr 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix | $5,000

May 17: Belleville Short Track | Belleville, KS | $4,000

May 18: Belleville Short Track | Belleville, KS | $6,000

May 19: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex | Sweet Springs, MO | John Hinck Championship | $6,000

Jun 4: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $4,000

Jun 5: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $4,000

Jun 6: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $4,000

Jun 7: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $5,000

Jun 8: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $5,000

Jun 9: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Midget Week | $5,000

Jul 9: Red Dirt Raceway Meeker, OK | Tuesday Night Thunder | $4,000

Jul 10: Mitchell County Fairgrounds | Beloit, KS | Chad McDaniel Memorial | $4,000

Jul 12: Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship | $4,000

Jul 13: Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship | $10,000

Sep 1: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | Firemen's Nationals | $5,000

Sep 2: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | Firemen’s Nationals | $5,000

Sep 19: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | James Dean Classic | $4,000

Sep 20: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | BeFour The Crowns | $5,000

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | $15,000

Nov 15: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100 | $5,000

Nov 16: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100 | TBA

Nov 20: Thunderbowl Raceway | Tulare, CA | TBA

Nov 22: Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness | $5,000

Nov 23: Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness | $5,000

Nov 26: Bakersfield Speedway | Bakersfield, CA | November Classic | $5,000

Nov 30: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, CA | Turkey Night Grand Prix | $15,000

TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39 | $5,000

TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39 | $5,000

TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39 | $20,039

 

 

BIG SLATE, BIG THRILLS!

55 DATES FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINTS IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 6, 2023)………The addition of more high-paying events, an increased Florida slate, a number of debuts and return visits, plus a plethora of multi-race weekends are among the facets of the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule.

A total of 55 dates are on the board for the upcoming season between the months of February and October of 2024, making it among the busiest calendars in the series’ 69-year history dating back to 1956.


MONEY SHOWS

Several events in 2024 will showcase a winner’s payout of at least $10,000 or more on the series schedule. However, Sprint Car Smackdown XIII will be the most lucrative of them all in the new year, featuring a $30,000 top prize for the finale of the annual three-race weekend on August 22-23-24.

Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana will host the annual Haubstadt Hustler, paying $20,000-to-win on September 14 while an expanded two-night Fall Nationals will pay out $20,000 to the victor on the second night at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway on the weekend of October 11-12.

Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway has kicked the top prize up another notch from $10,000 to win in 2023 to $15,000-to-win in 2024 for all three of USAC’s national divisions: Sprint Cars, NOS Energy Drink National Midgets and Silver Crown.


EVEN MORE GOOD PAYDAYS

Shows paying $10,000-to-win are all over the map, starting with Florida’s expanded seven-race Winter Dirt Games schedule in February. Five dates have been announced at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park for February 9-10-15-16-17, with the final night of the bunch paying $10 Grand.

Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park is in the same boat, hosting a pair of events for the USAC National Sprint Cars on February 12-13, the last night offering another $10,000 reward.

For the first time since 1998, USAC National Sprint Cars will make their return to Sumner, Illinois’ Red Hill Raceway for the $10,000-to-win Salute to Levi Jones, where the seven-time USAC national champion made his first career series start more than a quarter century ago.

#LetsRaceTwo brings the series into town for back-to-back nights of $10,000-to-win dates at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway on May 3-4. Another $10,000 check will be awaiting the winner of the longest annually running USAC Sprint Car event of all – the 54th running of the Tony Hulman Classic at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track on May 21.

May brings two nights of USAC Sprint Car racing to Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind. during the Week of Indy on May 22-23, the latter of which will again pay $10,000. What proved to be one of the most fascinating shows of last season returns to Macon (Ill.) Speedway for Top Gun Weekend on June 28-29 with a $10,000 prize awaiting the victor of night two.

An early July staple of the schedule has long been the Bill Gardner Sprintacular at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway which once again provides two nights of USAC Sprint Car activity on July 5-6, and boasts another $10,000 jackpot to the winner on the back half of the weekend.

One year after debuting at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway for the Wingless Short Track Nationals, the event is back in 2024 for a two-night tilt on September 6-7 with a $10,000 pot on the docket for the winner during the second leg of the weekend in The Natural State.

Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway once again is scheduled to serve as host of the USAC National Sprint Car season finales in 2024 on October 25-26, with yet another $10,000 award that drivers will be vying for on the second of two nights.


EASTERN STORM A BREWIN’

Eastern Storm, a fixture on the USAC Sprint Car schedule since 2007, celebrates its 17th year of competition in 2024 with six dates in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, starting at Grandview Speedway on June 11, Bridgeport Motorsports Park on June 12, Big Diamond Speedway on June 13, Williams Grove Speedway on June 14, Port Royal Speedway on June 15 and Action Track USA to cap off the busy weekend on June 16.


A RESHUFFLED INDIANA SPRINT WEEK

The 37th annual edition of USAC Indiana Sprint Week takes on a bit of a new look across eight events in late July and early August. A rearranged schedule sees Lincoln Park Speedway hosting the opener of the series for the first time since 2001 on July 25. From there, the schedule travels to Gas City I-69 Speedway on July 26, Kokomo Speedway on July 27, Lawrenceburg Speedway on July 28, Circle City Raceway on July 31, the Terre Haute Action Track on August 1, Bloomington Speedway on August 2 and Tri-State Speedway on August 3.


STAPLES OF THE SCHEDULE & A NEW ONE

Additional familiar stops on the tour brings the series to Terre Haute on April 5 for the 23rd edition of the Jim Hurtubise Classic. Annual springtime visits take the series back to Lawrenceburg on April 13, Bloomington on May 10 and Tri-State on May 11.

The series hits the road en route to Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway on May 31 and June 1 for the Corn Belt Clash at the Sprint Car Capital of the World. The GPS says head north to Wisconsin for a pair of dates on June 22 at Wilmot Raceway and June 23 at Sun Prairie’s Angell Park Speedway.

A new venue for USAC takes precedence on September 5 when the series debuts at RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas. Late season activity brings action to Circle City on September 13 and to Gas City on September 19 for the next installment of the James Dean Classic, featuring a doubleheader with the USAC National Midgets.


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2024 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Feb 9: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000

Feb 10: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $7,500

Feb 12: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000

Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park | Barberville, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $10,000

Feb 15: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $6,000

Feb 17: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games | $10,000

Apr 5: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Jim Hurtubise Classic | $6,000

Apr 6: Red Hill Raceway Sumner, IL | Salute to Levi Jones | $10,000

Apr 12: TBA

Apr 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | $6,000

May 3: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo | $10,000

May 4: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo | $10,000

May 10: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Larry Rice Classic | $5,000

May 11: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Spring Showdown | $5,000

May 21: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Tony Hulman Classic | $10,000

May 22: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Circle City Salute | $5,000

May 23: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Circle City Salute | $10,000

May 31: Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA | Corn Belt Clash | TBA

Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway | Knoxville, IA | Corn Belt Clash | TBA

June 11: Grandview Speedway | Terre Haute, IN | Eastern Storm | $6,000

June 12: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ | Eastern Storm | $6,000

Jun 13: Big Diamond Speedway | Pottsville, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000

Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000

Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000

Jun 16: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA | Eastern Storm | $6,000

Jun 22: Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, WI | $6,000

Jun 23: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | $6,000

Jun 28: Macon Speedway | Macon, IL | Top Gun Weekend | $6,000

Jun 29: Macon Speedway | Macon, IL | Top Gun Weekend | $10,000

Jul 5: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular | $5,000

Jul 6: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular | $10,000

Jul 17: TBA

Jul 25: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000

Jul 26: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000

Jul 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000

Jul 28: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000

Jul 31: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000

Aug 1: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Don Smith Classic | $8,000

Aug 2: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Sheldon Kinser Memorial | $8,000

Aug 3: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Sprint Week | $8,000

Aug 22: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | $6,000

Aug 23: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | $6,000

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown | $30,000

Sep 5: (E) RPM Speedway | Crandall, TX | $6,000

Sep 6: (E) Texarkana 67 Speedway | Texarkana, AR | Wingless Short Track Nationals | $6,000

Sep 7: (E) Texarkana 67 Speedway | Texarkana, AR | Wingless Short Track Nationals | $10,000

Sep 13: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | $5,000

Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Haubstadt Hustler | $20,000

Sep 19: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | James Dean Classic | $5,000

Sep 21: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | $15,000

Oct 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Fall Nationals | $6,000

Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Fall Nationals | $20,000

Oct 25: (E) Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | $6,000

Oct 26: (E) Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | $10,000

(E) represents an event co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing

 

 

SYMMETRICAL SCHEDULE:

USAC SILVER CROWN SET FOR 14 DATES IN ‘24

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 6, 2023)………An eclectic docket featuring 14 events with half on dirt and half on pavement tracks is the agenda in 2024 for the 54th season of the most diverse oval racing series on the planet – the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.

Of those 14 dates, 12 events are confirmed at press time with a balanced slate of six events set for dirt tracks and six more on the pavement at venues ranging from half-miles to one miles and on tracks varying from semi-banked to high-banked across the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.


NEW FOR ‘24

The last time Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway hosted a USAC national event, the year was 1969. The track surface was still dirt and a human had not yet even stepped foot on the moon. Bob Tattersall wound up as the winner of that day’s midget race more than a half century ago.

Now, it’s the big cars’ turn at Jennerstown. On Saturday night, August 10, USAC competitors of the modern day will take their first shot at the now 0.522-mile paved oval for the inaugural Silver Crown showdown.


100 MILES FOR A PAYDAY AT IRP

The highest-paying event of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season will also be its longest distance race in terms of laps. On Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, May 24, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will host the 67th running of the Hoosier Hundred on the .686-mile paved oval. Held for the second year in a row on pavement, the 146-lap, 100-mile event will pay $25,000-to-win.


THE PAVED SLATE

The 2024 season opens and closes on the hardtop with dates at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway for the Rollie Beale Classic on April 20 followed by a trip to the hallowed banks of Indiana’s Winchester Speedway for the running of the Rich Vogler Classic.

The Hoosier Hundred brings the series once again to IRP on May 24, then kicks off the summer months with a swing through Oregon, Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway for the Bytec Dairyland 100 before setting off for a Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway debut on August 10.

The championship decider and season closer is once again set during Championship Saturday on October 19 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.


THE DIRT HALVES

One of the most fascinating USAC Silver Crown events throughout the 2023 campaign will once again open the dirt portion of the schedule in 2024 on the Belleville High Banks in Kansas during the weekend of May 17-18 with practice and qualifying set for night one followed by the main event on the following evening. The Huncovsky Classic will be held in conjunction with two-straight nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget racing on the Belleville Short Track, located inside the half-mile dirt oval.

Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway will be the place for a full smorgasbord of action on June 15 during Open Wheel Madness, a star-studded affair featuring both USAC’s Silver Crown and AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship divisions at one venue on one night during Eastern Storm weekend in the east.

Indiana’s lone half-mile dirt oval, the Terre Haute Action Track, brings USAC’s champ cars out for the 20th edition of the Sumar Classic on Independence Day. It marks the first USAC Silver Crown event to be held on the fourth of July in exactly 20 years, since Jay Drake’s score at Colorado’s Pikes Peak International Raceway in 2004.


TRADITION RICH

A trio of the most tradition rich USAC Silver Crown events of them all are pegged for the dirt in August and September. The 61st running of the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield provides the first of two $10,000-to-win dirt-mile adventures on the 2024 schedule on August 17.

Fair season in the Land of Lincoln continues two weeks later with the 70th running of the Ted Horn 100 at the Magic Mile of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.

The final dirt run of the new year sees payout increases across the board. For the 42nd time, the champ cars will compete in the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. The event provides the only opportunity of the year to witness all three USAC national divisions in one night, with the winner’s share being increased from $10,000 to $15,000 from 2023 to 2024 for all three series, plus the High Limit Sprint Cars.


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2024 USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Apr 20: (P) Toledo Speedway | Toledo, OH | Rollie Beale Classic | $8,000

May 5: (P) Winchester Speedway | Winchester, IN | Rich Vogler Classic | $8,000

May 17-18: (D) Belleville High Banks | Belleville, KS | Huncovsky Classic | $8,000

May 24: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Hoosier Hundred | $25,000

Jun 15: (D) Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | Open Wheel Madness | $8,000

Jun 21: (P) Madison International Speedway | Oregon, WI | Bytec Dairyland 100 | $8,000

Jul 4: (D) Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Sumar Classic | $8,000

Jul 20: TBA

Aug 10: (P) Jennerstown Speedway | Jennerstown, PA | Silver Crown Showdown | $10,000

Aug 16: TBA

Aug 17: (D) Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, IL | Bettenhausen 100 | $10,000

Aug 31: (D) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds | Du Quoin, IL | Ted Horn 100 | $10,000

Sep 20-21: (D) Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals | $15,000

Oct 19: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Championship Saturday | $10,000

(P) represents a pavement track event

(D) represents a dirt track event

 

 

PURSLEY & TEAM AZ SET TO GO

USAC SPRINT & SILVER CROWN RACING IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 4, 2023)………Fresh off a season in which he was recently named USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Rookie of the Year, Daison Pursley is going full-time in 2024 with Team AZ Racing.

Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) will drive for Team AZ in two different capacities in 2024 as a competitor on the full USAC National Sprint Car schedule in the No. 21AZ as well as getting his first taste of USAC Silver Crown action in all the series’ dirt events throughout the year.

For the past five years, Team AZ Racing has fielded driver Jake Swanson on the USAC Sprint Car trail. Swanson recently announced his 2024 plans to run the full series circuit with 2B Racing. Pursley, meanwhile, drove the whole USAC Sprint schedule for KO Motorsports in 2023.

Pursley and Team AZ’s relationship dates back to October of this past year when both parties had an opening in their schedule to go racing with the USAC CRA Sprint Car series at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway for the running of the Western World Championships in what was, at the time, a one weekend deal.

“(Team AZ crew member) Eric Wilkins reached out to me over Facebook messenger and asked if I had any plans for the 2024 season,” Pursley recalled. “At that time, I did not. I was kind of searching around, kind of like they were. They asked if I’d be free for the Western World weekend at Cocopah. We were already headed that direction with the midget stuff, so I said, ‘heck yeah, let’s go race.’ At the time, the plan was to just go race and have fun and had nothing to do with next year. I really enjoyed working with the team and I guess they enjoyed working with me as well. Craig and Michael (Burkhart), Eric and Wendy all just welcomed me with open arms that weekend, and I think we clicked pretty well.”

Clicked pretty well is an understatement. Pursley and Team AZ swept to victory on both nights of the 56th annual event, sending them both into the offseason as an undefeated pairing. And as good fortune has it, their 2024 USAC National Sprint Car slate begins at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park in February where, across two nights, both Team AZ Racing and Pursley were each victorious.

“They’ve built a top-notch sprint car team, and it just shows night-in and night-out their preparation and understanding of what it all takes to go run at this level,” Pursley praised Team AZ. “They’ve been extremely good, and with everything they’ve built, it makes it that much easier for me to jump in a car like that and realize how fast this thing really is with all the expertise they have. Everything they do is top notch, and it just shows when you can go out there and sweep the weekend like that.”

With the knowledge of making a good first impression and then getting to work together before going full steam into the new year, it’s created a quite comforting feel for Pursley. As they enter the new year, their focus is now set on keeping the ball of momentum rolling rather than trying to start the push at the beginning of the season.

“That takes a lot of stress and offseason worry away, seeing how you jell with new people and seeing if everyone gets along,” Pursley explained. “Even though it was just one weekend, we broke the ice with everyone and just clicked very well. In Volusia, there won’t be any new learning experiences and getting used to each other, we’ll just be set on ‘go’ from there and we can go chase some USAC National Sprint Car wins.”

On the flip side of the same token, Team AZ Racing has recently acquired the USAC Silver Crown car owned and operated by Hodges Motorsports and had been driven by Shane Cottle for the past couple seasons. The team will give Pursley his first shot at the “big cars” on the dirt ovals in 2024 and it comes with a unique characteristic with the same driver and team competing in both the USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown series, creating a full sense of familiarity in both aspects as they take on a new challenge.

“It’s all just very different; there’s just really nothing like it,” Pursley acknowledged about USAC Silver Crown racing. “You’re just going to have to jump in there in the first practice session, realize how fast you’re really going, then you’ve got to slow down and take care of your stuff for 100 laps after that. I’m extremely excited and grateful to be able to race on the same Sprint Car and Silver Crown team for them and for them to choose me to run their Silver Crown stuff and build it up with them. I think we’re going to be very good right out of the gate. It’ll definitely be a learning experience, but hopefully we can all pick it up quickly and I can do my job and get to where we’re racing up front.”

With KO Motorsports in 2023, Pursley racked up USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors in becoming the first Oklahoman to win the award since 1992. Although they’ve parted, Pursley praised KO Motorsports for providing him with his first sprint car start back in 2021 and also giving him a shot as not only a series Rookie in 2023, but also giving him a chance after suffering a spinal injury in late 2021.

“I owe a huge thanks to them and everything that they’ve done for me,” Pursley said of KO Motorsports. “They run a top-notch operation, and I’ll be forever grateful for the 2023 season I had with them, all the experiences I gained and I just wish them nothing but the best. They’re great people, and I’m thankful for all that they’ve done for me. I guess it’s just business with us having to go our separate ways, but it was a very cool experience that I got to be a part of.”

Team AZ Racing would like to thank several longtime partners who’ve been involved in their program over the years and will continue in 2024 on the side of their DRC Chassis powered by a 1-Way Technologies engine: Phil at Apache Transport, Allen at USW Cat Construction, Steve at RSS Industries, Big Mike at Beaver Stripes and John at Western Diversified.

Pursley and Team AZ’s USAC season opens in 2024 with five USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Winter Dirt Games dates at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10-15-16-17, plus two nights at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13 for the DIRTcar Nationals.

 

 

THE USAC LIFESTYLE:

ROGERS & DUTCHER TAKE ON

USAC SPRINT TOUR FULL-TIME IN 2024

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 1, 2023)………Jadon Rogers and Michael Dutcher Motorsports are back on the trail for a full season run with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2024.

The Worthington, Ind. driver and Cicero, Ind. based team have both contested the full USAC schedule in recent years, and both have been winners, but this will be both parties’ first full-time, full season venture together.

The duo teamed up for the latter half of the 2023 season where they made nine USAC National Sprint Car starts, accumulating four top-five results and six top-tens between August and October, including a 23rd to 5th run on the opening night of Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, plus a pair of fourths at Kokomo and Texas’ Devil’s Bowl Speedway before closing out the campaign with a fifth at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.

Together, Rogers and Dutcher’s No. 17GP also won on the local level last September, taking a trio of scores on the local Indiana scene with a pair of wins at Paragon Speedway and a Midwest Sprint Car Series triumph at Tri-State Speedway, all of which came on a single successful Labor Day weekend.

It was August of last year when both found themselves in need with Dutcher seeking a driver and Rogers searching for a ride. Since teaming up, the combination has clicked and has provided them with a bit of a leg up entering 2024 with experience working together as opposed to some other teams’ situations in which they are starting anew.

“Dutch and I had been on the verge of getting together multiple times,” Rogers revealed. “Instantly, we were really fast this past year. I’m excited to get back, and I feel like I have a real fighting chance of going after a championship with a guy who has a lot of knowledge.”

Dutcher has quite a pedigree in USAC racing circles. He was the recipient of USAC’s Chief Mechanic of the Year award in 2012 as the head wrench turner on the Corey Tucker Racing/Bryan Clauson, Inc/Curb-Agajanian No. 7 driven to the USAC title by Bryan Clauson that same year.

As a car owner, Dutcher owns 12 career USAC National Sprint Car victories with drivers such as Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jon Stanbrough and Rogers feels he’s the next in line to take the Lifestyle Homes sponsored machine back to victory lane in 2024.

Rogers, the 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year and a one-time series winner in 2022 at Tri-State Speedway, cites the comfort of having Dutcher in his corner, noting that he has a bit of a different outlook with his team relying on its success to ultimately pay the bills.

“Dutch runs his program to live, so he wants to win as much as me,” Rogers stated. “I can see that focus in him and how badly he wants it just as much as I do. I know whenever I’m at the racetrack, as much he can give me, he’s going to give it to me and I’m going to do the same for him.”

Rogers has driven in recent years for a variety of teams, and in fact, won nine races on the local Indiana level in 2023 for both Dutcher as well as 4J Motorsports, while also winning with USAC in 2022 for the Engler family in addition to competing extensively in a car owned by his father, Kyle Rogers.

Rogers’ role with Dutcher might be slightly altered from in contrast to past scenarios, but now has his focus fixed on the wheel and the pedals. The 21-year-old may still be young, but he’s a veteran in most any other category as he enters his 10th year of sprint car competition after earning the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Billy Marvel Jr. Rookie of the Year award at age 13 in 2015.

“With my own deal, I’ve always had input, and it’s nerve wracking enough when you’re trying to focus on driving and doing your best on that end, then you’ve got to mix in the fact of whether you’re making the right decisions on setups and things like that,” Rogers explained. “It’s really nice to have a situation in which you have a crew working on the racecar while I can study the track, and when it’s time for me to get in, I can grab my helmet and get in and the racecar and everything’s ready to go.”

Rogers and Dutcher’s USAC season opens in 2024 with five Winter Dirt Games dates at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10-15-16-17, plus two nights at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13 for the DIRTcar Nationals where Swanson opened 2023 with a victory and now eyes a repeat in the new year.

 


 

PURSLEY PASSES 199,

TAKES 2023 USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Daison Pursley’s conquests in USAC’s AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget divisions saw him pass a total of 199 cars in just 62 feature starts throughout the 2023 season.

Those efforts paid off for the Locust Grove, Okla. driver as he earned the title of ProSource Passing Master for the 2023 season in his KO Motorsports sprint car and Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports midget.

Pursley earned a $2,500 for the passing master honors and will be honored during the Friday night, December 8, USAC Night of Champions at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.

He becomes the third different winner of the season-long Passing Master award which rewards the USAC nationally licensed driver who advanced the most positions during feature events throughout the entirety of USAC’s 2023 national season between Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midgets.

Since 2020, longtime USAC supporter ProSource Buck Rice has offered the reward with past winners including Chris Windom (2020) and Justin Grant (2021 & 2022). This time around, it’s Pursley’s turn, and he is grateful to become the latest to earn the badge of honor.

“Buck does a lot for this sport whether it’s passing master or hard charger throughout the night,” Pursley noted. “He’s always there to hand you your money and congratulate you. It just goes to show that USAC and its supporters are always coming up with these cool awards to give drivers who have had a little hard luck and still get a reward. It’s cool to pick that up, and we’re all thankful for Buck’s support throughout the years. It helps all of us get up and down the road.”

Officially, Pursley’s biggest advancement of the 2023 USAC season came during September’s Firemen’s Nationals midget race at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway. After a rough go in qualifying where he nearly got upside down, Pursley picked his way through the field, starting on the tail in 23rd before driving up to a 9th place result.

But of all the hard charging efforts that stand out, it was his 14th to 2nd run in the sprint car during Eastern Storm at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway where he nearly broke through for his first points-paying victory with the series. It’s one he has a tinge of regret, thinking he could’ve made his move for the lead just a bit sooner.

In the midget at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Speedway, Pursley traveled from 18th to 6th, and by the end of the race, felt he had the fastest car on the track, but just ran short of laps.

At times, Pursley felt as if he was able to get a lot of those spots because of his aggressiveness on the initial start. With no time or laps wasted, he was always on the loudpedal.

“It shows that we just never quit throughout the night,” Pursley praised. “We didn’t let our qualifying time discourage us for the rest of the night. We were able to keep grinding and clicking away and that’s what I feel I do as a driver. I’m always trying to inch forward whether it’s one spot or one inch, and I feel like I’m always trying. As soon as the green flag drops, you’ve got to be going forward and I’m very thankful for the group I had around me in the midget and the sprint car that allowed me to pull that off.”

Prior to the 2023 season, Pursley was pretty much known for his midget racing experience, namely due to his full-time seasons on the USAC national tour in 2020 and 2021. But in 2023, he became one of the new stars on USAC’s National Sprint Car circuit, earning Rookie of the Year honors.

It’s a pace of lifestyle he has embraced as he continues to pick up the accolades just just two years since a severe spinal injury nearly derailed his life and career before his determined comeback.

“Being a full-time USAC Midget and Sprint Car guy, your schedule is just busy,” Pursley laid out. “There’s just no time for rest, and if you want to do it, you’ve got to be a true racecar driver and love this stuff at heart. Where I feel like I’ve learned a lot this year is just being versatile enough to get inside of a midget and then into a sprint car. The rudest awakening was the fact that these cars are different, and you have to keep that in the back of your mind on how to drive each one of them. You’ve got about three laps of practice each night to start out. It requires you to figure it out on the fly.”

Pursley accomplished both disciplines with flying colors this year, and now it’s true when they say, he's USAC’s master of passing in 2023.


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


2023 FINAL USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER STANDINGS:

1. 199-Daison Pursley

2. 173-Logan Seavey

3. 142-Justin Grant

4. 136-Emerson Axsom

5. 106-Shane Cottle

6. 105-Matt Westfall

7. 100-Robert Ballou

8. 95-Chase Stockon

9. 92-Brady Bacon

10. 91-Mitchel Moles

11. 89-Jacob Denney

12. 78-Hayden Reinbold

13. 77-Kyle Cummins

14. 73-Kevin Thomas Jr.

15. 68-Bryant Wiedeman

16. 67-Jake Andreotti

17. 65-C.J. Leary

18. 64-Ryan Timms

19. 63-Gavin Miller

20. 62-Carson Garrett

21. 58-Thomas Meseraull

22. 55-Jade Avedisian

23. 54-Jadon Rogers

24. 53-Kaylee Bryson

25. 50-Taylor Ferns & Jake Swanson

27. 45-Taylor Reimer

28. 43-Wayne Johnson

29. 41-Tanner Thorson

30. 40-Cannon McIntosh

31. 39-Joey Amantea & Travis Welpott

33. 37-Jerry Coons Jr.

34. 32-Chance Crum

35. 28-Mario Clouser

36. 26-Trey Burke, Briggs Danner, Jesse Love & Chase McDermand

40. 24-Bryan Gossel

41. 23-Gregg Cory

42. 22-Brent Beauchamp & Kody Swanson

44. 20-Max Adams

45. 18-Tyler Courtney

46. 17-Dave Berkheimer

47. 16-Russ Gamester & Brandon Mattox

49. 15-Alex Bright, Casey Buckman, Mike McVetta & Ethan Mitchell

53. 14-Bobby Santos

54. 13-Shane Cockrum & Daniel Whitley

56. 10-Derek Bischak & Davey Hamilton Jr.

58. 9-Dakoda Armstrong, Patrick Bruns, Xavier Doney & Carmen Perigo

62. 8-Cole Bodine, Chris Fetter, Tyler Roahrig & Kyle Steffens

66. 7-Nathan Byrd, Trey Osborne, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Ryan Thomas

70. 6-Steve Buckwalter, Sterling Cling, Charles Davis Jr., Ivan Glotzbach, Nathan Moore, Kyle O'Gara, Steven Russell & Brady Short

78. 5-Mark Smith & Billy Wease

80. 4-Chris Urish & Korey Weyant

82. 3-Mariah Ede, Danny Long, Travis Millar, Tom Paterson & Brent Yarnal

87. 2-Mark Bitner, Chase Dietz, Dallas Hewitt, Davey Ray, Brian Ruhlman & Tanner Swanson

93. 1-Brenham Crouch, Ava Gropp, Matt Mitchell, Kyle Robbins & Dalton Stevens

 

 

LIKE A RECORD:

GRANT GETS 3RD STRAIGHT MIKE CURB

USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 29, 2023)………Justin Grant’s second straight USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship isn’t the only impressive accolade he repeated during the 2023 campaign.

For the third consecutive season, and fourth time overall, the Ione, Calif. racer captured the $10,000 Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship, amassing more total points across the three USAC national divisions throughout the duration of the 2023 campaign.

Grant (2021-2022-2023) now becomes just the third driver to win the honor in three consecutive seasons, joining J.J. Yeley (2001-2002-2003) and Bryan Clauson (2010-2011-2012).

Furthermore, with his first such Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship arriving in 2017, Grant also added his name to the very short list of drivers who’ve earned the reward four times overall, a list which includes only himself and Tracy Hines (2000-2008-2013-2014).

“To have my name alongside the legends and heroes of the sport, it’s why I love the lists and I love seeing where my career stacks up against other guys careers,” Grant explained. “I jokingly say that I feel like my name is devaluing that list, but it’s starting to feel more and more like it belongs. I know how big of a deal those guys were to me, watching them as I grew up and then getting to race against them. They’re huge names and icons and I’m awfully, awfully proud to have my name along with them.”

In making 73 combined USAC national starts in 2023, the Ione, Calif. native totaled 4,394 points, just 184 markers more than second place finishing Logan Seavey.

Curb is accustomed to “records” as a hit making musician and the founder of Curb Records, but now racers like Grant are beginning to make records of their own in association with Curb, a record Grant is proud to have his name be a part of.

“It’s super special for me to not only win it once, but to win it four times now,” Grant exclaimed. “Our on-track performance is one thing, but being able to keep car owners and partners and crew people happy and wanting to go up and down the road with me year after year is another point of pride. It’s a little bit different when we go win a big race or a series championship, which is entirely performance based. But to me, the Mike Curb award speaks more about your ability to manage your role as a driver and multiple race teams. I struggled with that early in my career, so it’s a point of pride now that I’ve been able to be successful at that.”

Additionally, Grant once again finished inside the top-three of all three USAC national divisions’ point standings, also doing so in 2021. In 2023, he tallied a first with the AMSOIL National Sprint Cars for TOPP Motorsports, second with the NOS Energy Drink National Midgets for RMS Racing and third with the Silver Crown series for Hemelgarn Racing. He now stands behind only Rich Vogler in that category, the man who was the first to finish inside the top-three in all three in 1980 before repeating in 1981 and again in 1989.

“Being able to be in the points hunt in all three divisions for a few years now is really cool,” Grant reflected. “We want to win all three, and when you don’t, it always feels like a bit of a disappointment, but it gives you a little perspective on the accomplishment and it’s nice to take a breath and look at the fact that there aren’t many guys who’ve had the opportunity to race for all three, and there’s even less guys who’ve had the opportunity to race for all three in a single year.”

Grant is beyond thankful for the opportunity, and while soaking in the accomplishments at season’s end, he doesn’t take any of it for granted.

“To be one of those guys, and to do my job after having that opportunity, makes me feel very grateful and fortunate for the opportunities I have, the car owners I have, the partners I have, the crews that work on them, my family at home and my wife and kids that support me while I’m out on the road.”

This year marked the 25th year of the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship. Curb has offered the reward annually since the 1999 USAC season to honor USAC’s top overall points champion. Once known as the USAC Super License, the title was rechristened as the National Drivers Championship to more properly represent the accomplishment of achieving the feat, which so few have done. Now Grant will once again accept the honor during USAC’s Night of Champions at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis on Friday night, December 8, 2023.

“The passion he has for motorsports, and especially our form of motorsports, is great, and the fact that he has an award to honor and pay a guy who beats up and down the road and lays it out on the line night-in and night-out is incredible,” Grant said of Curb. “These are dangerous racecars at the end of the day, and when you’re in one as many nights of the year as we are, your odds of getting hurt go up substantially. It feels good to be recognized for that, and it feels good to be appreciated and it means a lot knowing that Mike Curb is willing to do that. He’s done this for a long time now, and I’m honored to win it.”


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


MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONS:

1999: Dave Darland

2000: Tracy Hines

2001: J.J. Yeley

2002: J.J. Yeley

2003: J.J. Yeley

2004: Jay Drake

2005: Josh Wise

2006: Josh Wise

2007: Jerry Coons Jr.

2008: Tracy Hines

2009: Cole Whitt

2010: Bryan Clauson

2011: Bryan Clauson

2012: Bryan Clauson

2013: Tracy Hines

2014: Tracy Hines

2015: Dave Darland

2016: Brady Bacon

2017: Justin Grant

2018: Tyler Courtney

2019: Tyler Courtney

2020: Chris Windom

2021: Justin Grant

2022: Justin Grant

2023: Justin Grant


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


2023 MIKE CURB USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

POS PTS DRIVER

1 4394 Justin Grant

2 4210 Logan Seavey

3 3362 Emerson Axsom

4 3073 Daison Pursley

5 2562 C.J. Leary

6 2547 Brady Bacon

7 2345 Mitchel Moles

8 2196 Jake Swanson

9 2107 Kyle Cummins

10 2012 Matt Westfall

11 2005 Kevin Thomas Jr.

12 1977 Robert Ballou

13 1975 Chase Stockon

14 1705 Thomas Meseraull

15 1457 Bryant Wiedeman

16 1429 Ryan Timms

17 1407 Jade Avedisian

18 1373 Carson Garrett

19 1363 Jacob Denney

20 1227 Gavin Miller

21 1190 Cannon McIntosh

22 1177 Taylor Reimer

23 1087 Shane Cottle

24 1075 Jake Andreotti

25 995 Hayden Reinbold

26 921 Jadon Rogers

27 832 Tanner Thorson

28 829 Chase McDermand

29 822 Kody Swanson

30 770 Briggs Danner

31 766 Max Adams

32 703 Mario Clouser

33 623 Brandon Mattox

34 567 Jesse Love

35 561 Daniel Whitley

36 539 Chance Crum

37 528 Charles Davis Jr.

38 475 Jerry Coons Jr.

39 465 Ethan Mitchell

40 447 Kaylee Bryson

41 436 Joey Amantea

42 400 Mariah Ede

43 399 Taylor Ferns

44 382 Bobby Santos

45 345 Sterling Cling

46 334 Trey Burke

47 322 Eddie Tafoya Jr.

48 319 Brent Beauchamp

49 301 Travis Welpott

50 299 Derek Bischak

51 245 Wayne Johnson

52 241 Kyle O'Gara

53 237 Russ Gamester

54 221 Brady Short

55 216 Davey Hamilton Jr.

56 211 Rylan Gray

57 205 Dalton Stevens

58 201 Dave Berkheimer

59 177 Chase Dietz

60 176 Kyle Steffens

61 173 Bryan Gossel

62 173 Gregg Cory

63 173 Mike McVetta

64 172 Dakoda Armstrong

65 164 Xavier Doney

66 155 Tyler Roahrig

67 148 Zack Pretorius

68 143 Tom Harris

69 139 Carmen Perigo

70 137 Billy Wease

71 137 Nathan Byrd

72 135 Tom Paterson

73 130 Steve Buckwalter

74 129 Shane Cockrum

75 125 Tanner Swanson

76 120 Kayla Roell

77 120 Kyle Robbins

78 117 Dallas Hewitt

79 110 Kevin Newton

80 109 Cole Bodine

81 97 Chris Fetter

82 95 Casey Buckman

83 95 Jason McDougal

84 95 Travis Millar

85 92 Ivan Glotzbach

86 90 Oliver Akard

87 90 Peter Hunnibell

88 89 Ava Gropp

89 88 J.J. Hughes

90 81 Davey Ray

91 79 Brenham Crouch

92 76 Saban Bibent

93 71 Patrick Lawson

94 71 Trey Osborne

95 70 Chris Urish

96 70 Ryan Barr

97 66 Patrick Bruns

98 65 Jacob Wilson

99 61 Danny Long

100 60 Blake Brannon

101 60 Curtis Spicer

102 60 Devan Myers

103 57 Holly Jones

104 55 Ryan Thomas

105 53 Korey Weyant

106 50 Corey Joyner

107 49 Aaron Pierce

108 49 Caleb Armstrong

109 49 Tyler Courtney

110 44 Brian Hayden

111 44 Tim Simmons

112 37 Alex Bright

113 37 Nathan Moore

114 33 Brian Ruhlman

115 32 Mark Bitner

116 31 Steven Russell

117 30 Cody Jessop

118 30 Laike Imm

119 29 Mark Smith

120 27 A.J. Fike

121 27 Matt Mitchell

122 27 Parker Jones

123 25 John Tosti

124 23 Matt Goodnight

125 23 Tanner Berryhill

126 20 Scout Spraggins

127 20 Zach Hampton

128 17 Brent Yarnal

129 10 Adam Taylor

130 10 Cary Oliver

131 10 Critter Malone

132 10 Dave Peperak

133 10 Gary Dunkle

134 10 Jace Park

 

 

A NEW BEGINNING:

SWANSON & 2B RACING TEAM UP

FOR 2024 USAC SPRINT SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 30, 2023)………The upcoming 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will present a new beginning for driver Jake Swanson and 2B Racing.

The two have paired up to chase the full USAC National Sprint Car schedule starting with the February 2024 season openers in Florida aboard the Scott Benic-owned DRC/Claxton ride sponsored by Honest Abe Roofing – America’s Reliable Roofer – and the Newton family.

Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) experienced a breakout year on the USAC National Sprint Car scene in 2023, amassing four feature victories for Team AZ Racing, for whom Swanson had driven throughout the past five seasons.

It’s new scenery for Swanson, who will now take over the wheel of the No. 2B that was occupied by driver Logan Seavey during the 2023 season and saw the pairing capture two USAC National Sprint Car main events.

“I’m looking forward to a fresh start, but to be honest, I don’t feel like I’m starting over. I feel like I’m just closing a chapter on this aspect of my life and career,” Swanson explained. “The next step for me is going to be Scott and 2B Racing and I’m really excited with that.”

Swanson had driven for Team AZ in USAC CRA and USAC national competition since 2019, and in 2021, both made the mutual move together from the west to the Midwest to further expand their racing exploits.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Swanson admitted. “We’ve had a really good relationship over the years and still do. That aspect of it is hard, but the cool part is that, even though we’re parting ways on the racing side, we’re still able to end things on good terms. It’s an amicable severance and we’re all mature enough to know that we want different things and can go different directions without anybody getting their feelings hurt.”

In addition to being one of the stars of USAC racing, Swanson also owns and operates a thriving racing shock business, Jake Swanson Shock Technology. It is that aspect, plus the time and effort throughout the week put into the race team coupled with an opportunity to not be as much “hands-on” that prompted a change in address for Swanson in the coming year.

“I need to make sure that I’m able to do what needs to be done to ensure the success of those things, which means not having to work on racecars during the week,” Swanson further elaborated. “That transition is really important to me and driving for Benic is really going to help me do that. We’ve done a lot of good things and I feel like I’ve established myself as a racecar driver who can win races on a regular basis in this realm. Being able to jump in with a good team and a good program, and with the things I’m able to bring to the table, I feel like it will help them as well.”

Swanson knew by August that he and Team AZ would not be continuing beyond the 2023 season, but a chance meeting came along in October when Honest Abe Roofing President and car owner/sponsor Kevin Newton reached out to Swanson to drive his winged car during a High Limit Sprint Car Series race at Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway. The car that night was crew chiefed by none other than Scott Benic, which led to additional opportunities in the weeks to come.

Shortly thereafter, Swanson was tabbed by Benic to compete in a pair of non-USAC sanctioned events in Indiana at Tri-State Speedway and Kokomo Speedway, which proved beneficial for the new duo and provided them with a bit of a head start going into 2024.

“It was huge, and it’s amazing what just one or two races does for your confidence, preparedness and understanding of the difference between this car and the other car and the things we need to change from when Seavey drove it to the things that I like,” Swanson documented. “Luckily, I’ve worked on (sprint cars) quite a bit, so I know I can pinpoint stuff pretty quickly on what I feel like we need and can get myself more comfortable and closer to what I’m used to because I’ve been building my stuff for so long.”

“I could tell that the fundamentals of the race car and the race team were good and we all worked really well together,” Swanson continued. “I think that there’s some surefire potential to be really successful. It was really key to run those couple of races to get a good understanding of the program as well as how we both operate and to see how we’re going to build stuff going forward and how we’re going to attack the season in 2024.

Benic’s 2B Racing group owns 33 career USAC National Sprint Car wins, which ranks 11th on the all-time list. In 2005, with Levi Jones as the team’s driver, 2B Racing captured the USAC National Sprint Car championship. The new combo of Swanson and 2B has a great pedigree with the team’s storied past, its current status as a regular frontrunner and its future with Swanson at the helm.

“First of all, we couldn’t do any of this without the support of my wife, Dana, and the help of Jeff Claxton. I also want to thank Logan (Seavey) for everything that he’s done with us this past year,” Benic stated. “In September when Logan informed us he would not be back in 2024, we were really concerned on our direction for the future and then along came Jake.”

In the coming year, Benic foresees the likelihood of big success for his team with Swanson at the wheel.

“With Jake and us, I think this has the potential to be a really good combination. He got in our car at the end of this year and had a couple decent runs, and I think there’s a great potential to do more and more things. He learned how to win this year and that’s an important part. I think it’s all a good fit. His ability speaks for itself, and he can help us with different things chassis-wise and on the development of product lines through Benic Enterprises and the things obviously need to continue to work on.”

The new chapter for Swanson and 2B Racing opens in 2024 with five Winter Dirt Games dates at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10-15-16-17, plus two nights at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13 for the DIRTcar Nationals where Swanson opened 2023 with a victory and now eyes a repeat in the new year.

“It’s been great getting to know Scott over the course of the past few months,” Swanson praised. “He’s been there and done that for a long time. He’s very in tune with it, and I feel like I’m very in tune with these racecars as well.”

Honest Abe Roofing is also the proud sponsor of the fast qualifiers throughout each and every USAC national event throughout the season. Honest Abe has been installing, repairing, and maintaining residential roofs since 2005. It is their goal to bring a customer service focus to the roofing industry. They are aware that they are providing a very important and necessary service to many homes, so they work incredibly hard to provide the best possible roofing at the most competitive pricing. All their customers are very important to them, and they want to give them a perfect roof to protect their home and keep them comfortable.

Associate sponsorships packages are also available as well by contacting 2B Racing’s Scott Benic at (765) 860-5840 or by email at benicenterprises@aol.com.

 

 

TOP ROOKIE!

GAVIN MILLER NAMED 2023

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 28, 2023)………Pennsylvania has long been a hotbed for some of the finest open wheel dirt track racers in the United States of America.

Gavin Miller of Allentown, Pa. is among the new breed who struck a chord on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail in 2023.

His efforts earned him Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year honors for his efforts in the seat of the Eibach Springs – TRD/LynK/Speedway Toyota for the famed Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team.

In doing so, the 16-year-old Miller became just the third Keystone State native to receive the USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year reward in memory of Stroud, the longtime supervisor for the division. John Andretti (Bethlehem) in 1983 and Andrew Layser (Collegeville) in 2019 are the only previous Pennsylvanians to achieve the feat.

All told, Miller accumulated 56 feature laps led, five top-fives and 14 top-tens in 26 feature starts while finishing eighth in series points. But assuredly, the highlight of the year came in June during USAC Indiana Midget Week at Bloomington Speedway where he raced to his first career series victory in what was just his 10th career series start.

On a restart just before the midway point at Bloomington, Miller slid his KKM teammate and fellow first-time USAC win seeker Jade Avedisian for the top spot, and from there, went undenied for the remaining 16 circuits to earn the victory as he became the first Pennsylvanian to capture a USAC National feature win of any kind since Steve Buckwalter during the Indiana Midget Week round at Gas City I-69 Speedway in 2010.

With the win, Miller also became just the second driver to win his first career USAC National Midget feature at Bloomington’s 1/4-mile clay oval. The only other driver to accomplish that was none other than Kyle Larson, who also wheeled a KKM owned car to victory on the red clay, just like Miller.

Up to that point, to USAC fans, Miller had been known for his passing prowess within the series ranks, passing more cars throughout USAC Indiana Midget Week than any other individual with 35 positions advanced in six events, which gave him the title of Indiana Midget Week’s ProSource Passing Master.

“It was definitely a surreal feeling,” Miller recalled of his Bloomington victory. “Getting that first win is always going to be my most favorite and special one. It was definitely one of the goals I set for myself, but I didn’t think I was going to get a win that soon. Not many people get to say that they’ve done it, so it’s really cool.”

Miller’s win also came on the heels of a “what could’ve been” moment when he flipped out of the race while leading 13 laps into the 30-lap feature just four nights prior at Circle City Raceway. Despite not expecting a winning effort to arrive quite so soon, Miller began to realize he had the potential to run up front consistently. But a major part of growing as a racer is withstanding the natural learning curves that occur along the way, but readily admitted that a couple more opportunities slipped through his fingers.

“I thought I could get more, but I threw away a couple,” Miller noted. “I guess you’ve got to throw away a couple in order to learn from your mistakes. I think I’ve made most of them in the book so far. You are still going to make mistakes here and there, especially the one at Merced (Speedway). I had never flipped that badly ever. So, that was a first. But I definitely went into this year not knowing much and came out the other side learning from all those mistakes and showed improvement.”

The Merced moment in November saw Miller going for the lead on lap two down the back straightaway when he clipped the outside guardrail and flipped seven times in all. The accident forced him to miss one night of action the following evening, but also served notice of how far he had come. Now he was battling for wins, while the year before, he made just two feature starts in eight USAC National Midget appearances during the 2022 campaign.

“I was definitely watching more races and getting more seat time, which really helped,” Miller explained. “I wanted it bad; I wanted to run up front and learn from past mistakes and it all has come together from learning from my crew chief and strategizing too. I feel like it all must come into play, and I feel like we’ll be even better next year, especially now having a full year under my belt.”

It was just a few years ago that Miller emerged as a decorated USAC .25 Midget racer, accumulating a total of six championships between 2015 and 2019. Now, he seems to be on the cusp of becoming a regular front runner in USAC National Midget racing. He’s also displayed his sticktoitiveness, bouncing back from heartbreak to win mere nights later and even rebounding from a big wreck to jump in the saddle and move forward.

“Not giving up is the biggest part of it,” Miller chalks his attitude up to. “And just being calm, cool and collected and forgetting the past. You can’t really dwell on it. You’ve got to just keep on moving on. If you can’t do that, then you’re just kind of stuck. You’re focused on what you did wrong, and you want to learn, but you’ve got to keep moving on and focus on keeping getting better.”


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


BOB STROUD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1969: Billy Engelhart, Madison, Wis.

1970: Danny Brown, Rossville, Ill.

1971: Danny Caruthers, Anaheim, Calif.

1972: Tommy Astone, Fresno, Calif.

1973: Mike Gregg, Fort Collins, Colo.

1974: Richard Powell, Enid, Okla.

1975: Larry Patton, Anaheim, Calif.

1976: James McElreath, Arlington, Texas

1977: Lonnie Caruthers, Corona Del Mar, Calif.

1978: Tommy Thomas, Dana Point, Calif.

1979: Barry Butterworth, Auckland, N.Z.

1980: Trevor Boys, Calgary, Alta.

1981: Sherman Armstrong Jr., Winchester, Ind.

1982: Chris Maxson, McHenry, Ill.

1983: John Andretti, Bethlehem, Pa.

1984: Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind.

1985: Bobby Allen, Carmel, Ind.

1986: Steve Enlow, Tulsa, Okla.

1987: John Meyers, Oak Brook, Ill.

1988: Jim Keeker, Cicero, Ind.

1989: Jeff Gordon, Vallejo, Calif.

1990: Dan Ford, Saint Peters, Mo.

1991: Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Mich.

1992: Brian Gerster, Indianapolis, Ind.

1993: Chuck Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

1994: David Bridges, Indianapolis, Ind.

1995: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.

1996: Carl Olsen, Auckland, N.Z.

1997: Nick Lundgreen, Franklin, Wis.

1998: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Ind.

1999: A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Ill.

2000: Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Ill.

2001: Bobby East, Brownsburg, Ind.

2002: Teddy Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio

2002: Ron Gregory, Noblesville, Ind.

2003: Ryan Durst, Lincoln, Neb.

2004: Todd Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio

2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, Calif.

2006: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Ind.

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Miss.

2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Ariz.

2009: Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Ill.

2010: Daniel Bedford, Brentwood, Calif.

2011: Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, Calif.

2012: Rico Abreu, Saint Helena, Calif.

2013: Christopher Bell, Norman, Okla.

2014: Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

2015: Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, Ind.

2016: Carson Macedo, Lemoore, Calif.

2017: Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, Calif.

2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

2019: Andrew Layser, Collegeville, Pa.

2020: Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.

2021: Chase Randall, Waco, Texas

2022: Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

2023: Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pa.

 

 

A CALCULATED RISE:

SEAVEY & ABACUS REACH THE TOP AS 2023 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 27, 2023)………It all started with a DM.

When Abacus Racing owner Brent Cox reached out to Logan Seavey via a direct message on Instagram in late 2022, it turned out to be a most fortuitous decision that instantly altered the fortunes for both driver and team.

Just one year later, they were celebrating one of the most dominant USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship seasons in series history. Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) earned his second midget series championship after taking the crown during his Rookie season of 2018 while Abacus scored the entrant title in what was their first year of chasing the entire series schedule.

Their 280-point final championship margin was the largest in nearly two decades since Bobby East’s title in 2004. In one year, Seavey doubled his career feature win output from eight to 16, and his run of 22 consecutive top-10 finishes to end the season tied Jason Leffler’s record set in 1997, as fate would have it, the very same year Seavey was born.

Seavey and Abacus Racing’s big year with USAC wasn’t excluded solely to the National Midgets. In October, they wrapped up the USAC Silver Crown championship in conjunction with Rice Motorsports, making Seavey the first driver since Levi Jones in 2011 to collect multiple USAC national championships in a single season. The success earned Seavey $100,000 in total USAC point fund money for the year between his success in the two disciplines.

Furthermore, Abacus Racing became just the second entrant to win multiple USAC national titles in the same season, joining Curb-Agajanian in 2012-13.

It’s almost incomprehensible to think back to 2022 and realize that Seavey was down and out on his fortunes in midget racing. A winless season saw him bounce around to multiple teams while trying recapture the magic of prior years, leaving him disenchanted at the state of affairs. But soon, a message from out of the blue and a new ride were able to bottle up that passion and breathe new life into Seavey on the midget side of things.

“After the last year and a half, I didn’t really have any desire to go midget racing,” Seavey admitted. “I was just going to be focused on our sprint car stuff and go from there. (Abacus) roped me into this midget deal and now I’m having a lot of fun and enjoying it. That certainly helps to keep me going and keeps me excited about midget racing. It was not on the top of my list to go try and race for a midget championship this year, but once you start having fun again, it makes going to the races a lot easier and having success doesn’t hurt either.”

Seavey’s 2023 season began on the right path when he was victorious during January’s running of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. However, the result came in a one-off appearance for the Swindell SpeedLab team. The test to see if the success would ultimately translate to Abacus was a steady rise, beginning with Seavey grabbing the team’s first USAC top-five out west in 2022, followed by the team’s first win and first championship in 2023. Personally, for Seavey, the bulk of it all started with just getting right mentally first and foremost, and when he and Abacus clicked, it was like sweet, sweet music.

“It’s just about getting your confidence back and getting in cars you’re comfortable in that have speed,” Seavey explained. “Kicking it off with a Chili Bowl win this year was as good as you could start a year. Then to come out here and get in this car and have such good chemistry with these guys and to have speed every night, it’s really cool knowing that when I strap into this thing, we’ve got a shot. That’s what it takes, and once you lose that, it’s tough to get back. We started the year really well, and just never really slowed down. Sometimes you get up and you can fall down quickly and lose it. We got up and stayed up all year.”

Compared to how the season unfolded, the early season had its hurdles early in the going. In Seavey and Abacus’ first five USAC Midget starts of 2023, there were three finishes of 12th or worse. The exact turnaround of the season can be pinpointed toward one key moment in June’s USAC Indiana Midget Week round at Circle City Raceway.

There, a surefire victory went by the wayside just three laps from the finish line due to an ignition switch failure. Initially thinking his Indiana Midget Week title hopes were kaput, Seavey won the next night out at Gas City I-69 Speedway in dramatic fashion and rallied to his second career IMW championship and first since 2019.

After Circle City, Seavey found himself mired sixth in the USAC National Midget standings, 110 points out of the lead, but from that point forward, he was practically unstoppable. He won again in July at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway and once more in August at Macon (Ill.) Speedway just hours after winning the USAC Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds earlier that same afternoon. In doing so, he became just the third driver to win multiple USAC national events at two different racetracks in a single day: Billy Vukovich (1967) and J.J. Yeley (2004).

September was purely magical as Seavey picked up a Firemen’s Nationals win at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway and backed it up with a second straight triumph at Gas City, which was followed by a complete sweep of the USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where he won the Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown features all within a single evening, the third driver to achieve the feat after Kyle Larson in 2011 as well as Jack Hewitt who, in 1998, won all four crowns with the UMP Modifieds included.

By November, Seavey had such a substantial point lead, he could’ve taken a victory lap around the state of California. Nonetheless, he added two more wins to his total at Bakersfield Speedway and at Merced Speedway while wrapping up the title with three races remaining following a string of 20 top-five results in a span of 22 starts in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Indy Custom Stone - Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

It’s been quite a road for Abacus Racing’s Brent Cox whose idea of forming a racing team came to him in September of 2020 while he was watching a USAC National event from Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway on FloRacing while sitting in his garage. Cox, who is an accountant by trade, graduated from Ball State University and was among the founders of CG CPAs. It’s been a perfect marriage between the two parties with Abacus’ racing acumen and a championship level driver who had regained his midget racing mojo.

“We got their first top-five out here on this swing last year, and to now have 20-something top-fives and eight wins, it’s incredible,” Seavey exclaimed. “I feel like I’m far enough along to where I’m getting better at being able to communicate with (crewmen) Kirk (Simpson) and Johnny (Cofer) about what I need in the car and not being scared to throw my opinion out there and tell them what I need. Or if they make a change I don’t like, they’ll listen to me and go back on it or change something. I feel like I know what I need in the car, and especially throughout the year, I’ve gotten better at just knowing what feels right for me and what makes me able to run the car as hard as I need to.”

In nearly every category, Seavey and Abacus were top-shelf, leading the most feature laps (214) while earning the most top-fives (21) and top-tens (24) and fast qualifying times (4) in 27 series starts on the year. As Seavey full well knows, it’s not a cake walk no matter who you are, and it takes the right people and the right equipment in your corner to make it all work.

“These midget races are no joke,” Seavey iterated. “If you’re not comfortable running these races 99 percent every lap, these guys will eat you up. It’s tough. You’ve got to run your car really hard all the time, and if your car’s not good, you can’t do that. I’m at the point where I feel like I’m confident enough in myself that I know what I need and I feel like I can help Kirk and Johnny make the right decisions, and usually, we’re pretty dang close to the same page anyway. There have been a few times when they’ve wanted to go one way and I’ve wanted to go the other way, and they usually back me up and will go with me, and it's been working so far.”

In all, 13 drivers raced to a USAC National Midget victory in 2023. Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla) added three to the win column, including the season opener in May at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track and again in June at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway and in September at Angell Park.

Also at the Belleville Short Track, Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) landed his first USAC victory in nearly nine years, and it just so happened to take place in the same locale as his last one, albeit at a slightly smaller version of it. His 2014 victory came on Belleville’s 1/2-mile-high banks, which he promptly took a victory lap around after winning this past June.

Just one week prior to his high school graduation in May, Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) was victorious at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, then scored the Indiana Midget Week opener in June at Tri-State Speedway. Two-time USAC National Midget champion Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) picked off a couple Indiana Midget Week wins in June at Circle City and Lincoln Park Speedway.

Bryant Wiedeman and Gavin Miller both became first-time USAC National Midget winners in 2023. Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) finished third in series points and scored a home state victory at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds with a pass for the lead coming to the white flag. Miller (Allentown, Pa.), meanwhile, earned win number one at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway to become the first Keystone State winner since Steve Buckwalter in 2010. As a result of his win and eighth place finish in the standings, Miller was named the 2023 Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year, just the third Pennsylvanian to do so after John Andretti in 1983 and Andrew Layser in 2019.

Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) started his own team and took it to victory lane twice in July’s Midwest Midget Championship at Jefferson County and then became the first multi-time Jason Leffler Memorial victor in August at Wayne County Speedway in Illinois.

Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) posted a victory in his first USAC Midget start of the season in September at Eldora while RMS Racing teammates Thomas Meseraull and Justin Grant followed up a week later with substantial victories at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After a long winless drought to open the season, RMS swept the event with Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) leading wire-to-wire in the first of two BC39 prelims. Grant (Ione, Calif.) followed suit with a triumphant performance during the night two prelim as well as in the $20,039-to-win finale before finishing second overall in the season standings for the second occasion in as many seasons.

The California swing in November was practically owned by Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) who went on an undefeated tear with the series, winning all three of his starts on the year. He took two at Placerville Speedway’s Hangtown 100 before becoming a four-time Turkey Night Grand Prix winner in the season finale at Ventura Raceway.

Additionally, Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) captured his first USAC National Midget win in more than five years during a November stop at California’s Merced Speedway for Australia’s Dyson Motorsport.

Six drivers started all 27 feature events in 2023: Seavey, Grant, Timms, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.). Avedisian made history in May when she became the first woman to lead the USAC National Midget point standings in the 68-year history of the series.

Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) was a frequent frontrunner with the series, bagging five runner-up finishes in limited duty. At Ventura, he made the biggest charge of any driver with the series in 2023, racing his way up 17 positions from a 23rd starting spot to finish sixth.


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



2023 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS

Driver Champion: Logan Seavey

Entrant Champion: Abacus Racing #57

Most Wins: 8-Logan Seavey

Rookie of the Year: 8th-Gavin Miller

Most Laps Led: 214-Logan Seavey

Most Top-Fives: 21-Logan Seavey

Most Top-Tens: 24-Logan Seavey

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Logan Seavey

Most Heat Race Wins: 8-Justin Grant

Most Feature Starts: 27-Jade Avedisian, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Taylor Reimer, Logan Seavey & Ryan Timms

Biggest Charge of the Year: Nov 25: Ventura Raceway – Emerson Axsom (23rd to 6th)


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



2023 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

May 19: Belleville Short Track - Belleville, KS

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

May 20: Belleville Short Track - Belleville, KS

WINNER: Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group #7p)

May 21: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - Sweet Springs, MO

WINNER: Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy #25)

Jun 4: (I) Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy #25)

Jun 5: (I) Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

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

Jun 7: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jun 8: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, IN

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

Jun 9: (I) Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

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

Jun 10: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

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

Jul 12: (M) Mitchell County Fairgrounds - Beloit, KS

WINNER: Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries #81)

Jul 14: (M) Jefferson County Speedway - Fairbury, NE

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Jul 15: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway - Fairbury, NE

WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Tanner Thorson Racing #88)

Aug 18: Wayne County Speedway - Wayne City, IL

WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Tanner Thorson Racing #88)

Aug 19: Macon Speedway - Macon, IL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Sep 3: Angell Park Speedway - Sun Prairie, WI

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

Sep 4: Angell Park Speedway - Sun Prairie, WI

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Sep 22: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)

Sep 23: (F) Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Sep 28: (A) The Dirt Track at IMS - Speedway, IN

WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)

Sep 29: (A) The Dirt Track at IMS - Speedway, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2)

Sep 30: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS - Speedway, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2)

Nov 14: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Nov 17: (A) Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA

WINNER: Kyle Larson (Kyle Larson Racing #1K)

Nov 18: (A) Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA

WINNER: Kyle Larson (Kyle Larson Racing #1K)

Nov 21: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA

WINNER: Spencer Bayston (Dyson Motorsport #9AU)

Nov 22: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

Nov 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA

WINNER: Kyle Larson (Kyle Larson Racing #1K)

------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------

(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event

(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event

(F) represents an event awarding feature points only

(A) represents an event awarding appearance points only

(P) represents a program featuring practice only


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



2023 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1 1784 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

2 1504 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

3 1457 Bryant Wiedeman, Colby, Kan.

4 1429 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.

5 1413 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

6 1407 Jade Avedisian, Clovis, Calif.

7 1363 Jacob Denney, Galloway, Ohio

8 1227 (R) Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pa.

9 1190 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.

10 1177 Taylor Reimer, Bixby, Okla.

11 1075 (R) Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, Calif.

12 1072 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.

13 1043 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

14 995 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Ariz.

15 832 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.

16 829 Chase McDermand, Springfield, Ill.

17 567 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

18 567 (R) Jesse Love, Menlo Park, Calif.

19 561 (R) Daniel Whitley, Ferndale, Calif.

20 539 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.

21 477 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

22 465 Ethan Mitchell, Mooresville, N.C.

23 400 (R) Mariah Ede, Fresno, Calif.

24 311 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz.

25 183 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

26 96 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.

27 95 Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, Pa.

28 90 (R) Oliver Akard, Fort Myers, Fla.

29 90 (R) Peter Hunnibell, Auckland, N.Z.

30 89 (R) Ava Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.

31 79 Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, Texas

32 60 (R) Curtis Spicer, Marysville, Kan.

33 60 (R) Blake Brannon, Morgan Hill, Calif.

34 60 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

35 57 Holly Jones, Gold River, Calif.

36 50 (R) Corey Joyner, Concordia, Kan.

37 30 (R) Laike Imm, Beaver City, Neb.

38 30 (R) Cody Jessop, Madera, Calif.

39 27 (R) Parker Jones, Blue Mounds, Wis.

40 20 (R) Scout Spraggins, Cache, Okla.

41 10 Jace Park, Overland Park, Kan.

42 10 (R) Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

43 10 (R) Adam Taylor, Wheatfield, Ind.

(R) = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender


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



2023 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1 1784 Abacus Racing, Indianapolis, Ind. (#57)

2 1504 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2)

3 1457 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#81)

4 1453 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)

5 1429 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)

6 1413 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19)

7 1407 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71)

8 1227 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#97)

9 1177 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (#25K)

10 1072 Tim Engler, Princeton, Ind. (#7x)

11 1017 Tanner Thorson Racing, Broken Arrow, Okla. (#88)

12 995 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)

13 868 Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)

14 764 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25m)

15 752 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67K)

16 709 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Okla. (#40)

17 672 Petry-Hayward Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#19A)

18 567 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#84)

19 561 Abacus Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#58)

20 540 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Okla. (#23)

21 535 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#68)

22 528 Bundy Built Motorsports, Mooresville, N.C. (#19m)

23 400 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71E)

24 366 Rudeen Racing, Liberty Lake, Wash. (#26)

25 363 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)

26 322 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#86)

27 221 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)

28 183 THK Motorsports, Sweet Springs, Mo. (#21H)

29 173 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#4)

30 139 Crouch Motorsports, Lubbock, Texas (#1)

31 99 John Schneider, Hellertown, Pa. (#98)

32 96 Glenn Styres Racing, Ohsweken, Ont. (#3G)

33 95 Brian Buckwalter, Royersford, Pa. (#25B)

34 90 Team OMR, Fort Myers, Fla. (#41)

35 89 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Okla. (#5A)

36 60 Spicer RaceCraft, Marysville, Kan. (#4s)

37 60 Jeff Johnson, Bethany, Conn. (#46)

38 60 Jeff Johnson, Bethany, Conn. (#44)

39 50 Joyner Motorsports, Concordia, Kan. (#52J)

40 30 J.R. Ewing, Phillipsburg, Kan. (#2c)

41 10 Scott Roell, Dillsboro, Ind. (#4K)

42 10 Adam Taylor Motorsports, Wheatfield, Ind. (#7T)


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



2023 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1 1227 Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pa.

2 1075 Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, Calif.

3 567 Jesse Love, Menlo Park, Calif.

4 561 Daniel Whitley, Ferndale, Calif.

5 400 Mariah Ede, Fresno, Calif.

6 90 Oliver Akard, Fort Myers, Fla.

90 Peter Hunnibell, Auckland, N.Z.

8 89 Ava Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.

9 60 Blake Brannon, Morgan Hill, Calif.

60 Curtis Spicer, Marysville, Kan.

11 50 Corey Joyner, Concordia, Kan.

12 30 Laike Imm, Beaver City, Neb.

30 Cody Jessop, Madera, Calif.

14 27 Parker Jones, Blue Mounds, Wis.

15 20 Scout Spraggins, Cache, Okla.

16 10 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

10 Adam Taylor, Wheatfield, Ind.


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



2023 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

8-Logan Seavey (Jun 7 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Jul 14 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 19 at Macon Speedway, Sep 4 at Angell Park Speedway, Sep 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Sep 23 at Eldora Speedway, Nov 14 at Bakersfield Speedway & Nov 22 at Merced Speedway)

3-Kyle Larson (Nov 17 at Placerville Speedway, Nov 19 at Placerville Speedway & Nov 25 at Ventura Raceway)

3-Ryan Timms (May 19 at the Belleville Short Track, Jun 10 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & Sep 3 at Angell Park Speedway)

2-Jacob Denney (May 21 at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex & Jun 4 at Tri-State Speedway)

2-Justin Grant (Sep 29 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Sep 30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

2-Buddy Kofoid (Jun 2 at Circle City Raceway & Jun 8 at Lincoln Park Speedway)

2-Tanner Thorson (Jul 15 at Jefferson County Speedway & Aug 18 at Wayne County Speedway)

1-Spencer Bayston (Nov 21 at Merced Speedway)

1-Zach Daum (May 20 at the Belleville Short Track)

1-Thomas Meseraull (Sep 28 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

1-Gavin Miller (Jun 9 at Bloomington Speedway)

1-Bryant Wiedeman (Jul 12 at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds)

1-Chris Windom (Sep 22 at Eldora Speedway)


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



FEATURE LAPS LED

214-Logan Seavey

105-Kyle Larson

104-Emerson Axsom & Ryan Timms

94-Justin Grant

69-Jacob Denney

64-Tanner Thorson

56-Gavin Miller

43-Thomas Meseraull

32-Bryant Wiedeman

30-Spencer Bayston

25-Chris Windom

20-Buddy Kofoid

16-Taylor Reimer

15-Jade Avedisian

14-Zach Daum

9-Jake Andreotti

3-Mitchel Moles


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



TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES

21-Logan Seavey

12-Justin Grant

9-Jacob Denney & Bryant Wiedeman

8-Buddy Kofoid & Ryan Timms

7-Jade Avedisian, Emerson Axsom & Tanner Thorson

6-Thomas Meseraull

5-Zach Daum, Cannon McIntosh & Gavin Miller

4-Carson Macedo & Taylor Reimer

3-Kyle Larson, Chase McDermand & Daison Pursley

2-Rico Abreu & Jesse Love

1-Jake Andreotti, Spencer Bayston, Tanner Carrick, Kyle Cummins, Corey Day, Shane Golobic, Karter Sarff, Kevin Thomas Jr., Daniel Whitley & Chris Windom


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



TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES

24-Logan Seavey

19-Jacob Denney & Justin Grant

17-Jade Avedisian

16-Ryan Timms

15-Daison Pursley & Bryant Wiedeman

14-Gavin Miller

13-Cannon McIntosh

12-Emerson Axsom & Taylor Reimer

11-Buddy Kofoid & Tanner Thorson

9-Thomas Meseraull

8-Zach Daum & Chase McDermand

5-Jake Andreotti, Carson Macedo & Kevin Thomas Jr.

4-Karter Sarff

3-Spencer Bayston, Kyle Larson, Jesse Love, Ethan Mitchell, Hayden Reinbold & Daniel Whitley

2-Rico Abreu, Tanner Carrick, Corey Day, Kameron Key, Mitchel Moles & Chris Windom

1-Daniel Adler, Brady Bacon, Kaylee Bryson, Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins, Shane Golobic, Cade Lewis & Gary Taylor


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HONEST ABE ROOFING FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

4-Logan Seavey

3-Jade Avedisian & Justin Grant

2-Cannon McIntosh, Tanner Thorson & Ryan Timms

1-Jacob Denney, Kyle Larson, Jesse Love, Daison Pursley, Taylor Reimer & Kevin Thomas Jr.


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2023 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FAST QUALIFIERS

May 19: Belleville Short Track – Justin Grant (11.736)

May 20: Belleville Short Track – Cannon McIntosh (11.889)

May 21: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Logan Seavey (11.433)

Jun 4: Tri-State Speedway - Jacob Denney (13.612)

Jun 5: Circle City Raceway - Kevin Thomas Jr. (12.385)

Jun 7: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Jesse Love (11.788)

Jun 8: Lincoln Park Speedway - Logan Seavey (12.834)

Jun 9: Bloomington Speedway - Justin Grant (11.945)

Jun 10: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Justin Grant (14.762)

Jul 12: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (12.328)

Jul 14: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley (10.885)

Aug 18: Wayne County Speedway – Jade Avedisian (10.072)

Aug 19: Macon Speedway – Tanner Thorson (10.462)

Sep 3: Angell Park Speedway – Ryan Timms (14.366)

Sep 4: Angell Park Speedway – Jade Avedisian (14.722)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Cannon McIntosh (12.170)

Sep 22: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (16.637)

Nov 14: Bakersfield Speedway – Taylor Reimer (12.687)

Nov 17: Placerville Speedway – Kyle Larson (12.107)

Nov 21: Merced Speedway – Tanner Thorson (11.526)

Nov 22: Merced Speedway – Jade Avedisian (11.417)

Nov 25: Ventura Raceway – Ryan Timms (12.059)


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HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

8-Justin Grant

7-Daison Pursley & Ryan Timms

6-Logan Seavey

5-Cannon McIntosh Thomas Meseraull & Bryant Wiedeman

3-Jade Avedisian, Emerson Axsom, Zach Daum, Buddy Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Chase McDermand, Gavin Miller, Ethan Mitchell, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Tanner Thorson

2-Jake Andreotti, Brady Bacon, Corey Day, Jacob Denney, Brody Fuson, Mitchel Moles & Chris Windom

1-Spencer Bayston, Jerry Coons Jr., Brenham Crouch, Kyle Cummins, Michael Faccinto, Shane Golobic, Chelby Hinton, Chase Johnson, Kyle Jones, Kameron Key, Jesse Love, Hayden Reinbold & Karter Sarff


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SEMI WINS: (Presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts)

3-Jade Avedisian & Jacob Denney

2-Carson Macedo, Logan Seavey, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Tanner Thorson

1-Emerson Axsom, Jake Andreotti, Clinton Boyles, Braden Chiaramonte, Jerry Coons Jr., Justin Grant, Chase McDermand, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull & Mitchel Moles


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C-MAIN WINS:

1-Corey Joyner, Matt Westfall & Zach Wigal


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



FEATURE STARTS

27-Jade Avedisian, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Taylor Reimer, Logan Seavey & Ryan Timms

26-Jake Andreotti, Gavin Miller, Hayden Reinbold & Bryant Wiedeman

25-Jacob Denney

24-Cannon McIntosh

23-Thomas Meseraull

20-Emerson Axsom

19-Chase McDermand

15-Chance Crum

14-Tanner Thorson & Daniel Whitley

12-Zach Daum, Buddy Kofoid, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles & Kevin Thomas Jr.

11-Jesse Love

8-Jerry Coons Jr.

7-Mariah Ede

6-Kyle Jones & Carson Macedo

5-Spencer Bayston, Corey Day & Brody Fuson

4-Brady Bacon, Kyle Beilman, Clinton Boyles, Tanner Carrick, Chelby Hinton, Karter Sarff & Bryan Stanfill

3-Kaylee Bryson, Steve Buckwalter, Braden Chiaramonte, Briggs Danner, Michael Faccinto, Anton Hernandez, Chase Johnson, Kameron Key, Kyle Larson, Daniel Robinson & Chris Windom

2-Rico Abreu, Brenham Crouch, Kyle Cummins, Mitchell Davis, Don Droud Jr., Dekota Gay, Shane Golobic, Weston Gorham, Ava Gropp, Holly Jones & Cade Lewis

1-Daniel Adler, Tyler Baran, Zach Boden, Landon Brooks, Jake Bubak, Isaac Chapple, Trevor Cline, Taylor Courtney, Ian Creager, Justin Dickerson, Devon Dobie, Kale Drake, Andrew Felker, Bradley Fezard, Kenney Johnson, Parker Jones, Shannon McQueen, Keith Rauch, Kyle Simon, Gary Taylor, Cameron Weishoff, Matt Westfall, Zach Wigal & Justin Zimmerman


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HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

May 19: Belleville Short Track – Daison Pursley (14th to 4th)

May 20: Belleville Short Track – Thomas Meseraull (19th to 3rd)

May 21: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Justin Grant (18th to 7th)

Jun 4: Tri-State Speedway – Gavin Miller (21st to 10th)

Jun 5: Circle City Raceway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 4th)

Jun 7: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gavin Miller (19th to 10th)

Jun 8: Lincoln Park Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (7th to 1st)

Jun 9: Bloomington Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (12th to 5th)

Jun 10: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Jesse Love (21st to 12th)

Jul 12: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Zach Daum (22nd to 8th)

Jul 14: Jefferson County Speedway – Anton Hernandez (21st to 13th)

Jul 15: Jefferson County Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (10th to 4th)

Aug 18: Wayne County Speedway – Logan Seavey (10th to 2nd)

Aug 19: Macon Speedway – Daniel Adler (22nd to 8th)

Sep 3: Angell Park Speedway – Daison Pursley (23rd to 9th)

Sep 4: Angell Park Speedway – Justin Grant (10th to 3rd)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Jacob Denney (10th to 2nd)

Sep 22: Eldora Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (14th to 9th)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Hayden Reinbold (15th to 7th)

Sep 28: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Daniel Whitley (21st to 13th)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Justin Zimmerman (21st to 13th)

Sep 30: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Logan Seavey (12th to 3rd)

Nov 14: Bakersfield Speedway – Logan Seavey (9th to 1st)

Nov 17: Placerville Speedway – Jade Avedisian (12th to 4th)

Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Carson Macedo (21st to 5th)

Nov 21: Merced Speedway – Justin Grant (22nd to 12th)

Nov 22: Merced Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman (21st to 12th)

Nov 25: Ventura Raceway – Emerson Axsom (23rd to 6th)


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GREEN APU GREEN FLAG CHALLENGE FIRST FEATURE LAP LEADERS

Jun 4: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant

Jun 5: Circle City Raceway – Gavin Miller

Jun 7: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Jun 8: Lincoln Park Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Jun 9: Bloomington Speedway – Jade Avedisian

Jun 10: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Jake Andreotti

Jul 12: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Ryan Timms

Jul 14: Jefferson County Speedway – Ryan Timms

Jul 15: Jefferson County Speedway – Tanner Thorson

Aug 18: Wayne County Speedway – Gavin Miller

Aug 19: Macon Speedway – Logan Seavey

Sep 3: Angell Park Speedway – Gavin Miller

Sep 4: Angell Park Speedway – Taylor Reimer

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Justin Grant

Sep 22: Eldora Speedway – Chris Windom

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman

Sep 28: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Thomas Meseraull

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Sep 30: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Nov 14: Bakersfield Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Nov 17: Placerville Speedway – Logan Seavey

Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Ryan Timms

Nov 21: Merced Speedway – Spencer Bayston

Nov 22: Merced Speedway – Jake Andreotti

Nov 25: Ventura Raceway – Logan Seavey


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DIRT DRAFT FASTEST HOT LAPS DRIVER

May 19: Belleville Short Track – Jacob Denney (11.974)

May 20: Belleville Short Track – Mitchel Moles (11.842)

May 21: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex – Logan Seavey (11.542)

Jun 4: Tri-State Speedway - Kevin Thomas Jr. (13.814)

Jun 5: Circle City Raceway - Jesse Love (12.366)

Jun 7: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Logan Seavey (12.252)

Jun 8: Lincoln Park Speedway - Jesse Love (12.198)

Jun 9: Bloomington Speedway - Logan Seavey (13.033)

Jun 10: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Logan Seavey (14.709)

Jul 12: Mitchell County Fairgrounds – Jesse Love (12.329)

Jul 14: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman (11.099)

Jul 15: Jefferson County Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (10.966)

Aug 18: Wayne County Speedway - Thomas Meseraull (10.094)

Aug 19: Macon Speedway – Tanner Thorson (10.568)

Sep 3: Angell Park Speedway – Daison Pursley (14.498)

Sep 4: Angell Park Speedway – Jade Avedisian (14.653)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman (12.327)

Sep 22: Eldora Speedway – Ryan Timms (16.735)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Rico Abreu (16.988)

Sep 28: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Chase McDermand (12.186)

Sep 29: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Justin Grant (12.015)

Sep 30: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Ethan Mitchell (12.028)

Nov 14: Bakersfield Speedway – Justin Grant (12.953)

Nov 17: Placerville Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (12.052)

Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Jesse Love (11.997)

Nov 21: Merced Speedway – Tanner Thorson (11.742)

Nov 22: Merced Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (11.599)

Nov 25: Ventura Raceway – Jesse Love (12.104)


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ALL-TIME USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS

1. [111 wins] Mel Kenyon

2. [95 wins] Rich Vogler

3. [78 wins] Bob Wente

4. [63 wins] Bob Tattersall

5. [59 wins] Sleepy Tripp

6. [48 wins] Jimmy Davies

7. [38 wins] Bryan Clauson

8. [35 wins] Tracy Hines

9. [31 wins] Gene Hartley & Chuck Rodee

11. [30 wins] Dave Darland, Mike McGreevy & Johnny Parsons

14. [29 wins] Tanner Thorson

15. [28 wins] Kyle Larson

16. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Tony Stewart

18. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland

21. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Buddy Kofoid

23. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich

28. [22 wins] Tom Bigelow, Bobby East & Shorty Templeman

31. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader

35. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt

36. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Stan Fox & Jason Leffler

40. [18 wins] Dave Steele

41. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley

43. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Justin Grant, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero, Henry Pens & Logan Seavey

51. [15 wins] Don Branson, Larry Rice & Chris Windom

54. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner

57. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves

61. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim, & Ron Shuman

67. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet

73. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung, Thomas Meseraull & Chuck Weyant

80. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney

84. [8 wins] Brady Bacon, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr., Eddie Johnson, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner & Josh Wise

97. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan

106. [6 wins] Spencer Bayston, Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Cannon McIntosh, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West

120. [5 wins] Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Timms & Jerry Weeks

131. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, Zach Daum, Ray Elliott, Aaron Fike, Danny Frye, Billy Garrett, Mike Gregg, Jim Hettinger, John Heydenreich, Bubby Jones, Levi Jones, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Roger McCluskey, Billy Mehner, Ken Nichols, Jeff Nuckles, Jan Opperman, Michael Pickens, Gary Ponzini, Davey Ray, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Sammy Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise

164. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Jacob Denney, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Drew Fornoro, Gene Gennetten, Rick Goudy, Bob Hare, Bob Hauck, Jeff Heywood, Bill Homeier, Sam Isenhower, Jim Keeker, Jim McClean, Warren Mockler, Mitchel Moles, Dave Moses, Earl Motter, Jerry Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Johnnie Parsons, Porky Rachwitz, Johnny Riva, Johnny Roberts, Lowell Sachs, Billy Shuman, Tom Steiner, Bobby Unser & Billy Wease

196. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, Tanner Carrick, Johnny Cofer, Mel Cornett, Cotton Farmer, Terry Farrar, Joe Garson, Chuck Gurney Jr., Kyle Hamilton, Bob Hogle, Rick Hood, P.J. Jones, Critter Malone, Jimmy McCune, Jason McDougal, Aaron Pollock, Daison Pursley, Barry Reed, Lloyd Ruby, Joe Saldana, Tom Sellberg, Tony Simon, Danny Stratton, Kody Swanson, Steve Troxell, Don Vogler, Bruce Walkup, Terry Wente, Johnny White, Tommy White & Cole Whitt

234. [1 win] John Andretti, Mario Andretti, Mike Appio, Dick Atkins, Paul Bates, Harry Beck, Bud Bogard, Tony Bonadies, Dan Boorse, Don Boorse, Dwight Brown, Steve Buckwalter, Barry Butterworth, Gary Byers, Larry Cannon, Tyce Carlson, Ed Carpenter, Dane Carter, Billy Cassella, Bill Chennault, Bill Clemons, Roy Cook Jr., Kyle Cummins, Corey Day, Ryan Durst, Edgar Elder, Todd Forbes, Joe Gaerte, Bradley Galedrige, Steve Gennetten, Elmer George, Potsy Goacher, Shane Golobic, David Gough, Ron Gregory, Norm Hall, Bob Harkey, Vern Harriman, Scott Hatton, Al Herman, Jordan Hermansader, Mike Hess, Jim Hines, Ted Hines, Shane Hmiel, Dean Holden, Blake Hollingsworth, Chuck Hulse, Buddy Irwin, Eddie Jackson, Van Johnson, Brent Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Jimmy Kirk, Kevin Koch, Randy Koch, Bill Kollman, Cory Kruseman, Michael Lang, Greg Leffler, Carson Macedo, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, Gavin Miller, J.R. Miller, Travis Miniea, Russ Moynagh, Richard Myhre, Dick Northam, Hank Nykaza, Brian Olson, Danny O'Neill, Jim Packard, Wally Pankratz, Forrest Parker, Gene Pastor, Gary Patterson, Danny Pens, Jiggs Peters, Dick Pole, Richard Powell, Buddy Rackley, Keith Rauch, Dave Ray, Jimmy Reece, Bob Richards, Bruce Robey, Johnny Rodriguez, Gene Roehl, Jack Runyon, Sam Sauer, Gio Scelzi, Dutch Schaefer, Ryan Scott, Frank Secrist, Jimmy Sills, Jigger Sirois, Lee Smith, Ron Smoker, Ned Spath, J.P. Standley, Graham Standring, Jerry Stone, Tanner Swanson, Buddy Taylor, Tyler Thomas, Randy Tolsma, Leo Tucker, Bob Veith, Joe Walter, Bryant Wiedeman, Eric Wilkins, Mauri Wilson, Doug Wolfgang & Billy Wood


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ALL-TIME USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

1. (93) Mel Kenyon

2. (84) Rich Vogler

3. (77) Jimmy Davies

4. (72) Bob Wente

5. (43) Mike McGreevy

6. (38) Tracy Hines, Dave Strickland & Bob Tattersall

9. (36) Johnny Parsons

10. (33) Chuck Rodee

11. (29) Jimmy Caruthers

12. (28) Tommy Astone & Kevin Olson

14. (27) Parnelli Jones

15. (26) Jason Leffler & Tanner Thorson

17. (25) Gary Bettenhausen

18. (24) Gene Hartley

19. (22) Stan Fox

20. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman

23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East, Bobby Grim & Kyle Larson

28. (19) Jay Drake

29. (17) Dave Steele & Mike Streicher

31. (16) Rico Abreu, Billy Engelhart, Darren Hagen, Steve Lotshaw & Bobby Olivero

36. (15) Tom Bigelow, Billy Cantrell, Tyler Courtney, Bob McLean, Les Scott & Logan Seavey

42. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.

46. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley

49. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise

51. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Cannon McIntosh, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp

63. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner

68. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Jerry Weeks

75. (8) Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Rex Easton, Russ Gamester, Justin Grant, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner

86. (7) Jade Avedisian, Mike Bliss, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Bill Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs & Kody Swanson

95. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Buddy Kofoid, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood

108. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Shane Golobic, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson

127. (4) Johnny Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Gary Byers, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Danny Frye, Joe Garson, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Danny McKnight, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Taylor Reimer, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise

157. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Tanner Carrick, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Daison Pursley, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, , Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch

198. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Kaylee Bryson, Bill Chennault, Paul Clark, Bob Cortner, Chris Cumberworth, Bob Davison, Corey Day, Edgar Elder, Todd Forbes, Nick Fornoro Jr., Gene Gennetten, Elmer George, Joe Giba, Ron Gregory, Ted Hartley, Mike Hess, Jim Hines, Shane Hmiel, Eddie Jackson, Bubby Jones, Dick Jones, Page Jones, Ronnie Kaplan, Johnny Kay, Walt Kennedy, Michael Lewis, Brad Loyet, Carson Macedo, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Ryan Timms, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams

261. (1) Bobby Allen, Al Alpern, Chuck Amati, John Andretti, Capp Arnold, Chuck Arnold, Dick Atkins, Tony Ave, Emerson Axsom, Steve Barth, Dave Bartlett, Todd Barton, John Batts, Jim Beckley, Daniel Bedford, Dick Betts, Nick Bohanon, Tony Bonadies, Johnny Boyd, Alex Bright, Bob Burbridge, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Maria Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, Chance Crum, A.J. Davis, Jacob Denney, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, Chuck Gurney Jr., Gene Gurney, Butch Haisman, Davey Hamilton, Garrett Hansen, Bob Harkey, Alex Harris, Scott Hatton, Jac Haudenschild, Jim Hemmings, Al Henderson, Jordan Hermansader, Mike Hill, Larry Hillerud, Bob Hogle, Shane Hollingsworth, Bill Homeier, Rick Hood, Wally Hostettler, Billy Hughes, Jeff Hunt, Tony Hunt, Gary Irvin, Bob Jesser, Ronnie Johncox, Paul Jones, Jack Jordan, Brent Kaeding, Gary Kanawyer, Jim Keeker, Harry Kern, Jimmy Kirk, Danny Kladis, George Kladis, Clay Klepper, Kevin Koch, Randy Koch, Bill Kojis, Bill Kollman, Jim Lauri IV, Buddy Lee, Donnie Lehmann, Bob Lithgow, Eddie Loomis, Jesse Love, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Jason McDougal, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Davey Moses, Mike Mosley, Brad Noffsinger, Danny O'Neill, Jan Opperman, Junior Parkinson, Gary Patterson, Jiggs Peters, Dick Pole, Bill Puterbaugh, Jon Rahe, Bill Randall, Chase Randall, Norm Rapp, Keith Rauch, Dickie Reese, Bill Renshaw, Bob Richards, Bruce Robey, Jack Runyon, John Sarna, Gio Scelzi, Chase Scott, Shane Scully, Roy Seidenstricker, Holly Shelton, Dean Shirley, Tony Simon, C.L. Smith, Bob Spoo, J.P. Standley, Gig Stephens, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Swindell, Kevin Thomas, Bob Twitty, Al Unser, Don Weaver, Terry Wente, Gene Weyant, Johnny White, Newt White, Bryant Wiedeman, Eric Wilkins & Don Wilson


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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET DRIVER CHAMPIONS

1956: Shorty Templeman, 1957: Shorty Templeman, 1958: Shorty Templeman, 1959: Gene Hartley, 1960: Jimmy Davies, 1961: Jimmy Davies, 1962: Jimmy Davies, 1963: Bob Wente, 1964: Mel Kenyon, 1965: Mike McGreevy, 1966: Mike McGreevy, 1967: Mel Kenyon, 1968: Mel Kenyon, 1969: Bob Tattersall, 1970: Jimmy Caruthers, 1971: Danny Caruthers, 1972: Pancho Carter, 1973: Larry Rice, 1974: Mel Kenyon, 1975: Sleepy Tripp, 1976: Sleepy Tripp, 1977: Mel Kenyon, 1978: Rich Vogler, 1979: Steve Lotshaw, 1980: Rich Vogler, 1981: Mel Kenyon, 1982: Kevin Olson, 1983: Rich Vogler, 1984: Tom Bigelow, 1985: Mel Kenyon, 1986: Rich Vogler, 1987: Kevin Olson, 1988: Rich Vogler, 1989: Russ Gamester, 1990: Jeff Gordon, 1991: Mike Streicher, 1992: Stevie Reeves, 1993: Stevie Reeves, 1994: Tony Stewart, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1997: Jason Leffler, 1998: Jason Leffler, 1999: Jason Leffler, 2000: Kasey Kahne, 2001: Dave Darland, 2002: Dave Darland, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Bobby East, 2005: Josh Wise, 2006: Jerry Coons Jr., 2007: Jerry Coons Jr., 2008: Cole Whitt, 2009: Brad Kuhn, 2010: Bryan Clauson, 2011: Bryan Clauson, 2012: Darren Hagen, 2013: Christopher Bell, 2014: Rico Abreu, 2015: Tracy Hines, 2016: Tanner Thorson, 2017: Spencer Bayston, 2018: Logan Seavey, 2019: Tyler Courtney, 2020: Chris Windom, 2021: Buddy Kofoid, 2022: Buddy Kofoid, 2023: Logan Seavey


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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ENTRANT CHAMPIONS

1956: Ashley Wright, 1957: Lloyd Rahn, 1958: Lloyd Rahn, 1959: Ray Bolander, 1960: Jimmy Davies, 1961: Howard Linne, 1962: Jimmy Davies, 1963: Robert Shadday, 1964: Willard Coil, 1965: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1966: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Brothers, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1975: Sleepy Tripp, 1976: Sleepy Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1981: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1982: Nick Gojmeric, 1983: Streicher Racing, 1984: Wilke Racing, 1985: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1986: Jonathan Byrd, 1987: Jonathan Byrd, 1988: Wilke Racers, 1989: George & Gary Gamester, 1990: Streicher Racing, 1991: Streicher Racing, 1992: Ralph Potter, 1993: Steve Lewis, 1994: Ralph Potter, 1995: Steve Lewis, 1996: Steve Lewis, 1997: Pete Willoughby, 1998: Steve Lewis, 1999: Steve Lewis, 2000: Steve Lewis, 2001: Steve Lewis, 2002: Steve Lewis, 2003: Steve Lewis, 2004: Steve Lewis, 2005: Wilke-Pak Racers, 2006: Keith Kunz Motorsports, 2007: Wilke-Pak Racers, 2008: Keith Kunz Motorsports, 2009: RW Motorsports, 2010: Corey Tucker Racing/Keith Kunz Motorsports/BCI, 2011: Corey Tucker Racing/BCI/Curb-Agajanian, 2012: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2013: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2014: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2015: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2016: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2017: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2018: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2019: Clauson Marshall Racing, 2020: Tucker-Boat Motorsports, 2021: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2022: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, 2023: Abacus Racing


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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

1969: Billy Engelhart, 1970: Danny Brown, 1971: Danny Caruthers, 1972: Tommy Astone, 1973: Mike Gregg, 1974: Richard Powell, 1975: Larry Patton, 1976: James McElreath, 1977: Lonnie Caruthers, 1978: Tommy Thomas, 1979: Barry Butterworth, 1980: Trevor Boys, 1981: Sherman Armstrong, 1982: Chris Maxson, 1983: John Andretti, 1984: Russ Gamester, 1985: Bobby Allen, 1986: Steve Enlow, 1987: John Meyers, 1988: Jim Keeker, 1989: Jeff Gordon, 1990: Dan Ford, 1991: Doug Kalitta, 1992: Brian Gerster, 1993: Chuck Leary, 1994: David Bridges, 1995: Ryan Newman, 1996: Carl Olsen, 1997: Nick Lundgreen, 1998: Michael Lewis, 1999: A.J. Fike, 2000: Aaron Fike, 2001: Bobby East, 2002: Teddy Beach & Ron Gregory, 2003: Ryan Durst, 2004: Todd Beach, 2005: Darren Hagen, 2006: Bryan Clauson, 2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2008: Chad Boat, 2009: Zach Daum, 2010: Daniel Bedford, 2011: Kyle Larson, 2012: Rico Abreu, 2013: Christopher Bell, 2014: Kevin Thomas Jr., 2015: Spencer Bayston, 2016: Carson Macedo, 2017: Tanner Carrick, 2018: Logan Seavey. 2019: Andrew Layser, 2020: Buddy Kofoid, 2021: Chase Randall, 2022: Mitchel Moles, 2023: Gavin Miller


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2023 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER


A

RICO ABREU/St. Helena, CA (Tanner Thorson Racing #24)

MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (Dennis Hart #15)

DANIEL ADLER/St. Louis, MO (Mike Adler #50)

®OLIVER AKARD/Fort Myers, FL (Team OMR #41)

®JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis #00), (Tom Malloy #25) & (Tom Malloy #25m)

ADAM ANDRETTI/Brownsburg, IN (Jeff Johnson #44)

EASTIN ASHBROOKE/Marion, IN (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #19T)

JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71)

EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry-Hayward Motorsports #19A) & (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #68)


B

BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports #21H)

NICK BARAN/Tomahawk, WI (Roger Engstrom #7E)

TYLER BARAN/Wausau, WI (Scott Baran #11T)

AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #17B)

CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Bill Baue #136)

SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Dyson Motorsport #9AU)

CODY BEARD/Huntingburg, IN (Beard Racing #7)

KYLE BEILMAN/Los Angeles, CA (Beilman Motorsports #31) & (Beilman Motorsports #31B)

LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Cappy Mason #91)

JOSH BILICKI/Menomonee Falls, WI (RAMCO Speed Group #7c)

ZACH BODEN/Cambridge, WI (Brian Boden #51)

BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci #9)

JAKEB BOXELL/Zanesville, IN (Boxell-Merkler Racing #44JB)

CLINTON BOYLES/Greenwood, MO (Scott Beierle #11) & (RMS Racing #98x)

BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Blake Brannon #40B)

CODY BREWER/Choctaw, OK (Central Motorsports #96)

LANDON BROOKS/Rio Oso, CA (RAMCO Speed Group #1D), (RAMCO Speed Group #22p) & (Matt Wood Racing #57w)

KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (CB Industries #89)

JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Bourke Motorsports #27B)

STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Brian Buckwalter #25B)


C

DAVID CAMFIELD/Decatur, IL (Dave Camfield Sr. #16c)

DEVIN CAMFIELD/Decatur, IL (Dave Camfield Sr. #17c)

DALTON CAMFIELD/Decatur, IL (Dave Camfield Sr. #86c)

TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #98)

ROBERT CARSON/Concord, CA (LOK Enterprises-Carson Segur Racing #99K)

ISAAC CHAPPLE/Willow Branch, IN (Doug Hall #6)

BRADEN CHIARAMONTE/El Cajon, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Streeter Racing #14J)

MARK CHISHOLM/Cheyenne, WY (Fifty6x Racing #56x)

TREVOR CLINE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline #55)

TREVOR COHN/North Platte, NE (Joyner Motorsports #27x)

TOMMY COLBURN/New Berlin, WI (MWR Technology #10A)

KEVIN COOK/Winchester, IN (Kevin Cook #9p)

JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motorsports #85)

TAYLOR COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (RAMCO Speed Group #22p)

CADE COWLES/Coweta, OK (Gariss Racing #70)

IAN CREAGER/Covington, OH (Tod Creager #36)

BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Crouch Motorsports #1)

CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing #26) & (Six8 Motorsports #68w)

DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing #50)

KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)


D

BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (John Schneider #98)

ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (RAMCO Speed Group #7p) & (Trifecta Motorsports #7u)

MITCHELL DAVIS/Auburn, IL (Pat O'Dell #3N) & (Pat O'Dell #56)

COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Wille Kahne #4)

JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy #25)

TYLER DEVENPORT/Jacksonville, MO (Branigan Roark Racing #33)

JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson #21D)

DEVON DOBIE/Wapakoneta, OH (Mike Dobie #23DD)

NICK DRAKE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline #55D)

KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)

BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros. #71D)

DON DROUD JR./Lincoln, NE (Mark Burch Motorsports #22T)


E

®MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71E)

SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX (Scott Evans #118)


F

MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Matt Streeter Racing #14T)

ANDREW FELKER/Carl Junction, MO (Cooper Wayne Felker #11A)

BRADLEY FEZARD/Bonnerdale, AR (Vince Rosa #28p)

CHAD FREWALDT/Kansas City, KS (Chad Frewaldt #4F)

BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile #51)


G

DAVID GASPER/Goleta, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #73)

DEKOTA GAY/Brisbane, AU (Troy Gay #81A)

SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing #17w)

WESTON GORHAM/Colleyville, TX (Kelly Gorham #18N)

JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing #2)

®RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Brothers #06)

®AVA GROPP/Lincoln, NE (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #5A)


H

BEN HANEY/Longmont, CO (Ben Haney #3)

RON HAZELTON/Chatsworth, CA (TRC Transmission #15ws)

A.J. HERNANDEZ/Phoenix, AZ (MF Motorsports #35H)

ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX (Grady Chandler Racing #00)

JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Heydenreich #22)

CASEY HICKS/Meriden, KS (Casey Hicks #5H)

CHELBY HINTON/Dubberly, LA (Klatt Enterprises #4)

JOSH HODGE/Brownsburg, IN (Josh Hodge Racing #5J)

PETER HUNNIBELL/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich #65NZ)


I

®LAIKE IMM/Beaver City, NE (J.R. Ewing #2c)


J

CODY JESSOP/Madera, CA (Chad Frewaldt #4c)

CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Beilman Motorsports #31) & (Beilman Motorsports #31B)

KENNEY JOHNSON/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson #46)

HOLLY JONES/Gold River, CA (Bundy Built Motorsports #4)

KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (RAMCO Speed Group #7m)

®PARKER JONES/Blue Mounds, WI (RAB Motorsports #57A)

®COREY JOYNER/Concordia, KS (Joyner Motorsports #52J)


K

KAMERON KEY/Warrensburg, MO (TKH Motorsports #21J)

JOEY KLEMISH/Cortez, CO (MF Motorsports #35K)

BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)


L

KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Racing #1K)

PRESTON LATTOMUS/Lewes, DE (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #23)

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

AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing #11L)

CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander #5K)

RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Cruz Pedregon #6A)

®JESSE LOVE/Menlo Park, CA (CB Industries #84)


M

CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport #99AU)

CRITTER MALONE/Speedway, IN (Steve Reynolds-Team Ripper #21)

CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports #8w), (Bundy Built Motorsports #19m) & (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #40)

CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports #08) & (CB Industries #86)

MARK McMAHILL/Peoria, IL (MWR Technology #10c)

SHANNON McQUEEN/Tehachapi, CA (McQueen Racing #7)

TODD McVAY/Grain Valley, MO (Todd McVay #89)

THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing #7x) & (Tim Engler #7x)

®GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97)

ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports #4) & (Bundy Built Motorsports #19m)

MARVIN MITCHELL/Madera, CA (Marvin Mitchell #78)

MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T) & (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #68)


N

TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports #1p)


O

DON O'KEEFE JR./Union City, CA (LOK Enterprises-Carson Segur Racing #99)

SCOTT ORR/Columbia City, IN (Josh Hodge Racing #5s) & (Scott Orr #88s)


P

RYAN PADGETT/Anadarko, OK (Phil Shapel #84J)

RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz #8)

JACE PARK/Overland Park, KS (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #19T)

WES PINKERTON/Reynolds, IN (Wes Pinkerton #9)

DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19)


R

KEITH RAUCH/Thornton, CO (Bourke Motorsports #27)

TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #25K)

HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

BRANIGAN ROARK/Lincoln, MO (Branigan Roark Racing #44)

TYLER ROBBINS/Collinsville, IL (Tyler Robbins #35)

SEAN ROBBINS/Collinsville, IL (Scott Robbins #53)

DANIEL ROBINSON/Wayne City, IL (RAB Motorsports #57A)

®KAYLA ROELL/Dillsboro, IN (Scott Roell #4K)


S

CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Matt Streeter Racing #14T) & (Caden Sarale #32)

KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Jayme Sarff #21K)

C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (Sarna Motorsports #20)

JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Jeff Schindler #8x)

BRIAN SCHWABAUER/Hastings, NE (Murphy Racing #9)

LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing #57)

SHAUN SHAPEL/Wichita, KS (Phil Shapel #84s)

DEVIN SIMMONS/Knoxville, IA (Wayne Simmons #F5)

KYLE SIMON/Tipp City, OH (Simon Racing #23)

®CURTIS SPICER/Marysville, KS (Spicer RaceCraft #4s)

®SCOUT SPRAGGINS/Cache, OK (Gariss Racing #07)

BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsports #75AU)

JEFF STASA/Kingman, KS (SBR Motorsports #91s)


T

®ADAM TAYLOR/Wheatfield, IN (Adam Taylor Motorsports #7T)

GARY TAYLOR/Snohomish, WA (Brian Dunlap #32)

KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Crouch Motorsports #1), (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #19T) & (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #23)

ASHTON THOMPSON/Salem, IN (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #19T)

TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Tanner Thorson Racing #28) & (Tanner Thorson Racing #88)

RYAN TIMMONS/Pleasant Hill, CA (Dean Alexander #5v)

RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)

TALIN TURNER/Basehor, KS (Grady Chandler Racing #00)

GARRETT TWITTY/Bakersfield, CA (Garrett Twitty #4)

BRANDT TWITTY/Bakersfield, CA (Kevin Twitty #4B)


V

JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant #3v)


W

COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Steve Lambert #55)

CAMERON WEISHOFF/Sun Prairie, WI (Weishoff Motorsports #55)

MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner #54)

®DANIEL WHITLEY/Ferndale, CA (Abacus Racing #58)

BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (CB Industries #81)

ZACH WIGAL/Belpre, OH (Chase McDermand #40x)

CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries #89)

CONNOR WOLF/Lafayette, IN (RAMCO Speed Group #1G)


Z

JUSTIN ZIMMERMAN/Athens, TX (Justin Zimmerman #1z)

 

 

CUMMINS JOINS NEW PETTY TEAM

FOR 2024 USAC SPRINT CAR SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 26, 2023)………Kyle Cummins, one of the premier drivers on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour, will compete on the full schedule in 2024 with the newly established Petty Performance Racing team.

The Princeton, Ind. driver will kick off the upcoming season in a ride owned by Jerry Petty of Litchfield Park, Ariz., CEO of Avanti Windows & Doors LLC which sponsored Cummins sprint car ride throughout the 2023 campaign.

In 2023, Cummins equaled his career high with four USAC National Sprint Car feature victories and finished sixth in USAC points for the Rock Steady Racing team with which he had driven for all but one season dating back to 2015.

Cummins’ USAC National Sprint Car win total stands at 18 entering the 2024 season which presents a new opportunity and challenge for the 36-year-old driver who made his USAC debut back in 2003.

“I’m grateful for Jerry providing me with this exciting and challenging opportunity as well as trusting me to be a part of his transition to a team owner and entrant into dirt track racing,” Cummins stated. “Jerry has offered up a lot of support to the sport in recent years and his commitment to becoming a team owner just shows his continued passion for the sport and his confidence in me. We are excited to build this team over the offseason and can’t wait to get to Florida and see what the rest of 2024 has in store.”

Cummins has been an ardent supporter of USAC Sprint Car racing, accumulating 227 career starts while ranking inside the top-40 all-time in both feature victories and starts. Meanwhile, Petty has been the primary sponsor for such events as Knoxville Raceway’s Corn Belt Clash and Cocopah Speedway’s Western World Championship in addition serving as the primary sponsor for multiple USAC Sprint Car teams.

Cummins and Petty Performance Racing’s debut will arrive in February of 2024 in the state of Florida where the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season will begin with seven events in the Sunshine State between February 9-17, and where Cummins was a feature winner in February of 2023 during the series’ most recent visit.

Leading off the 2024 season is the 15th annual edition of Winter Dirt Games at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on Friday-Saturday, February 9-10, at the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track with a practice night set to begin the festivities on Thursday night, February 8. The first night of racing in Ocala on Friday will pay $6,000-to-win while Saturday night’s weekend capper will pay $7,500-to-win.

USAC National Sprint Car action then moves on down the road to Volusia Speedway Park on Monday-Tuesday, February 12-13, for two consecutive nights of racing on the half-mile dirt oval as part of the DIRTcar Nationals, culminating in a $10,000-to-win finale on Tuesday. As a change from this past year, the Volusia events will be full points-paying events.

Rounding out the Sunshine State trip is a return to Bubba Raceway Park for three more consecutive nights of USAC National Sprint Car racing on February 15-16-17. The first two nights will pay $6,000-to-win with Saturday night’s finale paying $10,000-to-win.

 

 

FOUR SCORE!

LARSON GETS TURKEY NIGHT WIN #4 AT VENTURA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 25, 2023)………Kyle Larson has few equals when it comes to Turkey Night Grand Prix success over the years, and on Saturday night at California’s Ventura Raceway, that fact remained true to form.

The Elk Grove, Calif. native punctuated the 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season by becoming just the second driver in the 82-year history of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame to win the famed race at least four times. Ron Shuman maintains the all-time record of eight Turkey Night victories between 1979-1993.

In the latest edition of Turkey Night, Larson made a beeline from his 10th place starting position straight to the lead by lap 27 before pacing the field for the remaining 72 laps to earn his third USAC National Midget triumph in three attempts over the past nine nights in the Golden State aboard his Kyle Larson Racing/HendrickCars.com – FloRacing/Eagle.

Overall, Larson has now reigned victorious at Turkey Night in 2012-2016-2019-2023, and has never finished outside the top-four in any of his 11 career starts in the event dating back to his debut in 2011.

“I’m happy to get another Turkey Night win,” Larson exclaimed. “We’re second on the all-time win list now, which is cool. Hopefully we can catch up someday and maybe be leading this thing. This is such a historic race with it being the 82nd running, which is incredible. it’s been a good event for us, and we’ve always run really well here.”

In addition to his $10,000 winning prize, Larson also earned a 1/4-scale replica of the J.C. Agajanian owned car that Parnelli Jones drove to victory at the Indianapolis 500 in 1963, a trophy which was handmade by Ventura Raceway promoter Jim Naylor. It’s among the rewards that brings Larson back each year in addition to the prestige of becoming a Turkey Night winner once again.

“All the Turkey Night trophies I have from Ventura are probably some of the coolest trophies I have in my collection,” Larson stated. “They get better and better every year and it’s probably the main reason why I come and do this race – just to come and win these awesome trophies. I need to get a little better at qualifying because I want to win some of those (trophies) too.”

Larson’s 27th career USAC National Midget win moved him past USAC Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Gary Bettenhausen for sole possession of 15th on the series’ all-time win list, but this one required him to start outside the fifth row.

Up at the front of the 26-car pack, 2023 USAC National Midget champion and 2021 Turkey Night winner Logan Seavey established the lead early on from his outside front row starting position while pole sitter Ryan Timms gave chase after earlier winning the 30-lap USAC West Coast Sprint Car feature held prior to the midget race.

However, calamity came early on lap two as Taylor Reimer spun, which collected Michael Faccinto on the turn two infield berm. Meanwhile, up top, Mitchel Moles and Brody Fuson launched into orbit during a simultaneous somersault for both drivers, which ended with both drivers and cars upside down, thus ending their evenings prematurely.

Upon resumption, Seavey built himself a full straightway lead all while Larson was already breaking his way into the top-five. Larson went eighth to fifth in a span of two circuits between laps 17 and 18 past Chase McDermand, Spencer Bayston and Bryant Wiedeman. Moments later, on lap 22, Larson slid by defending Turkey Night winner Justin Grant in turn one to slot into fourth.

Seavey was working traffic by lap 26 when Timms suddenly clamped down and made his move for the lead with a turn one slide job that was successful. By turn four, Timms was in trouble as he ricocheted off the cushion, which opened the door underneath for Seavey to make a move entering turn one on the 27th go around.

Attempting to return the favor on Timms in turn one, Seavey slipped past, but in the process, Timms’ wheels locked up as he slid to a stop atop the cushion to bring out the caution and also collected third-running Kale Drake who was making his first career USAC National Midget start. For all intents and purposes, the incident ended Timms’ night with him soldiering on until lap 51 when he dropped out with a 23rd place result following an incident with Mariah Ede that damaged his header.

Seavey resumed at the point as the race leader coming to the green flag restart on lap 27. However, it was time to cue the Jaws music as Larson drew right to Seavey’s rear bumper. In this case – spoiler alert – the ending was much the very same as it has been of late for Larson in his home state of California in November. Larson delivered a turn three slider that put him at the front for good. Day followed suit with Larson to gain second from Seavey after starting 12th.

In that timeframe, Larson had to play it smart with the track conditions changing rapidly. As the wind picked up and the track began to dry out, one faulty move could’ve spelled doom.

“You just had to make good decisions,” Larson explained. “We were all kind of searching for the right lane at the right time. Thankfully, I put together some good laps around the bottom and got clear to the top and got rolling. The top of one and two was getting really wide around there and I figured Logan was running up there, so he was probably going to commit to that. I felt like if I could just poke the bottom, I could get a run and get by. It all worked out really well.”

Over the course of the next several laps, rubber began to rear its ugly head on the 1/5-mile dirt oval’s surface, and Larson knew full well when it was time for him to go to secure his spot before it was too late.

“I knew, shortly after that, the rubber was going to be coming,” Larson guesstimated. “I was just trying to hold the lead and peek to the left and I saw Corey inching toward me on the bottom a couple laps later. That’s when I knew it was time to get down.”

Yet, the battles raged on behind them as a furious fight for 11th on lap 64 resulted in contact between Jade Avedisian (12th) and Justin Grant (11th) off turn four, which pitched Avedisian sideways and collected Cannon McIntosh. McIntosh was the meat in the sandwich at the moment he got tagged in the bumper by Jake Andreotti, which sent McIntosh spinning into the infield. By lap 65, Grant was also out of competition, the victim of a broken front end.

In the final quarter, attrition (and rubber) started to become a concern as Spencer Bayston bowed out to the infield while running fourth on lap 75. Avedisian (11th) came to a halt with a flat right rear tire on lap 75 while Daison Pursley (7th) was stricken with the same fate on lap 86.

Throughout the final 12 lap stretch, Larson never turned a wheel wrong, and there was no room for error, as he railed the bottom right up against the infield berm with Day hanging right in there in second but was only able to close to within one to two car lengths of his back bumper down the stretch to the 98th and final lap.

In the end, Larson prevailed over Day by two car lengths with just a 0.224 second separation between the two as they crossed the stripe. Carson Macedo brought it home third while Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) took fourth and Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) advanced 17th to fifth to earn his best Turkey Night result yet.

Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), the recently crowned NARC Sprint Car champion, posted the best finish of any Turkey Night first-timer in this year’s field. In his debut Turkey Night performance, he ran a strong second to earn Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors in his Wille Kahne/Sander Engineering – Four CCCC’s Construction – Durst/Bullet/Worth Mopar. The runner-up result for Day was the best finish by a Turkey Night Rookie since Cannon McIntosh in 2019.

“I grew up coming to this race as a kid where we made it a vacation and came down here to hang out at the beach and watch some racing,” Day reminisced. “It’s so cool to run it for the first time and then to run second and be Rookie of the Race. At the beginning, the middle slicked off really fast, then everybody kind of didn’t know where to be. I knew there was rubber under what they watered, so I was just kind of waiting on it and it came in fast. I was able to find it first, so that was good, but Kyle, he’s got way too many laps to not to know when it’s going to come in. When he moved down, that was kind of it.”

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) certainly experienced the most unique finish of the night. After crossing the finish line in third, he slipped above the turn four cushion, tagged the outside wall and flipped – all of which occurred after the checkered flag had already been displayed. Nonetheless, Macedo still finished on the podium in his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota for his best Turkey Night performance since his Rookie start in 2016 in which he also scored a third.

“That was a little embarrassing there,” Macedo admitted. “I didn’t have much right rear tire left and I got outside the rubber and gassed it up a little bit just to have fun I guess, and it never stopped sliding. I ended up plowing the cushion and turned it over. It was fun, though. I just wish it was a little bit different with it taking rubber and all. It wasn’t that ideal. Before that, the race was epic, and I was having a ton of fun and it was fun battling with a lot of good drivers.”

Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) started 23rd and finished sixth to earn his best career Turkey Night result, which came on the heels of a 24th to eighth run in the same race a year ago in 2022. Ken Clapp of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was on hand to present Axsom with a $500 bonus for his efforts.


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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-10 locked into the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.059; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.138; 3. Kale Drake, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.190; 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.203; 5. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.287; 6. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.289; 7. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.290; 8. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-12.293; 9. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.306; 10. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.313; 11. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.320; 12. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-12.334; 13. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.347; 14. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.356; 15. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.391; 16. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.391; 17. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.427; 18. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.435; 19. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-12.445; 20. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.469; 21. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-12.471; 22. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.491; 23. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.495; 24. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-12.505; 25. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.516; 26. Cole Wakim, 55, Lambert-12.521; 27. Ryan Timmons, 5v, Alexander-12.529; 28. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.539; 29. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.553; 30. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.566; 31. Max Adams, 15, Hart-12.568; 32. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.626; 33. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.687; 34. Ricky Lewis, 6A, Pedregon-12.694; 35. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.731; 36. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.764; 37. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-12.768; 38. David Gasper, 73, Ford-12.774; 39. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.831; 40. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.995; 41. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-13.020; 42. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.073; 43. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-13.132; 44. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-13.220; 45. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.269; 46. A.J. Hernandez, 35H, MF-NT; 47. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-NT (Time of 12.641 disallowed due to missing the scales); 48. Joey Klemish, 35K, MF-NT (Time of 12.936 disallowed due to missing the scales).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Jacob Denney, 4. Brody Fuson, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Cole Wakim, 7. David Gasper, 8. Randi Pankratz, 9. Peter Hunnibell, 10. C.J. Sarna, 11. Dane Culver, 12. Terry Nichols, 13. Blake Bower. 2:31.99

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Corey Day, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Jesse Love, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Cade Lewis, 7. Caden Sarale, 8. Kyle Beilman, 9. Braden Chiaramonte, 10. Bryan Drollinger, 11. Ryan Timmons, 12. Jim Vanzant, 13. Joey Klemish. NT

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Faccinto, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Max Adams, 8. Jake Bubak, 9. Ricky Lewis, 10. Shannon McQueen, 11. A.J. Hernandez, 12. Ron Hazelton. 2:35.11

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Cade Lewis, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Max Adams, 7. Ricky Lewis, 8. Jake Bubak, 9. David Gasper, 10. Caden Sarale, 11. Cole Wakim, 12. Peter Hunnibell, 13. Braden Chiaramonte, 14. Randi Pankratz, 15. C.J. Sarna, 16. Bryan Drollinger, 17. Kyle Beilman, 18. Shannon McQueen. NT

FEATURE: (98 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (10), 2. Corey Day (12), 3. Carson Macedo (11), 4. Bryant Wiedeman (4), 5. Jacob Denney (17), 6. Emerson Axsom (23), 7. Buddy Kofoid (16), 8. Logan Seavey (2), 9. Jesse Love (21), 10. Cade Lewis (26), 11. Hayden Reinbold (24), 12. Jake Andreotti (25), 13. Gavin Miller (19), 14. Daison Pursley (9), 15. Mariah Ede (7), 16. Kale Drake (3), 17. Chase McDermand (6), 18. Jade Avedisian (22), 19. Spencer Bayston (8), 20. Justin Grant (5), 21. Cannon McIntosh (15), 22. Michael Faccinto (13), 23. Ryan Timms (1), 24. Taylor Reimer (14), 25. Mitchel Moles (18), 26. Brody Fuson (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Logan Seavey, Lap 26 Ryan Timms, Laps 27-98 Kyle Larson.

**Jade Avedisian flipped during qualifying. Mitchel Moles & Brody Fuson flipped on lap 2 of the feature. Carson Macedo flipped after the checkered flag.

FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1784, 2-Justin Grant-1504, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1457, 4-Ryan Timms-1429, 5-Daison Pursley-1413, 6-Jade Avedisian-1407, 7-Jacob Denney-1363, 8-Gavin Miller-1227, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1190, 10-Taylor Reimer-1177.

FINAL OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-173, 3-Justin Grant-142, 4-Emerson Axsom-136, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jesse Love (12.104)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Ryan Timms (12.059)

Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Carson Macedo

Rod End Supply Second Qualifier Winner: Corey Day

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Qualifier Winner: Michael Faccinto

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Emerson Axsom

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Jake Andreotti

Hard Charger: Bryant Wiedeman (21st to 12th)

Don Basile Rookie of the Race: Corey Day (2nd)

 

 

USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SPECIAL EVENT RESULTS:

November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California – “ARP 82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame”

ROD END SUPPLY SEMI #1: (12 laps, Top 6 Transfer) 1. Kyle Edwards (#39 Edwards), 2. T.J. Smith (#32 Sarale), 3. Michael Pombo (#3QC Pombo), 4. Jon DeWees (#63D DeWees), 5. Shon Deskins (#20 Deskins), 6. Davey Pombo (#38S Pombo), 7. A.J. Hernandez (#72 Hernandez), 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (#51T Tafoya), 9. Colby Johnson (#38 Johnson), 10. Brent Yarnal (#29 Yarnal), 11. Elexa Herrera (#5E Herrera), 12. Jeremy Stout (#10 Stout), 13. Scott Clough (#60 Davis), 14. Camie Bell (#29C Bell), 15. Brandon Nelsen (#94 Nelsen), 16. Stevie Rogers (#11 Burgeson/Rogers). NT.

ROD END SUPPLY SEMI #2: (12 laps, Top 6 Transfer) 1. David Gasper (#18 Gasper/Kittle), 2. Grant Sexton (#44 Sexton), 3. Logan Calderwood (#73C Ford), 4. A.J. Bender (#21 Bender), 5. Mariah Ede (#14 Ede), 6. Caleb Saiz (#0 Minks), 7. Verne Sweeney (#98 Guerrero), 8. Dylan Harris (#X Minks), 9. Ronald Webster (#51W Webster), 10. Gage Rucker (#21K Kruseman), 11. Andrew Sweeney (#98A Guerrero), 12. Aaron Altaffer (#84 Altaffer), 13. Anthony Pombo (#3 Pombo), 14. Dalton Smith (#75 Smith), 15. Matt Meredith (#6 Meredith), 16. Heath Holdsclaw (#33 Holdsclaw), 17. Chris Ennis (#86 Ennis). NT.

SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ryan Timms (1), 2. Brody Fuson (3), 3. Ricky Lewis (10), 4. Max Adams (8), 5. Blake Bower (4), 6. T.J. Smith (13), 7. Carson Macedo (6), 8. A.J. Bender (18), 9. Ryan Timmons (7), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 11. Caleb Saiz (22), 12. Michael Pombo (15), 13. Grant Sexton (14), 14. Cole Wakim (5), 15. Shon Deskins (19), 16. Mariah Ede (20), 17. Kyle Edwards (11), 18. David Gasper (12), 19. Logan Calderwood (16), 20. Chase Johnson (2), 21. Davey Pombo (21), 22. Jon DeWees (17). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Timms
BR MOTORSPORTS / ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Caleb Saiz (22 to 11)

 

 

AXSOM FASTEST IN FRIDAY’S USAC MIDGET

TURKEY NIGHT TUNEUP AT VENTURA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 24, 2023)……… Emerson Axsom led all drivers in Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice at California’s Ventura Raceway.

The four practice sessions were used in preparation for Saturday night’s 82nd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame on November 25.

Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) turned a top time of 12.082 seconds in the second practice session in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb Records - TRD/Lynk/Speedway Toyota, which was the fastest among the 46 drivers on hand Friday.

Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and three-time Turkey Night winner Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) timed in second overall with equal times of 12.119. Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) went fourth quickest at 12.136 while Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 12.156.

This year’s USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) was sixth fastest overall and was one of three Turkey Night Rookies who posted a lap among the top-10 fastest in the field along with Clovis, California’s Corey Day (9th) and Springfield, Illinois’ Chase McDermand (10th). All will be vying for Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors on Saturday.

Additionally, 2023 USAC National Midget champion and 2021 Turkey Night winner Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was 12th fastest while 2021-22 series titlist Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) was 13th and 2017 USAC National Midget champ Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) was 22nd.

One driver notably missing from the practice session was defending Turkey Night winner Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.). Of note, Grant was also absent from practice during the 2022 running of Turkey Night and went on to win the 98-lap feature event.

On Saturday, more than 50 midgets are expected to compete in the event which debuted in 1934. This year's edition will once again feature a doubleheader with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars.

The pits open at 11am Pacific with the drivers meeting at 2:45pm, the grandstands opening at 3pm and cars on track at 3:30pm for Saturday's race.

All tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $25 for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $40 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday. Pit passes are $45 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday. Race tickets are available in advance now at www.venturaraceway.com.

Saturday’s Turkey Night Grand Prix can also be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: November 24, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

PRACTICE: 1. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.082; 2. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.119; 3. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.119; 4. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.136; 5. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.156; 6. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.181; 7. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.189; 8. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.218; 9. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.225; 10. Chase McDermand, 8w, Ford-12.243; 11. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.251; 12. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.253; 13. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.268; 14. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-12.280; 15. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.286; 16. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.289; 17. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-12.296; 18. Kale Drake, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.309; 19. A.J. Hernandez, 35H, MF-12.352; 20. Max Adams, 15, Hart-12.383; 21. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.385; 22. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-12.422; 23. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.425; 24. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-12.438; 25. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.447; 26. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-12.460; 27. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-12.480; 28. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.495; 29. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.505; 30. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.544; 31. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.562; 32. Cole Wakim, 55, Lambert-12.595; 33. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-12.640; 34. Ricky Lewis, 6A, Pedregon-12.683; 35. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.725; 36. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.727; 37. Dane Culver, 50, Knuckles Up-12.764; 38. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.782; 39. Ryan Timmons, 5v, Alexander-12.824; 40. Gage Rucker, 21K, Kruseman-12.914; 41. David Gasper, 73, Ford-12.989; 42. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-13.087; 43. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-13.135; 44. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-13.500; 45. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-13.535; 46. Joey Klemish, 35K, MF-NT.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1730, 2-Justin Grant-1479, 3-Ryan Timms-1400, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-1393, 5-Jade Avedisian-1380, 6-Daison Pursley-1378, 7-Jacob Denney-1305, 8-Gavin Miller-1190, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1167, 10-Taylor Reimer-1154.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-173, 3-Justin Grant-142, 4-Emerson Axsom-119, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

 

USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SPECIAL EVENT RESULTS:

November 24, 2023 – Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California – “ARP 82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame”

EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Grant Sexton (#44 Sexton), 2. Shon Deskins (#20 Deskins), 3. T.J. Smith (#32 Sarale), 4. Gage Rucker (#21K Kruseman), 5. Brent Yarnal (#29 Yarnal), 6. Elexa Herrera (#5J Herrera), 7. Dylan Harris (#X Minks), 8. Anthony Pombo (#3 Pombo). NT.

BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Max Adams (#3X Montgomery), 2. Kyle Edwards (#39 Edwards), 3. Ryan Timms (#5T Timms), 4. Chase Johnson (#25 Muraoka), 5. Chris Ennis (#86 Ennis), 6. Ronald Webster (#51W Webster), 7. Scott Clough (#60 Davis), 8. Dalton Smith (#75 Smith). NT.

COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ricky Lewis (#41 Lewis), 2. Michael Pombo (#3QC Pombo), 3. Tom Dunkel (#17A Dunkel), 4. Caleb Saiz (#0 Minks), 5. A.J. Bender (#21 Bender), 6. Logan Calderwood (#73C Ford), 7. Aaron Altaffer (#84 Altaffer), 8. Brody Wake (#78B Wake) NT.

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Davey Pombo (#38S Pombo), 2. Verne Sweeney (#98 Guerrero), 3. Brody Fuson (#51 Van Meter), 4. David Gasper (#18 Gasper/Kittle), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (#4J Calderwood), 6. Colby Johnson (#38 Johnson), 7. Jeremy Stout (#10 Stout), 8. Camie Bell (#29C Bell). NT.

WILWOOD DISC BRAKES / BR MOTORSPORTS FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Blake Bower (#3F Finkenbinder), 2. Carson Macedo (#21X Tarlton), 3. Jon DeWees (#63D DeWees), 4. Heath Holdsclaw (#33 Holdsclaw), 5. Andrew Sweeney (#98A Guerrero), 6. Stevie Rogers (#11 Burgeson/Rogers), 7. Brody Roa (#17R Dunkel). NT.

WILWOOD DISC BRAKES / BR MOTORSPORTS SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (#51T Tafoya), 2. Ryan Timmons (#29T Timmons), 3. Cole Wakim (#9 Wakim), 4. Mariah Ede (#14 Ede), 5. A.J.Hernandez (#72 Hernandez), 6. Matt Meredith (#6 Clawson), 7. Brandon Nelsen (#94 Nelsen), 8. Brent Steck (#2S Steck). NT.

EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Chase Johnson, 2. Max Adams, 3. Blake Bower, 4. Kyle Edwards, 5. Colby Johnson, 6. Caleb Saiz, 7. A.J. Hernandez, 8. Jon DeWees, 9. Stevie Rogers, 10. Scott Clough, 11. Anthony Pombo. NT.

BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Ryan Timmons, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. David Gasper, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Michael Pombo, 6. Logan Calderwood, 7. A.J. Bender, 8. Jeremy Stout, 9. Matt Meredith, 10. Dalton Smith. NT.

COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED THIRD QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Cole Wakim, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Mariah Ede, 4. T.J. Smith, 5. Grant Sexton, 6. Davey Pombo, 7. Gage Rucker, 8. Chris Ennis, 9. Brandon Nelsen, 10. Dylan Harris, 11. Camie Bell. NT.

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FOURTH QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Brody Fuson, 3. Brent Yarnal, 4. Ronald Webster, 5. Elexa Herrera, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Heath Holdsclaw, 8. Aaron Altaffer, 9. Shon Deskins, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., NT.

EXTREME MUFFLERS DASH: (15 laps) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Brody Fuson, 4. Blake Bower, 5. Cole Wakim, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Ryan Timmons, 8. Max Adams, 9. Charles Davis Jr., 10. Ricky Lewis. NT.
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**Also at the track, Bryan Whitley (#22 Whitley). Roa flipped during lap 1 of the fifth heat race and was transported to a local hospital for observation. Deskins flipped on lap 1 of the fourth qualifier. Lewis failed to report to scales after the dash.

HIGH TECH PERFORMANCE PILL DRAW AWARD: Matt Meredith
EXTREME MUFFLERS PILL DRAW AWARD: Anthony Pombo
BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS PILL DRAW AWARD: Mariah Ede

NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SPECIAL EVENT: November 25 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California –“ARP 82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame”

 

 

26 ROOKIE OF THE RACE CONTENDERS

PREPARE FOR TURKEY NIGHT 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 23, 2023)………The ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame annually presents the Don Basile Rookie of the Race Award, honoring the top performance by a first-time feature starter in the 98-lap classic each year.

This year’s crop of 26 Turkey Night Rookies arrive to stake their claim and make their initial mark on the great race featuring USAC’s NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, which will take place for the 82nd time this Saturday night, November 25, at California’s Ventura Raceway.

No Rookie has won the race since Warren Mockler’s last lap heroics in 1986. Jake Andreotti topped the field of Turkey Night debut starters in the 2022 race, finishing a solid fourth.

Nearly half of this year’s 53-car field is among the abundance of Rookie of the Race contenders. In this year’s group are newly crowned USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year for 2023, Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.), plus 2023 ARCA Menards Stock Car champion Jesse Love (Menlo Park, Calif.) and 2023 NARC Sprint Car titlist Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.).

Xtreme Outlaw Midget winner Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) will make the trip out west as will 2016 USAC CRA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) and Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) who stands as the winningest sprint car driver in the United States for 2023 with 18 feature victories.

Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.), the 2021 USAC Western States Midget champ will take his shot at cracking the Turkey Night field for the first time as will 2022 USAC West Coast Sprint Car king Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, Calif.).

Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), one of the most improved drivers on the tour, will shoot for his first Turkey Night start along with Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association winner Jake Bubak (Arvada, Colo.). New Zealand’s Peter Hunnibell (Auckland, N.Z.) is the lone international representative in the event.

The award, named in memory of track owner, promoter and 1999 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Basile, made its debut in 1998 with Kasey Kahne the first recipient.

Over the years, the Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors at Turkey Night have been awarded to some of the most talented young racers in America. A glance at the list reveals some of the top names from the sport over the past two decades, including one race winner – Kyle Larson (2011) – and five others who’ll be in this year’s field.

Furthermore, there are a talented bunch of past Rookies who’ll all be in the hunt for a first Turkey Night win this Saturday night, including, Carson Macedo (2016), Cannon McIntosh (2019), Mitchel Moles (2021) and Andreotti (2022).


RACE DETAILS

Automotive Racing Products is the title sponsor of the $10,000-to-win, 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 25.

Serving as grand marshals for the event are USAC Hall of Famers and Turkey Night Grand Prix winners Chuck Gurney and Steve Lewis.

Midget practice, plus USAC West Coast Sprint Car heat races, qualifiers and dash will take place on Friday, November 24 with the sprint car semi-feature and feature events, and the 98-lap USAC Midget season finale taking place on Saturday, November 25.

On Friday and Saturday, the pits open at 11am Pacific with the drivers meeting at 2:45pm, the grandstands opening at 3pm and cars on track at 3:15pm.

Friday’s tickets are $22 for adult general admission, $18 for Senior/Military/Students and free for children under 12. Pit passes are $45 apiece for members and $50 for non-members.

On Saturday, all tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $25 for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $40 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday. Pit passes are $45 for members and $50 for non-members on Saturday.

Race tickets are available now at www.venturaraceway.com


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2023 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET ROOKIES: (26)

1p ®TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

3v ®JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant)

4 ®COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Willie Kahne)

5v ®RYAN TIMMONS/Pleasant Hill, CA (Dean Alexander)

6A ®RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Cruz Pedregon)

8w ®CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

9 ®BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)

14J ®BRADEN CHIARAMONTE/El Cajon, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Streeter Racing)

15 ®MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (Dennis Hart)

19AZ ®HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21K ®GAGE RUCKER/Truxton, MO (Kruseman Enterprises)

27 ®JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Bourke Motorsports)

31B ®KYLE BEILMAN/Los Angeles, CA (Beilman Motorsports)

32 ®CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)

35H ®A.J. HERNANDEZ/Phoenix, AZ (MF Motorsports)

35K ®JOEY KLEMISH/Cortez, CO (MF Motorsports)

50 ®DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)

55 ®COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Steve Lambert)

65NZ ®PETER HUNNIBELL/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich)

71D ®BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros.)

71E ®MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71K ®KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

73 ®DAVID GASPER/Goleta, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

78 ®MARVIN MITCHELL/Madera, CA (Marvin Mitchell)

84 ®JESSE LOVE/Menlo Park, CA (CB Industries)

97 ®GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

® represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race Contender


PAST DON BASILE TURKEY NIGHT ROOKIES OF THE RACE:

1998: Kasey Kahne – Finished 5th

1999: Dave Steele – Finished 5th

2000: Aaron Pollock – Finished 7th

2001: Bobby East – Finished 10th

2002: Jerome Rodela – Finished 9th

2003: Ryan Durst – Finished 10th

2004: Brad Loyet – Finished 9th

2005: Kevin Swindell – Finished 11th

2006: Kody Swanson – Finished 2nd

2007: Mike Murgoitio – Finished 4th

2008: Nic Faas – Finished 13th

2009: Levi Roberts – Finished 2nd

2010: Dalton Armstrong – Finished 3rd

2011: Kyle Larson – Finished 4th

2012: Ryan Bernal – Finished 3rd

2013: Tanner Thorson – Finished 10th

2014: Isaac Chapple – Finished 13th

2015: Robert Dalby – Finished 14th

2016: Carson Macedo – Finished 3rd

2017: Zeb Wise – Finished 5th

2018: Jason McDougal – Finished 8th

2019: Cannon McIntosh – Finished 2nd

2020: No Race

2021: Mitchel Moles – Finished 3rd

2022: Jake Andreotti – Finished 4th

 

 

ONE MORE FOR THE CHAMP:

SEAVEY ADDS MERCED WIN

TO 2023 USAC MIDGET CHECKLIST

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 22, 2023)………As if Logan Seavey’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season couldn’t get any better, the newly-crowned 2023 series titlist added another victory to his credit for good measure on night two of Midget Madness on Wednesday at California’s Merced Speedway.

One night after clinching his second career USAC National Midget championship, Seavey tracked down Jake Andreotti for the race lead seven laps into the 30-lapper and cruised to his series-leading eighth feature win of the year aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Indy Custom Stone - Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

Seavey’s 16th career USAC National Midget triumph moved him up to 43rd on the all-time list alongside Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Justin Grant, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero and Henry Pens.

And as it turns out, Seavey not only had excellence on his side on this evening, but he also possessed good fortune. Late in the going, Seavey’s mount was suffering, and ultimately lost power mere moments after crossing under the checkered flag.

There was no time for a victory lap as Seavey won and promptly guided his car to the infield, coasting into victory lane. In the end, he had all the power he needed to get to the finish line and that’s all he really needed when all was said and done.

“Right before that yellow, I think I dropped a valve or cylinder or something,” Seavey revealed. “I wasn’t even sure if it was going to take off on the restart. Lucky these Stanton SR-11s make plenty of power, and even though I was down a little bit, I was still able to win.”

When the bell tolled, Seavey had tallied his 21st consecutive top-10 feature result in USAC National Midget competition, which is the most any driver has achieved since Kasey Kahne put together a 21-race string during his championship season of 2000.

Seavey lined up outside the front row alongside pole sitter Jake Andreotti who, on this very night exactly one year ago at Merced, led the first two laps of his USAC National Midget career. Once again, the early stages at Merced belonged to Andreotti who paced the field for the initial six circuits as Seavey gave chase.

The most major incident of the night occurred on lap four when fifth running Jesse Love slipped over the turn four cushion and pounded the outside wall during a battle for position with Ryan Timms. The contact sent Love, the 2023 ARCA Menards Stock Car champion, flipping down the front straightaway before coming to a rest. Love was able to climb out and walk away, but his car went away on the hook.

On the ensuing restart, Seavey went to work on Andreotti for the race lead, using the low side of the high banked 1/4-mile dirt oval to glide past Andreotti through turns three and four on the seventh lap before pulling up and pulling away from the rest of the field where no one was going to catch him.

“I just wasn’t really sure where I needed to be early,” Seavey admitted. “When I ran the sprint car race (earlier in the night), the bottom was really good, but midgets are a little bit harder to get around the bottom. Jake got off to a really good start and set a good pace. I was struggling with my car early and couldn’t get the thing adjusted like I wanted to and where I thought the car needed to be. It just took a few laps after that restart, and I burned what was left of the bottom down there and was able to get by him, then get up. Once my tires got hot, the car came right to me. I had all the grip I needed there.”

Andreotti continued to challenge Seavey as 10th starting Justin Grant swiped third from Buddy Kofoid on lap 10 while utilizing the low side of the surface. In that same timeframe, Seavey opened up his lead to a half-straight by the time the race hit the halfway point.

As has been the case on occasion this season, while Seavey was experiencing a comfortable drive up front, chaos was ensuing behind him as seemingly half the field threw haymaker after haymaker and shot after shot amid the jockeying from second through eighth in the running order during the final stanza of the affair.

Three-wide racing ensued as every position from second on back became up for grabs with the running order changing repeatedly within the blink of an eye. Grant, who had fallen to fourth, quickly picked off Kofoid for third again, then Andreotti for second on successive laps on the 25th and 26th trips around Merced.

Amidst the tornado of activity, no less than seven drivers: Andreotti, Grant, Kofoid, Jade Avedisian, Carson Macedo, Spencer Bayston and Ryan Timms saw themselves move forward and/or get shuffled back at one point or another during the final six laps.

But the merry-go-round of thrills was halted on lap 28 when 10th running Tanner Thorson stopped on the back straightaway to bring out the last caution, negating Seavey’s commanding 1.601 second lead and setting up a three-lap shootout to the race’s closure.

Kofoid was the boldest mover on the restart as he dove from fifth to third past Timms and Andreotti in turn three on lap 28, while up front, Seavey was leading the path relatively by his lonesome to reign victorious by a 0.797 second margin over Grant, Kofoid, Timms and Macedo who rounded out the top-five in a wild scramble for position that was good to the last drop, Maxwell House style.

It was a solid bounce back night for Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) who started the evening as the 23rd fastest qualifier out of 31 cars. He turned it around by winning his heat race, then charged up through the field from 10th to second in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Grant has now finished five of his last seven series starts inside the top-four.

Once again, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) was a frontrunner at Merced Speedway. In eight career USAC National Midget starts at the track, Kofoid has now finished in the top-three in seven of them. On this night, he gained several spots, lost them, then gained them back during a flurry of activity late to finish on the podium in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.

Meanwhile, Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) stopped the clock with the fastest ever Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying lap by a USAC National Midget driver at Merced Speedway, laying down a new track record of 11.417 seconds, which broke the one day old track record of 11.526 held by Tanner Thorson. She now owns two one-lap track records with the series, also recording a track record at Illinois’ Wayne County Speedway in August of this year.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 22, 2023 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.417 (New Track Record); 2. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-11.460; 3. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-11.492; 4. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.506; 5. Tanner Thorson, 88, Thorson-11.513; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.566; 7. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-11.582; 8. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.583; 9. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.621; 10. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.644; 11. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-11.648; 12. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-11.653; 13. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.656; 14. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-11.657; 15. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-11.668; 16. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-11.679; 17. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-11.688; 18. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.688; 19. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-11.691; 20. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-11.691; 21. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-11.696; 22. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.698; 23. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-11.785; 24. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-11.848; 25. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-11.849; 26. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-11.851; 27. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.910; 28. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-11.912; 29. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.063; 30. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.083; 31. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Jade Avedisian, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Cannon McIntosh, 7. Tanner Carrick, 8. Kyle Beilman. 1:58.43

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jesse Love, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Braden Chiaramonte, 7. Gavin Miller, 8. Peter Hunnibell. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Jake Andreotti, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. Michael Faccinto, 7. Mariah Ede. 2:00.37

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brody Fuson, 2. Corey Day, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Shannon McQueen, 7. Mitchel Moles. 2:00.04

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. Michael Faccinto, 6. Braden Chiaramonte, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Cannon McIntosh, 9. Mariah Ede, 10. Mitchel Moles, 11. Shannon McQueen, 12. Kyle Beilman, 13. Peter Hunnibell, 14. Blake Bower. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Justin Grant (10), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Ryan Timms (7), 5. Carson Macedo (11), 6. Jade Avedisian (6), 7. Corey Day (15), 8. Jake Andreotti (1), 9. Spencer Bayston (8), 10. Emerson Axsom (12), 11. Hayden Reinbold (13), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (21), 13. Daison Pursley (14), 14. Taylor Reimer (20), 15. Jacob Denney (19), 16. Tanner Carrick (16), 17. Braden Chiaramonte (17), 18. Brody Fuson (9), 19. Michael Faccinto (18), 20. Tanner Thorson (3), 21. Jesse Love (5), 22. Thomas Meseraull (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Jake Andreotti, Laps 7-30 Logan Seavey.

**Cannon McIntosh flipped during the semi. Jesse Love flipped on lap 4 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1730, 2-Justin Grant-1479, 3-Ryan Timms-1400, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-1393, 5-Jade Avedisian-1380, 6-Daison Pursley-1378, 7-Jacob Denney-1305, 8-Gavin Miller-1190, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1167, 10-Taylor Reimer-1154.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-199, 2-Logan Seavey-173, 3-Justin Grant-142, 4-Emerson Axsom-119, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 25, 2023 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track – 82nd ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Cannon McIntosh (11.599)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jade Avedisian (11.417)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Spencer Bayston

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Brody Fuson

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Macedo

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Jake Andreotti

Hard Charger: Bryant Wiedeman (21st to 12th)

 

 

BAYSTON WINS FIRST IN FIVE YEARS AT MERCED,

SEAVEY CLINCHES USAC MIDGET TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 21, 2023)………After what transpired during his most recent visit to California’s Merced Speedway last November, Spencer Bayston felt he had some unfinished business to attend to.

At the conclusion of 30 laps during Tuesday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship return to the high-banked 1/4-mile dirt oval, the Lebanon, Ind. racer put the finishing touches on the task that had eluded him a full year ago at the very same venue.

In November of 2022, Bayston watched his Dyson Motorsport teammate Carson Macedo win the Merced opener. The very next night, Bayston led the initial 25 laps before having his lead slip away to Buddy Kofoid with a mere five laps remaining.

This time around, the roles were reversed with Bayston, the 2017 USAC National Midget champion, taking the first-place prize after leading all 30 circuits in his Dyson Motorsport/Complete Parts & Equipment – Tarlton & Son – Empire/King/Speedway Toyota while Kofoid finished a distant second.

For Bayston, it was his first USAC National Midget feature victory since an Indiana Midget Week score at Lawrenceburg Speedway more than five years earlier in 2018. His sixth career series victory moved him to 106th on the all-time list alongside Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Cannon McIntosh, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. and Roger West.

Furthermore, Bayston became the first Hoosier State native hailing from Indiana to earn a USAC National Midget feature victory since Emerson Axsom almost two-and-a-half years earlier at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway.

Bayston’s wire-to-wire performance puts another one in the win column for the team with the intriguing arrangement of American drivers, chassis from New Zealand and an Australian team that has now won two out of their three ever trips to Merced to go along with a runner-up result.

“It feels really good for all these Aussie guys standing back here behind me,” Bayston exclaimed. “We ran Bakersfield and Placerville and it’s hard; it’s a lot harder than I ever realized getting back into a midget and trying to keep pace with some of the top guys who run every single week. I spent the first couple of races trying to get it figured out. Last year, Carson (Macedo) won the first night out and I should’ve won the second. We knew coming into tonight our cars were going to be fast.”

Meanwhile, as one past series champion was racing his way back to victory lane, another past driving champion was busy adding a second USAC National Midget championship trophy to his case.

When Logan Seavey was pushed away for the start of Tuesday night’s feature, he clinched the season long points title for the second time in his career after previously etching his name into the record books back in 2018. It’s Seavey’s second USAC national title of 2023 after earlier securing the Silver Crown title, making him the first driver to win multiple USAC national championships in a single season since Levi Jones in 2011 (Silver Crown & Sprint).

By virtue of doubling-up with the USAC National Midget and Silver Crown titles in 2023, Seavey earned $100,000 in total point fund money alone for the year between the two divisions.

As far as the race itself, most of the fireworks occurred during the initial lap-and-a-half. Outside front row starter Gavin Miller slipped past pole sitter Bayston for the lead, but Bayston swiftly countered back under off turn four to beat Miller to the stripe and to the lap one lead by just a thread underneath a full car length.

On the second go around, Miller attempted to work the side around Bayston, but clipped his right rear tire into the outside guardrail, which sent him into a serious of six violent flips down the back straightaway and some major airtime before landing on all fours. Miller was able to escape from the wreckage and walk away under his own power.

On the resumption, Bayston shot away and instantaneously opened up a near full second lead over Tanner Carrick who slotted into second, and by the 10-lap mark, the advantage was a half-straightaway over the field for Bayston who’s made rare appearances with the midgets in recent years after winning a race and finishing eighth in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car points this season, but has never lost his touch for midget racing.

“It’s a little bit like riding a bike just with the general concept and the attitude of how the car dances around and bounces and moves,” Bayston acknowledged. “But it’s a little unnerving because you’re just so used to a wing car that has enough power to get you out of trouble and a big wing to shove you into the racetrack.”

Meanwhile, Seavey refused to rest on his championship laurels as he worked by Jesse Love for fifth with a slider on lap 16 after starting back in the 12th position. At the same time, a full straight ahead of Seavey was Bayston who remained the leader he reemerged in lapped traffic once more.

On the 25th lap, the top of the running order experienced a shakeup when fourth-place Emerson Axsom’s ride went up in smoke, forcing him to the infield and into a 19th place result, thrusting Seavey up to fourth and Love back into the top-five with less than five circuits go.

Up front, however, Bayston was never challenged too harshly by his fellow combatants as he sped away for a 0.893 second margin of victory over Buddy Kofoid, Tanner Carrick and Logan Seavey who extended his top-10 streak to 20 in a row, the most in USAC National Midget racing since 2000 when Kasey Kahne accumulated 21, and prior to that, Jason Leffler grabbing 22-straight in 1997.

Rounding out the top-five was 2023 ARCA Menard Stock Car champion Jesse Love who took fifth in the final tally to achieve his best career USAC National Midget showing.

“Just want to say a big thank you to the Dysons for giving me the opportunity to come back and run midgets and have fun with this whole group,” Bayston praised. “Justin (Insley) did a phenomenal job on my car. I got to spend a lot of time with his family back when I used to race in New Zealand. This whole group has done a great job and it’s an absolute blast to come out here and race with them.”

In seven career USAC National Midget starts at Merced, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) has now finished inside the top-three in six of them. The Penngrove, Calif. racer eked by Tanner Carrick on the final lap, beating him to the line by .042 sec. to finish second in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.

Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) narrowly missed out on a runner-up finish at Merced in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/DR Horton – CVC Concrete/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. However, he did earn his best finish of the USAC National Midget season in the process. Carrick scored a third-place result, his best finish at Merced since 2020.

Tanner Thorson’s Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying run was the 26th of his USAC National Midget career, moving him past Gary Bettenhausen and into a tie with Jason Leffler for 15th all-time. Furthermore, Thorson’s time of 11.526 eclipsed the former record of 11.635 set by Buddy Kofoid in 2021.

It was the first of three USAC National Midget track records at Merced rewritten on Tuesday night. Jesse Love’s 10-lap heat race victory bested Chris Windom’s 2021 record by more than five seconds while Jade Avedisian’s 12-lap time for her semi-feature win was more than nine seconds faster than Taylor Reimer’s from 2022.


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


USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 21, 2023 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 88, Thorson-11.526 (New Track Record); 2. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-11.569; 3. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.581; 4. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.581; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.635; 6. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.644; 7. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.653; 8. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.661; 9. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-11.674; 10. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-11.689; 11. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-11.696; 12. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-11.712; 13. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-11.738; 14. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-11.776; 15. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-11.809; 16. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.822; 17. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-11.841; 18. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-11.874; 19. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.895; 20. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.911; 21. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-11.926; 22. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-11.938; 23. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-11.945; 24. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-11.947; 25. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.947; 26. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-11.965; 27. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-11.995; 28. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.104; 29. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-12.587; 30. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-12.625.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jesse Love, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Buddy Kofoid, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Taylor Reimer, 8. Mitchel Moles, 9. Mariah Ede, 10. Michael Faccinto. 1:54.98 (New Track Record)

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Peter Hunnibell, 9. Shannon McQueen, 10. Thomas Meseraull. 1:56.50

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Tanner Carrick, 5. Braden Chiaramonte, 6. Brody Fuson, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Blake Bower, 9. Jade Avedisian, 10. Corey Day. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Jade Avedisian, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Corey Day, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Mitchel Moles, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Taylor Reimer, 10. Brody Fuson, 11. Shannon McQueen, 12. Peter Hunnibell, 13. Blake Bower. 2:18.06 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Spencer Bayston (1), 2. Buddy Kofoid (5), 3. Tanner Carrick (4), 4. Logan Seavey (12), 5. Jesse Love (8), 6. Tanner Thorson (10), 7. Carson Macedo (9), 8. Jacob Denney (14), 9. Ryan Timms (16), 10. Jade Avedisian (11), 11. Daison Pursley (6), 12. Justin Grant (22), 13. Corey Day (18), 14. Bryant Wiedeman (17), 15. Hayden Reinbold (19), 16. Taylor Reimer (23-P), 17. Cannon McIntosh (13), 18. Braden Chiaramonte (15), 19. Emerson Axsom (3), 20. Jake Andreotti (7), 21. Chance Crum (20), 22. Gavin Miller (2), 23. Mitchel Moles (21). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Spencer Bayston.

**Gavin Miller flipped on lap 2 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1653, 2-Justin Grant-1404, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1347, 4-Daison Pursley-1335, 5-Ryan Timms-1331, 6-Jade Avedisian-1313, 7-Jacob Denney-1267, 8-Gavin Miller-1180, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1157, 10-Taylor Reimer-1112.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-198, 2-Logan Seavey-172, 3-Justin Grant-134, 4-Emerson Axsom-117, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 22, 2023 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Tanner Thorson (11.742)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson (11.526)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jesse Love

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Carson Macedo

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Jake Andreotti

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jade Avedisian

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Spencer Bayston

Hard Charger: Justin Grant (22nd to 12th)

 

 

USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CARS RUMBLE AT VENTURA’S “TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX”
By Lance Jennings

NOVEMBER 20, 2023... Starting this Friday, November 24th, the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series is back in action for two nights at Ventura Raceway. Promoted by Jim Naylor, the prestigious “ARP 82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame” will begin with a special program for the non-winged 360 sprints and practice sessions for the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midgets. On Saturday, the Sprint Cars will return with their Consolation, Semi-Mains, and 30-lap feature while the Midgets will run a complete show. The Pit Gates at the “The Best Little Dirt Track in America” will open at 11:00am, the Driver’s Meeting will be held at 2:45pm, the Spectator Gates open at 3:00pm, and practice starts at 3:15pm.

LOCATION: Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. Advance tickets are on sale and for more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.

ENTRIES: At press time, there are 51 USAC West Coast Sprint Cars and over 50 USAC National Midgets entered in the Turkey Night Grand Prix. The Sprint Car entry list is at the end of this release, with more expected on race day.

DEFENDING SPRINT CAR WINNER: Ryan Timms.

GRAND MARSHALLS: Steve Lewis & Chuck Gurney.

LIVE STREAMING: FloRacing.com is the only streaming service that is broadcasting the "82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix" at Ventura Raceway.

PIT PARKING: Teams can park their trailers in the pit area on Thursday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Wednesday arrivals can drop off trailers in the parking lot, but must not block the pit gate to leave an open fire lane.

FRIDAY SPRINT CAR FORMAT: A pill pick/passing points format will be used. The pill pick will set the six heat races and the earned passing points will set a round of qualifying races. The top-10 in passing points from the heat races and qualifiers will compete in a 15-lap dash paying $1,200-to-win and $150-to-win. The dash lineup will be straight up by points. The overall point leader after the dash will start on the pole position of Saturday’s main event.

FRIDAY DASH PURSE: 1-$1200, 2-$750, 3-$500, 4-$400, 5-$300, 6-$250, 7-$200, 8-$150, 9-$150, 10-$150.

SATURDAY SPRINT CAR FORMAT: Cars finishing eleventh and below after Friday’s passing points will run a Consolation and Semi-Mains. The lineups are based straight up on passing points. Saturday’s 30-lap feature with twenty-two (22) cars will pay $3,000-to-win and $225-to-start.

SATURDAY FEATURE PURSE: 1-$3000, 2-$1500, 3-$800, 4-$750, 5-$700, 6-$650, 7-$600, 8-$500, 9-$400, 10-$300, 11-22-$225.

DRIVER MEMBERSHIPS: USAC licenses ARE NOT REQUIRED for the event.

RACECEIVERS/TRANSPONDERS: Raceceivers and transponders ARE MANDATORY. Transponders are available for rent for $30 total for both nights.

FUEL: High Tech Performance will have fuel available for sale at the race track.

TIRE RULE: Due to the current tire shortages, ANY Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition until further notice with the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. All four corners must be Hoosier. High Tech Performance and Hoosier will sell tires at the track.

APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78, FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101, COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S, B&B: FRAC-0375S, SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK, P1 AUSTRALIA: SSM5C. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.

USED/OLD TIRES: Ventura Raceway will deduct $50 from the purse for each used/old tire left in the pit area. Racers must take their discarded/old tires and dispose of them properly.

FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front Axle Tethers (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 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.

When the Turkey Night Grand Prix returned to Ventura Raceway in 2016, track promoter Jim Naylor added the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars to the program. “The Human Highlight Reel” Geoff Ensign claimed the victory and the non-winged 360s have been a part of the prestigious event ever since. Last year, Ryan Timms of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma led every lap to earn the victory and the complete winner’s list for Sprint Cars at the Turkey Night Grand Prix is at the end of this release.

Since April 4, 2009, the Ventura County Fairgrounds has held twenty-seven (27) West Coast Sprint Car events and nineteen different drivers have claimed victory. Led by Tristan Guardino, Troy Rutherford, and Jake Swanson with three wins, Rutherford also set the 1-lap track record of 11.941 on June 4, 2022.

The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Finishline Promotions, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, P1 Racing Images, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, SCRAFAN.COM, Sidewaze Designs, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wagtimers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 2010-Craig Stidham, 2011-Richard Vander Weerd, 2012-Bud Kaeding, 2013-Danny Faria Jr., 2014-Matt Mitchell, 2015-Danny Faria Jr., 2016-Brody Roa, 2017-Jake Swanson, 2018-Austin Liggett, 2019-Tristan Guardino, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-D.J. Johnson, 2022-Trent Carter, 2023-Ryan Timmons.

USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR: 2009-Terry Nichols, 2010-Chris Ennis, 2011-Ryan Bernal, 2012-Austin Liggett, 2013-Landon Hurst, 2014-Trent Carter & Garrett Long, 2015-Trey Marcham, 2016-Ryan Timmons, 2017-Brandon Wiley, 2018-Britton Bock, 2019-J.J. Ringo, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Jarrett Soares, 2022-Tyler Hatzikian, 2023-Ron LaPlant.

TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX SPRINT CAR WINNERS: 2001-Tony Hunt, 2002-Tony Stewart, 2003-Michael Lewis, 2004-Michael Lewis, 2005-Dave Steele, 2006-Tony Hunt, 2007-Bobby Santos III, 2008-Tracy Hines, 2009-Cole Whitt, 2010-Kody Swanson, 2011-Tanner Swanson, 2016-Geoff Ensign, 2017-Tyler Courtney, 2018-Carson Macedo, 2019-Chase Johnson, 2020-CANCELLED, 2021-A.J. Bender, 2022-Ryan Timms. (*2001-2011 = USAC Western Pavement Sprints, 2016-Date = USAC West Coast Sprints)

2023 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX SPRINT CAR ENTRIES:
Car # - Driver – Hometown – Car Owner
2STX-Brent Steck / Roseville, California / John Steck
3-Anthony Pombo / Kerman, California / Tony Pombo
3-Max Adams / Loomis, California / Montgomery Family
3F-Blake Bower / Brentwood, California / Ted Finkenbinder
3QC-Michael Pombo / Easton, California / Tony & Susan Pombo
4-Charles Davis Jr. / Buckeye, Arizona / Rex Calderwood
5J-Elexa Herrera / New Cuyama, California / James Herrera
6-Logan Calderwood / Goodyear, Arizona / Rex Calderwood
6M-Matt Meredith / Thousand Oaks, California / Sheri Clawson
9-Cole Wakim / Simi Valley, California / Chris Wakim
10-Jeremy Stout / Ojai, California / Jeremy Stout
11-Stevie Rogers / Apple Valley, California / Burgeson & Rogers
14-Mariah Ede / Fresno, California / Ede Motorsports
15-Rick Hendrix / Palmdale, California / Rick Hendrix
17A-Tom Dunkel / Menifee, California / Tom & Christy Dunkel
17R-Brody Roa / Garden Grove, California / Tom & Christy Dunkel
18-David Gasper / Goleta, California / Gasper & Kittle
20-Shon Deskins / Phoenix, Arizona / Shon Deskins Racing
21K-Gage Rucker / St. Louis, Missouri / Kruseman Driving School
21T-Carson Macedo / Lemoore, California / Tarlton Motorsports
22-Bryan Whitley / Ventura, California / Bryan Whitley
25-Chase Johnson / Penngrove, California / Chris Muraoka
29-Camie Bell / Bakersfield, California / Tim Bell
29-Brent Yarnal / Phoenix, Arizona / Brent Yarnal
29T-Ryan Timmons / Pleasant Hill, California / Dave Timmons
32-T.J. Smith / Fresno, California / Caden Sarale
33-Heath Holdsclaw / Loomis, California / Tony Holdsclaw
38-Colby Johnson / Penngrove, California / Johnson Racing
38S- Davey Pombo / Kerman, California / Angela Pombo
39-Kyle Edwards / Fountain Valley, California / Gordon Edwards
39R-Mark Henry / Rosamond, California / Mark Henry
41-Ricky Lewis / Oxnard, California / Ricky Lewis
43-Justin Kierce / Reseda, California / George Tuttle Jr.
44-Grant Sexton / Lakeside, California / Brent Sexton
51-Brody Fuson / Bakersfield, California / Bob & Toni Van Meter
51T-Eddie Tafoya Jr. / Chino Hills, California / Eddie Tafoya Sr.
51W-Ronald Webster / Chandler, Arizona / Ron & Shea Webster
60-Scott Clough / Gold Beach, Oregon / Sally Davis
63D-Jon DeWees / Lemoore, California / Jon DeWees
72-A.J. Hernandez / Phoenix, Arizona / Aaron Hernandez
73-Dominic Gorden / Fresno, California / Josh Ford Motorsports
74-Shane Sexton / Warner Springs, California / Sexton-Gatlin Racing
78B-Brody Wake / Lake Havasu City, Arizona / Ryan Wake
84-Aaron Altaffer / Fresno, California / Aaron Altaffer
86-Chris Ennis / Bakersfield, California / Allen Ennis
94-Brandon Nelsen / Arroyo Grande, California / Brandon Nelsen
98-Verne Sweeney / Lomita, California / Rachel Guerrero
98A-Andrew Sweeney / Rattlesnake Mountain, Arizona / Rachel Guerrero
99T- Tanner Boul / Auberry, California / Boul Racing
$-Cash Culp / Apple Valley, California / Cash Culp

VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Troy Rutherford - 11.941 (06/04/22)

VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: (Includes Non-Point Races) 3-Tristan Guardino, 3-Troy Rutherford, 3-Jake Swanson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-David Gasper, 1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Ryan Timms, 1-Daniel Whitley.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Timmons, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-David Gasper, 1-Chase Johnson.

FINAL 2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ryan Timmons-406, 2. Brody Fuson-373, 3. Kyle Edwards-359, 4. Ron LaPlant®-343, 5. David Gasper®-315, 6. Tom Hendricks-260, 7. Tyler Hatzikian-255, 8. Jon DeWees®-249, 9. Chris Ennis-236, 10. Adam Christian®-224, 11. Cody Majors-197, 12. Camie Bell-187, 13. Elexa Herrera-184, 14. Trent Carter-182, 15. Logan Calderwood-175, 16. Heath Holdsclaw®-163, --. Jake Andreotti®-163, 18. Tom Dunkel®-159, 19. Steve Hix-143, 20. Bryan Whitley®-137, 21. Hannah Mayhew-133, 22. Troy Rutherford-125, 23. A.J. Bender-114, 24. Matt Day-104, 25. James Herrera-93, 26. Cole Wakim®-85, 27. Chase Johnson-79, 28. Tanner Boul-72, 29. Kaleb Montgomery-68, 30. D.J. Johnson-61, 31. Chris Wakim®-60, 32. Verne Sweeney®-49, 33. Joey Bishop-47, 34. Rick Hendrix-46, 35. Aaron Altaffer-45, 36. Malyssa Perkins®-43, 37. Charlie Butcher-41, --. Gage Stickler-41, 39. Bruce Douglass-40, 40. T.J. Smith-38, 41. Austin Grabowski®-33, 42. Grant Sexton®-29, 43. Eathon Lanfri®-28, 44. Tony Everhart®-10.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 25: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (RAIN)
April 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
May 13: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
June 3: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
June 17: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
July 29: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 26: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
November 24: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

16TH TO 1ST:

LARSON PUTS ON A SHOW TO WIN

HANGTOWN 100 AT PLACERVILLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Placerville, California (November 19, 2023)………No matter how many times you witness it, Kyle Larson’s late-race heroics never fail to completely mesmerize the senses.

On Sunday night at California’s Placerville Speedway, the Elk Grove, Calif. native once again dazzled down the stretch as he charged from his 16th starting position and into the lead on lap 93 of the 100-lap main event before pacing the final eight circuits en route to victory at the Hangtown 100.

For Larson, it was his second USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship triumph of the weekend at his home track of Placerville as he became the first two-time winner of the event after also scoring the inaugural edition back in 2019.

Furthermore, Larson also became the first driver to earn a second overall Hangtown 100 points championship, which he also previously achieved in 2019. His collective efforts throughout the weekend earned him an overall payday of $25,500.

Larson’s 27th career USAC National Midget feature victory in his Kyle Larson Racing/HendrickCars.com – FloRacing/Eagle tied him for the 15th on the all-time series win list alongside USAC Hall of Famers Gary Bettenhausen and Tony Stewart.

With points being top of mind throughout the weekend at the 1/4-mile dirt oval, the accumulation of each and every tally determined the starting lineup for the longest race on the series circuit in 2023. With Larson being the high point driver leading into Sunday’s feature, a 16-pill was randomly drawn, meaning Larson would start 16th on the grid.

Meanwhile Corey Day and Ryan Timms occupied the front row with Timms getting the initial upper hand which he utilized to lead the opening 14 laps. However, their fun at the front soon unraveled when the tail-end lead lap cars of Jesse Love and Landon Brooks spun sideways in turns three and four, which collected both Timms and Day in the incident as they all came to a stop to bring out the first yellow.

Mitchel Moles assumed his new role up front as the race leader coming back to the 15th lap restart. Soon thereafter, 2021 Hangtown 100 winner Justin Grant glided by Moles in turn three, then fended him off at the stripe to take over up front on lap 18.

Grant immediately opened his advantage up to 1.4 seconds until lap 27 when Thomas Meseraull (14th) got caught atop the turn one and two cushion, which sent him barrel rolling, and ultimately, out of the race. Meseraull walked away but was finished for the evening with a 27th place result.

By lap 44, Larson found himself firmly in the thick of the hunt in fourth, but nearly wound up in a precarious position as he hopped several times atop the turn three cushion, dropping him back to sixth and allowing Seavey and Golobic to flash on by for fourth and fifth, respectively. Although the distance was 100 laps with a brief break in between, the pace of the race was always “go time” according to Larson.

“Honestly, I was trying to go as hard as I could the whole time,” Larson explained. “I got stuck really early on in the race. The track was still kind of narrow at that point. Once I got by, I was able to get to fifth or sixth pretty quickly, then got to fourth and hopped really badly and gave up like three spots before the open red. I knew that was going to hurt my chances getting to the lead, but I felt like I could’ve got to the lead much earlier had I not made that mistake. Then I had to work really hard after that.”

Moments before the halfway point, on lap 49, Taylor Reimer (10th) flipped over in turn one, bringing out a red flag that coincided with the pre-scheduled mid-race break for teams to refuel, check air pressure, etc., etc. and perform any activity on their car as long as the tires didn’t leave the ground.

Emerging at the forefront during the ensuing laps following “halftime” was Seavey who restarted fourth and methodically picked his way past Spencer Bayston for third, Mitchel Moles for second and then Justin Grant with an outside turn one maneuver for the lead in rapid-fire succession by lap 58.

“(Logan) really turned the wick up there after the break,” Larson acknowledged. “I was struggling there after the open red, so I had to get up on the wheel there. The lanes got dominant after the break. The top got really fast in three and four. One and two was kind of confusing, but the middle got slowed down enough, we could finally roll the top.”

Moments earlier, Gavin Miller (5th) tried the diamond maneuver off the top rope in turn three, but as he drove down the banking, he collided with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate Jade Avedisian (6th), popping her car up into the air before landing back down. On lap 58, Avedisian suddenly slowed on the back straight. The trailing car of Chase Johnson ramped over her left side wheels at full speed, sending both drivers flipping. Avedisian was miraculously able to restart and finished 13th while Johnson was finished for the evening.

With roughly 20 laps remaining, the front four were separated by two different factions. Seavey was in the process of fending off Grant for the lead in heavy traffic while, a full straightaway back, Larson was waging himself in a toil with Golobic.

When Timms spun in turn one on lap 86, the incident proved to be a game changer. Gone was Seavey's 0.950 second lead and it breathed new life into Larson’s pursuit of victory. First, Larson punched it past Golobic for third in turn three on lap 86, then repeated the effort on Grant in turn three on lap 88 to slot into second. Yet Larson remained a far cry from Seavey who held a commanding 1.3 second lead at the time. However, Larson wasn’t content on just riding around at that point.

“I knew that where I was at,” Larson admitted. “I could win the points, but I didn’t want to just win the points. I wanted to win the race. So, we had to get up on the wheel the last 15 laps and start pounding the top of one and two to build some runs.”

However, a yellow flag flew on lap 91 for Cannon McIntosh (16th) who ran out of fuel and slowed to a stop with 10 laps to go and again on lap 93 for Reimer whose car wound up inclined backward on the back straightaway hill. The caution allowed the field to bunch up and for Larson to be right on the rear bumper of Seavey for the lap 93 restart.

Larson swept to the lead past Seavey with his patented turn three slider on the lap 93 restart. Seavey and Golobic swarmed Larson on lap 94 in turn three as both slid their way past, forcing Larson to double back under both cars off turn four to beat Seavey to the line by a half car length. Larson cleared both, then took the slider line for himself to form a bit of a fortress around himself to protect from being slid back.

“They both slid me in three and four and I was able to check up and get a nice run off exit and get back to the lead,” Larson recalled. “I wasn’t quite sure what to do after that in one and two. The safe route would’ve been to run the bottom but Logan’s really good around the cushion, so I didn’t want to do that and let him build up a run behind me. I felt like if I could just not hit the curb hard in one and two, I could at least have enough momentum down the back stretch to protect from a slider. I could see his nose for a few laps there, but with two or three to go, he disappeared from my inside in one and two and I felt like I had gotten a safe enough gap there.”

From there, Larson was unattainable by the rest of the field as he finished off a 0.881 second interval at the finish line over Logan Seavey, Shane Golobic and Justin Grant with Carson Macedo rounding out the top-five.

“A lot kind of happened there during that final eight lap run,” Larson acknowledged. “I knew, being the leader, you’ve got to play some games. Logan took off in the middle and got to the cushion, and he got a little tight. I was actually able to get a good launch and was entering on his right rear into one. He could hear me because he went to protect into three. My angle was just a little bit better than his and I was able to get to the cushion and chop him into one.”

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) came close to becoming the first two-time Hangtown winner aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Indy Custom Stone - Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. He led 35 laps and paced the field until eight laps to go before coming home second. The USAC National Midget point leader has now raced his way to a remarkable 20 top-tens and 19 top-fives in his last 20 starts.

At his self-described favorite racetrack in the world, Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) was in contention for the win during the final laps in his Matt Wood Racing/NOS Energy Drink – FK Rod Ends – DMI – Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. In the end, he raced to his best career Hangtown 100 finish of third.

Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) advanced all the way from his 21st starting position to finish fifth in the Hangtown100, earning a $500 hard charger bonus from Ms. Blanche Rose. Macedo has now finished all three of his Hangtown 100 starts inside the top-five (5th in 2021, 4th in 2022 & 5th in 2023).


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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 19, 2023 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Hangtown 100

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 2. Kyle Larson (#1K Larson), 3. David Gasper (#73 Ford), 4. Daison Pursley (#19 Reinbold-Underwood), 5. Shane Golobic (#17w Wood), 6. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 7. Jade Avedisian (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Carson Macedo (#99AU Dyson), 9. Peter Hunnibell (#65NZ Covich). NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Bryant Wiedeman (#81 CBI), 2. Landon Brooks (#57w Wood), 3. Spencer Bayston (#9AU Dyson), 4. Jacob Denney (#25 Malloy), 5. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Thomas Meseraull (#7x Engler), 8. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold/Underwood). NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Corey Day (#4 Kahne), 2. Chance Crum (#68w Six8), 3. Cannon McIntosh (#86 CBI), 4. Mitchel Moles (#19T Reinbold/Underwood), 5. Chase Johnson (#31 Beilman), 6. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Buddy Kofoid (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Mariah Ede (#71E Kunz/Curb-Agajanian). NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Brody Fuson (#51 Carlile), 2. Jesse Love (#84 CBI), 3. Emerson Axsom (#68 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 5. Tanner Thorson (#88 Thorson), 6. Tanner Carrick (#98 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Blake Bower (#9 Boscacci), 8. Shannon McQueen (#7 McQueen). NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Jesse Love, 4. Landon Brooks, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. David Gasper, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Peter Hunnibell, 11. Bryant Wiedeman, 12. Shannon McQueen. NT

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (16), 2. Logan Seavey (14), 3. Shane Golobic (3), 4. Justin Grant (8), 5. Carson Macedo (21), 6. Emerson Axsom (5), 7. Buddy Kofoid (13), 8. Mitchel Moles (4), 9. Daison Pursley (19), 10. Jacob Denney (15), 11. Hayden Reinbold (28-P), 12. Landon Brooks (24), 13. Jade Avedisian (10), 14. Spencer Bayston (7), 15. Tanner Thorson (18), 16. Tanner Carrick (9), 17. Ryan Timms (2), 18. Chris Windom (22), 19. Gavin Miller (12), 20. Bryant Wiedeman (25-P), 21. Brody Fuson (17), 22. Cannon McIntosh (6), 23. Taylor Reimer (11), 24. Chase Johnson (26-P), 25. Corey Day (1), 26. Chance Crum (27-P), 27. Thomas Meseraull (20), 28. Jesse Love (23). NT

**(P) represents a promoter’s option starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Ryan Timms, Laps 15-17 Mitchel Moles, Laps 18-57 Justin Grant, Laps 58-92 Logan Seavey, Laps 93-100 Kyle Larson.

**Mariah Ede flipped during the third heat. Thomas Meseraull flipped on lap 27 of the feature. Taylor Reimer flipped on lap 49 of the feature. Jade Avedisian & Chase Johnson flipped on lap 58 of the feature.

FINAL HANGTOWN 100 POINTS: 1-Kyle Larson-343, 2-Logan Seavey-329, 3-Justin Grant-308, 4-Jacob Denney-307, 5-Buddy Kofoid-306, 6-Shane Golobic-299, 7-Emerson Axsom-296, 8-Jade Avedisian-286, 9-Mitchel Moles-285, 10-Spencer Bayston-280.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1589, 2-Justin Grant-1359, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1305, 4-Daison Pursley-1285, 5-Ryan Timms-1278, 6-Jade Avedisian-1262, 7-Jacob Denney-1213, 8-Gavin Miller-1151, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1122, 10-Taylor Reimer-1081.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-198, 2-Logan Seavey-164, 3-Justin Grant-124, 4-Emerson Axsom-117, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 21-22, 2023 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jesse Love

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chris Windom

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Bryant Wiedeman

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Corey Day

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Brody Fuson

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Macedo

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Ryan Timms

Blanche Rose Hard Charger: Carson Macedo (21st to 5th)

Lap 69 Leader in Memory of Frank Viera: Logan Seavey

Hangtown 100 Points Champion: Kyle Larson

 

 

53 USAC MIDGETS ENTERED

FOR NOV. 25 TURKEY NIGHT GP AT VENTURA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (November 18, 2023)………Fifty-three (53) USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship drivers and cars will partake in the 82nd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented By the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.

They’ll all converge on California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 25, for the next installment of the longest-running midget race of them all, a tradition which dates back to 1934.

At least three past Turkey Night Grand Prix winners are included in the driver lineup, namely defending victor Justin Grant (2022), Logan Seavey (2021) and Tanner Thorson (2015).

They’re among the 14 USAC National Midget feature winners in the field, 11 of which are vying for a first Turkey Night midget triumph. It’s a list which includes series champions Buddy Kofoid (2021-22) and Spencer Bayston (2017), plus Thomas Meseraull, Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Timms, Emerson Axsom, Carson Macedo, Jacob Denney, Daison Pursley, Bryant Wiedeman and Mitchel Moles.

Five past Turkey Night Rookies of the Race will be in the field: Thorson, Macedo, McIntosh, Moles and Jake Andreotti who finished fourth in 2022. This year’s class competing for Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors features 25 different drivers.

Leading USAC National Midget Rookie Gavin Miller will be a contender in his first ever Turkey Night run as will the likes of recently crowned ARCA Stock Car champion Jesse Love, plus 2023 NARC Sprint Car champ Corey Day, America’s winningest non-wing sprint car driver Ricky Lewis, New Zealand midget champ Peter Hunnibell, USAC regulars Hayden Reinbold and Chase McDermand, plus winged sprint car ace Jake Bubak, just to name a few.

Five women will compete at Turkey Night with full-time series drivers Jade Avedisian and Taylor Reimer shooting for their first ever USAC win on the big stage as will series Rookie Mariah Ede and veteran racers Randi Pankratz and Shannon McQueen.

McQueen is among the four USAC Western States Midget champions set to defend their home “turf,” so to speak, at Ventura. McQueen (2012) will be joined in that group by two-time titlist Michael Faccinto (2018 & 22), Blake Bower (2021) and newly crowned series king Brody Fuson (2023).

This year’s Turkey Night weekend will once again feature the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars, which also features an entry list that has already surpassed 50 drivers and cars.

SCHEDULE:

Friday, November 24: Grandstands open at 3pm. Midget practice, plus sprint car hot laps, qualifying, heat races and main event.

Saturday, November 25: Grandstands open at 3pm. Sprint car semis and main events plus Turkey Night Grand Prix midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature.

Advance tickets, priced from $22-45, can be purchased at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

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2023 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST:

00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)

1p ®TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (Nichols-Peckfelder Motorsports)

2 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

3v ®JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim & Bonnie Vanzant)

4 ®COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Willie Kahne)

5K CADE LEWIS/Bakersfield, CA (Dean Alexander)

5v ®RYAN TIMMONS/Pleasant Hill, CA (Dean Alexander)

6A ®RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Cruz Pedregon)

7 SHANNON McQUEEN/Tehachapi, CA (McQueen Racing)

7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (Tim Engler)

8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

9 ®BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)

9AU SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Dyson Motorsport)

14J ®BRADEN CHIARAMONTE/El Cajon, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Streeter Racing)

14T MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Graunstadt Enterprises-Matt Streeter Racing)

15ws RON HAZELTON/Chatsworth, CA (TRC Transmission)

19 DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ ®HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

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

20 C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (Sarna Motorsports)

21K ®GAGE RUCKER/Truxton, MO (Kruseman Enterprises)

25 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

27 ®JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Bourke Motorsports)

31 CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Beilman Motorsports)

31B ®KYLE BEILMAN/Los Angeles, CA (Beilman Motorsports)

32 ®CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)

35H ®A.J. HERNANDEZ/Phoenix, AZ (MF Motorsports)

35K ®JOEY KLEMISH/Cortez, CO (MF Motorsports)

50 ®DANE CULVER/Riverside, CA (Knuckles Up Racing)

51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)

55 ®COLE WAKIM/Simi Valley, CA (Steve Lambert)

57 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

58 DANIEL WHITLEY/Ferndale, CA (Abacus Racing)

65NZ ®PETER HUNNIBELL/Auckland, NZ (Ben Covich)

67 RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

67K BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

68w CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Six8 Motorsports)

71 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71D ®BRYAN DROLLINGER/San Pedro, CA (Drollinger Bros.)

71E ®MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

71K ®KALE DRAKE/Collinsville, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

73 ®DAVID GASPER/Goleta, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

73 TBA (Josh Ford Motorsports)

73x ®CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Josh Ford Motorsports)

78 ®MARVIN MITCHELL/Madera, CA (Marvin Mitchell)

81 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (CB Industries)

84 ®JESSE LOVE/Menlo Park, CA (CB Industries)

86 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (CB Industries)

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

97 ®GAVIN MILLER/Allentown, PA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

99AU CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Dyson Motorsport)

® Don Basile Rookie of the Race Contenders

 

 

HANGTOWN 100 POSTPONED TO SUNDAY, NOV. 19, AT PLACERVILLE

Placerville, California (November 18, 2023)………Saturday’s running of the Hangtown 100 has been postponed to Sunday, November 19, at California’s Placerville Speedway.

Morning rain and a forecast calling for a 100 percent chance of precipitation throughout the remainder of Saturday forced postponement of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.

On Sunday, pits will open at Noon Pacific and front gates open at 2pm with the drivers meeting set for 2:30pm and cars hitting the track for action at 3:30pm. The event will culminate with the only 100-lap USAC Midget event of the season.

During Friday night’s Hangtown 100 opener, Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) raced to the feature victory. Larson (2019) is also one of three past Hangtown 100 winners who’ll be in this Sunday’s lineup along with Justin Grant (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2012).

Reserved and general admission ticket packages for the Hangtown 100, along with single night tickets, are available at www.hangtown100.com. Tickets will also be available at the gate on race day.

 

 

FLY LIKE AN EAGLE:

LARSON LANDS HANGTOWN 100 OPENING

NIGHT VICTORY AT PLACERVILLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Placerville, California (November 17, 2023)………Kyle Larson estimated that it had been the longest he’d gone without winning a midget race in his illustrious career.

As it turned out, the ingredients that made up his last victory just two days shy of two years ago turned out to be the same mix that led him to victory lane during Friday night’s Hangtown 100 opener at California’s Placerville Speedway.

Although Larson’s time spent behind the wheel of a midget is fewer and far between these days with all his other obligations, this was one he had long coveted, and of course, winning never becomes old hat, even for Larson.

“It was a lot of fun and it’s cool to get back into victory lane in a midget,” Larson stated. “Not that I race them a lot, but it’s been a couple years since I’ve won a midget race. I’ve run 10 or 12 midget races over the last couple of years and that’s probably the longest I’ve gone without winning a midget race.”

In fact, the most recent USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship dub for the Elk Grove, Calif. native came at the very same racetrack and in the very same racecar on this very same weekend in 2021, just less than two weeks after wrapping up that year’s NASCAR Cup Series title.

This time around, utilizing a decade-old Eagle chassis, Larson seemed to be in a class of his own as he raced from his sixth starting position and into the lead just six laps into the feature, then proceeded to glide his way through heavy traffic throughout the duration to win a non-stop, green-to-checker 30-lap main event that ran to completion in a staggering six minutes and 14.69 seconds in his Kyle Larson Racing/HendrickCars.com – FloRacing/Eagle.

“It was fun to go 30 laps non-stop,” Larson acknowledged. “That was pretty intense from my seat. Traffic was crazy and I was watching the board and trying to peek back when I could. I felt like I was putting together good laps. You just don’t know for sure when you get stuck like that.”

Larson’s win was the 26th of his USAC National Midget career, moving him past Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones and Dave Strickland for sole possession of 17th place on the all-time list.

With that said, it took quite an effort just to even get to the point of celebrating his latest triumphant performance. Three separate rain delays disrupted the evening, and to boot, another visit by Mother Nature arrived not too long after the completion of the feature, making for a juiced up 1/4-mile dirt oval.

The driver who has been the most unstoppable on the USAC National Midget circuit all year long is series point leader Logan Seavey who earned the pole and led the initial five laps of the feature ahead of fellow front row starter Taylor Reimer.

A bit further back, Larson slung his ride to the outside and kept his wheel affixed there as he paraded around the outside of Justin Grant, Gavin Miller and Buddy Kofoid in rapid-fire succession. Encountering daylight on the bottom, Larson took the opportunity to drive underneath Taylor Reimer at the exit of turn four on lap five to take second.

All it took was one more lap for Larson to sail around the outside of Seavey in turn two for the lead, and from there, the war was focused on lapped traffic as Larson set a torrid pace, building a full straightaway lead by the halfway point as he powered around the back half of the field at will, a tone he set from the start of the night when he set quick time in qualifying.

“I knew my car was going to be good and I felt really good in the heat race too,” Larson acknowledged. “I just needed to clean some things up. The track was in-between, and we didn’t know what it was going to do with all the rain coming and going and tilling it and all that. When they reworked it before the semi, I could tell that the bottom wasn’t quite that good early, so I was just going to commit to the top and try and get some momentum built. The car just got through the holes well compared to everybody else. That allowed me to move around.”

Larson’s execution was just as perfect in the second half of the race as it was in the first, slicing through the chunky cushion with precision, which gave him the confidence he needed to enter with speed up there. Seemingly, every driver in front of him throughout the race had to enter slower and straighter than he did. Meanwhile, he could just bury it into the cushion and harbored no worries about biking or flipping. When you have a car you’re confident in, you can do a lot with it regardless of the lane, and Larson had exactly what he needed.

As he caught traffic, he was able to get by the first handful with relative ease because they were all running the bottom. Once he got into the thick of the back markers, the task became as tough as two-dollar steak due to this portion of the field running everywhere he wanted to be and making it more difficult to maintain that momentum.

Nonetheless, it didn’t deter Larson much, if at all, as he finished off his trouncing of the 24-car field by a 2.564 second margin over Logan Seavey, Buddy Kofoid and Jade Avedisian with Taylor Reimer rounding out the top-five.

Despite Larson’s victory in the same chassis a couple years prior, by and large, the car was a handful and didn’t produce the type of results night-in and night-out that they expected at the time. In 2023, it’s “so far, so good” with the car handling to perfection and ably maneuvering around every encounter on his way to victory with a crew led by ace wrench Paul Silva.

“We struggled with this thing a couple of years ago when we ran the west coast swing, the Chili Bowl and all that,” Larson recalled. “My car felt really good there; I could get through the holes really good, and I felt like we improved on it each time we hit the racetrack. It feels special after struggling with this thing a couple of years ago to come out and be that much better than the field. Logan’s been dominating the season, and I was able to pass him for the lead. Buddy, Grant, Reimer, everybody up there, they’re really good midget racers. To come in and win the first night out, it feels really great.”

The top-four finishers all represented the state of California at their home state track. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) led the opening five laps and finished as the runner-up in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Indy Custom Stone - Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. The USAC National Midget point leader is now one step closer to clinching the title. And get this. In his past 19 series starts, he’s accumulated 19 top-tens and 18 top-five finishes.

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) took a third-place finish in his Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Curb Records/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. While the result did end his two-race winning streak with the USAC National Midgets at Placerville, he did continue another run. He's now finished on the podium in his last five Hangtown 100 event starts dating back to 2021.

In such a quick race that seemingly ended in just a few blinks of an eye, it was imperative for any driver to be up on the wheel from the get-go. In that slim time frame, Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) was the biggest mover, advancing from 12th to finish fourth in her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Peelz Citrus – Fowler Packing Co./Lynk/Speedway Toyota.


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


USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 17, 2023 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Hangtown 100

FIRST HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.212; 2. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.234; 3. Chase Johnson, 31, Beilman-12.293; 4. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-12.300; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.308; 6. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.453; 7. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.495; 8. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.691; 9. Caden Sarale, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.731.

SECOND HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.296; 2. Corey Day, 4, Kahne-12.388; 3. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.407; 4. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.425; 5. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.469; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-12.945; 7. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-13.148; 8. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-13.275; 9. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-13.554.

THIRD HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.198; 2. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.262; 3. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.299; 4. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.406; 5. David Gasper, 73, Ford-12.438; 6. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.552; 7. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.584; 8. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.684; 9. Landon Brooks, 57w, Wood-12.753.

FOURTH HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.107; 2. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-12.158; 3. Tanner Carrick, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.172; 4. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-12.187; 5. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-12.218; 6. Tanner Thorson, 88, Thorson-12.299; 7. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.485; 8. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.568; 9. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-12.679.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner + top-4 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom (T), 2. Mitchel Moles (T), 3. Thomas Meseraull (T), 4. Jake Andreotti, 5. Logan Seavey (T), 6. Taylor Reimer (T), 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Caden Sarale. 2:06.71

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner + top-4 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh (T), 2. Jade Avedisian (T), 3. Blake Bower, 4. Daison Pursley (T), 5. Buddy Kofoid (T), 6. Braden Chiaramonte, 7. Corey Day (T), 8. Shannon McQueen, 9. Kyle Beilman. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner + top-4 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Jacob Denney (T), 2. Ryan Timms (T), 3. Gavin Miller (T), 4. Hayden Reinbold (T), 5. Justin Grant (T), 6. Landon Brooks, 7. Bryant Wiedeman, 8. Carson Macedo, 9. David Gasper. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner + top-4 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Golobic (T), 2. Tanner Carrick (T), 3. Tanner Thorson (T), 4. Brody Fuson, 5. Kyle Larson (T), 6. Spencer Bayston (T), 7. Jesse Love, 8. Chance Crum, 9. Chris Windom. 2:03.09

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Braden Chiaramonte, 2. Brody Fuson, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Bryant Wiedeman, 8. Jesse Love, 9. Mariah Ede, 10. Chance Crum, 11. Landon Brooks, 12. David Gasper, 13. Shannon McQueen, 14. Kyle Beilman, 15. Caden Sarale, 16. Blake Bower. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (6), 2. Logan Seavey (1), 3. Buddy Kofoid (4), 4. Jade Avedisian (12), 5. Taylor Reimer (2), 6. Gavin Miller (3), 7. Jacob Denney (8), 8. Justin Grant (5), 9. Tanner Carrick (7), 10. Spencer Bayston (14), 11. Shane Golobic (18), 12. Cannon McIntosh (13), 13. Ryan Timms (16), 14. Emerson Axsom (11), 15. Mitchel Moles (10), 16. Tanner Thorson (17), 17. Carson Macedo (23), 18. Brody Fuson (24), 19. Daison Pursley (15), 20. Jake Andreotti (22), 21. Corey Day (21), 22. Braden Chiaramonte (20), 23. Hayden Reinbold (19), 24. Thomas Meseraull (9). 6:14.69

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Logan Seavey, Laps 6-30 Kyle Larson.

**Blake Bower flipped during the semi.

(T) represents a heat race transfer

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1539, 2-Justin Grant-1309, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1255, 4-Daison Pursley-1235, 5-Ryan Timms-1228, 6-Jade Avedisian-1212, 7-Jacob Denney-1163, 8-Gavin Miller-1101, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1072, 10-Taylor Reimer-1031.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-188, 2-Logan Seavey-152, 3-Justin Grant-120, 4-Emerson Axsom-117, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 18, 2023 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Hangtown 100


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Cannon McIntosh (12.052)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Larson (12.107)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Jacob Denney

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Shane Golobic

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Braden Chiaramonte

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Logan Seavey

Hard Charger: Jade Avedisian (12th to 4th)

 

 

TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET PURSE INCREASES FOR 2023 AT VENTURA

Ventura, California (November 16, 2023)………An increase in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature purse is among the added attractions for this year’s 82nd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The 98-lap main event for the midgets at California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 25, will pay a purse that has continually increased in recent years.

With ARP’s involvement in the Turkey Night Grand Prix, the car count for the midget portion of the event has exceeded more than 50 drivers and cars each year, producing some of the largest fields on the USAC tour each year. This year’s event already features an entry list with 53 drivers and cars at press time. Furthermore, in 2021, ARP boosted the purse to $10,000-to-win, adding even more prestige to the longest-running midget racing event on the planet.

Meanwhile, the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame has come on board this year to increase the payout to $750 to start in addition to adding a $500 hard charger award for the driver who advances the most positions in that night’s feature race. Provisional starters are excluded from hard charger honors.

The Turkey Night Grand Prix is the greatest tradition in midget racing, dating back to its inaugural edition won by Bob Swanson in 1934. The Agajanian Promotions event has been contested at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway annually since 2016.

“The Turkey Night Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious events in all of racing,” Naylor said. “We couldn’t do it without the assistance of people like Ken Clapp from the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame and from ARP who show their dedication for the event by continually helping us elevate it to another level year after year.”

The event boasts a winners list that includes the likes of Indianapolis 500 winners Johnnie Parsons, Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt. Auto racing greats Tony Bettenhausen, Gary Bettenhausen, Bubby Jones, Ron Shuman, Chuck Gurney, Stan Fox, Jason Leffler, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, Bryan Clauson, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell have won it in recent years.

Fifty USAC National Midgets are entered for this year’s edition of Turkey Night, including past event winners Tanner Thorson (2015), Logan Seavey (2021) and Justin Grant (2022).

Shuman has the most Turkey Night wins with eight. Bob Swanson, Billy Boat, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell each have won the Turkey Night Grand Prix on three occasions.

This year’s weekend will once again feature the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars, which also features an entry list that has already surpassed 50 drivers and cars.

SCHEDULE:

Friday, November 24: Grandstands open at 3pm. Midget practice, plus sprint car hot laps, qualifying, heat races and main event.

Saturday, November 25: Grandstands open at 3pm. Sprint car semis and main events plus Turkey Night Grand Prix midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature.

Advance tickets, priced from $22-45, can be purchased at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

2023 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET FEATURE PAYOUT:

1. $10,000

2. $5,000

3. $4,000

4. $3,000

5. $2,500

6. $2,000

7. $1,500

8. $1,200

9. $1,150

10. $1,100

11. $1,050

12. $1,000

13. $950

14. $925

15. $900

16. $875

17. $850

18. $825

19. $800

20. $775

21-26. $750

 

 

HAVE MERCY! SIX STORYLINES FOR USAC MIDGETS AT MERCED NOV. 21-22

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Merced, California (November 16, 2023)………Get your kicks on Route 99!

For two-straight nights on November 21-22, California’s Merced Speedway becomes the route for USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing.

The four cylinders of fury make their way to the quarter-mile dirt oval for a double-dose of action featuring the likes of past Merced winners Buddy Kofoid, Justin Grant, Carson Macedo, Thomas Meseraull and Tanner Thorson among the 40 entries expected to be on hand.

Look out California! Here are six storylines to watch when USAC comes to the city known as the “Gateway to Yosemite.”

CALLING ALL MERCED WINNERS

In USAC National Midget competition at Merced Speedway, six races have been held and five different drivers have reached victory lane: Buddy Kofoid, Justin Grant, Carson Macedo, Thomas Meseraull and Tanner Thorson.

All five drivers will be in the field on both nights this year at Merced as well. Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) is, thus far, the only two-time Merced winner in the field, scoring the second night of the event in both 2021 and 2022 en route to the championship.

Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) flew to victory in the series debut at Merced in 2020 while Thorson (Minden, Nev.) captured a barnburner the following night when he became the fourth leader in a four-lap span before pacing the final four laps on the way to victory.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) scored a non-stop victory in the 2021 opener at Merced, completing the 30-lap distance at a blistering pace of 6 minutes, 14 seconds. Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) gave both he and his Dyson Motorsport team a first career USAC National victory on the opening night in 2022.

YOU SAY MACEDO, I SAY MERCED-O

An Australian team, a New Zealand chassis and American drivers.

The three ingredients of Dyson Motorsport, a King Chassis and driver Carson Macedo combined to make up the perfect formula during the 2022 opener at Merced. For Macedo and Dyson, it marked their first career USAC National Midget feature victory.

Macedo, the third-place finisher in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car points for 2023, had run a full season of USAC National Midgets in 2016 where he captured Rookie of the Year honors. That same season, the Lemoore, Calif. native also collected a USAC Midwest Regional Midget title as well.

The Dyson team with driver Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) nearly pulled off the same feat a night after Macedo’s triumph, leading 25 of the 30 laps before finishing second. Bayston captured the USAC National Midget title in 2017 and finished eighth in WoO points for 2023 while adding a single win.

On the first try, this team nearly picked off two victories in two nights. Expect them to be in the hunt again in ’23 as well.

SEAVEY SEALING IT UP?

At the rate he’s going, Logan Seavey “could” very well clinch the USAC National Midget championship on one of the two nights of racing at Merced.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has pushed his lead to more than 200 markers over the past couple months and will enter Merced as the points leader regardless of what transpires in the pair of Placerville events leading up.

Seavey is one of nine drivers to start all six previous Merced USAC Midget features along with Tanner Carrick, Cannon McIntosh, Carson Macedo, Tanner Thorson, Mitchel Moles, Buddy Kofoid, Justin Grant and Kaylee Bryson.

In those six starts, he’s finished inside the top-five twice and took sixth and an eighth. His performance entering the California swing includes 16 starts, 16 top-tens, 15 top-fives and six wins. Since his win at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway on Tuesday, those numbers have all bumped up one more.

A HOME GAME FOR JADE

It was this time of the season two years ago at Merced Speedway when Jade Avedisian made a grand introduction to USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing.

It was there at Merced, located roughly 45 minutes away from her Clovis, Calif. home, that she finished fourth and instantly showed to all onlookers, and to herself, that she belonged.

In both Merced appearances in 2022, she qualified well (1st and 3rd), then finished with a fourth-place result on night two. This time around, she eyes an opportunity to become the first woman to win a USAC National Midget event.

CRUM & SIX8 MAKIN’ IT GREAT

It was at Merced in 2020 when Chance Crum made his USAC National Midget debut, doing so for Clauson Marshall Racing.

For this year’s west coast swing, Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) picked up a ride with Burbank, California’s Six8 Motorsports, a five-time USAC Western States Midget championship team between 2013-17.

Last year, as separate entities, the pair had some of their finest runs on the national scene at Merced. Crum led two laps and finished fourth on night one at Merced while Six8 scored its first USAC National Midget podium result with a third on night two with Jason McDougal at the wheel that night.

Together, this could be a formidable pair to watch as both eye another fine result on the big stage.

PICKING APART THE POINTS

While most eyes are naturally affixed to the top of the USAC National Midget point standings, the race between third, fourth, fifth and sixth is completely up for grabs.

The shuffling between the four spots has been immense with a 43-point gap separating Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.).

Each position represents a difference in point fund money along with pride, and two nights in a row could snowball one way or another in determining positioning.

On the entrant point side, the points race is practically the same, but there’s one more interesting aspect to keep a watch on. Keith Kunz Motorsports’ top-four entries currently reside sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth in points.

Making this all the more intriguing is the fact that KKM has had at least one entry finish inside the top-five of the points in 18 consecutive seasons since 2005. Furthermore, KKM has put one entry into the top-three every year since 2010, a run of 13 seasons in a row. It’s a streak that’s on the line, but he has highly capable shoes in Ryan Timms, Jade Avedisian, Gavin Miller and Taylor Reimer in his stable who will attempt to keep the streak intact.

RACE DETAILS:

Both Tuesday and Wednesday’s events pay $4,000-to-win for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

Both nights, the pits open at 2pm Pacific with the drivers meeting set for 4:30pm. Grandstands open at 5pm and cars get on track at 5:45pm.

On Tuesday, adult general admission for ages 18 and up is $20. Ages 55 & up, military and ages 11-17 general admission are $18. Ages 6-10 general admission is $5. Kids age 5 & under are free. Support classes include IMCA Sport Mods and Hobby Stocks.

On Wednesday, adult general admission for ages 18 and up is $25. Ages 55 & up, military and ages 11-17 general admission are $23. Ages 6-10 general admission is $10. Support classes include winged 360 Sprint Cars.

Advance tickets can be purchased at: https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/2102/tickets

Both Merced races this week will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.

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

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:

2-Buddy Kofoid

1-Justin Grant, Carson Macedo, Thomas Meseraull & Tanner Thorson

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:

2020: Thomas Meseraull (11/20) & Tanner Thorson (11/21)

2021: Justin Grant (11/23) & Buddy Kofoid (11/24)

2022: Carson Macedo (11/22) & Buddy Kofoid (11/23)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 11/24/2021 - Buddy Kofoid - 11.635 - 77.353 mph

10 Laps - 11/23/2021 - Chris Windom - 2:00.070 - 74.956 mph

12 Laps - 11/23/2022 - Taylor Reimer - 2:27.310 - 73.315 mph

30 Laps - 11/23/2021 - Justin Grant - 6:14.350 - 72.125 mph

MERCED SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE RESULTS:

2020 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (6), 2. Tanner Carrick (2), 3. Cannon McIntosh (5), 4. Carson Macedo (8), 5. Tanner Thorson (15), 6. Shane Golobic (3), 7. Ryan Bernal (9), 8. Spencer Bayston (11), 9. Kyle Larson (19), 10. Emerson Axsom (14), 11. Mitchel Moles (7), 12. Buddy Kofoid (21), 13. Logan Seavey (16), 14. Tyler Courtney (23-P), 15. Chris Windom (22), 16. Justin Grant (17), 17. Colby Copeland (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson (13), 19. Chase Randall (20), 20. Daison Pursley (1), 21. Zeb Wise (12), 22. Michael Faccinto (10), 23. Cole Bodine (24-P), 24. Jesse Love (4). NT

2020 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (4), 2. Buddy Kofoid (1), 3. Tyler Courtney (2), 4. Kyle Larson (6), 5. Spencer Bayston (3), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Carson Macedo (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (10), 9. Justin Grant (7), 10. Mitchel Moles (11), 11. Shane Golobic (14), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12), 14. Colby Copeland (15), 15. Emerson Axsom (16), 16. Tanner Carrick (21), 17. Chris Windom (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson (23-P), 19. Zeb Wise (19), 20. Bryant Wiedeman (20), 21. Robert Dalby (24-P), 22. Ben Worth (17), 23. Chance Crum (22), 24. Chase Johnson (9). 7:18.810

2021 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Tanner Thorson (1), 3. Buddy Kofoid (3), 4. Emerson Axsom (6), 5. Cannon McIntosh (5), 6. Shane Golobic (7), 7. Mitchel Moles (4), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. Carson Macedo (10), 10. Jason McDougal (14), 11. Chris Windom (9), 12. Zeb Wise (12), 13. Tanner Carrick (16), 14. Thomas Meseraull (13), 15. Ryan Bernal (18), 16. Kaylee Bryson (8), 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (17), 18. Ryan Timms (21), 19. Jade Avedisian (19), 20. Maria Cofer (20), 21. Chase Johnson (22), 22. Brenham Crouch (15), 23. Bryant Wiedeman (23-P), 24. Hayden Reinbold (24-P). 6:14.35

2021 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (6), 2. Chris Windom (2), 3. Justin Grant (17), 4. Jade Avedisian (1), 5. Logan Seavey (5), 6. Emerson Axsom (9), 7. Bryant Wiedeman (11), 8. Shane Golobic (12), 9. Tanner Thorson (8), 10. Ryan Timms (16), 11. Taylor Reimer (13), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (23-P), 13. Maria Cofer (18), 14. Chance Crum (24-P), 15. Jake Andreotti (20), 16. Cannon McIntosh (4), 17. Mitchel Moles (14), 18. Kaylee Bryson (19), 19. Brenham Crouch (15), 20. Carson Macedo (3), 21. Thomas Meseraull (21), 22. Tanner Carrick (7), 23. Jason McDougal (22), 24. Kyle Larson (10). NT

2022 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Carson Macedo (5), 2. Buddy Kofoid (14), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Chance Crum (1), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Mitchel Moles (3), 7. Kaylee Bryson (7), 8. Cannon McIntosh (19), 9. Tanner Thorson (13), 10. Brenham Crouch (23-P), 11. Spencer Bayston (15), 12. Thomas Meseraull (17), 13. Ryan Timms (9), 14. Tanner Carrick (12), 15. Bryant Wiedeman (8), 16. Emerson Axsom (22), 17. Jade Avedisian (10), 18. Michael Faccinto (18), 19. Jacob Denney (16), 20. Daniel Whitley (11), 21. Taylor Reimer (20), 22. Daison Pursley (21), DQ. Jake Andreotti (2). NT

2022 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (3), 2. Spencer Bayston (1), 3. Jason McDougal (7), 4. Jade Avedisian (5), 5. Jacob Denney (14), 6. Carson Macedo (4), 7. Cannon McIntosh (15), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 9. Mitchel Moles (6), 10. Tanner Carrick (17), 11. Justin Grant (16), 12. Thomas Meseraull (23-P), 13. Ryan Timms (9), 14. Chance Crum (24-P), 15. Taylor Reimer (12), 16. Brenham Crouch (10), 17. Tanner Thorson (21), 18. Gavin Miller (20), 19. Jake Andreotti (13), 20. Kaylee Bryson (19), 21. Logan Seavey (8), 22. Bryant Wiedeman (18), 23. Daniel Whitley (2), 24. Dylan Bloomfield (22). NT

 

 

NOVEMBER REIGN:

SEAVEY DELIVERS A FITTING TRIBUTE

WITH BAKERSFIELD USAC MIDGET WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 14, 2023)………Logan Seavey remembers it well.

The last time the Sutter, Calif. native won the November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway in 2018, it cemented his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship hopes and aspirations.

Five years later, at the very same 1/3-mile clay oval, the current series point leader’s second victory at Bakersfield on Tuesday night brought him one step and one race closer to wrapping up a second career series title.

The ninth place starting Seavey tracked down racelong leader Emerson Axsom with nine circuits remaining in the 30-lapper to earn the seventh victory of his magical USAC National Midget season in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing - Indy Custom Stone - Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

Seavey’s 15th career USAC National Midget victory moved him inside the top-50 all-time on the series win list alongside Don Branson, Larry Rice and Chris Windom.

The occasion was made doubly special with the sky-blue No. 57 paint scheme Seavey was sporting in tribute to Abacus Racing crewman Johnny Cofer who had the car revealed to him in surprising fashion at the team’s Noblesville, Ind. shop last Wednesday.

Cofer himself drove a sky-blue No. 57 to a USAC Western States Midget victory at Bakersfield Speedway back in 1994 en route to that year’s season title. Seavey is keen on keeping the trend going as his only Bakersfield win resulted in a championship and his latest on Tuesday moved him even closer to clinching.

In a hole early after a 21st place qualifying run, Seavey dug in and shoveled his way out with a heat race victory, which positioned him on the inside of row five for the feature. Earlier in the evening, Cofer was a tad unnerved, but Seavey would soon lead Cofer out of any sense of uneasiness.

“Even when we get a little behind, we figure it out really quickly and get it right back,” Seavey explained. “Johnny was a little nervous. He said, ‘man, are we buried yet?’ I said, ‘no worries; we’ll take care of it.’ And we did and we’re here. It speaks to how good this car is. We were a little off there early in the night, but we got it all squared away and sorted out. We were good in the heat race and really good in the feature.”

For Cofer, it was like old times with his Dwaine Esslinger owned ride he wheeled nearly three decades ago. Now with his retro tribute paint scheme back on the track, it’s led to the competition further suggesting that they bring back their own versions of retro schemes.

Among them was team owner Keith Kunz pondering the thought of bringing out a car resembling the machine Billy Boat drove to three-straight Turkey Night Grand Prix wins in 1995-96-97 and a USAC record 11 straight feature victories with the Western States Midgets in 1995 and was routinely a thorn in the side of Cofer “back in the day.”

“It’s just perfect,” Cofer exclaimed. “I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team and what (Abacus Racing team owner) Brent Cox has done to develop this team so quickly and it’s just phenomenal to watch Logan race. Keith (Kunz) just had a good idea. He said if these guys went ahead and did the blue 57, he’s going to bring the black 15 out with Boat’s deal and that could be trouble because he whooped me all the time.”

Nonetheless, holding the upper hand early was Axsom who jetted out to the initial lead on the low side as outside front row starter Justin Grant worked the top groove a couple car lengths back in second.

Two-time November Classic winner Buddy Kofoid (2020 & 2021) soon made his way into third on lap two and began hustling toward the leaders who were involved in their own tussle with Grant making a charge at Axsom in turns one and turn three, sliding past each time as Axsom retained control by scooting back under Grant off the exit.

Grant’s turn three maneuver proved detrimental as he pushed wide over the cushion, opening the door for Kofoid to slot into second on lap eight. The same two remained relentless, scrubbing tires off each other in turns three and four as the two fought to stay within earshot of Axsom who began to dice his way through lapped traffic a near full second ahead.

At the midway point entering turn three, Kofoid got caught up behind the lapped car of his teammate, Mariah Ede. Through the turns, the two glanced wheels, once more stifling Kofoid’s momentum, thus allowing Grant to capitalize by flashing across the nose of Kofoid to grab the spot back.

However, while that particular kerfuffle was transpiring, Seavey calmly cruised underneath both drivers to elevate himself from fourth to second on the leaderboard.

“I say it a lot, but when your car is this good, you can be patient and wait for the right move to come open and then take them when you get a chance and not mess it up when you do get the chance,” Seavey reasoned. “You don’t get a chance to go by two guys fairly easily like that, especially Buddy and Justin. They were just racing so hard with each other that I was able to sneak by down there on the bottom and then get right back up and get my speed back going.”

As Axsom sought a lane lower than Chance Crum while putting him a lap down in turn one on lap 22, Axsom’s momentum was suddenly hindered, and Seavey was on hand to capitalize. Seavey never broke stride going even lower than Axsom as he blasted by into the lead in turn one.

“That’s just racing,” Seavey explained. “You’ve got two guys racing in front of you and the easiest way to go by two good guys is to catch them when they are racing each other, and I was able to do that. The bottom was so narrow and so slick. To go down there for the first time in a long time and to nail the bottom and go by two of the best cars in the field is cool.”

A lap and a half later, disaster struck KKM teammates Gavin Miller and Kofoid. Miller, running fifth, ramped over the right rear tire of fourth place Kofoid in between turns three and four, sending Miller into the wall, which he ramped up and flipped over 1.5 times before coming to a rest upside down. Miller was able to walk away. During the ensuing stoppage, Kofoid pulled off to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area, but soon returned to the tail of the field and raced back to a 14th place result.

On the final restart with seven laps remaining, Seavey said “sayonara” and quickly established a half straightway advantage before finishing up and crossing the line as the victor 1.705 seconds ahead of Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh and Carson Macedo.

For Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), it was so close yet again at Bakersfield in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb Records - TRD/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. For the fifth time this season, Axsom finished as the runner-up in a USAC National Midget feature without a win. This time at Bakersfield, he led a race high 21 of 30 laps before slotting into second in the final tally. It also marked Axsom’s second runner-up performance at Bakersfield following a similar performance in 2021 in which he led the first 17 laps and finished second.

In Justin Grant’s first 19 feature starts to begin the 2023 USAC National Midget season, he had earned just two top-three finishes. Now, in his last three starts, he's finished inside the top-three on three consecutive occasions, with a third at Bakersfield serving as the latest gold star on his recent late season run with RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.


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


USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 14, 2023 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – November Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.687; 2. Cannon McIntosh, 86, CBI-12.719; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.757; 4. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.781; 5. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.809; 6. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-12.844; 7. Emerson Axsom, 68, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.862; 8. Michael Faccinto, 14T, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.881; 9. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-12.887; 10. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-12.896; 11. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt/Streeter-12.900; 12. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.900; 13. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.905; 14. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-12.914; 15. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.947; 16. Carson Macedo, 99AU, Dyson-12.995; 17. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.001; 18. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-13.031; 19. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-13.052; 20. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.061; 21. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-13.069; 22. Chance Crum, 68w, Six8-13.075; 23. Mitchel Moles, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-13.090; 24. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, Engler-13.093; 25. Peter Hunnibell, 65NZ, Covich-13.100; 26. Spencer Bayston, 9AU, Dyson-13.136; 27. Brandt Twitty, 4B, Twitty-13.140; 28. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.208; 29. Jesse Love, 84, CBI-13.218; 30. David Gasper, 73, Ford-13.271; 31. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-13.306; 32. Chase Johnson, 31B, Beilman-13.580; 33. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols/Peckfelder-13.839; 34. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-14.305; 35. Marvin Mitchell, 78, Mitchell-NT; 36. Garrett Twitty, 4, Twitty-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Taylor Reimer, 4. Shannon McQueen, 5. Jake Andreotti, 6. Cade Lewis, 7. Jesse Love, 8. Peter Hunnibell, 9. Terry Nichols. 2:12.37

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Jacob Denney, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. David Gasper, 8. Ron Hazelton, 9. Daniel Whitley. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Hayden Reinbold, 6. Brandt Twitty, 7. Blake Bower, 8. Braden Chiaramonte, 9. Marvin Mitchell. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Gavin Miller, 3. Brody Fuson, 4. Mariah Ede, 5. Jade Avedisian, 6. Michael Faccinto, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Thomas Meseraull. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Andreotti, 2. Jade Avedisian, 3. Chance Crum, 4. Michael Faccinto, 5. Cade Lewis, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Braden Chiaramonte, 8. Chase Johnson, 9. David Gasper, 10. Blake Bower, 11. Brandt Twitty, 12. Jesse Love, 13. Spencer Bayston, 14. Ron Hazelton, 15. Peter Hunnibell, 16. Terry Nichols, 17. Daniel Whitley, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Marvin Mitchell. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Justin Grant (2), 4. Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. Carson Macedo (7), 6. Daison Pursley (8), 7. Taylor Reimer (6), 8. Jade Avedisian (14), 9. Jacob Denney (13), 10. Hayden Reinbold (17), 11. Jake Andreotti (10), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (16), 13. Ryan Timms (18), 14. Buddy Kofoid (4), 15. Mitchel Moles (21), 16. Cade Lewis (12), 17. Brody Fuson (22), 18. Chance Crum (20), 19. Shannon McQueen (15), 20. Mariah Ede (19), 21. Gavin Miller (3), 22. Michael Faccinto (11). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Emerson Axsom, Laps 22-30 Logan Seavey.

**Daniel Whitley & Thomas Meseraull flipped during the semi. Gavin Miller flipped on lap 23 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1489, 2-Justin Grant-1259, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1205, 4-Daison Pursley-1185, 5-Ryan Timms-1178, 6-Jade Avedisian-1162, 7-Jacob Denney-1113, 8-Gavin Miller-1051, 9-Cannon McIntosh-1022, 10-Taylor Reimer-981.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-188, 2-Logan Seavey-152, 3-Justin Grant-120, 4-Emerson Axsom-117, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-91.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 17-18, 2023 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Hangtown 100


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (12.953)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Taylor Reimer (12.687)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Carson Macedo

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Andreotti

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Emerson Axsom

Hard Charger: Logan Seavey (9th to 1st)

 

 

NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series Brings Midget Madness to Merced Speedway to Open Thanksgiving Week

(PETERSEN MEDIA- Merced, CA)- For the fourth consecutive season Merced Speedway will open Thanksgiving Week with the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series headlining a two-night Midget Madness program next Tuesday and Wednesday night.

As the stars and cars of the National series make their annual November trip to California, next week is their final week of the 2023 season, and Merced Speedway will again host the series for two nights of action, culminating with a Midget/Winged 360 Doubleheader on Wednesday night.

The action does get underway on Tuesday as the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series headlines the card with the IMCA Sport Mods and the Hobby Stocks also scheduled for action.

Wednesday night’s Thanksgiving Eve show again features the NOS Energy USAC National Midget Series, and they will be joined on the ¼ mile bullring by the Winged 360ci Sprint Cars in what is the third and final appearance of the season at the track.

Some of the national stars expected to be in attendance Tuesday and Wednesday night include Buddy Kofoid, Logan Seavey, Ryan Timms, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Tanner Thorson, Thomas Meseraul, Jade Avedisian, Taylor Reimer and a host of others.

Tickets are available online at mercedspeedway.net and will also be available to purchase at the front gate.

Tuesday night prices will be $20 for adults 18 and up, Juniors 11-17, Seniors 55 and up and Military with ID will be $18, Kids 6-10 will be $5, and those young fans 5 and under are admitted for fee.

Wednesday night Adult tickets will run $25, Juniors, Seniors, and Military (with ID) will be $23, Kids 6-10 will be admitted for $10, and those fans 5 and under will have no charge.

The Sprint Car Challenge Tour muffler rule for the Winged 360’s will be enforced, and it allows drivers to use the Flowmaster 53545-10 with turndowns, the Spintech Superstock 1000 #1545 with turndowns, and the Diamond Schoenfeld. The program will follow all SCCT race rules as well.

Tuesday and Wednesday night the pit gates will open at 2pm and the grandstands will open at 5pm with racing slated to go green at 7pm.

STAY CONNECTED- Keep up with the happenings at Merced Speedway by clicking over to www.mercedspeedway.net or by ‘Liking’ https://www.facebook.com/mercedspeedway/ on Facebook.

Merced Speedway is located at 900 Martin Luther King Drive Merced, CA 95341.

 

 

DRIVER SPOTLIGHT: GAVIN MILLER

Toyota Dirt Driver Spotlight

Gavin Miller

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97 – LynK Chassis Powered by a Speedway Toyota

Age: 16

Hometown: Allentown, Pennsylvania

Gavin Miller kicks off the six-race West Coast swing of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in position to clinch the series Rookie of the Year title at just 16 years old.

The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports driver was a six-time USAC National .25 Midget champion and is one of just three drivers along with teammate Ryan Timms and veteran Zach Daum to have won with USAC, Xtreme and POWRi this year.

Gavin, what would it mean to you to win USAC Midget Rookie of the Year?

GM: It would mean a lot. We’ve been pretty consistent and pretty well-rounded all year. I have to thank Pete Willoughby and Keith Kunz and everyone at KKM, and I think it would mean a lot to them as well. Just to know that we’ve run consistently well all year, it’s pretty special. It’s what we were shooting for when we started the year and we had pretty high expectations. Now we need to keep working toward earning that title.

What was it like getting a win in three different midget series as a 16-year-old rookie? Had you even been to most of these tracks before this year?

GM: Not many people get the chance to say they’ve done that in their first year in a midget, so it’s been pretty special. Most of these tracks we’ve raced at are new to me - pretty much all the tracks other than Port City and a couple of the California tracks. USAC Indiana Midget Week (where he won at Bloomington) was totally new to me.

You’ve earned 21 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes in 51 races between USAC and Xtreme. How have you stayed so consistent in your first full season in a midget?

GM: I think the key is just to start off the night strong. Getting a good qualifying run has probably been the most important thing, then trying to get a good result in the heat race and then I just try to race everyone clean and stay out of trouble in the feature. Running a partial season last year definitely helped me learn more. The more seat time you get, the more you improve. I’m just trying to give and get feedback from my guys. They’re teaching me a lot and showing me how I need to improve every race.

So how did you get started in racing and who were your heroes growing up?

GM: My dad brought me to the track one day and we saw quarter midgets racing at the fair and I told my dad that I wanted to do that. I was five at the time. Then I started racing quarter midgets at six years old in 2012. My heroes growing up were probably Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Donny Schatz.

How did you team up with KKM?

GM: I started out running micros with Keith. We called him up and told him we were interested in running the micros and it just grew from there.

It seems like most drivers around your age do at-home schooling, yet with a schedule of 50+ races this year, you still do in-class at your local school. How hard is that?

GM: I have to keep the grades up in order to race. It’s definitely hard to be at a race and still keep up in school when you miss all those days in class, and then you have to come back and take a test. The key is you have to let your teachers know when you’ll be leaving and get all your work done ahead of time.

What’s your long-term goal in racing?

GM: I’m just trying to take it one day at a time and stay focused on what I’m racing right now. Eventually, maybe ending up in a sprint car or even switching over to pavement.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.

Media Contacts:

Sam Mahoney, Toyota PR - 980-900-8573 - Samuel.Mahoney@Toyota.com

John Procida, Toyota USAC PR - 313-515-3985 - johnprocidapublicrelations@gmail.com

 

 

SEASON REVIEW: A LONG TIME COMING, ROA WRAPS UP FIRST USAC CRA SPRINT TITLE IN 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 13, 2023)………After more than 12 years of going up and down the road with the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Cars, Brody Roa finally reached the pinnacle in 2023 as a first-time series driving champion.

For the Garden Grove, Calif. native, it’s his fourth overall USAC championship following previous points titles with the California Dirt Ford Focus Midgets (2009), the West Coast Sprint Cars (2016) and the Southwest Sprint Cars (2019).

But this particular one stands out among the rest. Roa, a regular with USAC CRA since 2011, has come painfully close to a championship on numerous occasions throughout the years. The 32-year-old driver finished second in the standings on three occasions in 2017-18-21 and was third another three times in 2012-16-19.

The thing is, for the duration of his decade-plus of sprint car racing, Roa had been synonymous with the family-owned No. 91R. Initially, the plan for the season was to run his own car while dabbling in Inland Rigging’s Tom and Christy Dunkel’s 360 c.i. powered sprint car with the USAC West Coast series. However, after a dinner with the Dunkels, those plans were doubled with the team adding a full slate of USAC CRA racing to the plate.

Dunkel had recently purchased the 410 c.i. Shaver engines that former Roa sponsor HD Industries had sold, and shortly thereafter, Roa sold much of his own equipment, including his Eagle chassis and his trailer. Instead, for the 2023 season, Roa would be wheeling a DRC chassis, something which he had never done prior to the start of the year. As it turned out, the start of the year set the tone for a championship run.

Roa reeled off a pair of victories on consecutive nights to open the season in January at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway in his Inland Rigging – Dunkel Farms – Biker Bruce Fischer/DRC/Shaver Chevy. In April, he began the first of two three-race winning streaks during the year, including his first win at Hanford, California’s Kings Speedway followed by a photo finish win over Mitchel Moles at Bakersfield, California’s The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park and then followed up with his fifth win in eight races at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway, equaling the best start by any driver in series history.

In a dominant June and July run, Roa collected a win in the longest distance race of the season in the 40-lap Bubby Jones & Ray Scheetz Memorial at Perris (Calif.) Speedway. A victory at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway followed thereafter before gaining a milestone at Perris, marking his 21st career USAC CRA win, which moved him ahead of 2007 series champion and now USAC CRA Series Director Tony Jones for sole possession of fourth on the all-time series win list.

In the end, Roa corralled the series title by a commanding 114-point margin and provided the Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance No. 17R its first series entrant championship. Roa led all drivers in most major statistical categories, including eight wins, 173 laps led, 14 top-fives and 15 top-tens in the span of 18 feature starts.

Meanwhile, Tommy Malcolm (Corona, Calif.) had to wait eight years and 109 starts to make it to USAC CRA victory lane for the first time in his career. And it was all worth the wait for the driver who has been a series regular since 2015. In May, he and his Dino Napier-owned No. 5x reached the promised land for the first time, leading all 30 laps to score his initial series victory at Tulare, California’s Thunderbowl Raceway where it seemed fitting that the driver nicknamed “Tommy Thunder” picked up his first score.

Malcolm’s wait to win his second feature lasted exactly one week and one more start as he went back-to-back to capture the Salute to Indy at Perris. In September, Malcolm’s breakout season continued with win number three in the Glenn Howard Classic at Perris. In the final tally, Malcolm finished a career-best second in the series standings.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) is undefeated in his USAC CRA career, making two starts and winning both within a 24-hour span in November at Cocopah during the running of the 56th annual Western World Championships, giving the home state team from Arizona (Team AZ Racing) its second consecutive Western World title after taking it with driver Jake Swanson in 2022. The victory came in Pursley’s first visit to Arizona since suffering a severe spinal injury during a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event during the Western World Championships of 2021 at the now defunct Arizona Speedway.

Five drivers added a single USAC CRA victory in 2023. Now two-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) ventured west to find a seat in the J.W. Mitchell Motorsports ride and promptly took the victory in March at Perris. Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) raced to the lead on the 10th lap and led the remaining 21 en route to a win in April for Josh Ford Motorsports at Mohave Valley.

April’s USAC CRA Sprint Car showdown at Perris was one that Matt Mitchell originally wasn’t even slated to compete in as a driver. But not only did the veteran racer from Yorba Linda, Calif. compete, he made it a victorious effort. Mitchell was originally intending to fly to Indiana to compete in that weekend’s USAC Silver Crown Sumar Classic. But with its cancellation, Mitchell stayed back home in So. Cal. to add a win as a driver after winning as a car owner the month before.

In October at Mohave Valley, Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) tallied his first career USAC CRA victory, leading the final 22 laps aboard his Dave Brown owned machine. Lewis ultimately became the winningest non-wing sprint car driver in the USA during the 2023 season, winning 17 times total in six different states (Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and Arizona) across a wide variety of series, including the Great Lakes Traditional Sprints, the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series, the Midwest Sprint Car Series, the USAC Midwest Wingless Racing Association and USAC CRA, and also scored a couple local, unsanctioned victories for good measure.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) closed out his year in winning fashion in November by scoring USAC CRA season finale at Perris. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) paced the final 13 laps to give Michael Motorsports its first ever Perris victory. For Leary, it was his second career USAC CRA victory at Perris after also grabbing a win at the half-mile dirt oval back in 2019.

Brothers Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Cody Williams (Corona, Calif.) finished third and fourth in the series standings, respectively. Cody led all series drivers with six fast qualifying times on the year.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, Calif.) rounded out the top-five in the final points and tied with Malcolm as the winningest heat race driver of the season with six scores.

Grant Sexton (Lakeside, Calif.) tallied an eighth-place finish in the standings to earn Rookie of the Year honors for USAC CRA in 2023.

Sixty-eight (68) different drivers made a feature start during the 2023 season with Malcolm and Roa the only drivers making a start in all 18 feature events.

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

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS:

Driver Champion: Brody Roa

Entrant Champion: Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance #17R

Most Wins: 8-Brody Roa

Rookie of the Year: Grant Sexton

Most Laps Led: 173-Brody Roa

Most Top-Fives: 14-Brody Roa

Most Top-Tens: 15-Brody Roa

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Cody Williams

Most Heat Race Wins: 6-A.J. Bender & Tommy Malcolm

Most Feature Starts: 18-Tommy Malcolm & Brody Roa

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

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1 1282 Brody Roa, Garden Grove, Calif.

2 1168 Tommy Malcolm, Corona, Calif.

3 974 Austin Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif.

4 919 Cody Williams, Corona, Calif.

5 884 A.J. Bender, San Diego, Calif.

6 802 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.

7 777 Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, Ariz.

8 681 (R) Grant Sexton, Lakeside, Calif.

9 596 Verne Sweeney, Lomita, Calif.

10 567 R.J. Johnson, Laveen, Ariz.

11 532 Logan Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif.

12 447 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, Calif.

13 355 Chris Gansen, Verdemont Heights, Calif.

14 351 Chase Johnson, Penngrove, Calif.

15 347 Austin Grabowski, Riverside, Calif.

16 336 Brent Owens, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

17 336 (R) James Turnbull II, Indio, Calif.

18 336 Matt McCarthy, Riverside, Calif.

19 290 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

20 268 Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, Calif.

21 251 Eddie Tafoya Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.

22 248 James Herrera, New Cuyama, Calif.

23 245 (R) Brody Fuson, Bakersfield, Calif.

24 233 Jeff Dyer, Yucca Valley, Calif.

25 228 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

26 222 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

27 221 Andrew Sweeney, Queen Creek, Ariz.

28 214 (R) Braden Chiaramonte, El Cajon, Calif.

29 188 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

30 169 (R) Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, Calif.

31 164 Chris Bonneau, Peoria, Ariz.

32 161 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

33 159 Ryan Timmons, Pleasant Hill, Calif.

34 153 (R) Tommy Dunkel, Menifee, Calif.

35 146 Kyle Edwards, Fountain Valley, Calif.

36 141 Tanner Boul, Auberry, Calif.

37 136 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

38 134 Max Adams, Loomis, Calif.

39 133 Gary Marshall Jr., Pomona, Calif.

40 119 (R) Don Gansen, Verdemont Heights, Calif.

41 117 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

42 117 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

43 107 Shane Sexton, Warner Springs, Calif.

44 104 (R) Richard McCormick, Agua Dulce, Calif.

45 102 (R) Dawson Faria, Tipton, Calif.

46 94 David Gasper, Goleta, Calif.

47 84 (R) Camie Bell, Bakersfield, Calif.

48 78 (R) Jim Vanzant, Prescott, Ariz.

49 72 (R) Mark Henry, Rosamond, Calif.

50 65 Troy Rutherford, Ojai, Calif.

51 59 Jace Vander Weerd, Visalia, Calif.

52 48 Dustin Cormany, Surprise, Ariz.

53 46 (R) Tyler Hatzikian, Murrieta, Calif.

54 41 Shon Deskins, Phoenix, Ariz.

55 32 (R) Hannah Mayhew, Acton, Calif.

56 30 (R) Brody Wake, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

57 28 Tony Everhart, El Cajon, Calif.

58 26 (R) Jake Helsel, Arlington, Wash.

59 10 (R) A.J. Hernandez, Phoenix, Ariz.

60 10 (R) Elexa Herrera, New Cuyama, Calif.

**(R) represents a USAC CRA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year contender

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

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:

1 1282 Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance Menifee, Calif. (#17R)

2 1168 Dino Napier, Corona, Calif. (#5x)

3 974 Rip Williams, Anaheim, Calif. (#2)

4 919 Cody Williams, Norco, Calif. (#44)

5 884 Kim & Richard Bender, San Diego, Calif. (#21)

6 802 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz. (#47)

7 707 Josh Ford Motorsports, Oxnard, Calif. (#73)

8 681 Brent Sexton, Lakeside, Calif. (#22)

9 640 Rachel Guerrero, Westminster, Calif. (#98)

10 404 J.W. Mitchell Motorsports, Costa Mesa, Calif. (#37)

11 360 Austin Grabowski, Riverside, Calif. (#72)

12 343 Ricky Johnson, Laveen, Ariz. (#51)

13 268 Dave Brown, Camarillo, Calif. (#41)

14 251 Eddie Tafoya Sr., Chino Hills, Calif. (#51T)

15 233 Cal-Sun Racing, Phelan, Calif. (#39)

16 214 Daniel Chiaramonte, El Cajon, Calif. (#73B)

17 177 Rachel Guerrero, Westminster, Calif. (#98A)

18 161 Team AZ Racing, Danville, Ind. (#21AZ)

19 150 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)

20 146 Gordy Edwards, Fountain Valley, Calif. (#39E)

21 117 Sterling Cling Racing, Tempe, Ariz. (#34)

22 83 Brent Sexton, Lakeside, Calif. (#22x)

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

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS:

Jan 27: Cocopah Speedway - Somerton, AZ

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

Jan 28: Cocopah Speedway - Somerton, AZ

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

Mar 18: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: Justin Grant (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports #37)

Apr 1: Mohave Valley Raceway - Mohave Valley, AZ

WINNER: Chase Johnson (Josh Ford Motorsports #73)

Apr 15: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: Matt Mitchell (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports #37)

Apr 22: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

Apr 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park - Bakersfield, CA

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

May 6: Mohave Valley Raceway - Mohave Valley, AZ

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

May 20: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA

WINNER: Tommy Malcolm (Dino Napier #5x)

May 27: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: Tommy Malcolm (Dino Napier #5x)

Jun 10: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

Jun 24: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

Jul 15: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: Brody Roa (Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R)

Sep 23: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: Tommy Malcolm (Dino Napier #5x)

Oct 14: Mohave Valley Raceway - Mohave Valley, AZ

WINNER: Ricky Lewis (Dave Brown #41)

Nov 3: Cocopah Speedway - Somerton, AZ

WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Nov 4: Cocopah Speedway - Somerton, AZ

WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Nov 11: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA

WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)

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

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS:

8-Brody Roa (Jan 27 at Cocopah Speedway, Jan 28 at Cocopah Speedway, Apr 22 at Kings Speedway, Apr 29 at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park, May 6 at Mohave Valley Raceway, Jun 10 at Perris Auto Speedway, Jun 24 at Bakersfield Speedway & Jul 15 at Perris Auto Speedway)

3-Tommy Malcolm (May 20 at Thunderbowl Raceway, May 27 at Perris Auto Speedway & Sep 23 at Perris Auto Speedway)

2-Daison Pursley (Nov 3 at Cocopah Speedway & Nov 4 at Cocopah Speedway)

1-Justin Grant (Mar 18 at Perris Auto Speedway)

1-Chase Johnson (Apr 1 at Mohave Valley Raceway)

1-C.J. Leary (Nov 11 at Perris Auto Speedway)

1-Ricky Lewis (Oct 14 at Mohave Valley Raceway)

1-Matt Mitchell (Apr 15 at Perris Auto Speedway)

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

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FEATURE LAPS LED:

173-Brody Roa

95-Tommy Malcolm

58-Daison Pursley

49-Chase Johnson

33-Austin Williams

25-Justin Grant

22-Ricky Lewis

20-Matt Mitchell

13-Jake Andreotti & C.J. Leary

12-Charles Davis Jr.

11-Don Gansen

8-J.J. Yeley

7-Mitchel Moles

4-Ryan Timmons

3-Cody Williams

1-Chris Gansen, Kaleb Montgomery, Jake Swanson & Matt Westfall

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES:

14-Brody Roa

9-Tommy Malcolm

8-Charles Davis Jr. & Austin Williams

5-A.J. Bender & Cody Williams

4-R.J. Johnson

3-Chase Johnson, C.J. Leary, Ricky Lewis, Matt Mitchell, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Logan Williams

2-Braden Chiaramonte & Daison Pursley

1-Max Adams, Jake Andreotti, Ryan Bernal, Logan Calderwood, Sterling Cling, Brody Fuson, Chris Gansen, Austin Grabowski, Justin Grant, Mitchel Moles, Kaleb Montgomery, Troy Rutherford, Grant Sexton, Ryan Timmons & Matt Westfall

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES:

15-Brody Roa

14-Tommy Malcolm

11-Austin Williams

10-A.J. Bender, Charles Davis Jr. & Cody Williams

8-Logan Calderwood

7-R.J. Johnson

6-Ricky Lewis

5-Grant Sexton & Logan Williams

4-Chase Johnson, Matt McCarthy, Matt Mitchell, Verne Sweeney & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Kyle Edwards, Chris Gansen, Austin Grabowski, C.J. Leary, Andrew Sweeney & Matt Westfall

2-Jake Andreotti, Tanner Boul, Braden Chiaramonte, Dawson Faria, Brody Fuson, Tye Mihocko, Mitchel Moles, Brent Owens, Daison Pursley, Jake Swanson, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Ryan Timmons

1-Max Adams, Ryan Bernal, Sterling Cling, Tommy Dunkel, Jeff Dyer, Danny Faria Jr., Don Gansen, David Gasper, Justin Grant, Tyler Hatzikian, James Herrera, Richard McCormick, Kaleb Montgomery, Troy Rutherford, Brent Sexton, James Turnbull II & Jace Vander Weerd

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FEATURE STARTS:

18-Tommy Malcolm & Brody Roa

17-A.J. Bender, Logan Calderwood & Austin Williams

16-Grant Sexton & Cody Williams

15-Verne Sweeney

13-Charles Davis Jr.

11-Logan Williams

10-R.J. Johnson

9-James Turnbull II

8-Austin Grabowski, Ricky Lewis & Brent Owens

7-Chris Gansen, James Herrera & Matt McCarthy

6-Jeff Dyer & Chase Johnson

5-Brody Fuson, Andrew Sweeney & Eddie Tafoya Jr.

4-Chris Bonneau, Braden Chiaramonte, Gary Marshall Jr., Matt Mitchell, Mitchel Moles & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Max Adams, Jake Andreotti, Tommy Dunkel, Kyle Edwards, Don Gansen, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Richard McCormick, Tye Mihocko, Brent Sexton, Ryan Timmons & Matt Westfall

2-Camie Bell, Tanner Boul, Sterling Cling, Drake Edwards, Dawson Faria, David Gasper, Mark Henry, Mike Martin, Daison Pursley, Shane Sexton, Jake Swanson & Jim Vanzant

1-Ryan Bernal, Dustin Cormany, Shon Deskins, Tony Everhart, Danny Faria Jr., Tyler Hatzikian, Jake Helsel, Hannah Mayhew Kaleb Montgomery, Josh Pelkey, Malyssa Perkins, Troy Rutherford, Jace Vander Weerd, Brody Wake & J.J. Yeley

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:

6-Cody Williams

2-R.J. Johnson

1-Ryan Bernal, Brody Fuson, C.J. Leary, Ricky Lewis, Tommy Malcolm, Matt Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Brody Roa, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR HEAT RACE WINS:

6-A.J. Bender & Tommy Malcolm

5-Brody Roa

4-Charles Davis Jr. & R.J. Johnson

2-Jake Andreotti, Logan Calderwood, Brody Fuson, Ricky Lewis, James Turnbull II, Austin Williams & Cody Williams

1-Chris Bonneau, David Gasper, Austin Grabowski, Chase Johnson, Daison Pursley, Grant Sexton, Andrew Sweeney, Verne Sweeney, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Logan Williams

2023 USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SEMI-FEATURE WINS:

2-Max Adams

1-C.J. Leary, Brody Roa & Cody Williams

ALL-TIME USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS: (FULL POINTS EVENTS)

1. (95) Damion Gardner

2. (38) Mike Spencer

3. (35) Cory Kruseman

4. (21) Brody Roa

5. (20) Tony Jones

6. (12) Bryan Clauson

7. (11) Austin Williams

8. (10) Ryan Bernal, Nic Faas, Mike Kirby & Rip Williams

12. (9) Brady Bacon, David Cardey, Matt Mitchell & Richard Vander Weerd

16. (8) Dave Darland, Rickie Gaunt & Danny Sheridan

19. (7) Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & R.J. Johnson

22. (6) Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Blake Miller, Jake Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

27. (5) Charles Davis Jr. & Garrett Hansen

29. (4) Max Adams, Tyler Courtney, Darren Hagen, Chase Johnson, Kevin Swindell & Chris Windom

34. (3) Rico Abreu, Jerry Coons Jr., Jesse Hockett, Austin Liggett, Tommy Malcolm, Thomas Meseraull, Jeremy Sherman, Chase Stockon, Scotty Weir, Cody Williams & Josh Wise

45. (2) Tyler Brown, Josh Hodges, Kyle Larson, C.J. Leary, Daison Pursley, Troy Rutherford & Hunter Schuerenberg

49. (1) Emerson Axsom, Alan Ballard, Jayme Barnes, Christopher Bell, Chad Boespflug, Tanner Boul, Greg Bragg, Daron Clayton, Colby Copeland, Shane Cottle, Danny Faria Jr., Ricci Faria, Josh Ford, Marty Hawkins, Tracy Hines, Kyle Hirst, Tim Kaeding, Ricky Lewis, Mike Martin, Adam Mitchell, Johnny Rodriguez, Logan Seavey, Carson Short, Jon Stanbrough, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Timmons, Jace Vander Weerd, Cole Whitt & Jason York

ALL-TIME USAC CRA SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS: (NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENTS)

1. (2) C.J. Leary

2. (1) Tyler Courtney & Justin Grant

USAC CRA SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:

2004: Rip Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif.

2005: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2006: Cory Kruseman, Ventura, Calif.

2007: Tony Jones, Norco, Calif.

2008: Mike Spencer, Temecula, Calif.

2009: Mike Spencer, Temecula, Calif.

2010: Mike Spencer, Temecula, Calif.

2011: Mike Spencer, Temecula, Calif.

2012: Mike Spencer, Temecula, Calif.

2013: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2014: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2015: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2016: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2017: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2018: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2019: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2020: None

2021: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2022: Damion Gardner, Concord, Calif.

2023: Brody Roa, Garden Grove, Calif.

USAC CRA SPRINT CAR ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:

2004: John Jory #3, Villa Park, Calif.

2005: Ron Chaffin Motorsports #50, Madera, Calif.

2006: Glenn Crossno #38, Alta Loma, Calif.

2007: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2008: Ron Chaffin Motorsports #50, Madera, Calif.

2009: Ron Chaffin Motorsports #50, Madera, Calif.

2010: Ron Chaffin Motorsports #50, Madera, Calif.

2011: Ron Chaffin Motorsports #50, Madera, Calif.

2012: Ron Chaffin Motorsports #50, Madera, Calif.

2013: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2014: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2015: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2016: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2017: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2018: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2019: Mark Alexander #4, Torrance, Calif.

2020: None

2021: Mark Alexander #1, Torrance, Calif.

2022: Mark Alexander #1, Torrance, Calif.

2023: Tom & Christy Dunkel/BR Performance #17R, Menifee, Calif.

USAC CRA SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

2004: Ronnie Case, Camarillo, Calif.

2005: R.J. Johnson, Laveen, Ariz.

2006: Blake Miller, Yorba Linda, Calif.

2007: Scotty Weir, Marion, Ind.

2008: Nic Faas, Huntington Beach, Calif.

2009: Austin Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif.

2010: Jace Vander Weerd, Visalia, Calif.

2011: David Bezio, El Cajon, Calif.

2012: Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

2013: Markus Niemela, Rauma, Fin.

2014: Logan Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif.

2015: Parker Colston, Lake Elsinore, Calif.

2016: Max Adams, Loomis, Calif.

2017: Matt McCarthy, Riverside, Calif.

2018: Joel Rayborne, West Covina, Calif.

2018: Austin Ervine, Bakersfield, Calif.

2019: Eddie Tafoya Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.

2020: None

2021: Austin Grabowski, Riverside, Calif.

2022: Nate Schank, Santa Rosa, Calif.

2023: Grant Sexton, Lakeside, Calif.

 

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: November 11, 2023 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.239; 2. Tommy Malcom, 5X, Napier-16.389; 3. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.485; 4. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.546; 5. C.J. Leary, 77M, Michael-16.547; 6. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.613; 7. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-16.632; 8. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.668; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.719; 10. Logan Calderwood, 73C, Ford-16.789; 11. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-16.850; 12. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.882; 13. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-16.884; 14. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-16.895; 15. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.031; 16. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-17.037; 17. Brody Fuson, 51B, Van Meter-17.090; 18. David Gasper, 73, Ford-17.099; 19. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.210; 20. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.440; 21. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-17.451; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.737; 23. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Dunkel-18.042; 24. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-18.143; 25. Malyssa Perkins, 85M, Perkins-18.248; 26. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-19.236; 27. Matt Westfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-21.460; 28. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-NT; 29. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Fuson, 2. C.Williams, 3. Moles, 4. Mohocko, 5. Leary, 6. Boul, 7. Perkins. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gasper, 2. Bender, 3. Malcolm, 4. Calderwood, 5. Dyer, 6. Sweeney, 7. Marshall. 2:57.82.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Turnbull, 2. Roa, 3. Davis, 4. McCarthy, 5. G.Sexton, 6. Owens, 7. Dunkel. 2:53.95.

WC FRIEND COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. A.Williams, 3. L.Williams, 4. Grabowski, 5. S.Sexton, 6. Mitchell, 7. Lewis. 3:00.10.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Leary, 2. G.Sexton, 3. Mitchell, 4. Owens, 5. Dyer, 6. Sweeney, 7. S.Sexton, 8. Dunkel, 9. Perkins, 10. Boul. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. C.J. Leary (7), 2. Brody Roa (1), 3. Tommy Malcolm (5), 4. Matt Mitchell (22), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 6. Cody Williams (8), 7. Tye Mihocko (12), 8. Grant Sexton (14), 9. Brent Owens (18), 10. Logan Calderwood (9), 11. Verne Sweeney (20), 12. Jeff Dyer (13), 13. Mitchel Moles (6), 14. Logan Williams (3), 15. James Turnbull II (10), 16. Matt McCarthy (21), 17. David Gasper (17), 18. R.J. Johnson (11), 19. Brody Fuson (16), 20. Austin Grabowski (19), 21. Austin Williams (15), 22. A.J. Bender (2). NT.
----------------------------
**Boul flipped during qualifications. Gasper and L.Williams flipped during the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1-17 Roa, Laps 18-30 Leary
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Matt Mitchell (22 to 4)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Mitchel Moles

 

 

100 LAPS TO GO!

PLACERVILLE’S HANGTOWN 100 PRESENTS

BIG CHALLENGE FOR USAC MIDGETS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Placerville, California (November 9, 2023)………One-hundred laps. It’s a daunting task in a midget any way you slice it.

For one, it’s imperative to ensure you can make it the distance, not only mechanically but physically and mentally as well.

It’s challenging, but this is why racers do what they do. To face off against tasks most ordinary individuals wouldn’t dare take on and to defeat their peers in competition.

That’s what we’ll be witnessing for two straight nights with the fourth running of the Hangtown 100 at California’s Placerville Speedway featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on November 17-18, 2023.

Here’s six of the many storylines we’re watching at this year’s edition of the one and only 100-lap USAC Midget race on the series schedule.


KYLE LARSON RETURNS TO HANGTOWN

Placerville Speedway is the home to some of Kyle Larson’s most cherished racing moments. It’s the place he made his first sprint car start. It’s the place he won his first sprint car race. It’s the place he describes as his “home track.”

Now, for the first time in 2023, Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) will be making an appearance with the USAC National Midgets during the running of the Hangtown 100.

He will forever be known as the first ever winner of the Hangtown 100, capturing the inaugural running of the event back in 2019 after starting 10th, then won a Hangtown prelim in 2021 after charging from the seventh spot.

Larson, the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion, is a frequent hard charger at the Hangtown 100, driving from 23rd to fourth on night one in 2019 and 12th to sixth in the 2021 opener.


KOFOID EYING RARE BACK-TO-BACK FEAT OF 100-LAP WINS

No driver has won consecutive 100-lap USAC National Midget features since Sam Isenhower on the indoor concrete, coke syrup-infused surface of Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum in 1988.

No driver has won consecutive 100-lap USAC National Midget features on dirt since Ron Shuman in 1982 at the Terre Haute Action Track’s Hut 100 and Ascot Park’s Turkey Night Grand Prix.

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) intends to change that in 2023 at Placerville where he comes in as the defending Hangtown 100 winner. In fact, he’s won his past two USAC Midget starts at Placerville, scoring the night two prelim and the finale in 2022.

Kofoid, the 2021-22 USAC National Midget champion, will also try to maintain Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports’ stranglehold of the Hangtown 100 after having swept all three nights of the event in 2022 with driver Tanner Carrick also taking the opener.

Already a winner at Placerville this season, Kofoid grabbed a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car triumph there during September’s 49er Gold Rush Classic.



WINNING A PIECE OF THE PLACERVILLE PIE

Speaking of drivers who’ve already achieved winning performances at Placerville this year in other disciplines, there’s actually quite an array of drivers in that category.

Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) gave Keith Kunz Motorsports its 134th USAC National Midget victory during last year’s Hangtown 100 opening night prelim, a triumph which made KKM the winningest team in series history. Carrick has been a regular in winged 360 Sprint Car competition this year at Placerville, scoring a feature win in July while finishing eighth in the standings. The two-time USAC National Midget winner will be aboard the No. 98 midget for KKM at Placerville and also for two nights at Merced (Calif.) Speedway on November 21-22.

Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) will drive for car owner and Hangtown 100 promoter Matt Wood in the event. Golobic won the World of Outlaws stop at Placerville in 2019 and scored a 360 win of his own this past August. The 2017 USAC Indiana Midget Week champion will be vying for his first USAC National Midget feature win since 2016.

Furthermore, Michael Faccinto (Hanford, Calif.) is the 360 Sprint Car track champ at Placerville for 2023 while also tallying a main event victory as well. The two-time USAC Western States Midget titlist will pilot a midget out of the Graunstadt Enterprises/Matt Streeter Racing stable and has also bagged a USAC WSM victory at Placerville in 2022. Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) and newly crowned USAC WSM champ Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) have also been victorious with the USAC WSM series at Placerville of late with Andreotti scoring in 2022 and Fuson this past July.


HANGING 10 AT THE HANGTOWN 100

The Hangtown 100 of 2021 was a banner weekend for both Justin Grant and Ryan Timms, and between the two drivers, they own five USAC National Midget victories in 2023 and reside inside the top-four of the series standings.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) raced past Buddy Kofoid with 14 laps to go to win the Hangtown 100 finale that year at the place he later said is “where I grew up; this is where I fell in love with racing; this is the place where I decided I wanted to be a racecar driver.”

Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), at just 15 years, 3 months and 12 days old, made history on night one of the Hangtown 100 to become the youngest feature winner in the history of USAC National Midget racing, a record that stands to this day.

Grant’s been on a hot streak of late, having won two of the last three after going winless with the series until late September. Timms, meanwhile, wants to finish strong driving for the same team and car number that has won each of the past two Hangtown 100 features with Kofoid in the seat in 2021.


STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

The Hangtown 100 format is a bit different than the norm with the accumulation of points playing a role front and center on the stage throughout the two nights of the event.

Points will be earned via finishing position and number of positions advanced throughout each night, which will not only seed the starting lineups, but also will pay off in the end. The driver accruing the most points throughout the Hangtown 100 will receive a $12,500 reward at the end of the weekend.

Friday’s 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature will pay 50 appearance points only toward the USAC National Midget standings. Saturday’s 100-lap, $8,000-to-win finale will pay feature points only toward the USAC National Midget season-long tally for all licensed series drivers and entrants.


THE LONE 100-LAP USAC MIDGET RACE OF THE YEAR

Furthermore, the event is the one and only 100-lap event on the USAC National Midget calendar this season. Once a regular feature on the schedule in the early years of the series, these days, a race of its distance is as rare a sight as a white squirrel in the wilderness.

In fact, this year’s Hangtown 100 will be the 398th 100-lap feature run in the series’ history since the dawn of USAC’s formation in 1956, and the 117th in the state of California.

Four drivers in this year’s Hangtown 100 field have experienced the feat of winning 100-lap USAC Midget races: Kyle Larson, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh and Buddy Kofoid.

Larson captured the Hangtown 100 at Placerville in 2019 as did Grant in 2021 and Kofoid in 2022. McIntosh’s 100-lap victory came in 2022 at South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway. McIntosh has yet to win at Placerville, twice finishing second in 30-lap prelim features in both 2021 and 2022.

THE DETAILS:

Front gates open at 3pm each night at the Hangtown 100. Reserved and general admission ticket packages for the Hangtown 100, along with single night tickets, are available at www.hangtown100.com. Tickets will also be available at the gate on race day.

Both nights of racing at the Hangtown 100 can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1411, 2-Justin Grant-1186, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1161, 4-Ryan Timms-1134, 5-Daison Pursley-1122, 6-Jade Avedisian-1110, 7-Jacob Denney-1061, 8-Gavin Miller-1018, 9-Cannon McIntosh-949, 10-Thomas Meseraull-922.


USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY:

2-Buddy Kofoid & Kyle Larson

1-Tanner Carrick, Justin Grant, Gio Scelzi & Ryan Timms


USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY:

2019: Gio Scelzi (11/19) & Kyle Larson (11/20)

2021: Ryan Timms (11/18), Kyle Larson (11/19) & Justin Grant (11/20)

2022: Tanner Carrick (11/17), Buddy Kofoid (11/18) & Buddy Kofoid (11/19)


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 11/18/2021 - Tanner Thorson - 11.397

10 Laps - 11/19/2021 - Brenham Crouch - 1:56.949

12 Laps - 11/18/2021 - Tanner Thorson - 2:25.95

30 Laps - 11/18/2021 - Ryan Timms - 6:07.97


PLACERVILLE USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE RESULTS:

2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Gio Scelzi (2), 2. Logan Seavey (8), 3. Jesse Colwell (1), 4. Kyle Larson (23), 5. Shane Golobic (3), 6. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (5), 7. Spencer Bayston (11), 8. Tanner Carrick (6), 9. Jason McDougal (7), 10. Aaron Reutzel (17), 11. Dillon Welch (12), 12. Jerry Coons, Jr. (18), 13. Brady Bacon (10), 14. Thomas Meseraull (13), 15. Christopher Bell (15), 16. Ryan Bernal (24), 17. Rico Abreu (16), 18. Dave Darland (25), 19. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9), 20. Jake Swanson (19), 21. Robert Dalby (14), 22. Colby Copeland (20), 23. Brad Sweet (21), 24. Michael Pickens (4), 25. Justin Grant (26), 26. Cannon McIntosh (22). NT

2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (10), 2. Christopher Bell (13), 3. Tanner Carrick (6), 4. Ryan Bernal (19), 5. Jerry Coons, Jr. (14), 6. Dillon Welch (2), 7. Gio Scelzi (11), 8. Tyler Courtney (24), 9. Spencer Bayston (9), 10. Michael Pickens (16), 11. Logan Seavey (12), 12. Aaron Reutzel (4), 13. Chris Windom (23), 14. Colby Copeland (20), 15. Jason McDougal (3), 16. Brady Bacon (1), 17. Thomas Meseraull (17), 18. Buddy Kofoid (28), 19. Jake Swanson (22), 20. Justin Grant (27), 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15), 22. Jesse Colwell (8), 23. Shane Golobic (7), 24. Zeb Wise (25), 25. Brad Sweet (21), 26. Rico Abreu (18), 27. Tucker Klaasmeyer (26), 28. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (5). NT

2021 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Timms (2), 2. Cannon McIntosh (5), 3. Justin Grant (6), 4. Shane Golobic (8), 5. Emerson Axsom (3), 6. Kyle Larson (12), 7. Chris Windom (10), 8. Zeb Wise (4), 9. Thomas Meseraull (17), 10. Logan Seavey (11), 11. Brenham Crouch (9), 12. Kaylee Bryson (14), 13. Tanner Carrick (18), 14. Buddy Kofoid (22), 15. Bryant Wiedeman (1), 16. Tanner Thorson (20), 17. Taylor Reimer (16), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (19), 19. Chase Randall (7), 20. Colby Copeland (13), 21. Michael Faccinto (21), 22. Colby Johnson (15), 23. Carson Macedo (23), 24. Hayden Reinbold (25-P), 25. Cory Eliason (26-P), 26. Ryan Bernal (24). 6:07.97 (New Track Record)

2021 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (7), 2. Emerson Axsom (6), 3. Bryant Wiedeman (4), 4. Jason McDougal (8), 5. Buddy Kofoid (9), 6. Carson Macedo (3), 7. Zeb Wise (1), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. Taylor Reimer (12), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 11. Justin Grant (24), 12. Ethan Mitchell (5), 13. Brenham Crouch (17), 14. Maria Cofer (10), 15. Chris Windom (2), 16. Colby Copeland (13), 17. Ryan Timms (20), 18. Tanner Carrick (25-P), 19. Shane Golobic (19), 20. Tanner Thorson (22), 21. Chase Johnson (15), 22. Michael Faccinto (14), 23. Cory Eliason (23), 24. Cannon McIntosh (26-P), 25. Caden Sarale (18), 26. Thomas Meseraull (21). NT

2021 NIGHT #3 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (7), 2. Buddy Kofoid (6), 3. Logan Seavey (11), 4. Chris Windom (3), 5. Carson Macedo (13), 6. Tanner Thorson (14), 7. Cory Eliason (25-P), 8. Emerson Axsom (10), 9. Tanner Carrick (22), 10. Shane Golobic (9), 11. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 12. Thomas Meseraull (23), 13. Colby Copeland (15), 14. Kaylee Bryson (24), 15. Bryant Wiedeman (4), 16. Taylor Reimer (1), 17. Zeb Wise (2), 18. Kyle Larson (12), 19. Cannon McIntosh (17), 20. Chase Elliott (28-O), 21. Jade Avedisian (27-O), 22. Ethan Mitchell (19), 23. Michael Faccinto (21), 24. Ryan Timms (8), 25. Jason McDougal (18), 26. Maria Cofer (20), 27. Carson Sousa (26-P), 28. Brenham Crouch (5). NT

2022 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Carrick (2), 2. Michael Pickens (1), 3. Buddy Kofoid (9), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 5. Spencer Bayston (8), 6. Cannon McIntosh (12), 7. Shane Golobic (10), 8. Chris Windom (4), 9. Colby Copeland (5), 10. Jason McDougal (3), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (14), 12. Mitchel Moles (22), 13. Thomas Meseraull (21), 14. Justin Grant (16), 15. Dominic Gorden (13), 16. Tanner Thorson (19), 17. Alex Bright (18), 18. Daison Pursley (24), 19. Emerson Axsom (11), 20. Taylor Reimer (26-P), 21. Kaylee Bryson (25-P), 22. Carson Macedo (7), 23. Jade Avedisian (20), 24. Daniel Whitley (23), 25. Jake Andreotti (15), 26. Logan Seavey (17).

2022 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Cannon McIntosh (9), 3. Tanner Thorson (4), 4. Tanner Carrick (12), 5. Chris Windom (13), 6. Logan Seavey (19), 7. Spencer Bayston (15), 8. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 9. Shane Golobic (16), 10. Carson Macedo (22), 11. Jake Andreotti (10), 12. Corey Day (21), 13. Justin Grant (18), 14. Mitchel Moles (23), 15. Chance Crum (6), 16. Jason McDougal (17), 17. Jacob Denney (14), 18. Michael Pickens (8), 19. Ryan Bernal (20), 20. Ryan Timms (2), 21. Colby Copeland (24), 22. Kaylee Bryson (11), 23. Thomas Meseraull (1), 24. Jade Avedisian (7). NT

2022 NIGHT #3 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Chance Crum (21), 3. Justin Grant (11), 4. Carson Macedo (14), 5. Tanner Thorson (8), 6. Spencer Bayston (5), 7. Cannon McIntosh (1), 8. Shane Golobic (4), 9. Tanner Carrick (3), 10. Bryant Wiedeman (7), 11. Thomas Meseraull (17), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 13. Chris Windom (6), 14. Mitchel Moles (12), 15. Ryan Timms (22), 16. Jake Andreotti (18), 17. Kaylee Bryson (25-U), 18. Jade Avedisian (28-P), 19. Michael Pickens (9), 20. Michael Faccinto (27-P), 21. Emerson Axsom (19), 22. Tony Gomes (23), 23. Corey Day (20), 24. Brenham Crouch (26-U), 25. Colby Copeland (13), 26. Jason McDougal (10), 27. Logan Seavey (16), 28. Daniel Whitley (24). NT

 

 

AVEDISIAN AIMS FOR A BREAKTHROUGH ON USAC MIDGETS' WEST COAST SWING

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 10, 2023)………It was this time of the season two years ago when Jade Avedisian made a grand introduction to USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing.

With a pedigree that included a standout upbringing in micro sprints, including a 2017 USAC Junior Micro Sprint championship, she made her debut in time for the series’ west coast swing in 2021.

It was there at Merced Speedway, located roughly 45 minutes away from her Clovis, Calif. home, that she finished fourth and instantly showed to all onlookers, and to herself, that she belonged.

Now, two years later, she continues to progress up the rankings, currently standing sixth in points and, earlier this year, became the first woman to lead the USAC National standings. Still just 17 years old, Avedisian is already preparing for her third annual west coast trip with the USAC Midgets and can note some of the differences between now and then.

“I just got in and tried to do the best I could at the time,” Avedisian said. “This is my third time on the west coast in a midget and I know I’ve come a long way since then, and especially this year, I feel like I’m head and shoulders ahead of where I even started this year.”

The stats don’t lie. She’s made all 21 feature starts with USAC and her six top-fives and 13 top-ten results have doubled her previous career-highs from a year ago when she made 20 series starts. Although she’s excited to be back on the west coast, she aims to be a few spots better. With three runner-up USAC finishes this season, she feels her time to win is coming, but winning a USAC race requires almost perfect execution in every facet. At Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway, one little slip atop the turn two cushion while leading cost her the victory. But despite the close calls, Avedisian knows she possesses all the tools to eventually seal the deal, but it requires a complete showing from beginning to end.

“I feel like there’s a lot of nights this year that I’ve been so frustrated because we were so close,” Avedisian revealed. “I’ll always be angry about the Bloomington deal. I feel like that was our chance to win but I put myself in a bad position and made a mistake and that was that. But I feel pretty confident going out to the west coast. I’ve come a long way this year and I know we’re going to have really good cars out there, so I need to capitalize and limit the mistakes.”

One new aspect for Avedisian in 2023 was her joining Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, the owner of 12 USAC National Midget titles and 143 series wins, both all-time records. Knowing their history, reputation and the fact that she was now in the same position as Buddy Kofoid with the same team and crew chief (Jarrett Martin) that won the championship the last two years, admittedly, it placed a little bit more pressure on herself to perform.

“I definitely would say that I was putting more pressure on myself just because everyone knows how good they are and I feel like they have chances to win almost every single night,” Avedisian admitted. “Last year, I wasn’t really that consistent on my end. I was either all in or really bad. So, I knew that was going to be a big step for me to take going into this year.”

Martin, who has earned top honors as the recipient of the Johnny Capels USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year in 2021-22, was assigned to Avedisian this year, and they’ve clicked. Together, they grabbed the 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series title on the strength of five feature victories, but it came with its share of learning curves along the way as well.

At times earlier this season, Avedisian admits to pushing way too hard and surpassing the edge, but in the process, she learned that in order to be faster, sometimes you’ve got to slow down. She remarked that, in midsummer of this season, there was a light switch moment that helped her post more consistent results from that point forward.

“Having Jarrett on my side this year has been great,” Avedisian praised. “He’s coached me through everything and has helped out a ton. (KKM) has done it for so many years and they’ve got a big notebook, so when they see something that happens, and they’ve seen many young drivers coming up, they know the tendencies they have. They’ve got no quit, I’ll tell you that. No matter what happens throughout the night or the night before, they never give up on you.”

A year ago this time, while driving for CB Industries, Avedisian had her first meeting with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports in a not-so-fun, but oh-so-memorable manner at California’s Placerville Speedway. It was there, while battling for third in the feature, she and KKM’s Tanner Carrick touched wheels, sending Avedisian ramping up the wall and flipping over three times in nose-to-tail fashion before coming to a rest on the other side of the turn one banking.

Avedisian walked away from the scene and, in fact, traveled on foot all the way from turn one to turn three to give Carrick a fist bump with nary a word said. It was a much-ballyhooed moment that had the racing world buzzing regarding her maturity. As fate would have it, now the same two drivers will be teammates for four events during the upcoming west coast trip with KKM.

“I had no clue what I was going to do,” Avedisian said with a laugh when recalling her meet and greet with Carrick that night. “I got out of the car, and I started walking, and I was like, I have no clue what I’m going to do. I walked up to his car and thought, ‘what am I going to do?’ So I did a fist bump. I know I probably wanted to do other things, but I just can’t do that to the people who support me on my firesuit and to put all the other people around me and all my partners in a bad light.”

Avedisian sure hopes better times await on this west coast trip, and one thing she knows for sure, if she is able to break through and become the first woman to capture a USAC National feature win, it will have been well-earned.

“USAC races are so tough,” she said. “I can’t even express how tough they are, starting with qualifying to having to get out of your heat race, which is a big thing. I just need to set myself up early in the night, do my best and execute the best I can.”

2023 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REMAINING SCHEDULE:

Nov 14: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA – November Classic

Nov 17: Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA – Hangtown 100

Nov 18: Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA – Hangtown 100

Nov 21: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA

Nov 22: Merced Speedway - Merced, CA

Nov 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA – ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix

 

 

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

BRODY ROA LEADS USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS TO PERRIS SEASON FINALE
By Lance Jennings

NOVEMBER 8, 2023... This Saturday, November 11th, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will battle at Perris Auto Speedway for their season finale. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the final point race is presented by Heimark Distributors / Anheuser Busch and will feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, and Southwest Lightning Sprints. 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.

Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person. Events at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed on FloRacing in 2023.

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.)
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535; SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78; FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101; COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S; B&B: FRAC-0375S; SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK
*Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- 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.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 248 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-three different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 51 “home track” wins and this year’s races have been claimed by Justin Grant, Matt Mitchell, “Thunder” Tommy Malcolm (twice), and Brody Roa (twice). Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After last week’s hard fought “Western World Championships” at Cocopah Speedway near Yuma, Arizona, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) has clinched the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance owned #17R Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Roa has eight feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 177 feature laps led to his credit. Brody ranks fourth with 21 career victories and will be looking to celebrate the title with another win at Perris.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Corona, California) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm has three feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, six heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 95 feature laps led on the year. Tommy “Thunder” will have his sights adding another win to his resume this Saturday night.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is third in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Piloting the family owned #2 Digalert / Ramona Duck Club DRC, Williams has two heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 32 feature laps led to his credit. With eleven career triumphs, Austin will be looking to earn his first win of the season at Perris Auto Speedway.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams (Corona, California) sits fourth in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC has six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and three feature laps led on the season. “The Cadillac” has three career wins and will have his sights on the victory at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA championship points. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / Schweitzer Racing DRC, Bender has six heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, and ten top-10 finishes in the campaign. Last season’s USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year will be looking to claim his first USAC/CRA victory at the season finale.

Grant Sexton (Lakeside, California) has a lock on Rookie of the Year honors and ranks eighth in the point standings. The driver of the family owned #22 Sexton Fire Protection / East County Electric Works Triple X is followed by James Turnbull II (Indio, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California), Dawson Faria (Tipton, California), and Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Arizona).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Logan Calderwood, Verne Sweeney, R.J. Johnson, Logan Williams, Ricky Lewis, Chris Gansen, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Matt McCarthy, Brent Owens, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Andrew Sweeney, Matt Mitchell, Matt Westfall, Kyle Edwards, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, Don Gansen, 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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, WC Friend Company, Woodland Auto Display, BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.

For more information on the AMSOIL 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.
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AMSOIL 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.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 8-Brody Roa, 3-Tommy Malcolm, 2-Daison Pursley, 1-Justin Grant, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Matt Mitchell.

PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

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

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Roa-1208, 2. Tommy Malcolm-1093, 3. Austin Williams-944, 4. Cody Williams-857, 5. A.J. Bender-854, 6. Charles Davis Jr.-734, 7. Logan Calderwood-729, 8. Grant Sexton (R)-629, 9. Verne Sweeney-554, 10. R.J. Johnson-532.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
January 27: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
January 28: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
March 3: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 4: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Justin Grant)
March 24: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (RAIN)
March 25: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (RAIN)
April 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
April 22: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
May 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
June 10: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 24: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
July 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
August 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
September 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
October 14: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
November 3: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Daison Pursley)
November 4: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Daison Pursley)
November 11: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (30 Laps)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

 


 

ALL ROADS LEAD TO BAKERSFIELD:

USAC MIDGET WEST COAST SWING BEGINS NOV. 14

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 8, 2023)………All roads lead to California’s Bakersfield Speedway!

For one, it’s the start of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship’s annual voyage to the west coast on Tuesday night, November 14, the first of six races in a 12-day span in the Golden State to close out the 2023 season.

Secondly, the November Classic presents a myriad of new beginnings and challenges ahead with the likes of Thomas Meseraull’s debut with a new team looming as well as RMS Racing’s three-race winning streak being put to the test, Buddy Kofoid’s pursuit of a historic third Bako win and Logan Seavey’s championship quest, just to mention a few.

Here’s a look at six of the storylines we’re watching on Tuesday at Bakersfield!


NEW DIGS FOR MESERAULL

The November swing discussion starts with a new beginning for defending Bakersfield winner Thomas Meseraull.

After the recent parting of ways between Meseraull and the RMS Racing team, Meseraull and his Engler-powered EA Stealth engine will make its debut with a former Spike Chassis out of the RMS stable which will retain the same familiar number of 7x.

It’s quite the change of scenery for Meseraull who has scored all 10 of his USAC National Midget career victories for RMS and has competed full-time with the team since their formation in 2018. Meseraull took the team’s ride to a 30-lap wire-to-wire victory at Bakersfield in 2022.

Bakersfield success has been part of the equation for Meseraull since the earliest days of his racing career and continues to the current day. In fact, his very first USAC-sanctioned feature win came at Bakersfield with the Western States Midget division all the way back in the year 2000.


RMS LOOKING “FOUR” MORE

Speaking of which, after a daunting and frustrating season, the RMS Racing team has recently broken through to hit their stride on the USAC National Midget trail.

After going winless throughout the first 18 events of the year, the team has now won three-straight, including two by Justin Grant while Meseraull added one to the win column as well.

Now sporting a one-car effort for the upcoming California swing solely for Grant, the RMS outfit is riding a streak which equals the team’s longest string of victories set during the first three rounds of the 2022 season.

Now the pursuit for team principal Dave Estep and crew is to become the first team not named Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports to win four-straight USAC National Midget features since Tucker-Boat Motorsports took five consecutive triumphs in 2020.

Furthermore, RMS enters the upcoming trip as the most recent winner in the state of California with Grant reigning victorious during the season-ending Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway in 2022.


BUDDY’S BACK AT BAKO

Buddy Kofoid’s midget starts have been fewer and further between this year in comparison to recent seasons. But the 2021-22 USAC National Midget champion has been a force every time he’s hit the track this season to no one’s surprise.

In just five USAC National Midget starts during the 2023 campaign, the Penngrove, Calif. driver has finished inside the top-five in all five, including a pair of feature victories.

Furthermore, in his past three Bakersfield appearances, he’s finished on the podium each time and won twice in back-to-back fashion in 2020-21. With one more victory on Tuesday, he’d equal current Keith Kunz Motorsports C.E.E.O. (Chief Everything Else Officer) Jay Drake and Billy Vukovich as the winningest USAC Midget drivers at Bakersfield.

Kofoid is committed to competing on the full six-race slate with the USAC Midgets in November in the seat of the KKM/Curb-Agajanian No. 67K, one of seven entries from the team’s stable that’ll be on hand at Bakersfield.


SEAVEY WITH A CHAMPIONSHIP CLOSEOUT ON HIS MIND

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is one of three past November Classic winners slated to compete in Tuesday’s event at Bakersfield along with Buddy Kofoid and Thomas Meseraull.

Seavey captured the 2018 Bakersfield round in grand style by utilizing the high line to pass for the victory coming out of the fourth turn on the 30th and final lap, which also locked up the series title for him in one fell swoop.

It was during the California rounds a year ago in which Seavey made his debut with Abacus Racing. Now, a year later, the pair stands head and shoulders above the field on the brink of a championship, up 225 points in the series standings with just six races remaining.

Coming off a fifth-place finish at Bakersfield in 2022, Seavey and Abacus would like to further cement their title wishes with another “one fell swoop” performance on Tuesday.


DOUBLE-O ANDREOTTI

Jake Andreotti has competed the entirety of the USAC National Midget season in a car owned by Tom Malloy. However, for the remainder of the season, he’ll find himself back in a former, but familiar, ride.

The Castro Valley, Calif. native has re-teamed up with car owner Pete Davis and his No. 00 for the six-race schedule in their California homeland, the same team with which he accrued several impressive runs this time a year ago, punctuated by a fourth-place result in the 2022 season finale at Ventura.

This year alone, in limited starts on off-weekends from the national trail, Andreotti ventured back home to California and has been stellar in Davis’ No. 00 with the USAC Western States Midgets. In just three starts, Andreotti and Davis won twice and finished as the runner-up in the other.

Even better, Andreotti is undefeated in a midget on Bakersfield soil this year. However, both of those victories came at the neighboring The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park. Nonetheless, the team is confident that they can have another breakthrough moment this time around just down the road in Bako.

AUSTRALIA TEAMS WITH AMERICA

Just like clockwork, the distinctive machinery of Australia’s Dyson Motorsport and American drivers Carson Macedo and Spencer Bayston return to the field for a full two weeks of midget racing on the west coast of the U.S. in the Fall.

Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) and Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) are coming off a year in which they both finished inside the top-eight of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink point standings for 2023.

Both drivers have established themselves in midgets along the way as well with Macedo earning a USAC Indiana Regional Midget series title and National Rookie of the Year honors in 2016. Last year at Merced, Macedo was able to notch his first career USAC National Midget victory.

Bayston, meanwhile, was a mainstay at the top of USAC National Midget racing throughout the mid to late 2010s, establishing himself as both a National Midget champion in 2017 and an Indiana Midget Week titlist in 2018.


THE DETAILS

The Tuesday, November 14 running of the November Classic at California’s Bakersfield Speedway features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, California Lightning Sprints and American Stocks.

Pits open at Noon Pacific with the gates opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5pm.

Adult general admission tickets are $20. Kids 6-12 general admission tickets are $10. Kids 5 and under general admission tickets are free. Ages 65+ and military (ID required) general admission tickets are $18.

USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets and California’s Bakersfield Speedway have a history that dates back six decades. Davey Moses won the first trip by the USAC National Midgets in the summer of 1959. Over that period, 24 series races have been held at the lightning-quick 1/3-mile that has been both paved and dirt throughout its history.

The NOS Energy Drink November Classic from Bakersfield will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1411, 2-Justin Grant-1186, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-1161, 4-Ryan Timms-1134, 5-Daison Pursley-1122, 6-Jade Avedisian-1110, 7-Jacob Denney-1061, 8-Gavin Miller-1018, 9-Cannon McIntosh-949, 10-Thomas Meseraull-922.


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 11/16/2021 - Cannon McIntosh - 12.347 - 97.092 mph

6 Laps - 11/23/1991 - Lynn Carter - 1:26.460 - 83.192 mph

8 Laps - 11/17/2018 - Tyler Courtney - 1:43.590 - 92.580 mph

10 Laps - 11/17/2020 - Jonathan Beason - 2:03.059 - 97.417 mph

12 Laps - 11/16/2021 - Chase Randall - 2:31.417 - 95.077 mph

15 Laps - 11/25/1993 - Sleepy Tripp - 3:25.910 - 87.678 mph

100 Laps - 11/23/1995 - Billy Boat - 26:58.12 - 74.086 mph


BAKERSFIELD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:

3-Jay Drake & Billy Vukovich

2-Buddy Kofoid, Ron Shuman & Sleepy Tripp

1-Brady Bacon, Billy Boat, Dave Darland, Terry Farrar, Jordan Hermansader, Page Jones, Kyle Larson, Thomas Meseraull, Davey Moses, Logan Seavey, Frank Secrist & Rich Vogler


BAKERSFIELD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

1959: Davey Moses (8/2)

1966: Frank Secrist (8/14) & Billy Vukovich (9/11)

1967: Billy Vukovich (7/2) & Billy Vukovich (7/16)

1974: Sleepy Tripp (11/24)

1988: Rich Vogler (11/11)

1989: Sleepy Tripp (11/18)

1990: Terry Farrar (11/17)

1991: Page Jones (11/23)

1992: Ron Shuman (11/26)

1993: Ron Shuman (11/25)

1994: Jordan Hermansader (11/24)

1995: Billy Boat (11/23)

1997: Jay Drake (11/22)

1998: Jay Drake (11/26)

1999: Dave Darland (11/20)

2000: Jay Drake (11/18)

2017: Brady Bacon (11/18)

2018: Logan Seavey (11/17)

2019: Kyle Larson (11/23)

2020: Buddy Kofoid (11/17)

2021: Buddy Kofoid (11/16)

2022: Thomas Meseraull (11/15)


BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:

1959 FEATURE: 1. Davey Moses, 2. Joe Garson, 3. Billy Cantrell, 4. Norm Rapp, 5. Cal Niday, 6. Johnny Wood, 7. Leroy Neumayer, 8. Gene Gurney, 9. Johnny Melton, 10. Jim Gilchrist, 11. Johnnie Tolan, 12. Chuck Booth, 13. Dempsey Wilson, 14. Joe Soares, 15. Norm Hall, 16. Don Staudinger. NT

1966 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Frank Secrist, 2. George Benson, 3. Duane Sears, 4. Tom Trader, 5. Johnny Moorhouse, 6. Larry Ferrua, 7. Jimmy Caruthers, 8. Jim Bob Luebbert, 9. Bernie Schechter, 10. Al Henderson, 11. Ned Spath, 12. Clark Templeman, 13. Ed Johns, 14. Joe Garson, 15. Walt Kennedy, 16. Paul Jones, 17. Porky Rachwitz, 18. Jack Sachse. NT

1966 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2.Al Henderson, 3. George Benson, 4. Rick Henderson, 5. Jimmy Caruthers, 6. Don Melton, 7. Billy Wilkerson, 8. Dickie Deis, 9. Bruce Walkup, 10. Johnny Moorhouse, 11. Tom Trader, 12. Ed Johns, 13. Ron Hughes, 14. Mike Mosley, 15. Paul Jones, 16. Frank Secrist, 17. George Todd, 18. Larry Ferrua.

1967 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2. Duane Sears, 3. Mike McGreevy, 4. Hank Butcher, 5. Johnny Moorhouse, 6. George Benson, 7. Jan Opperman, 8. Dave Strickland, 9. Herman Hutton, 10. Walt Kennedy, 11. Billy Wilkerson, 12. Gil Alcala, 13. Don Sparks, 14. Henry Rossi, 15. Don White, 16. Ray Lattie, 17. Ed Johns, 18. Dickie Deis. NT

1967 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Billy Vukovich, 2. Walt Kennedy, 3. George Benson, 4. Johnny Moorhouse, 5. Larry Ferrua, 6. Dickie Deis, 7. Ray Lattie, 8. Ron Hughes, 9. Jerry Welton, 10. Clark Templeman, 11. Tom McCoy, 12. Jim Vaughan, 13. Sonny White, 14. Dennis Johansen, 15. Jack Yeley, 16. Porky Rachwitz, 17. Johnny Parsons, 18. Billy Wilkerson. NT

1974 FEATURE: (30 laps), 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Chuck Gurney, 3. Pancho Carter, 4. Mel Kenyon, 5. Jimmy Caruthers, 6. Jerry Weeks, 7. Danny O'Neill, 8. Bill Weingarten, 9. Danny McKnight, 10. Larry Rice, 11. Johnny Anderson, 12. Jim Beckley, 13. Gary Irvin, 14. Mark Alderson, 15. Wheeler Gresham, 16. Hank Butcher, 17. Roger Mears, 18. Bobby Tripp, 19. Jeff Heywood, 20. George Snider.

1988 FEATURE (40 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Darryl Haugh, 3. Wally Pankratz, 4. Kevin Olson, 5. Dave Strickland Jr., 6. Ken Nichols, 7. Mario Bringetto Jr., 8. Tommy White, 9. Chuck West, 10. Floyd Alvis, 11. Johnny Cofer, 12. Rick Zermani, 13. Rusty Rasmussen, 14. Jim Berg, 15. Larry Derwin, 16. Joe Winters, 17. Sleepy Tripp, 18. Robby Flock, 19. P.J. Jones, 20. Frank Pedregon, 21. John Starks, 22. Terry Wente. NT

1989 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Mario Bringetto Jr., 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Terry Farrar, 5. Kevin Olson, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Dirk VanCott, 8. Kevin Doty, 9. Bob Davison, 10. Dennis Hart, 11. Terry Tarditi, 12. Ray Derby, 13. Hank Butcher, 14. Jeff Gordon, 15. P.J. Jones, 16. Ron Hughes Jr., 17. Rick Taylor, 18. Tommy White, 19. Dan Drinan, 20. Frank Pedregon. NT

1990 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Terry Farrar, 2. Dave Strickland Jr., 3. Sleepy Tripp, 4. Ricky Gray, 5. P.J. Jones, 6. Jeff Gordon, 7. Russ Gamester, 8. Mike Streicher, 9. Robby Flock, 10. Rick Taylor, 11. John McLaughlin, 12. George Ito, 13. Terry Tarditi, 14. Ray Derby, 15. Kevin Doty, 16. Mike Appio, 17. Lee Yetter, 18. Frank Pedregon, 19. Kevin Olson, 20. Stephen Lewis. NT

1991 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Page Jones, 2. P.J. Jones, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Robby Flock, 5. Doug Kalitta, 6. Mike Streicher, 7. Johnny Cofer, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. Andy Pierce, 10. Jordan Hermansader, 11. Tyce Carlson, 12. Critter Malone, 13. Terry Tarditi, 14. John Kaiser, 15. Stan Fox, 16. Doug Silva, 17. Wally Pankratz, 18. Ricky Gray, 19. George Ito, 20. Keith Rauch. NT

1992 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Hank Butcher, 5. Chuck Gurney, 6. Stan Fox, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. George Ito, 9. Brent Kaeding, 10. Brett Horrobin, 11. Keith Chrisco, 12. Jordan Hermansader, 13. Mike Streicher, 14. Glenn Carson, 15, Joe Gaerte, 16. Lealand McSpadden, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Jason Jonkman, 19, John Harkrader, 20. Page Jones, 21. Billy Garcia, 22. Sleepy Tripp, 23. Billy Boat, 24. Terry Tarditi. NT

1993 FEATURE: (100 laps): 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Robby Flock, 3. Johnny Cofer, 4. George Ito, 5. Jay Drake, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Jordan Hermansader, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Stan Fox, 11. Ron Hazelton, 12. Keith Chrisco, 13. Chuck Gurney, 14. Hank Butcher, 15. Rick Hendrix, 16. Richard Griffin, 17. Stevie Reeves, 18. Page Jones, 19. Jimmy Sills, 20. Robert Dolacki, 21. Ronnie Day, 22. Sleepy Tripp, 23. Cary Faas, 24. Billy Boat. NT

1994 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Jordan Hermansader, 2. Hank Butcher, 3. Kenny Irwin Jr., 4. Billy Boat, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Danny Lasoski, 7. Johnny Cofer, 8. George Ito, 9. Jack Runyon, 10. Sleepy Tripp, 11. Robby Flock, 12. Robert Dolacki, 13. Ronnie Day, 14. Tony Elliott, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Ronnie Johncox, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Jason Leffler, 19. Rick Hendrix, 20. Wally Pankratz, 21. Tony Stewart, 22. Lealand McSpadden, 23. Donnie Beechler, 24. Andy Michner. 25:56.85

1995 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Billy Boat, 2. Kenny Irwin Jr., 3. Kevin Doty, 4. Richard Griffin, 5. Rick Hendrix, 6. George Ito, 7. Tony Stewart, 8. Jimmy Sills, 9. Andy Michner, 10. Ron Shuman, 11. Hank Butcher, 12. Larry Brown, 13. Shane Scully, 14. J.J. Ercse, 15. Frankie Kerr, 16. Jeremy Sherman, 17. Danny Lasoski, 18. Jason Leffler, 19. Wally Pankratz, 20. Jim Keene, 21. Jay Drake, 22. Brian Gerster, 23. Johnny Cofer, 24. J.R. Lawson. 26:58.12

1997 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Billy Boat, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Jimmy Sills, 4. Wally Pankratz, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Ricky Shelton, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Clay Klepper, 9. Craig Brady, 10. Dwayne Marcum, 11. Rick Hendrix, 12. Shane Scully, 13. Steve Paden, 14. Cory Kruseman, 15. Larry Brown, 16. Jason Leffler, 17. Nick Lundgreen, 18. Steve Barth, 19. John Heydenreich, 20. Danny Lasoski, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Kevin Thomas, 23. Robert Dolacki, 24. Marc DeBeaumont. NT

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps - Held Nov. 26) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Jason Leffler, 3. Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. Dave Darland, 5. Kasey Kahne, 6. Dan Boorse, 7. Jimmy Sills, 8. Ricky Shelton, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Brian Tyler, 11. Robby Flock, 12. Michael Lewis, 13. Ronnie Day, 14. Rick Hendrix, 15. Aaron Fiscus, 16. Dane Carter, 17. Kevin Doty, 18. Scott Hansen, 19. Steve Paden, 20. Brian Stanfill, 21. Shane Scully, 22. Jordan Hermansader, 23. John Starks, 24. Donnie Beechler. NT

1999 FEATURE: (50 Laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Michael Lewis, 4. Travis Welpott (#8), 5. Marc DeBeaumont, 6. Wally Pankratz, 7. Clay Klepper, 8. Glenn Carson, 9. Bobby Boone, 10. Steve Paden, 11. Dane Carter, 12. Rick Vaughn, 13. Dave Stoltz, 14. A.J. Felker (MCI), 15. Jerry Coons, Jr., 16. Bryan Stanfill, 17. Ed Carpenter, 18. Dwayne Marcum, 19. Derrick Hearron, 20. Ryan Newman, 21. Dean Alexander, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Bud Kaeding, 24. Bruce Donaldson, 25. Thomas Meseraull. NT

2000 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Aaron Fike, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Ronnie Day, 6. Bud Kaeding, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Steve Paden, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Bryan Stanfill, 11. Jimmy Sills, 12. John Nervo, 13. Jimmy Christian, 14. Dwayne Marcum, 15. A.J. Johnson, 16. Sarah McCune, 17. Derrick Hearron, 18. Ryan Scott, 19. Wally Pankratz (#37x), 20. Rick Hendrix, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Marc DeBeaumont, 23. Shane Scully, 24. Michael Lewis. NT

2017: 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Tyler Courtney, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Ryan Robinson, 8. Alex Schutte, 9. Michael Faccinto, 10. Tanner Carrick, 11. Frankie Guerrini, 12. Chad Boat, 13. Courtney Crone, 14. Matt Mitchell, 15. David Prickett, 16. Ronnie Gardner, 17. Michael Pickens, 18. Cory Elliott, 19. Zeb Wise, 20. Robert Dalby, 21. Mason Daniel, 22. Holly Shelton, 23. Dustin Golobic, 24. Shannon McQueen. NT

2018: (starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Rico Abreu (2), 3. Shane Golobic (6), 4. Spencer Bayston (11), 5. Chad Boat (7), 6. Tanner Carrick (13), 7. Brady Bacon (4), 8. Holly Shelton (25), 9. Jason McDougal (21), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (9), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (22), 12. Cole Bodine (23), 13. Cody Swanson (17), 14. Sam Johnson (8), 15. Dustin Golobic (3), 16. Robert Dalby (24), 17. Alex Schutte (16), 18. Holley Hollan (18), 19. C.J. Sarna (26), 20. Zeb Wise (5), 21. Ryan Robinson (10), 22. Tyler Courtney (15), 23. Sterling Cling (19), 24. Michael Faccinto (14), 25. Justin Grant (12), 26. Michael Pickens (20). NT

2019: (starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (6), 2. Michael Pickens (1), 3. Rico Abreu (12), 4. Tyler Courtney (10), 5. Jesse Colwell (4), 6. Jason McDougal (2), 7. Gio Scelzi (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (20), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (5), 10. Tanner Carrick (16), 11. Tucker Klaasmeyer (21), 12. Chase Johnson (13), 13. Buddy Kofoid (15), 14. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (11), 15. Carson Macedo (14), 16. Chris Windom (19), 17. Ethan Mitchell (18), 18. Spencer Bayston (3), 19. Daison Pursley (23), 20. Cory Elliott (25), 21. Robert Dalby (24), 22. Aaron Reutzel (7), 23. Logan Seavey (8), 24. Cannon McIntosh (22), 25. Zeb Wise (17). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Kyle Larson (2), 3. Tyler Courtney (3), 4. Chase Johnson (1), 5. Spencer Bayston (4), 6. Chris Windom (20), 7. Tanner Thorson (6), 8. Cannon McIntosh (16), 9. Justin Grant (14), 10. Carson Macedo (21), 11. Jonathan Beason (8), 12. Emerson Axsom (12), 13. Clinton Boyles (10), 14. Ethan Mitchell (11), 15. Kaylee Bryson (7), 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9), 17. Andrew Layser* (24), 18. Michael Faccinto (13), 19. Tanner Carrick (15), 20. Cole Bodine* (23), 21. Bryant Wiedeman (19), 22. Frankie Guerrini (22), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Daison Pursley (17). NT

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Emerson Axsom (1), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Tanner Thorson (5), 5. Cannon McIntosh (11), 6. Cory Eliason (8), 7. Chris Windom (7), 8. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 10. Logan Seavey (17), 11. Thomas Meseraull (22), 12. Tanner Carrick (20), 13. Brenham Crouch (15), 14. Kaylee Bryson (19), 15. Ryan Timms (13), 16. Tony Gomes (18), 17. Taylor Reimer (16), 18. Chase Randall (12), 19. Jade Avedisian (6), 20. Carson Macedo (10), 21. Ethan Mitchell (14), 22. Michael Faccinto (21). NT

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (3), 2. Michael Pickens (4), 3. Buddy Kofoid (6), 4. Cannon McIntosh (5), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Justin Grant (10), 7. Brenham Crouch (16), 8. Emerson Axsom (8), 9. Chance Crum (14), 10. Spencer Bayston (21), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (13), 12. Kaylee Bryson (15), 13. Gavin Miller (17), 14. Jake Andreotti (11), 15. Jade Avedisian (9), 16. Dominic Gorden (22), 17. Alex Bright (18), 18. Mitchel Moles (2), 19. Hayden Reinbold (20), 20. Cade Lewis (24-P), 21. Daison Pursley (12), 22. Taylor Reimer (1), 23. Jacob Denney (23-P), 24. Jason McDougal (19). NT

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

November 4, 2023 – Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, Arizona – “56th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors and Yuma Insurance”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. C.J. Leary, 77M, Michael-16.239; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.350; 3. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.412; 4. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.479; 5. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.692; 6. Jake Swanson, 73X, Ford-16.703; 7. Braden Chiramonte, 73B, Chiaramonte-16.744; 8. R.J. Johnson, 2R, Yeley/Petty-16.784; 9. Justin Grant, 37, Mitchell-16.799; 10. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.825; 11. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.827; 12. Max Adams, 44C, Corey-16.855; 13. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.871; 14. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-16.885; 15. Matt Wetsfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-17.006; 16. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-17.019; 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-17.046; 18. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-17.060; 19. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.076; 20. Chase Johnson, 73, Ford-17.154; 21. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-17.192; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.343; 23. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.359; 24. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.417; 25. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-17.548; 26. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-17.584; 27. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.758; 28. Logan Calderwood, 73C, Ford-17.913.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Thomas, 2. Leary, 3. Malcolm, 4. Grant, 5. L.Williams, 6. Turnbull, 7. Boul. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Lewis, 2. Roa, 3. Swanson, 4. C.Williams, 5. A.Williams, 6. Pelkey, 7. Sweeney. NT.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Pursley, 2. Davis, 3. Westfall, 4. Chiaramonte, 5. G.Sexton, 6. S.Sexton, 7. Bender. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. C.Johnson, 2. Mihocko, 3. R.J.Johnson, 4. Moles, 5. Adams, 6. Grabowski, 7. Calderwood. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Adams, 2. A.Williams, 3. G.Sexton, 4. L.Williams, 5. Turnbull, 6. Calderwood, 7. Grabowski, 8. Boul, 9. S.Sexton, 10. Sweeney, 11. Bender, 12. Pelkey. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Daison Pursley (4), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (17), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. Charles Davis Jr. (11), 5. Braden Chiaramonte (7), 6. Mitchel Moles (3), 7. Matt Westfall (15), 8. R.J. Johnson (8), 9. Jake Swanson (1), 10. Tommy Malcolm (2), 11. Chase Johnson (19), 12. Brody Roa (18), 13. Tye Mihocko (16), 14. James Turnbull II (20), 15. Grant Sexton (21), 16. Max Adams (12), 17. A.J. Bender (23), 18. Logan Calderwood (22), 19. Verne Sweeney (23), 20. Cody Williams (5), 21. Ricky Lewis (10), 22. Austin Williams (14), 23. Logan Williams (13), 24. Justin Grant (9). NT,
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**Boul flipped during the first heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Swanson, Laps 2-30 Pursley
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / LAFOND JAR OF CHANGE HARD CHARGER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (17 to 2)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Tye Mihocko

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: November 11 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California

 

 

 


AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS

November 3, 2023 – Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, Arizona – “56th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors and Yuma Insurance”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.393; 2. C.J. Leary, 77M, Michael-16.429; 3. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.464; 4. Jake Swanson, 73X, Ford-16.498; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-16.605; 6. Chase Johnson, 73, Ford-16.779; 7. Max Adams, 44C, Corey-16.824; 8. Matt Wetsfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-16.830; 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.869; 10. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-16.939; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-17.026; 12. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-17.048; 13. Justin Grant, 37, Mitchell-17.061; 14. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-17.061; 15. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.117; 16. Braden Chiramonte, 73B, Chiaramonte-17.151; 17. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-17.158; 18. Tommy Malcom, 5X, Napier-17.210; 19. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-17.283; 20. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-17.307; 21. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.479; 22. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-17.481; 23. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.519; 24. R.J. Johnson, 2R, Yeley/Petty-17.547; 25. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.591; 26. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-17.646; 27. Logan Calderwood, 73C, Ford-17.681; 28. Dustin Burkhart, 21X, Team AZ-17.851; 29. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.932; 30. Patrick Krob, 3K, Krob-18.380; 31. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-18.436; 32. Justin Kierce, 43, Tuttle-18.559; 33. J.J. Yeley, 2Y, Yeley/Petty-NT.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. A.Williams, 2. Grant, 3. Thomas, 4. Lewis, 5. Moles, 6. G.Sexton, 7. Tafoya, 8. Grabowski. NT.

BILLSJERKY.NET SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Roa, 3. Leary, 4. Mihocko, 5. C.Johnson, 6. Boul, 7. Pelkey. NT.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sweeney, 2. Turnbull, 3. L.Williams, 4. Pursley, 5. Adams, 6. Bender, 7. Calderwood, 8. S.Sexton. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. R.J.Johnson, 2. Westfall, 3. Swanson, 4. Chiaramonte, 5. C.Williams, 6. Davis, 7. Kierce, 8. Burkhart. NT.

FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Adams, 2. C.Johnson, 3. Davis, 4. Moles, 5. Grabowski, 6. Pelkey, 7. G.Sexton, 8. Bender, 9. Kierce, 10. Calderwood, 11. Boul, 12. S.Sexton, 13. Burkhart, 14. Tafoya, 15. C.Williams. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Daison Pursely (4), 2. Matt Westfall (1), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 4. Chase Johnson (7), 5. C.J. Leary (5), 6. Jake Swanson (3), 7. Charles Davis Jr. (11), 8. Logan Williams (10), 9. Tye Mihocko (13), 10. Austin Grabowski (17), 11. Austin Williams (14), 12. Tommy Malcolm (15), 13. Mitchel Moles (22), 14. A.J. Bender (23), 15. Brody Roa (9), 16. Josh Pelkey (21), 17. Verne Sweeney (18), 18. Max Adams (8), 19. R.J. Johnson (19), 20. Justin Grant (12), 21. James Turnbull II (16), 22. Grant Sexton (20), 23. Ricky Lewis (6). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Westfall, Laps 2-30 Pursley
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Mitchel Moles (22 to 13)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Mitchel Moles

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS:

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: November 4 – Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, Arizona – “56th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors and Yuma Insurance”

 

 

(RO)OKIE OF THE YEAR!

PURSLEY EARNS USAC SPRINT CAR

TOP ROOKIE HONORS FOR 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 1, 2023)………Just six years earlier, Daison Pursley stood on the stage at USAC’s Night of Champions as the club’s Restricted 600 Micro Sprint champion for 2017.

So much has happened in the Locust Grove, Oklahoma native’s life and racing career since that point, and the journey just to get back into the seat of a racecar has been a long and arduous one.

Now, in December, he’ll stand on that same stage once more at the Indiana Roof Ballroom when he receives the honor of being named the 2023 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Rookie of the Year, becoming only the second Okie to earn the award after Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Gary Cameron II in 1992.

Nearly 10 months after a 2021 midget crash left him with a spinal cord injury and lengthy stays in a hospital and a rehabilitation center, Pursley returned to the racetrack. Now, just a bit over a year later, he’s the top dog among all first-year drivers on the sprint car trail.

“It’s pretty amazing to say the least,” Pursley reflected. “No matter what route I took or however I got there, it’s amazing to accomplish that feat and it means a lot. KO Motorsports, (team manager) Kent Schmidt and Brian Davis and everybody who’s a part of this deal, they really brought me in with open arms as a Rookie.”

During the points season of 2023, Pursley finished 11th in the overall standings, making 35 USAC National Sprint Car starts in 36 attempts, garnering three top-fives, 14 top-tens and a pair of fast qualifying efforts, including a new track record in his first ever trip to Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway, and also achieved fast time honors in his first visit to the Keystone State’s Port Royal Speedway.

Entering a non-points special event contest on Valentine’s Day with just five career sprint car starts under his belt, the 18-year-old earned an attention-getting $10,000 payday during a caution-free DIRTcar Nationals 30-lap victory at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park half-mile dirt oval.

At the time, Pursley remarked that it’s a night he’ll always remember forever. Although just nine months have past since that moment, time has since proven that to be a fact. It was truly a treasured moment for Pursley as he reflects on the highlights of the year.

“We went to Volusia, not really having any expectations at all,” Pursley acknowledged. “That showed us that, dang, maybe we can do this and that maybe we are pretty fast in this deal and that being a Rookie doesn’t kind of matter. My other starts prior to that were at (quarter-mile tracks) Tri-State Speedway and Circle City Raceway, so it was nowhere close to something like Volusia by any means. It was pretty remarkable, especially after the year I just had, getting back inside of a racecar and not really knowing what my future held.”

Defying the odds so soon right out of the box, one might feel that the expectations might need to be recalibrated a bit after his triumphant night. However, the team knew that the USAC National Sprint Car season is a long and winding road. Obviously, the goal is to win each and every time on the track, but in facing many of the tracks for the first time in his career, Pursley kept things realistic, knowing that there were going to be a fair share of learning curves along the path.

“I felt like, overall, it was a really good Rookie season although we had a lot of trial and error; non-wing sprint cars are no joke, so it took a lot,” Pursley stated. “We did many good things as well and I’m forever thankful for everything that I’ve been went through the past couple of years and the things that I’ve gotten to accomplish.”

After an uneasy stretch to open the points portion of the season, Pursley excelled during a personal hot streak in May and June. He reeled off eight consecutive top-10 finishes, which concluded with back-to-back podium results, topped by a runner-up at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway and a third the very next night at Port Royal. His excellence earned him a runner-up finish in the Eastern Storm standings, the best performance by any first-year driver in the series since Cole Whitt captured the 2008 miniseries title.

“Everything wasn’t clicking the way we’d hoped it would, then it kind of got me down, then it got the whole crew down, then we went to Pennsylvania and had a really good showing,” Pursley remembered. “It showed that everything was back in motion and showed that we are more than capable of running up front in these races.”

But soon, the ups and downs came in droves during the dog days of summer with Pursley making just one reappearance inside the top-five following Eastern Storm – a fifth at Lawrenceburg Speedway during Indiana Sprint Week. Pursley now takes it all in stride, chalking it up to him just trying to get his footing in his first foray into a new discipline.

“It just goes to show you how tough USAC Sprint Car racing is,” Pursley added. “You’ve got 10 guys who can win on any given night. To win one of these races, you’ve got to be up on your toes, and you have to be really sharp like Justin Grant, Brady Bacon, C.J. Leary and all those guys are. They show you how good they are and how much being a veteran plays a role in this sport.”

In the end, Pursley became the ninth teenager to earn Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC National Sprint Cars: Boston Reid (19 in 2002), Darren Hagen (19 in 2005), Chad Boat (16 in 2008), Coleman Gulick (18 in 2011), C.J. Leary (16 in 2012), Tyler Courtney (19 in 2013), Jadon Rogers (18 in 2020), Emerson Axsom (18 in 2022) and Daison Pursley (18 in 2023).

Furthermore, Pursley is already the second Oklahoma native to be named Rookie of the Year in a USAC national series during the 2023 season. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) was previously announced as the USAC Silver Crown National Championship Rookie of the Year recipient.


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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

1. (1660) Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

2. (436) Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.

3. (211) Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

4. (205) Dalton Stevens, Scurry, Texas

5. (164) Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.

6. (148) Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.

7. (143) Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK

8. (110) Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

9. (110) Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.

10. (95) Travis Millar, Wandin, North Vic.

11. (92) Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind.

12. (76) Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

13. (70) Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio

14. (60) Devan Myers, Delphi, Ind.


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USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1971: Darl Harrison, Tiffin, Ohio

1972: Billy Cassella, Weirton, W.Va.

1973: Rich Leavell, Elwood, Ind.

1974: Lee Osborne, Lebanon, Pa.

1975: Marvin Carman, Union City, Mich.

1976: Roger Rager, Mound, Minn.

1977: Eddie Leavitt, Kearney, Mo.

1978: Tim Richmond, Ashland, Ohio

1979: Jerry Carman, Burlington, Mich.

1980: Frank Riddle, Tampa, Fla.

1981: Steve Long, Indianapolis, Ind. (co)

1981: Johnny Coogan, Alexandria, Ind. (co)

1982: Danny Milburn, Indianapolis, Ind.

1983: Dean Shirley, Middletown, Ill.

1984: Jerry Russell, Springfield, Ill.

1985: Terry Shepherd, Warsaw, Ind.

1986: Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, Ohio

1987: Rick Ungar, Garrettsville, Ohio

1988: Dean Jacobs, Fredericksburg, Ohio

1989: Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Ind.

1990: Rick Howerton, Indianapolis, Ind.

1991: Tony Stewart, Columbus, Ind.

1992: Gary Cameron II, Tulsa, Okla.

1993: Kenny Irwin Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.

1994: Bobby Smith, Martinsville, Ind.

1995: Mark Cassella, Weirton, W.Va.

1996: Gus Wasson, Bloomdale, Ohio

1997: J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Ariz.

1998: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Ind.

1999: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.

2000: Bud Kaeding, Campbell, Calif.

2001: Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Ind.

2002: Boston Reid, Logansport, Ind.

2003: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Ind. (co)

2003: Mat Neely, Robinson, Ill. (co)

2004: Josh Ford, Camarillo, Calif. (co)

2004: Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif. (co)

2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, Calif.

2006: Scotty Weir, Marion, Ind.

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Miss.

2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Ariz.

2009: Henry Clarke, Villa Park, Calif.

2010: Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

2011: Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, N.Y.

2012: C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

2013: Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Ind.

2014: Jarett Andretti, Mooresville, N.C.

2015: Aaron Farney, Brookston, Ind.

2016: Isaac Chapple, Willow Branch, Ind.

2017: Stevie Sussex, Tempe, Ariz.

2018: Timmy Buckwalter, Douglassville, Pa. (co)

2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif. (co)

2019: Dustin Clark, Washington, Ind.

2020: Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.

2021: Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.

2022: Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

2023: Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

 

 

BRIGHT SHINES IN USAC EAST COAST FINALE AT BRIDGEPORT
 

By: Nick Fillman – USAC ECSC

Swedesboro, New Jersey (October 28, 2023)………In only his second start since returning to action from a horrific crash and injury in July, Alex Bright was able to conquer the high banks of the Bridgeport Motorsports Park in dominating fashion. The in for Bright and the Heffner Racing Enterprises South team was their second of the season and came in the season finale of the Rapid Tire Services, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade.

Alex Bright and Mike Thompson lead the field to green for the final event of the 2023 season, which came in the series one and only completed event at the Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Bright immediately shot to the race lead and dispatched Mike Thompson, while Joey Amantea and Kenny Miller were quick to work to the front of the field as well. By virtue of missing the inversion spot for the feature, Briggs Danner started in the ninth-place position and was quickly trying to make moves to the high side of the speedway in his march forward. At the same time, his closest competitor for both the driver and owner championships, Steven Drevicki started just ahead of Danner as the pair began to pick off cars.

Bright was enjoying a half-track lead over the rest of the top five which saw Kenny Miller lll move into the second-place position, with Joey Amantea, Briggs Danner, and a battle for fifth between Timmy Buckwalter and Steven Drevicki. Danner was glued to the rear bumper of Amantea for the final spot on the podium but was unable to get the position away from Amantea early on. Timmy Buckwalter eventually moved to the high side of the speedway and moved passed Drevicki for the final position inside the top five.

As the field quickly approached and got to the half way point of the feature event, Bright had made his way to lapped traffic at the back of the field and began to negotiate the lapped cars. Kenny Miller held on to second as Joey Amantea and Biggs Danner waged war for the third spot, lap after lap, for nearly four laps before Danner was able to move by Amantea for the final podium spot.

With ten laps to go, Alex Bright had closed in on a fight for position at the tail end of the top ten, featuring three wide battles for position between Preston Lattomus, Ed Aikin, and JT Ferry. This allowed Kenny Miller lll and Briggs Danner to draw in ever more on Bright for the race lead, but laps were quickly evaporating from the score board.

With Bright continuing to battle the lapped cars in front of him, Danner had moved by Kenny Miller lll and secured the second spot. The hunt was on as Danner began to eat into the lead that Bright had over the rest of the field with only a handful of laps remaining.

Meanwhile, Joey Amantea had reeled in Kenny Miller for third as the pair began to battle side by side for position, with the rest of the top seven: Timmy Buckwalter, Steven Drevicki, and Mikey Thompson all running equidistant to each other as the feature event drew to a close.

Despite the charge by Danner, and Bright continuing to battle with lapped cars for position, getting as close as being in the same set of corners was all Danner could muster in the season finale. Alex Bright went on to collect win number three of the season over Danner, a photo finish for third going to Kenny Miller, Joey Amantea and Timmy Buckwalter completing the top five.

One week removed from the teams return to action, a second to sixth run at the Delaware International Speedway, Alex Bright and the Heffner Enterprises South Team hit on all cylinders Saturday night and scored the convincing win. Bright has been no stranger to victory lane at Bridgeport, nor has Curt Michael and the Heffner team. Both of whose experience was on full display Saturday night. It is only fitting that the first victory for Bright and team, comes at track that is of eerie size, and shape as the venue Bright suffered his horrific crash. Perhaps a conquering of any last reservations that the veteran driver may have had, and a great way to close a season and build for the future.

While Briggs Danner came just one spot short of victory in the feature event Saturday, he and the Hogue Racing Enterprises team were victorious in the yearlong battle for driver and owner points. The new pairing found victory lane twice, in back-to-back weeks on their way to the title, and with a convincing nine to two drive Saturday night, proved that they were without a doubt the team to beat in 2023.

Kenny Miller lll capped off a break out season with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series on Saturday night, with yet another podium run, thus concluding a five top five, eight top ten, and three victory season in only night events for the Morgantown, PA family team. While we certainly encourage Kenny to continue with his career outside of racing, thoughts of what “could have been” will linger through the series of what the team may have been able to do in a full season of action.

Joey Amantea rounded out the 2023 campaign for the USAC East Coast Series where he did much of the 2023 season, inside the top five. The sophomore driver had an ambitious schedule for the season, which no doubt helped not only the driver, but the team grow as a whole. Amantea battled hard in the feature with Briggs Danner for position, before a right rear tire began to deflate, forcing Amantea to drop back a pair of positions.

Rounding out the top five on the ninth was one time feature winner in 2023, Timmy Buckwalter. The pairing of Paul Lotier and Robert Hummer was one of great success starting with Eastern Storm in June and continuing throughout the season. Buckwalter scored a convincing heat race victory on Saturday night but was unable to draw any further into the top five in the green to checker feature event. Perhaps with another caution flag, Buckwalter could have had something else to say about the feature event. Look for the Lotier/Hummer team to head to the Charlotte World Finals this week with the wings on top, and possibly more events in 2024.

With the final checkered flag thrown of 2023, the Rapid Tire Services, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade would like to thank all the drivers, teams and fans for their support of the 2023 campaign! We are already looking forward to next year, and have some exciting bookings planned, some of which have already been announced like our return to New York on July 4th weekend of 2024 which will feature first time events at the Utica Rome and Fonda Speedway’s!

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

USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY CAPITOL CUSTOM TRAILERS RACE RESULTS: October 28, 2023 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 88J-Joey Amantea (2), 2. 1-Patrick Chilmonik (1), 3. 7-Ed Aikin (4), 4. 23m-Kenny Miller III (10), 5. 39-Briggs Danner (9), 6. 87-Austin Graby (3), 7. 17J-Jonathan Swanson (6), 8. 7B-Aidan Borden (7), 9. 67-Jason Cherry (8), 10. 64-Richy Carnathan (5). NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 20-Timmy Buckwalter (2), 2. 19-Steven Drevicki (4), 3. 27-Alex Bright (6), 4. 11-Mike Thompson (5), 5. 5B-Bobby Butler (7), 6. 18T-J.T. Ferry (8), 7. 23B-Preston Lattomus (9), 8. 39x-Scott Frack (1), 9. 91-Mick D'Agostino (3), 10. 44-Gary Huston (10). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Alex Bright (1), 2. Briggs Danner (9), 3. Kenny Miller III (3), 4. Joey Amantea (5), 5. Timmy Buckwalter (7), 6. Steven Drevicki (6), 7. Mike Thompson (2), 8. J.T. Ferry (12), 9. Bobby Butler (10), 10. Preston Lattomus (14), 11. Austin Graby (11), 12. Ed Aikin (4), 13. Mick D'Agostino (18), 14. Scott Frack (16), 15. Jason Cherry (17), 16. Richy Carnathan (19), 17. Jonathan Swanson (13), 18. Gary Huston (20), 19. Aidan Borden (15), 20. Patrick Chilmonik (8). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Alex Bright.

FEATURE HARD CHARGER: Briggs Danner (9th to 2nd)

FINAL USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY CAPITOL CUSTOM TRAILERS POINTS: 1-Briggs Danner-960, 2-Steven Drevicki-893, 3-Joey Amantea-784, 4-Bobby Butler-723, 5-J.T. Ferry-722, 6-Ed Aikin-608, 7-Preston Lattomus-593, 8-Mike Thompson-555, 9-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.-541, 10-Carmen Perigo-503.

 

 

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS READY TO BATTLE AT “56TH WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS”
By Lance Jennings

OCTOBER 30, 2023... Starting this Friday, the battle for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship resumes at Cocopah Speedway’s “56th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors and Yuma Insurance.” Promoted by Brad Whitfield, the prestigious event will have two nights (November 3&4) of intense racing that also features the non-winged ASCS 360 Sprint Cars. Located at 3450 West County 15th Street in Somerton, Arizona at the intersection of US Highway 95 and County 15th Street, the pit gates at “The Diamond in The Desert” will open at 2:00pm (Mountain Time), spectator gates will open at 4:00pm, and racing at 6:00pm. Advance tickets are on sale and for more information, visit the track’s website at racecocopahspeedway.com or call 602.292.7607.

For those that cannot be at the races, speedsport.tv will broadcast a live stream of the night’s action over the internet.

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.)
- APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Due to the current tire shortages, ANY Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition until further notice. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: MUFFLERS ARE NOT REQUIRED at Cocopah Speedway.
- 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.

Noted as an Arizona tradition since 1968 when Bob Cleberg took the checkered flags at the Manzanita Speedway, the “Western World Championships” has been a premier event for sprint car racing. While the headline divisions and host tracks may have changed, some of the most notable names in the sport have claimed victory at the Western World. Hall of Fame racers like Jan Opperman, Rick Ferkel, Ron Shuman, Bubby Jones, Lealand McSpadden, Sammy Swindell, and Steve Kinser have stood atop the podium. Last year, Jake Swanson claimed his first Western World Championship and the winner’s list is at the end of this release.

Friday’s event marks the eleventh race in USAC/CRA history at the fast 3/8-mile clay oval. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all drivers with five Cocopah Speedway wins, while “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa won the series’ first Yuma main event on June 2, 2012. Roa also claimed the two January season openers as Jake Swanson established the track record of 16.127 seconds on October 29, 2022.

Heading to the Cocopah Speedway, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) leads the USAC/CRA standings with a stout 127 point lead. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance owned #17R Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Roa scored eighth at Mohave Valley Raceway on October 14th. At press time, Brody has eight feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 177 feature laps led to his credit. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion ranks fourth with 21 career USAC/CRA triumphs and will be looking to add the Western World Championships to his resume.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Corona, California) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm charged from sixteenth to second at the Mohave Valley return. To date, the veteran driver has three feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 95 feature laps led on the year. Tommy “Thunder” will have his sights on gaining valuable points with a win at Cocopah Speedway.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is third in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Piloting the family owned #2 Digalert / Ramona Duck Club DRC, Williams raced from eleventh to seventh on October 14th. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 32 feature laps led to his credit. With eleven career triumphs, Austin will be looking to earn his first win of the season at “The Diamond in The Desert.”

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams (Corona, California) sits fourth in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC scored seventeenth in the Mohave Valley feature. To date, the former National Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and three feature laps led on the season. “The Cadillac” has three career wins and will have his sights on his first victory of the season.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA championship points. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / GAS Chassis entry, Bender finished twelfth at Mohave Valley. At press time, the 2022 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has six heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, and ten top-10 finishes in the campaign. A.J. will be looking to claim the first USAC/CRA victory at the “Western World Championships.”

Grant Sexton (Lakeside, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors and ranks eighth in the point standings. The driver of the family owned #22 Sexton Fire Protection / East County Electric Works Triple X is followed by James Turnbull II (Indio, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California), Dawson Faria (Tipton, California), and Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Arizona).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Calderwood, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, R.J. Johnson, Logan Williams, Ricky Lewis, Chris Gansen, Matt McCarthy, Brent Owens, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Andrew Sweeney, Matt Mitchell, Chris Bonneau, Kyle Edwards, “Shugah” Shane Sexton, “The Magic Man” Mike Martin, and more.

Cocopah Speedway is located at 3450 West County 15th Street in Somerton, Arizona at the intersection of US Highway 95 and County 15th Street. Advance tickets are available. Adult tickets are $25, Reserved tickets are $35, Student tickets are $15, and Pit Passes are $40 for members. Camping is available and for more information, visit racecocopahspeedway.com or call 602.292.7607.

The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, WC Friend Company, Woodland Auto Display, BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.

For more information on the AMSOIL 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.
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AMSOIL 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.

WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SPRINT CAR WINNERS: 1968-Bob Cleberg; 1969-Bob Huebner; 1970-Jerry McClung; 1971-Jan Opperman; 1972-Jan Opperman; 1973-Earl Wagner; 1974-Rick Ferkel; 1975-Ron Shuman; 1976-Bubby Jones; 1977-Ron Shuman; 1978-Lealand McSpadden; 1979-Tim Green; 1980-Sammy Swindell; 1981-Ron Shuman; 1982-Steve Kinser; 1983-Steve Kinser; 1984-Ron Shuman; 1985-Steve Kinser; 1986-Bobby Davis Jr.; 1987-Steve Kinser; 1988-Mark Kinser; 1989-Sammy Swindell; 1990-Steve Kinser; 1991-Danny Lasoski; 1992-Steve Kinser; 1993-Lealand McSpadden; 1994-Ron Shuman; 1995-Lealand McSpadden; 1996-Steve Kinser; 1997-Mark Kinser; 1998-Tyler Walker; 1999-Donny Schatz; 2000-Jay Drake; 2001-Jeremy Sherman; 2002- Bud Kaeding; 2003-Tony Elliott; 2004-Bud Kaeding; 2005-Dave Darland; 2006-Josh Wise; 2007-Jerry Coons Jr.; 2008-Kevin Swindell; 2009-Sammy Swindell; 2010-Donny Schatz; 2011-Donny Schatz; 2012-Wayne Johnson; 2013-Bryan Clauson; 2014-Matt Rossi, 2015-Bryan Clauson, 2016-Chris Windom, 2017-Chase Stockon, 2018-Tyler Courtney, 2019-Tyler Courtney, 2020-Tyler Courtney, 2021-Logan Seavey, 2022-Jake Swanson.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 8-Brody Roa, 3-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Justin Grant, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Ricky Lewis, 1-Matt Mitchell.

COCOPAH AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP TRACK RECORD: Jake Swanson – 16.127 (10/29/22)

COCOPAH AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 5-Damion Gardner, 3-Brody Roa, 1-Emerson Axsom, 1-Jake Swanson.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Roa-1122, 2. Tommy Malcolm-995, 3. Austin Williams-869, 4. Cody Williams-814, 5. A.J. Bender-789, 6. Logan Calderwood-691, 7. Charles Davis Jr.-612, 8. Grant Sexton (R)-570, 9. Verne Sweeney-492, 10. R.J. Johnson-44.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
January 27: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
January 28: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
March 3: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 4: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Justin Grant)
March 24: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (RAIN)
March 25: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (RAIN)
April 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
April 22: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
May 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
June 10: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 24: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
July 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
August 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
September 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
October 14: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Ricky Lewis)
November 3: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 4: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 11: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (30 Laps)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

STEVE LEWIS & CHUCK GURNEY

NAMED CO-GRAND MARSHALS FOR TURKEY NIGHT G.P.

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Ventura, California (October 26, 2023)………USAC racing legends Steve Lewis and Chuck Gurney have been named co-grand marshals of the 82nd running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix at California’s Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, November 25.

Lewis, of Laguna Beach, Calif., was one of USAC’s most proficient car owners, capturing six Turkey Night victories with drivers Stan Fox (1990-91), Jason Leffler (1999), Tony Stewart (2000), Bobby East (2004) and Dave Darland (2007).

Nearly every major name driver competed in his legendary “Nine Cars” during his tenure with USAC, racking up 133 National victories. His triumphs include basically every major race in America as well as 10 USAC National entrant titles with drivers Stevie Reeves, Tony Stewart, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Kasey Kahne, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley and Bobby East.

The founder of the sport’s highly acclaimed Performance Racing Industry trade show, Lewis set new standards for excellence in the sport. As a race promoter, he organized lucrative race events at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Orlando, Fla. which offered a $50,000 bonus for any driver who could claim double victories in either.

In 2004, Lewis was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and in 2006, he was inducted into the Belleville High Banks Hall of Fame in Kansas. He also earned USAC’s coveted Roger McCluskey Award of Excellence in 2009 and was inducted into the USAC Hall of Fame in 2017.

Gurney, of Livermore, Calif, was a stellar performer across the board, and in 1988-89, he was victorious in consecutive years at the Turkey Night Grand Prix wins at Gardena, California’s Ascot Park for car owner Larry Howard.

In USAC’s Silver Crown wars, Gurney earned 14 victories and the 1989 series championship. He scored a phenomenal seven victories in the Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, plus three wins in the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds and added 1982 and 1983 Hoosier Hundred victories at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Furthermore, Gurney captured five USAC National Sprint Car wins and his victories in the Midgets include three wins in the Copper World Classic at Arizona’s Phoenix International Raceway in addition to the 1989 running of the Belleville (Kans.) Midget Nationals.

Gurney, the 1983 NARC Sprint Car king and the 1985 USAC National Supermodified titlist, has been honored five times by the Motorsports Press Association as its open wheel Driver of the Year, and in 2017, was named to the USAC Hall of Fame. Just recently, Gurney was announced as an inductee to the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, class of 2023.

Agajanian Promotions presents the 2023 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway, which begins on Friday, November 24, with USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice, plus USAC West Coast/VRA Sprint Car hot laps, qualifying, heat races and main event. Grandstands open at 3pm Pacific.

On Saturday, November 25, the Turkey Night Grand Prix final night consists of midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature, plus sprint car semis and main events. Grandstands open at 3pm Pacific.

Advance tickets, priced from $22-45, can be purchased at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

 

 

BACK-2-BACK:

GRANT CLIMBS HIS WAY BACK

TO THE TOPP AS USAC SPRINT CHAMP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 25, 2023)………”Racing’s funny.”

That’s how Justin Grant reflected on the twists and turns he endured en route to his second consecutive USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National driving Championship in 2023 for TOPP Motorsports.

It’s a team that endured a nearly two-month struggle in the late spring/early summer months which overlapped with a change in team personnel and a period of confidence-shaking woes that found the team as far down as sixth in the standings, 83 points out of the lead, entering mid-summer.

What was not a laughing matter quickly turned into one of the most dominant stretches put together by any team in series history. For the last half of the season, Grant and his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy No. 4 were practically untouchable on their way to the $50,000 championship prize.

With a career-high 11 USAC National Sprint Car victories in 2023, including eight wins in his final 17 starts, Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished out the campaign with 13 straight top-tens to earn the title by a 109-point margin over yearlong challenger Brady Bacon. Grant became the 13th different point leader on September 9, one of a record six different drivers to lead the standings in 2023. The previous record was 12 lead changes among six drivers back in 2012.

In the process, Grant became the 10th driver to capture consecutive USAC National Sprint Car titles, joining Parnelli Jones (1960-61-62), Sheldon Kinser (1981-82), Rick Hood (1984-85), Steve Butler (1986-87-88), Robbie Stanley (1991-92-93), Brian Tyler (1996-97), Levi Jones (2009-10-11), Bryan Clauson (2012-13) and Brady Bacon (2020-21).

“It’s incredible to hear my name rattled off with all of those guys,” an awestruck Grant remarked. “It’s also something that’s not necessarily something flukey or obscure; it’s something that took work and is truly an accomplishment. A few of them were before my time, but obviously, I know of them and what they did, and a few of them are guys that I grew up watching and a few more of them are guys that were the top dogs when I moved to Indiana. Now, to be there with Brady, who is one of the best of our generation, is very cool. The last couple of years getting to battle with Brady has been very rewarding. He’s very good at what he does and is very good at running for championships. It’s taken a lot of work on my end to try and rise to the occasion.”

No championship is easy by any stretch of the imagination and Grant experienced his share of troubles in 2023. A strong beginning was earmarked by back-to-back series wins, including a complete sweep of the night at Tri-State Speedway and a score on the opening night of #LetsRaceTwo at Eldora. One night later at Eldora, Grant got upside down, setting off a string of five 13th place or worse results in a six-race stretch.

“It just seemed like we didn’t have a lot of speed, and the days that we did find some speed, I managed to crash or something, and it just seemed like we couldn’t get anything to go right,” Grant recalled. “I remember thinking that our championship hopes were pretty well squashed. We had kind of thrown it away at this point, and obviously, I’m going to keep doing my job, but I figured it was going to be pretty unlikely.”

When it rains, it pours, and after a push truck got the best of his car while being shoved away for qualifying on the opening night of Eastern Storm at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway, Grant was running mid-pack when Grant felt his confidence slipping away.

“I remember just riding around 10th or 11th one night during Eastern Storm and thinking I don’t know if I’ll ever win another race again. This might be it. I might not ever win again.”

However, a sigh of relief arrived by the end of the week when Grant won on the half-mile of Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway. But the positivity proved to be short lived. After an overall tumultuous Eastern Storm, Grant’s crew chief, Dylan Cook, made the surprising revelation that he was leaving the team to pursue other opportunities. In the aftermath, in stepped veteran crew chief Jeff Walker, a three-time USAC National Sprint Car entrant champ in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

Grant and Walker’s relationship dates all the way back to 2008-09 when Grant, then a recent BCRA Midget champ on the west coast, made the move to the Midwest to work and live with Walker. Grants explains that, back then, Walker taught him much of the knowledge he still uses to this day with Walker possessing the ability to get the best out of Grant and numerous others he’s helped along the way.

A particularly rough two-night Macon (Ill.) Speedway outing in July saw Grant involved in crashes on both nights, the first of which sent him veering into the infield, and ultimately, striking a Cadillac Escalade push truck, wedging the nose of his car under its rear bumper. While gone midget racing the following week, Walker was busy at work in the team’s Gasoline Alley shop, going through the inventory before calling Grant and alerting him that he’d found some stuff that wasn’t quite right. It’s a piece of the puzzle that Grant fondly describes as Walker going “full J-Dub.”

“I had complained on the way home from Macon – I was more complaining about myself – but I just didn’t know if it was me and I just didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t feel the racecar. I wasn’t sure if I was messed up or something else is messed up or what, but I just felt completely lost with the car. He’s like, ‘oh, Levi (Jones) and I had this happen one time and he said the same thing that he couldn’t feel the racecar. We’re going to fix that, and you’ll get back to kicking their asses again.’ Just having that, whether there was something actually wrong or not, gave me the belief that it wasn’t me and that we were going to be good again. Having that just helped me find my way back.”

Things seemingly turned on a dime from that point forward. The next race out, Grant stole a last lap victory from Robert Ballou during the USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway and he never slowed down from there on. It was the first of his three wins during Indiana Sprint Week, which saw him collect additional scores at Lawrenceburg Speedway and the Terre Haute Action Track.

However, August marked the most successful and lucrative single weekend of his career when he nailed down three consecutive victories in as many nights at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway to become the first driver in the 12-year history of Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown to sweep his way to three successive feature triumphs in one weekend. His take home pay for Saturday night alone was $44,500, pocketing the base pay of $30,000 while also adding a cool $500 per each lap led.

Grant proceeded to sweep the USAC Sprint season at Gas City with a James Dean Classic triumph in September, then secured a win in what turned out to be the season finale, a $20,000 payday in October’s Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg. In doing so, Grant became the 11th driver to win the final race of his championship season, joining Eddie Sachs (1958), Tommy Hinnershitz (1959), Parnelli Jones (1960), Pancho Carter (1974), Sheldon Kinser (1977 & 1982), Steve Butler (1988), Josh Wise (2006), Levi Jones (2011) and Brady Bacon (2020).

It all started with confidence being re-instilled in Grant. Kevin Birchmeier’s TOPP Motorsports team has had Grant in the seat for the past six consecutive seasons, and now their reward includes back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car championships.

“We were able to turn it around just because the team at TOPP Motorsports with Kevin Birchmeier who has always had my back 110 percent,” Grant praised. “The more I struggle, the more he’s pumping me up. I’ve driven for a lot of car owners and that’s pretty rare. I’m always super grateful for Kevin and it’s a different experience driving racecars when you know that the people you’re driving for are in your corner no matter what. That allows you to be comfortable and able to work through things to get back to where you need to be. When you’re trying to force it back, it never works.”

To win a championship with Walker is the reward of a journey that started 15 years ago. Walker helped Grant buy his first passenger car when he was a teenager and when Walker became available after parting ways with Sterling Cling Racing this past summer, Grant swooped him up in a heartbeat. In fact, Walker was set on retirement, insisting that he was finished before the call came from Grant. The initial plan of just helping Grant for a few weeks suddenly transformed into a role for the rest of the season, and now Walker is prepared to chase a third-straight USAC Sprint title with Grant in 2024.

Grant harbors no hard feelings about Cook’s exodus from the team and insisted that Cook was doing his job just fine. However, Grant admitted that, on occasion, a little bit of a shakeup and a fresh outlook can re-spark things. And with the combination of TOPP and Walker, Grant felt he was at his best.

“With the environment at TOPP Motorsports, Kevin allows me to be my best and then getting J-Dub involved really made me be my best,” Grant said. “I like winning, and I like seeing my name on those all-time lists, but it’s extra rewarding to get to do it for an owner like Kevin. Kevin hired me in 2018 after I got released from the Sam McGhee Motorsports car when we lost the championship and has stuck with me ever since, so it’s special for me to be able to win races for him and win him championships.”

“And being able to win one for Jeff,” Grant continued. “He’s the one who brought me to the Midwest and taught me a lot of what I know and got me started. He’s been in a pretty big lull, so to get him back and be part of him winning races again, and doing all that, feels really, really good. It feels like a little bit of repayment for what he has done for me over the years.”

For the fourth consecutive year, and sixth time overall, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished top-two in the series standings on the strength of seven victories. His $20,000 Haubstadt Hustler victory in September at Tri-State gave him his 53rd career USAC National Sprint Car feature win, pushing him up to second all-time in series victories past Tom Bigelow. Additionally, by adding a pair of victories at Macon (Illinois) and at Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Texas), Bacon became the new record holder of the most different states won in by a USAC National Sprint Car driver. Bacon now stands alone at 14.

Furthermore, Bacon picked up his second career USAC Indiana Sprint Week championship in 2023, which was highlighted in round three of the series at Lawrenceburg where he was light at the scales in tech inspection after qualifying. The penalty forced him to start from the tail in all proceeding events throughout the evening. In the feature, he managed to make the biggest charge of the entire USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season when he advanced from his 22nd starting position to finish third.

One year after corralling Rookie of the Year honors, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) finished third in the standings for Clauson Marshall Newman Racing. The highlight of the season came in June when Axsom won on back-to-back nights in Pennsylvania at Big Diamond Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway, which vaulted him to the Eastern Storm title.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) equaled his career high with four USAC National Sprint Car wins, including a comeback victory at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park, which involved the team blowing their only two engines they brought with them prior to the race. Receiving a third engine just in the nick of time that was driven through the night from Indiana, the Rock Steady Racing team installed the new powerplant under the hood in a hotel parking lot and proceeded to win a $10,000 payday.

Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) piloted his Team AZ Racing ride to a career high four wins and a career best fifth place finish in the points. Among his quartet of victories was a last lap pass of Bacon to win a $12,000 top prize at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) won three series features and was rewarded with a $10,000 top prize for earning the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment championship. Leary, in his first season with the BGE Dougherty Motorsports team, became the titlist after tallying the most points throughout a 10-race miniseries at 10 different tracks within the USAC National Sprint Car season.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and 2B Racing got hot late in the season, winning twice in September in spectacular fashion with a last lap pass of Shane Cottle for the victory at Indiana’s Circle City Raceway followed by a complete sweep of the USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where he won a Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown feature on the very same night within the span of a couple hours.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) won once for Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports in the series debut on the 1/5-mile Macon Speedway in July. During the series’ first ever visit to Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway in September, Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) returned to USAC National Sprint Car victory lane for the first time since 2006. The 17-year, two month and 23-day span between series victories was a new USAC record, surpassing the previous mark of 12 years, 11 months and 4 days between wins by Doug Wolfgang between 1978-1991. In doing so, he also provided veteran car owner Ray Marshall his long-awaited first USAC score.

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) finished 11th in the overall series standings for KO Motorsports to earn USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors for the 2023 season, just less than two years after suffering a severe spinal cord injury which required several months of recovery in a hospital and rehabilitation center. Pursley scored a non-points special event victory on Valentine’s Day at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.

Bacon led all series drivers with 262 feature laps led throughout 2023. Bacon also topped all drivers with five fast qualifying times and 25 top-fives in 36 starts while Axsom notched a series-best 29 top-tens. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) was the heat race master of the season, picking up 12 victories. Meanwhile, five drivers started all 36 feature events, including Axsom, Bacon, Ballou, Grant and Leary.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.), who finished eighth in the standings, became just the fifth driver in USAC National Sprint Car history to finish inside the top-10 of the point standings in at least 12 consecutive years dating back to 2012. The only drivers with as many or more consecutive top-five points finishes in the series are Dave Darland (1997-2018), Sheldon Kinser (1974-1987), Levi Jones (2001-2012) and Chris Windom (2010-2021).

The racing community grieved the death of competitor Justin Owen (Harrison, Ohio) who succumbed to injuries following a qualifying accident on April 8 at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway after his car made contact with the outside wall and flipped multiple times in turn three. The 26-year-old Owen was the reigning Lawrenceburg sprint car track champion at the time of his death. Owen’s passing was the first in USAC National Sprint Car racing since Don Townsend in a 2005 practice crash at Ohio’s Mansfield Motorsports Park. Owen’s incident was the first fatal accident with the USAC National Sprint Car division on dirt since Jeff Thickstun at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1984.


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2023 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS

Driver Champion: Justin Grant

Entrant Champion: TOPP Motorsports

Most Feature Wins: 11-Justin Grant

Top Rookie in Points: 11th-Daison Pursley

Most Laps Led: 262-Brady Bacon

Most Top-Fives: 25-Brady Bacon

Most Top-Tens: 29-Emerson Axsom

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Brady Bacon

Most Heat Race Wins: 12-Robert Ballou

Most Feature Starts: 36-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary

Biggest Charge of the Year: Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)


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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 2329 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

2. 2220 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

3. 2159 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

4. 2101 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

5. 2040 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

6. 2011 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.

7. 1977 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.

8. 1755 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

9. 1750 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

10. 1733 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

11. 1660 (R) Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

12. 1630 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

13. 1373 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.

14. 1335 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

15. 921 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.

16. 892 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

17. 770 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

18. 766 Max Adams, Loomis, Calif.

19. 633 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.

20. 623 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Ind.

21. 528 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.

22. 436 (R) Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.

23. 335 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

24. 322 Eddie Tafoya Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.

25. 319 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Ind.

26. 262 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.

27. 221 Brady Short, Bedford, Ind.

28. 211 (R) Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

29. 205 (R) Dalton Stevens, Scurry, Texas

30. 164 (R) Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.

31. 153 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.

32. 148 (R) Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.

33. 143 (R) Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK

34. 110 (R) Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

35. 110 (R) Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.

36. 109 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.

37. 98 Dallas Hewitt, Troy, Ohio

38. 95 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.

39. 95 (R) Travis Millar, Wandin North, Victoria, AU

40. 92 (R) Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind.

41. 88 J.J. Hughes, Jasper, Ind.

42. 76 (R) Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

43. 70 (R) Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio

44. 60 (R) Devan Myers, Delphi, Ind.

45. 44 Brian Hayden, Fillmore, Ind.

46. 10 Critter Malone, Pittsboro, Ind.

(R) represents a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie


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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1. 2329 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)

2. 2220 Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)

3. 2159 Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, Fishers, Ind. (#47BC)

4. 2105 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)

5. 2101 Team AZ Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#21AZ)

6. 2040 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15x)

7. 1977 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)

8. 1755 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)

9. 1750 2B Racing, Marion, Ind. (#2B)

10. 1733 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)

11. 1660 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5p)

12. 1630 Ray Marshall Motorsports, Forest, Ohio (#33m)

13. 1383 Michael Dutcher Motorsports, Cicero, Ind. (#17GP)

14. 1373 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15)

15. 770 Epperson Racing, Camby, Ind. (#2E)

16. 770 Hogue Racing Enterprises, Westampton, N.J. (#39)

17. 623 Brandon Mattox Racing, Brazil, Ind. (#28)

18. 566 Cheney Racing, Glendora, Calif. (#42)

19. 556 Baldwin-Fox Racing, West Lafayette, Ind. (#5)

20. 528 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz. (#47)

21. 436 JPA Racing, Cresco, Pa. (#88J)

22. 338 Max & Scott Adams, Marion, Ind. (#5x)

23. 335 Sterling Cling Racing, Tempe, Ariz. (#34)

24. 322 Eddie Tafoya Sr., Chino Hills, Calif. (#51T)

25. 307 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#20)

26. 262 Mario Clouser Motorsports, Chatham, Ill. (#6)

27. 261 On The Gass Racing, Advance, Ind. (#17)

28. 221 Randy Edwards, Evansville, Ind. (#61m)

29. 205 Stevens Racing Holdings, Ennis, Texas (#99x)

30. 173 Lauren Beauchamp, Needham, Ind. (#11)

31. 166 Wedgewood Motorsports, Cincinnati, Ohio (#98)

32. 164 Doney-Lawson Racing, Odessa, Mo. (#74)

33. 161 Hodges Motorsports, Albuquerque, N.M. (#74x)

34. 158 Gray Brothers, Greenfield, Ind. (#06)

35. 148 Jeff Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind. (#9z)

36. 143 Tom Harris Motorsport, Tipton, Ind. (#84)

37. 140 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind. (#16TH)

38. 127 Paul Hazen, Columbia City, Ind. (#57)

39. 112 Brian Hayden Racing, Fillmore, Ind. (#2H)

40. 110 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5K)

41. 109 4J Motorsports, Mooresville, Ind. (#14)

42. 109 Kevin Bodine, Rossville, Ind. (#57B)

43. 95 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5m)

44. 95 Travis Millar, Wandin North, Victoria, AU (#93AU)

45. 92 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind. (#i1)

46. 88 John Hughes, Jasper, Ind. (#76)

47. 88 Jennifer Hewitt, Fletcher, Ohio (#21)

48. 70 Barr Family, Piqua, Ohio (#21B)

49. 60 Devan Myers, Bringhurst, Ind. (#75)

50. 10 Seven LLC, Pittsboro, Ind. (#7)


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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 1660 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

2. 436 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.

3. 211 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

4. 205 Dalton Stevens, Scurry, Texas

5. 164 Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.

6. 148 Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.

7. 143 Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK

8. 110 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

9. 110 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.

10. 95 Travis Millar, Wandin, North Vic.

11. 92 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind.

12. 76 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

13. 70 Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio

14. 60 Devan Myers, Delphi, Ind.


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



2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Feb 13: (SE) Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Feb 14: (SE) Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Daison Pursley (KO Motorsports #5p)

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, FL

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, FL

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Apr 15: (MS) Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

May 5: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

May 6: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

May 24: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

May 25: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jun 3: (MW) Knoxville Raceway - Knoxville, IA

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jun 13: (E) Grandview Speedway - Bechtelsville, PA

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jun 15: (E) Big Diamond Speedway - Pottsville, PA

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Jun 16: (E) Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Jun 17: (E) Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jun 18: (E) (A) Action Track USA - Kutztown, PA

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway - Wilmot, WI

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jul 3: (MS) Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jul 7: (A) Macon Speedway - Macon, IL

WINNER: Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

Jul 8: (A) Macon Speedway - Macon, IL

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jul 21: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 22: (I) Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Jul 23: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 24: (I) Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jul 26: (I) Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 27: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jul 28: (I) Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Sep 7: (AE) Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Sep 9: (AE) Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR

WINNER: Matt Westfall (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (2B Racing #2B)

Sep 16: (MS) (F) Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Logan Seavey (2B Racing #2B)

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------

(SE) represents a non-points, special event

(F) represents an event awarding feature points only

(MS) represents an event co-sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series

(AE) represents an event co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing

(MW) represents an event with the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Association Sprint Cars

(E) represents an Eastern Storm event

(A) represents an event awarding appearance points only

(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event


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



2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

11-Justin Grant (Apr 15 at Tri-State Speedway, May 5 at Eldora Speedway, Jun 17 at Port Royal Speedway, Jul 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Jul 23 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Aug 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 25 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 26 at Kokomo Speedway, Sep 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & Oct 7 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)

7-Brady Bacon (Feb 16 at Bubba Raceway Park, May 23 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Jun 24 at Wilmot Raceway, Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 8 at Macon Speedway, Sep 7 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway & Sep 16 at Tri-State Speedway)

4-Kyle Cummins (Feb 18 at Bubba Raceway Park, May 25 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 18 at Action Track USA & Jul 24 at Circle City Raceway)

4-Jake Swanson (May 24 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 3 at Knoxville Raceway, Jun 13 at Grandview Speedway & Jul 27 at Lincoln Park Speedway)

3-Emerson Axsom (Jun 15 at Big Diamond Speedway, Jun 16 at Williams Grove Speedway & Jul 28 at Bloomington Speedway)

3-C.J. Leary (Apr 14 at Bloomington Speedway, May 6 at Eldora Speedway & Jul 22 at Kokomo Speedway)

2-Logan Seavey (Sep 15 at Circle City Raceway & Sep 23 at Eldora Speedway)

1-Mitchel Moles (Jul 7 at Macon Speedway)

1-Matt Westfall (Sep 9 at Texarkana 67 Speedway)


NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT WINS:

1-Daison Pursley (Feb 14 at Volusia Speedway Park)

1-Jake Swanson (Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park)


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



FEATURE LAPS LED

262-Brady Bacon

253-Justin Grant

111-Emerson Axsom

105-C.J. Leary

102-Kyle Cummins & Jake Swanson

44-Logan Seavey

31-Robert Ballou

30-Matt Westfall

23-Jadon Rogers

18-Mitchel Moles

17-Xavier Doney

16-Timmy Buckwalter

15-Carson Garrett & Thomas Meseraull

14-Briggs Danner

12-Shane Cottle

5-Max Adams


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



TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES

25-Brady Bacon

23-Justin Grant

20-Kyle Cummins

17-Emerson Axsom

13-C.J. Leary & Jake Swanson

11-Robert Ballou

9-Logan Seavey

8-Mitchel Moles

7-Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon

4-Shane Cottle

3-Briggs Danner, Carson Garrett, Daison Pursley & Matt Westfall

2-Timmy Buckwalter & Thomas Meseraull

1-Max Adams, Dustin Beck, Xavier Doney & Jason McDougal


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



TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES

29-Emerson Axsom

28-Justin Grant & C.J. Leary

27-Kyle Cummins

26-Brady Bacon

24-Robert Ballou & Jake Swanson

20-Mitchel Moles

18-Logan Seavey & Chase Stockon

14-Daison Pursley & Kevin Thomas Jr.

13-Matt Westfall

10-Carson Garrett

9-Shane Cottle & Briggs Danner

8-Jadon Rogers

6-Thomas Meseraull

4-Max Adams

2-Joey Amantea, Brent Beauchamp, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Charles Davis Jr. & Xavier Doney

1-Dustin Beck Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Zach Daum, Steven Drevicki, Cody Gardner, Anton Hernandez, J.J. Hughes, Chase Johnson, Kyle Jones, Riley Kreisel, Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Brody Roa, Kendall Ruble, Brady Short, Kody Swanson, Scotty Weir & Justin Zimmerman


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



FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

5-Brady Bacon

4-Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary

3-Justin Grant & Jake Swanson

2-Robert Ballou, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley & Logan Seavey

1-Shane Cottle, Brayden Fox, Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall


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



HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

12-Robert Ballou

11-Justin Grant

10-Mitchel Moles

9-Emerson Axsom

8-Brady Bacon & Kyle Cummins

7-Carson Garrett, C.J. Leary & Matt Westfall

6-Chase Stockon

5-Charles Davis Jr. & Kevin Thomas Jr.

4-Jadon Rogers

3-Jake Swanson

2-Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Steven Drevicki & Thomas Meseraull

1-Max Adams, Joey Amantea, Dustin Beck, Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Chance Crum, Briggs Danner, Geoff Ensign, Rylan Gray, Korbyn Hayslett, Anton Hernandez, Dallas Hewitt, Kyle Jones, Larry Kingseed Jr., Ricky Lewis, Brandon Mattox, Trey Osborne, Zack Pretorius, Kendall Ruble, Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Wesley Smith, Mitch Wissmiller & Justin Zimmerman


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



SEMI WINS

5-Mitchel Moles

3-Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Chase Stockon & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-C.J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Jake Swanson & Logan Seavey

1-Emerson Axsom, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Zack Pretorius, Jadon Rogers, Carson Short, Matt Westfall & J.J. Yeley


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



D-MAIN WINS

1-Brayden Clark & Rylan Gray


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



C-MAIN WINS

1-Joey Amantea, Saban Bibent, Colten Cottle, Ivan Glotzbach, Dustin Ingle, Brandon Mattox, Jadon Rogers & John Sluss


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



FEATURE STARTS

36-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary

35-Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson

34-Kyle Cummins & Matt Westfall

33-Mitchel Moles

31-Carson Garrett

27-Kevin Thomas Jr.

20-Jadon Rogers

19-Max Adams

16-Shane Cottle

15-Briggs Danner

14-Brandon Mattox

13-Charles Davis Jr. & Thomas Meseraull

9-Joey Amantea

8-Geoff Ensign & Eddie Tafoya Jr.

7-Brent Beauchamp, Alex Bright & Sterling Cling

6-Mario Clouser

5-Ricky Lewis, Tye Mihocko, Trey Osborne & Brady Short

4-Timmy Buckwalter, Chance Crum, Braxton Cummings, Rylan Gray, Dalton Stevens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson & Justin Zimmerman

3-Cole Bodine, Colten Cottle, Dave Darland, Xavier Doney, Steven Drevicki, Tom Harris, Korbyn Hayslett, Jack Hoyer, Hunter Maddox, Matt Mitchell, Zack Pretorius & Scotty Weir

2-Dustin Beck, Harley Burns, Tim Creech, Mitchell Davis, Brayden Fox, Aric Gentry, Anton Hernandez, Dallas Hewitt, J.J. Hughes, Kyle Jones, Jordan Kinser, Preston Lattomus, Carmen Perigo, Brody Roa, Kayla Roell & Kendall Ruble

1-Garrett Abrams, Ed Aikin, Greg Alt, Saban Bibent, Nick Bilbee, Donny Brackett, Andy Bradley, Bobby Butler, Logan Calderwood, Nathan Carle, Isaac Chapple, Zach Daum, Austin DeBlauw, Paul Dues, Logan Faucon, Cody Gardner, Ivan Glotzbach, Kurt Gross, Allen Hafford, Brian Hayden, Tyler Hewitt, Todd Hobson, Jason Howell, Steve Irwin, Chase Johnson, Larry Kingseed Jr., Riley Kreisel, James Lyerla, Jason McDougal, Travis Millar, Kyle Moody, Billy Pauch Jr., Clayton Rossman, Brian Ruhlman, Adyn Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Jake Scott, Sam Scott, Keith Sheffer II, Carson Short, Cameron Smith, Wesley Smith, Travis Thompson, Matt VanderVere, Dan Wade, Paul White, Mitch Wissmiller & J.J. Yeley


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



2023 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFIERS

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Jason McDougal

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Chase Stockon

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.

Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant

May 5: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon

May 6: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – Mitchel Moles

May 24: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant

May 25: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Jake Swanson

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Thomas Meseraull

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jun 18: Action Track USA – Kyle Cummins

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Jake Swanson

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Logan Seavey

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Logan Seavey

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brayden Fox

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – C.J. Leary

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Robert Ballou

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Brady Bacon

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Robert Ballou

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Ricky Lewis

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – C.J. Leary

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Jake Swanson

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon


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



GREEN APU GREEN FLAG CHALLENGE FEATURE FIRST LAP LEADERS

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – C.J. Leary

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Max Adams

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Timmy Buckwalter

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Jun 18: Action Track USA – Emerson Axsom

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Emerson Axsom

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Justin Grant

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – Xavier Doney

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Jake Swanson

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Briggs Danner

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Justin Grant

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Jadon Rogers

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – C.J. Leary

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Matt Westfall

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Carson Garrett

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Shane Cottle

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou


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



HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Robert Ballou (22nd to 10th)

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (16th to 9th)

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Jordan Kinser (20th to 12th)

Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Carson Garrett (16th to 7th)

May 5: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (17th to 8th)

May 6: Eldora Speedway – Carson Garrett (20th to 6th)

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – C.J. Leary (13th to 5th)

May 24: Circle City Raceway – Daison Pursley (16th to 9th)

May 25: Circle City Raceway – Chase Stockon (18th to 7th)

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Chase Johnson (19th to 7th)

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Alex Bright (22nd to 10th)

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Robert Ballou (14th to 7th)

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Daison Pursley (14th to 2nd)

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley (10th to 3rd)

Jun 18: Action Track USA – Brady Bacon (16th to 9th)

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Brady Bacon (5th to 1st)

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Robert Ballou (17th to 8th)

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Matt Westfall (17th to 6th)

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Robert Ballou (16th to 8th)

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Shane Cottle (22nd to 11th)

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (20th to 8th)

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle (12th to 3rd)

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Shane Cottle (17th to 7th)

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brent Beauchamp (22nd to 10th)

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Shane Cottle (22nd to 13th)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Briggs Danner (16th to 8th)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (21st to 3rd)

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley (20th to 13th)

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Emerson Axsom (21st to 8th)

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Kyle Jones (21st to 13th)

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Robert Ballou (14th to 3rd)

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins (15th to 5th)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Matt Westfall (12th to 3rd)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Daison Pursley (18th to 10th)

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Kyle Cummins (21st to 10th)


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



DIRT DRAFT FASTEST HOT LAPS DRIVER

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Kyle Cummins

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Chase Stockon

Apr 8: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Jake Swanson

Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Jadon Rogers

May 5: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon

May 6: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – Kevin Thomas Jr.

May 24: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant

May 25: Circle City Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Emerson Axsom

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jun 18: Action Track USA – N/A

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Brady Bacon

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Chase Stockon

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Max Adams

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – Brady Bacon

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Robert Ballou

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Shane Cottle

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Justin Grant

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Robert Ballou

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Robert Ballou

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Brady Bacon

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Jake Swanson

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon


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



ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS



ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS (1956-2023)

1. [62 wins] Dave Darland

2. [53 wins] Brady Bacon

3. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow

4. [47 wins] Tracy Hines

5. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt

6. [45 wins] Larry Dickson & Justin Grant

8. [42 wins] Pancho Carter

9. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson

10. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen

11. [39 wins] Kevin Thomas Jr.

12. [37 wins] Robert Ballou & Sheldon Kinser

14. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler

16. [32 wins] Rollie Beale

17. [31 wins] Tyler Courtney

18. [30 wins] Chris Windom

19. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley

23. [26 wins] Tony Elliott & Dave Steele

25. [25 wins] Steve Butler, Jay Drake & Parnelli Jones

28. [23 wins] Roger McCluskey

29. [22 wins] Rick Hood, Bubby Jones, C.J. Leary & Sammy Sessions

33. [21 wins] Greg Weld

34. [18 wins] Kyle Cummins

35. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding

38. [16 wins] Damion Gardner & Jud Larson

40. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler

43. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup

47. [13 wins] Steve Chassey

48. [12 wins] Eric Gordon

49. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler

53. [10 wins] Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Logan Seavey, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson

58. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley

62. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana

66. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise

76. [6 wins] Emerson Axsom, Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Shane Cottle, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider, Jake Swanson & Dick Tobias

87. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Derek Davidson, Gene Lee Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Chuck Gurney, Shane Hmiel, Kevin Huntley, Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Jim Mahoney, Andy Michner, Johnny Parsons, Bill Puterbaugh, Tanner Thorson & Cole Whitt

104. [4 wins] Rob Chaney, Cary Faas, Jesse Hockett, Van Johnson, Steve Kinser, Michael Lewis, Ralph Liguori, Don Nordhorn, Lee Osborne, Red Riegel, Ken Schrader, Al Smith & Danny Smith

117. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mitchel Moles, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang

139. [2 wins] Chad Boat, Marvin Carman, Ed Carpenter, Brad Doty, Ed Elisian, Nic Faas, Cy Fairchild, Brad Fox, Arnie Knepper, Danny Lasoski, Mack McClellan, Jason McDougal, James McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Jim McWithey, Danny Milburn, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Jerry Poland, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Mickey Shaw, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Brad Sweet, Bob Sweikert, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Mike Spencer, Bud Tingelstad, Billy Vukovich, Mike Ward, Matt Westfall & Carl Williams

173. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, Ryan Bernal, Jeff Bland Jr., Stan Bowman, Alan Brown, Karl Busson, Johnny Capels, David Cardey, Bob Cicconi, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Duke Cook, Mel Cornett, Allen Crowe, Billy Engelhart, Cotton Farmer, Aaron Farney, Gary Fedewa, Blake Fitzpatrick, Pat Flaherty, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Rickie Gaunt, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Ron Gregory, Richard Griffin, Garrett Hansen, Jerry Hansen, Jim Hemmings, Josh Hodges, Bob Hogle, Jackie Howerton, Chuck Hulse, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Gordon Johncock, Chet Johnson, Page Jones, Bob Kinser, Mike Kirby, Fred Linder, Steve Long, Hank Lower, Brett Mann, Bobby Marshman, Larry Martin, Mike Martin, Brad Marvel, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Bob McCoy, Jim McElreath, Charlie Musselman, Bobby Olivero, Jim Packard, Gary Patterson, Billy Pauch, Dave Peperak, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Bud Randall, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Rodney Ritter Jr., Brody Roa, David Roahrig, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Billy Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Smokey Snellbaker, Wib Spalding, Greg Staab, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Mike Sweeney, Jeff Swindell, Clark Templeman, Tyler Thomas, Bill Tyler, Rick Ungar, Lennie Waldo, Tyler Walker, Scotty Weir, Kenny Weld, Bob Wente, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth


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



ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-2023)

1. (65) Tom Bigelow

2. (62) Dave Darland

3. (60) Tracy Hines

4. (49) Brady Bacon

5. (45) C.J. Leary

6. (39) Levi Jones

7. (37) Larry Dickson

8. (36) Bryan Clauson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

10. (35) Rich Vogler

11. (33) Justin Grant

12. (32) Chase Stockon

13. (31) Sheldon Kinser

14. (30) Pancho Carter

15. (29) Don Branson

16. (27) Dave Steele

17. (26) Jay Drake

18. (24) Gary Bettenhausen & J.J. Yeley

20. (23) Jon Stanbrough

21. (22) Steve Butler

22. (21) A.J. Foyt

23. (20) Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott & Roger McCluskey

26. (19) Greg Weld

27. (18) Parnelli Jones

28. (16) Rollie Beale, Jack Hewitt & Doug Kalitta

31. (15) Kenny Irwin Jr., Sammy Sessions & Brian Tyler

34. (14) Billy Cassella, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins & Damion Gardner

38. (13) Bobby East & Bruce Walkup

40. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom

47. (11) Robert Ballou, Jim McWithey & George Snider

50. (10) Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise, Thomas Meseraull, Mitchel Moles & Jake Swanson

55. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise

58. (8) Shane Cottle, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O’Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Logan Seavey

64. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, Johnny Parsons, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser

80. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath & Ken Schrader

89. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley & Kevin Thomas

100. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith, Brad Sweet & Bob Wente

120. (3) Tommy Astone, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Dave Blaney, Karl Busson, Kevin Doty, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Gary Gray, John Heydenreich, Gordon Johncock, Greg Leffler, Andy Linden, Steve Long, Larry Martin, Justin Marvel, Jason McCord, Larry Moore, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Lee Osborne, Brandon Petty, Jerry Poland, Bob Pratt, Jadon Rogers, Brady Short, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Dean Thompson, Dick Tobias, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & John Wolfe

154. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Chad Boat, Keith Bloom Jr., Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Brayden Fox, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Jason McDougal, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Daison Pursley, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson

199. (1) Pat Abold, Donnie Adams, Bobby Adamson, Mark Alderson, Chuck Amati, Chuck Arnold, Dick Atkins, Terry Babb, Joe Barzda, Ryan Bernal, Nick Bilbee, Lee Brewer Jr., Bill Brown, Dale Burton, Gary Cameron, Larry Cannon, Billy Cantrell, Dana Carter, Rob Chaney, Bob Cicconi, Bob Cleberg, Leon Clum, Peter Cozzolino, Briggs Danner, Don Davis, Doc Dawson, Brad Doty, Steven Drevicki, Rex Easton, Al “Cotton” Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Jared Fox, Joe Gaerte, Harry Garrett, Rickie Gaunt, Chuck Gurney, Norm Hall, Jerry Hansen, Brian Hayden, Jonathan Hendrick, Hank Henry, Tyler Hewitt, Ted Hines, Jesse Hockett, Bob Hogle, Danny Holtsclaw, Kevin Huntley, Gary Irvin, Mike Johnson, Dee Jones, Page Jones, Todd Kane, Ray Kenens Jr., Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Buddy Kofoid, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael Lewis, Ricky Lewis, John Logan, Ed Lynch Jr., Critter Malone, Louie Mann, Mike Mann, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, Nick McCormick, Wes McIntyre, Bob McLean, Blake Miller, Jerry Miller Jr., Ron Milton, Hal Minyard, Matt Mitchell, Warren Mockler, Mike Mosley, Mike Murgoitio, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Gary Ponzini, Ande Possman, Roger Rager, Davey Ray, Rex Records, Jerry Richert Jr., Red Riegel, Travis Rilat, Manny Rockhold, Hank Rogers, Bill Rose, Joe Roush, Jerry Russell, Bobby Santos, Don Schilling, John Sernett, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Dean Shirley, Eric Shively, Randy Smith, Wib Spalding, Ned Spath, Greg Staab, Steve Stapp, Richard Summers, Bob Sweikert, Jeff Swindell, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Tom Tepe, Leon Thickstun, Ryan Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Tony Weyant, Austin Williams, Rip Williams, Eddie Wirth & Mitch Wissmiller


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



ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:

1956: Pat O'Connor (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern), 1957: Elmer George (Midwest) & Bill Randall (Eastern), 1958: Eddie Sachs (Midwest) & Johnny Thomson (Eastern), 1959: Don Branson (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern), 1960: Parnelli Jones (Midwest) & A.J. Foyt (Eastern), 1961: Parnelli Jones, 1962: Parnelli Jones, 1963: Roger McCluskey, 1964: Don Branson, 1965: Johnny Rutherford, 1966: Roger McCluskey, 1967: Greg Weld, 1968: Larry Dickson, 1969: Gary Bettenhausen, 1970: Larry Dickson, 1971: Gary Bettenhausen, 1972: Sammy Sessions, 1973: Rollie Beale, 1974: Pancho Carter, 1975: Larry Dickson, 1976: Pancho Carter, 1977: Sheldon Kinser, 1978: Tom Bigelow, 1979: Greg Leffler, 1980: Rich Vogler, 1981: Sheldon Kinser, 1982: Sheldon Kinser, 1983: Ken Schrader, 1984: Rick Hood, 1985: Rick Hood, 1986: Steve Butler, 1987: Steve Butler, 1988: Steve Butler, 1989: Rich Vogler, 1990: Steve Butler, 1991: Robbie Stanley, 1992: Robbie Stanley, 1993: Robbie Stanley, 1994: Doug Kalitta, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Brian Tyler, 1997: Brian Tyler, 1998: Tony Elliott, 1999: Dave Darland, 2000: Tony Elliott, 2001: J.J. Yeley, 2002: Tracy Hines, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Jay Drake, 2005: Levi Jones, 2006: Josh Wise, 2007: Levi Jones, 2008: Jerry Coons Jr., 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Shane Hmiel (Pavement), 2011: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Bobby Santos (Pavement), 2012: Bryan Clauson, 2013: Bryan Clauson, 2014: Brady Bacon, 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Brady Bacon, 2017: Chris Windom, 2018: Tyler Courtney, 2019: C.J. Leary, 2020: Brady Bacon, 2021: Brady Bacon, 2022: Justin Grant, 2023: Justin Grant


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



ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:

1961: Sterling Plumbing & Heating, 1962: Bruce Homeyer, 1963: Bruce Homeyer, 1964: Jud Phillips, 1965: Jack Colvin, 1966: Anderson Products, 1967: Rufus Gray, 1968: Ray Smith, 1969: Willie Davis, 1970: Kenny Lay, 1971: Willie Davis, 1972: Mauri Amerling, 1973: R-B Racing Associates, 1974: Conger & Stapp Racing, 1975: Ernie Ensign, 1976: Steve Stapp Racing, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Sherman Armstrong, 1979: Lloyd Weaver, 1980: Gohr Distributing Co., 1981: Ben Leyba, 1982: Ben Leyba, 1983: Damon Fortune, 1984: Damon Fortune, 1985: Damon Fortune, 1986: Phil Poor, 1987: Jeff Stoops, 1988: Jeff Stoops, 1989: Dynamics, Inc., 1990: Johnny Vance Racing Team, Inc., 1991: Ron Stanley, 1992: Dynamics, Inc., 1993: Dynamics, Inc., 1994: Utopia Services, Inc., 1995: Niebel Engines, Inc., 1996: Dynamics, Inc., 1997: Dynamics, Inc., 1998: Vance-Walker Racing, 1999: Dynamics, Inc., 2000: Walker-Lamers Racing, 2001: Walker-Gratton Racing, 2002: Dynamics, Inc., 2003: Tony Stewart Racing, 2004: Dynamics, Inc., 2005: 2B Racing, 2006: Tony Stewart Racing, 2007: Tony Stewart Racing, 2008: Dynamics, Inc., 2009: Tony Stewart Racing, 2010: Tony Stewart Racing, 2011: Tony Stewart Racing, 2012: CTR/BCI/Curb-Agajanian, 2013: Tony Stewart Racing/Curb-Agajanian, 2014: Dynamics, Inc., 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Dynamics, Inc., 2017: Baldwin Brothers Racing, 2018: Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, 2019: Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, 2020: Dynamics, Inc., 2021: Dynamics, Inc., 2022: TOPP Motorsports, 2023: TOPP Motorsports


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



ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

1971: Darl Harrison, 1972: Billy Cassella, 1973: Rich Leavell, 1974: Lee Osborne, 1975: Marvin Carman, 1976: Roger Rager, 1977: Eddie Leavitt, 1978: Tim Richmond, 1979: Jerry Carman, 1980: Frank Riddle, 1981: Steve Long & Johnny Coogan, 1982: Danny Milburn, 1983: Dean Shirley, 1984: Jerry Russell, 1985: Terry Shepherd, 1986: Kenny Jacobs, 1987: Rick Ungar, 1988: Dean Jacobs, 1989: Eric Gordon, 1990: Rick Howerton, 1991: Tony Stewart, 1992: Gary Cameron II, 1993: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1994: Bobby Smith, 1995: Mark Cassella, 1996: Gus Wasson, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Tracy Hines, 1999: Ryan Newman, 2000: Bud Kaeding, 2001: Ed Carpenter, 2002: Boston Reid, 2003: Michael Lewis & Mat Neely, 2004: Josh Ford & Josh Wise, 2005: Darren Hagen, 2006: Scotty Weir, 2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2008: Chad Boat, 2009: Henry Clarke, 2010: Justin Grant, 2011: Coleman Gulick, 2012: C.J. Leary, 2013: Tyler Courtney, 2014: Jarett Andretti, 2015: Aaron Farney, 2016: Isaac Chapple, 2017: Stevie Sussex, 2018: Timmy Buckwalter & Logan Seavey, 2019: Dustin Clark, 2020: Jadon Rogers, 2021: Tanner Thorson, 2022: Emerson Axsom, 2023: Daison Pursley


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



2023 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER:


A

GARRETT ABRAMS/Rushville, IN (Garrett & Tony Abrams #32)

MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (Max & Scott Adams #5x) & (Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP)

ED AIKIN/Lincoln University, PA (EA Motorsports #7)

GARRETT AITKEN/Paris, IL (Greg Aitken #32)

GREG ALT/Watertown, WI (Alt Motorsports #22)

JOEY AMANTEA/Mt. Pocono, PA (JPA Racing #88J)

COLLIN AMBROSE/Owensboro, KY (Lynn Ambrose #36)

EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

DAVE AXTON/Port Byron, NY (Dave Axton #2)


B

BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Dynamics, Inc. #69) & (Wedgewood Motorsports #98)

ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Ballou Motorsports #12)

KOBY BARKSDALE/Norman, OK (Knight Racing #16K)

RYAN BARR/Piqua, OH (Barr Family #21B)

STAN BEADLES/Owensville, IN (Beadles Racing #84)

BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Fairland, IN (Lauren Beauchamp #11) & (Jeff Olson #34)

DUSTIN BECK/Petersburg, IN (Hensen-Rupp #75)

A.J. BENDER/San Diego, CA (Rich Bender #21)

SABAN BIBENT/Cincinnati, OH (Wedgewood Motorsports #98)

NICK BILBEE/Indianapolis, IN (Bilbee Motorsports #17)

COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (Kevin Bodine #57B)

DONNY BRACKETT/Fort Branch, IN (Tony Brackett #4B)

ANDY BRADLEY/Bloomington, IN (Hoosier Speed-Fortune #86)

ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Heffner Racing Enterprises #27) & (Heffner-Hummer Motorsports #27)

CORY BRUNS/Lincoln, IL (Judy Smith & Tony Robertson #8)

TIMMY BUCKWALTER/Douglassville, PA (LNB Motorsports #7) & (Lotier-Hummer Motorsports #20T)

PATRICK BUDDE/Bartelso, IL (Patrick Budde #90)

WYATT BURKS/Topeka, KS (Wyatt Burks Racing #11w)

HARLEY BURNS/Brazil, IN (Harley Burns #16)

BOBBY BUTLER/Milford, NJ (Butler Motorsports #5B)


C

LOGAN CALDERWOOD/Goodyear, AZ (Rex Calderwood #6)

TROY CAREY/Tullamore, New South Wales, AU (Troy Carey Motorsports #45N)

NATHAN CARLE/West Harrison, IN (Jeff Carle #14c)

CINDY CHAMBERS/Bloomington, IN (DC Motorsports #18c)

DAYLAN CHAMBERS/Bowling Green, IN (KCBJ Motorsports #8D)

ISAAC CHAPPLE/Willow Branch, IN (Chapple-Hall Racing #6)

JASON CHERRY/Blandon, PA (Jason Cherry Racing #67c)

PATRICK CHILMONIK/Milford, NJ (Patrick Chilmonik #1)

BRAYDEN CLARK/Tipton, IN (Roy Jackson-Mark Clark #42G)

DUSTIN CLARK/Washington, IN (Dustin Clark Racing #75)

STERLING CLING/Tempe, AZ (Sterling Cling Racing #34)

MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Mario Clouser Motorsports #6)

COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (KCBJ Motorsports #8D) & (Paul Hazen #57)

SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Epperson Racing #2E), (Hodges Motorsports #74x) & (Joe Leer #77K)

TIM CREECH/Greenfield, IN (Tim Creech #31)

CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing #26)

BRAXTON CUMMINGS/Bedford, IN (Bub & Amanda Cummings #71B)

KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Rock Steady Racing #3R)


D

BRIGGS DANNER/Allentown, PA (Hogue Racing Enterprises #39)

DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Dave Darland Racing-Curb-Agajanian #36D)

MICHAEL DAUGHERTY/Evansville, IN (Michael Daugherty #3.14)

ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports #5d)

CHARLES DAVIS JR./Buckeye, AZ (Charles Davis Jr. #47)

MITCHELL DAVIS/Auburn, IL (Mitchell Davis #56)

AUSTIN DeBLAUW/Ventura, CA (DeBlauw Racing #65)

BRYAN DEBRICK/Bedford, TX (Bryan Debrick #10)

XAVIER DONEY/Odessa, MO (Doney-Lawson Racing #74)

STEVEN DREVICKI/Reading, PA (Greg Fitzpatrick-DeGre Engineering #19)

DON DROUD JR./Lincoln, NE (Mark Burch Motorsports #1m)

PAUL DUES/Minster, OH (Dues Racing #87)


E

CURT ELLIOTT/Fletcher, OH (Curt Elliott #28)

GEOFF ENSIGN/Sebastopol, CA (Ensign Motorsports #3F) & (On The Gass Racing #17)

SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX (Scott & Kristen Evans #118)


F

LOGAN FAUCON/Elkhart, IL (Scott & Kay Faucon #52F)

GARY FLOYD/San Angelo, TX (Tammy Sturgeon #72)

DAMON FORTUNE/Terre Haute, IN (Hoosier Speed-Fortune #39)

BRAYDEN FOX/Avon, IN (Fox Brothers Racing #53)

PARKER FREDERICKSON/Kokomo, IN (Parker Frederickson #34F)


G

CODY GARDNER/Little Rock, AR (Tiny Gaines #G6)

CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15)

ARIC GENTRY/Robards, KY (Larry Gentry #10)

GABRIEL GILBERT/Greenwood, IN (Gabriel Gilbert Racing #10G)

IVAN GLOTZBACH/Fillmore, IN (Ivan Glotzbach #i1)

MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing #39)

JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (TOPP Motorsports #4)

RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Brothers #06) & (Gray Brothers #81)

COLIN GRISSOM/Anderson, IN (Colin Grissom #00)

KURT GROSS/Washington, IN (Hensen-Rupp #71x)

FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (F & F Racing #63)


H

ALLEN HAFFORD/Beach Park, IL (Hafford Motorsports #38)

SCOTT HAMPTON/Greenfield, IN (Slinkard Motorsports #51)

JOSH HANNA/Tyler, TX (Josh Hanna #82)

TOM HARRIS/Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK (Tom Harris Motorsport #84)

BRIAN HAYDEN/Fillmore, IN (Brian Hayden Racing #2H)

KORBYN HAYSLETT/Troy, OH (Kim & Dave Hayslett #1H)

TONY HELTON/Cloverdale, IN (Jeff Miller #87)

ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)

DALLAS HEWITT/Troy, OH (Jamie Miller #6m) & (Jennifer Hewitt #21)

TYLER HEWITT/Marion, IN (Scott & Kristen Evans #118)

TODD HOBSON/Clyde, Victoria, AU (Joe Daming #5T)

RAYMOND HOLDEN/Evansville, IN (Holden Motorsports #2R)

ALLEN HOWARD JR./Terre Haute, IN (AJR Motorsports #4u)

CHASE HOWARD/Nesbit, MS (Ronnie Howard #13)

JASON HOWELL/Azle, TX (Tammy Sturgeon #44)

JACK HOYER/Frankfort, IN (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5) & (Chris Hoyer #11)

J.J. HUGHES/Jasper, IN (John Hughes #76)

JONATHAN HUGHES/Knoxville, IA (Jay Hughes #67)


I

DUSTIN INGLE/Lima, OH (Dustin Ingle Racing #2DI)

STEVE IRWIN/Fenton, MI (Flying Zero Racing #0)

JOHNNY IVERS/Vincennes, IN (Ivers-Thomas Racing #55)


J

JACK JAMES/Harlan, IN (Jack James #99)

CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Yeley Motorsports #2)

KYLE JOHNSON/Greencastle, IN (Mike Johnson #99J)

KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Mike Melton #11)


K

TYLER KENDALL/Connersville, IN (Matt Kendall #20)

LARRY KINGSEED JR./Castalia, OH (Larry Kingseed #21) & (Powell Racing #59)

JORDAN KINSER/Bloomington, IN (Jerry Burton #04)

RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO (Yeley Motorsports #2J) & (DKR Motorsports #91)


L

ZACH LAMB/Aurora, IN (Zach Lamb #73)

PRESTON LATTOMUS/Lewes, DE (Michael Lattomus #23B)

C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

RICKY LEWIS/Camarillo, CA (Dave Brown #41)

JAMES LYERLA/Hillsboro, IL (JL Motorsports #11)


M

HUNTER MADDOX/Bloomington, IN (Hunter Maddox #24m)

CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven LLC #7)

BRANDON MATTOX/Terre Haute, IN (Brandon Mattox Racing #28)

MATT McDONALD/Brownsburg, IN (Darrell McDonald #5m)

JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (KO Motorsports #5m)

JUSTIN MENEELY/Brazil, IN (Meneely Motorsports #100)

THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (Epperson Racing #2E), (Chris Dyson Racing #20) & (NIKSTE LLC #23K)

TYE MIHOCKO/Peoria, AZ (Brian Hayden Racing #2H), (Dave Wilson #5) & (Jamie Paul #24p)

TRAVIS MILLAR/Wandin North, Victoria, AU (Travis Millar #93AU)

TYLER MILLER/Kokomo, IN (Tyler Miller Motorsports #67)

MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports #37)

JOSS MOFFATT/Columbus, IN (Moffatt Racing #5J) & (A.J. Felker Racing #37)

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

JOHN MOLLICK/Toronto, OH (Scott Clever #4J)

KYLE MOODY/Lewisberry, PA (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5x)

CHRISTIAN MOORE/Bullard, TX (Joe Moore #6)

EVAN MOSLEY/Lapel, IN (Steve Thomas #20T) & (Chris Barkdull #27)

TODD MOULE/Heathcote, Victoria, AU (Tony Moule #26)

DEVAN MYERS/Delphi, IN (Devan Myers #75)


N

KEVIN NEWTON/Farmersburg, IN (Kevin Newton #16TH)

ANTHONY NICHOLSON/Lakeland, TN (Nicholson Motorsports #16)


O

TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Trey Osborne #6T)

JUSTIN OWEN/Harrison, OH (Fischesser-Owen Racing #4J)


P

CHASE PARSON/Abilene, TX (Parson Racing #57)

BILLY PAUCH JR./Frenchtown, NJ (Heffner Racing Enterprises #27H)

JORDAN PAULSEN/Trevor, WI (Jordan Paulsen #4p)

CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman #21)

WES PINKERTON/Reynolds, IN (Hajduk Motorsports #21)

ZACK PRETORIUS/Yorktown, IN (Jeff Pretorius #9z)

JEFF PRITCHETT/Evansville, IN (Nine-One-One Motorsports #2J)

DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (KO Motorsports #5p)


R

BRODY ROA/Garden Grove, CA (Tom & Christy Dunkel #17R)

KAYLA ROELL/Dillsboro, IN (KO Motorsports #5K)

JADON ROGERS/Worthington, IN (4J Motorsports #4J), (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5), (4J Motorsports #14) & (Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP)

CLAYTON ROSSMAN/Wadsworth, IL (Hajduk Motorsports #21)

KENDALL RUBLE/Vincennes, IN (Jerry Ruble #17)

BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman #49)


S

NATE SCHANK/Santa Rosa, CA (Janis Schank #1)

ADYN SCHMIDT/Haubstadt, IN (Adam Schmidt #12s) & (Chet Williams #38)

STEPHEN SCHNAPF/Newburgh, IN (Hoosier Speed-Fortune #39F)

BRYAR SCHROETER/Kokomo, IN (Bryar Schroeter #21s)

JAKE SCOTT/Morgantown, IN (Jeff Miller #33)

SAM SCOTT/Patoka, IN (Sam Scott #7s)

NATHAN SEALE/Fort Branch, IN (Nathan Seale Racing #1s)

LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (2B Racing #2B)

KEITH SHEFFER II/Jerome, MI (Sheffer Racing #86)

ERIC SHELTON/Decatur, IL (Paul Shelton #70)

KYLE SHIPLEY/El Mirage, AZ (Kyle Shipley #0G)

BRADY SHORT/Bedford, IN (Randy Edwards #61m)

CARSON SHORT/Marion, IL (Beadles Racing #84)

KOBE SIMPSON/Bonham, TX (Kevin Simpson #21K)

ALEC SIPES/Springville, IN (Hayward Motorsports #19) & (Alec Sipes #99)

JACKSON SLONE/Noblesville, IN (Borzio-Slone #16)

JOHN SLUSS/Indianapolis, IN (Team RayPro #4R)

CAMERON SMITH/Spring Grove, PA (Lee Kauffman #96)

MARCUS SMITH/Tracy, CA (Marcus & Mark Smith #28s)

WESLEY SMITH/Nixa, MO (Bryan Smith #44)

DALTON STEVENS/Scurry, TX (Stevens Racing Holdings #99x)

CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (KO Motorsports #5s)

STEVIE SUSSEX/Tempe, AZ (Tyler Sturgeon Racing #77s)

JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Rock Steady Racing #3R), (Wedgewood Motorsports #77) & (Wedgewood Motorsports #98)

DOUG SYLVESTER/Ottumwa, IA (Doug Sylvester #12x)


T

EDDIE TAFOYA JR./Chino Hills, CA (Eddie Tafoya Sr. #51T)

KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Yeley Motorsports #2J), (2B Racing #2x), (Rock Steady Racing #3R), (Kevin Newton #16), (Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP), (Landon Simon Racing #24) & (Cheney Racing #42)

STEVE THOMAS/Ludlow, IL (Steve Thomas #20)

TRAVIS THOMPSON/Brazil, IN (Travis Thompson #7)


V

EDDIE VANCIL/Olney, IL (Eddie Vancil #7v)

MATT VANDERVERE/Burlington, WI (VanderVere Racing #10v)


W

DAN WADE/Wilmot, WI (Dan Wade #15)

VINNY WARD/Springfield, IL (Tom Ward #82)

SCOTTY WEIR/Marion, IN (NIKSTE LLC #23K) & (Landon Simon Racing #24)

MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)

PAUL WHITE/Temple, TX (Greg Wade #1)

NOAH WHITEHOUSE/Greenfield, IN (Scott Whitehouse #00w)

TAYTE WILLIAMSON/Rushylvania, OH (Brent Williamson #20)

MITCH WISSMILLER/Saybrook, IL (RNB Motorsports #29)

BEN WOODS/Newton, IA (B & R Motorsports #11B)


Y

J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Yeley Motorsports #2) & (Yeley Motorsports #2J)


Z

JUSTIN ZIMMERMAN/Athens, TX (D-Up Racing #1)

 

 

RED DIRT USAC SPRINT CAR WEEKEND

RAINED OUT FOR OCT. 27-28

Meeker, Oklahoma (October 25, 2023)………Substantial rain today and tonight coupled with forecasted rain this weekend has forced cancellation of the October 27-28 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season finale at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

The Red Dirt event was to be the series’ debut at the 1/4-mile dirt oval and the series’ first trip to the Sooner State since 2004.

“Obviously, we are so disappointed to lose this weekend to weather,” Red Dirt Raceway promoter Cody Brewer stated. “With competitors and fans coming from all over, we want to decide on this before they hit the road. There has been so much excitement for this show, and we remain committed to bringing USAC Sprint Cars back to Oklahoma. We will continue our facility improvements to make it a true showcase event for sprint car competitors and fans to attend next year.”

The 2023 USAC National Sprint Car season is now complete. For the second consecutive season, Justin Grant is the driver champion while TOPP Motorsports is the entrant titlist.

The USAC national racing season resumes in November with six USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events in the state of California: Nov. 14 at Bakersfield Speedway for the November Classic, Nov. 17-18 at Placerville Speedway for the Hangtown 100, Nov. 21-22 at Merced Speedway, and Nov. 25 at Ventura Raceway for the season-ending 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix.

 

 

“IT’S TRULY A DREAM,” HANK DAVIS TO DRIVE CORNELL MIDGET ON 2024 USAC TRAIL

Monee, Illinois (October 23, 2023)………Cornell Racing Stables will return to the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail in 2024 with driver Hank Davis as their wheelman in the team’s trademark gold leaf number 8.

The car will be a Triple X Chassis powered by a Stanton SR-11x piloted by the rising star from Sand Springs, Okla. Davis captured the racing world’s attention when he captured an A-Main victory on a preliminary night during the January 2023 Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla.

Davis scored that victory in the seat of the Seymour Racing ride, which has a monumental history of its own in USAC racing lore. Now, with Davis joining the Monee, Ill. based Cornell team, he has now gotten the chance to compete for two iconic teams on big stages.

The history is certainly not lost on the 20-year-old Davis who grew up learning about the history of Rich Vogler and his legendary career. Vogler thrived and won in USAC competition for both Seymour and Cornell, and Davis appreciates the fact that he now gets to live out something beyond his wildest dreams.

“It’s just something you only dream of,” Davis said of receiving this opportunity with Cornell. “As a kid knowing who Rich Vogler was and knowing that the same people that had him around also want me around their team, it’s simply crazy. Getting the chance to be around two historic teams such as the Seymours and now the Cornell family, it’s truly a dream.”

With over 60 years in USAC racing, Cornell Racing Stables has some history, including bringing the winningest driver in USAC history, Rich Vogler, to the big stage as their driver. In all, Cornell owned cars captured nine career USAC National Midget feature victories between 1967-79 with drivers such as Bob Hare and Roger West once, Gary Ponzini twice and their most recent five with Vogler.

The Cornell team has hired David Kovar for the engineering and management roles on the midget operation while Jeff Matty will prepare the car for competition. Meanwhile, car owner Curt Cornell is excited at the prospect of the combination of Davis, Triple X and Stanton SR-11 power in the coming year.

“We are excited about choosing Triple X as our chassis supplier,” Cornell stated. “With their professional business model, great cars, prompt service and deliveries, plus successes on the national level with their sprint cars, Triple X was a given. As for being powered by a Stanton SR-11x, its horsepower advantage and repeated wins in big events made that an easy choice too. The always stocked and very knowledgeable folks at Behling Racing Equipment will supply the remaining components.”

Cornell Racing Stables will also continue to compete on the USAC Silver Crown National Championship trail. Since 2017, the team has fielded cars on the dirt for drivers such as Johnny Petrozelle and Davey Ray. However, getting back into the USAC National Midget ranks has the team excited on numerous fronts and now they eagerly look forward to adding another feather in their cap after more than six decades of involvement in USAC racing.

“Having won multiple USAC events over the course of our racing career with a twin overhead cam engine, a push rod and rocker arm engine, plus an opposed cylinder engine, completing the quartet by winning with a single overhead cam engine would just be icing on the cake,” Cornell stated.

 

 

WEST COAST STOCK CAR/MOTORSPORTS HoF ANNOUNCED AS TURKEY NIGHT PRESENTING SPONSOR

Bakersfield, California (October 23, 2023)………The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame will be the presenting sponsor of the United States Auto Club (USAC) sanctioned 82nd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on November 24-25 at southern California’s Ventura Raceway.

The USAC Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix is the longest running west coast auto racing event, dating to 1934. It began as the traditional season ending event at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles and was held on Thanksgiving Day.

J.C. Agajanian revived the Midget Grand Prix as the Gilmore Grand Prix in 1956. “Turkey Night” was adopted in 1975. Agajanian Promotions handles promotional duties regardless of venue and the prestigious race has been held annually at Ventura Raceway since 2016 after calling many Southern California tracks home, including a 30-year run at Ascot Park.

“To be the presenting sponsor for the oldest, most exciting motorsports event in the United States other than the Indianapolis 500 is a huge honor for the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. “’The ‘Hall’ is totally committed to being a part of making the 82nd running of Turkey Night the biggest midget and sprint car combo show of the year.”

“Since ‘The Hall’ expanded its areas of recognition to include various forms of open wheel racing, we have become engaged with a greater number of high achieving persons for induction. This has propelled the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame to the position of most desired and recognized motor sports hall of fame west of the Mississippi River.”

Indianapolis 500 winners who also won Turkey Night include Johnnie Parsons, Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt. Other notable winners include Tony Bettenhausen, Gary Bettenhausen, Bubby Jones, Ron Shuman, Chuck Gurney, Stan Fox, Jason Leffler, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, Bryan Clauson, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Logan Seavey and defending race winner, Justin Grant.

Shuman has the most Turkey Night wins with eight. Bob Swanson, Billy Boat, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell have three apiece.

This year’s weekend will once again feature the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars.

Schedule:

Friday, November 24: Grandstands open at 3pm. Midget practice, plus sprint car hot laps, qualifying, heat races and main event.

Saturday, November 25: Grandstands open at 3pm. Sprint car semis and main events plus Turkey Night Grand Prix midget hot laps, qualifying, last chance qualifiers, semis and the 98-lap feature.

Advance tickets, priced from $22-45, can be purchased at www.venturaraceway.com. Additional information is available at 805-648-7223.

ABOUT THE WEST COAST STOCK CAR/MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is to preserve the history and heritage of the important role that west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation, and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.

The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. During its tenure, the Hall has raised more than $800,000 in the past five of its 22 years for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue, military and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

 

 

THE CURTAIN CALL:

STORYLINES FOR USAC SPRINTS’

RED DIRT FINALE OCT. 27-28

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Meeker, Oklahoma (October 23, 2023)………It’s the first of times. It’s the last of times.

It’s the start of one chapter and the closing of another when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship ventures to Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for the first time ever on Friday-Saturday, October 27-28.

On the same token, the curtain will close on the 2023 series season where a champion will be crowned and the ink on the 68th season of competition officially dries on the record books.

We’ve witnessed how the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets have performed here before in this land. But we’ve never seen anything like this before – USAC National Sprint Cars spraying red dirt of the Oklahoma kind for two consecutive nights to close out a most historical season with the series.

Here are the storylines to keep your noggin glued to when USAC Sprint Cars come to call on the 1/4-mile dirt oval this weekend for $6,000-to-win on Friday night and a $10,000-to-win finale on Saturday evening.


GRANT VS. BACON – THE FINAL ROUND

It’s not only the USAC National Sprint Car season that wraps up this weekend; it’s also the culmination of a championship season.

Justin Grant enters the weekend as the point leader with a 109-point edge over Brady Bacon. Grant is seeking to become the first back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car titlist since Bacon in 2020-21. Meanwhile, Bacon is on the drive for five career series championships.

However, while not completely insurmountable, it would require an unprecedented comeback by Bacon in order to overtake Grant for the title this weekend. Only twice in the past quarter century has a driver vaulted into the point lead on the final weekend of the season.

In 2001, Jay Drake held a 29-point lead, but was injured in a regional midget crash at Terre Haute, which forced him to miss the final two events of the USAC Sprint Car season, ultimately losing the title to J.J. Yeley by 19 markers. In 2018, Kevin Thomas Jr. led Tyler Courtney by two entering the Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway. In the end, the pair were tied at the top of the standings, but by virtue of more victories throughout the season, Courtney earned the tiebreaker and the crown.

Both nights this weekend will feature the standard points format with 6-5-4-3-2-1 available to the top-six qualifiers, 8-7-6-5 to the top-four heat race finishers and 4-3-2-1-1-1 to the top-six in the semi. For the feature, the winner picks up 70 for the win and the points decrease by three per position throughout the top-ten. For finishers 10-20, the points decrease by two points per position. All finishers 20th on back will earn 23 points apiece. All non-transfers receive 10 points each.


THE SOONER THE BETTER – USAC IS BACK IN OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma is a rare territory for the USAC National Sprint Cars to set up camp. Just seven previous appearances have been made by the series since 1966. In fact, the series’ most recent visit to Oklahoma came 19 years ago in 2004 with a victory by Jay Drake at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex.

Eventual three-time series champ Larry Dickson conquered the debut in July of 1966 in Tulsa while Roger McCluskey took the next night in Muskogee. In 1967, Ralph Liguori scored the weekend opener at Tulsa while Greg Weld prevailed in the weekend capper at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.

After a nearly two decade wait, USAC Sprints returned to the Sooner State in 1985 as part of the USAC vs. CRA Challenge. CRA’s Mike Sweeney was the triumphant party in the first of two Oklahoma dates at Lawton Speedway while, one night later, USAC’s Rick Hood cashed in at OKC, kicking off a string of four-straight series victories, a feat which hasn’t been duplicated since.

There’s one particular thread in common for all the previous years in which the series stopped by to race in Oklahoma. In every single one of those years, the eventual USAC National Sprint Car champion was among the feature winners. It’s an omen that either Justin Grant or Brady Bacon would love to continue this weekend at Red Dirt.


RED DIRT IS OKIE-DOKIE WITH DAISON

With several ASCS Elite Non-Wing and USAC Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Car regulars planning to compete this weekend at Red Dirt, the field is set to be chockfull of Oklahoma natives.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) is the all-time winningest Oklahoman in USAC National Sprint Car history with 53 scores in his illustrious career. However, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) will also be among those eying a first career points-paying victory with the series.

If you recall, back in 2021, Pursley earned his first career USAC National Midget feature win at Red Dirt, sweeping the night, in fact, after also earning a micro victory that very same evening.

Pursley, who leads all 2023 Rookies by sitting 11th in the USAC National Sprint Car standings at press time, now aims to become just the seventh driver to earn both his first USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget points-paying event wins at the same track: Bob Hogle (Ascot Park), Bobby Unser (Ascot Park), Gary Patterson (Ascot Park), Jack Hewitt (Eldora Speedway), Mack McClellan (Illiana Motor Speedway) and Mike Bliss (Indianapolis Raceway Park).


RED DIRT ON A SMALLER SCALE

Being behind the wheel of a sprint car will be a new experience for most this weekend at Red Dirt. However, it doesn’t mean that Red Dirt is necessarily new to them.

Two drivers in this weekend’s USAC Sprint Car field have won USAC National Midget feature events at Red Dirt: Logan Seavey (2019) and Daison Pursley (2021). Seavey also ran as the runner-up in 2018 with the midgets at Red Dirt.

Justin Grant went 13th to 2nd back in 2021 and was 2nd again in 2022. Bacon grabbed a 5th in 2018 and Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) collected a 6th in 2020 while Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Ind.) tallied a 9th in 2022.

Not to mention, three-time USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma champion Brett Wilson (Coweta, Okla.) has won twice with the series at Red Dirt where he plans to be on hand for his USAC National Sprint Car debut this weekend.


CLOSING TIME – LAST CALL FOR METHANOL

Closing time, one last call for methanol! Yeah, crazy enough, the end of the USAC National Sprint Car season is here and that means that several achievements are on the line.

Only three drivers have won both the season opening points race and the final in the same year: Pat O’Connor (1956), Rich Vogler (1986) and Brady Bacon (2020). Bacon, an Ocala, Florida opener winner in February, will try to become the first to accomplish the feat twice.

Justin Grant has already won at the same track on consecutive evenings in August of this year at Kokomo – three-in-a-row in fact. If he could pull off a sweep of the Red Dirt weekend, he’d become just the fourth driver to achieve consecutive wins at a particular track twice in the same season. Pancho Carter pulled off the feat at Winchester and Eldora in 1976; Tom Bigelow doubled up twice at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1977; and Brady Bacon pulled it off at Knoxville and Perris in 2019.

“Walking off” with a feature victory and a championship on the same night has only been accomplished 10 previous times: Eddie Sachs (1958), Tommy Hinnershitz (1959), Parnelli Jones (1960), Pancho Carter (1974), Sheldon Kinser (1977 & 1982), Steve Butler (1988), Josh Wise (2006), Levi Jones (2011) and Brady Bacon (2020). Bacon himself and Justin Grant are in position to become the next.

Additionally, on eight occasions, a driver has won multiple USAC National Sprint Car features to close out the season. That list includes Roger McCluskey (1962), Sheldon Kinser (1982), Jack Hewitt (1997), Tracy Hines (2000), Josh Wise (2006), Jerry Coons Jr. (2007), Kevin Swindell (2008) and Tyler Courtney (2019). Hines (2000) remains the lone driver to win each of the last three to close out a season. Justin Grant currently rides a one-race winning streak entering the event.


UPCOMING RACE DETAILS:

USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints) will compete at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for two consecutive nights of competition on Friday-Saturday, October 27-28. Sport Modifieds/B-Mods and Non-Wing Micros will comprise Friday night’s program while Factory Stocks and Non-Wing Micros will be on hand for Saturday night’s event.

A practice night will begin the weekend on Thursday, October 26, from 6:30-9pm Central. Grandstand admission is free while pit passes are $20 apiece.

On Friday, pit gates open at 2pm central with the grandstands opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following. On Saturday, pit gates open at noon central with the grandstands opening at 4pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

General admission tickets are $30 on Friday and $35 on Saturday. High school students and younger are $10. Tickets are available online at www.reddirtraceway.com under the “Buy Tickets” tab and will be sold the day of the show as well.

All access passes (pit access & general admission seating) are available as well for $40 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are $10. The tailgate area is $175 per carload (up to 8 people per car).


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2329, 2-Brady Bacon-2220, 3-Emerson Axsom-2159, 4-Jake Swanson-2101, 5-C.J. Leary-2040, 6-Kyle Cummins-2011, 7-Robert Ballou-1977, 8-Chase Stockon-1755, 9-Logan Seavey-1750, 10-Mitchel Moles-1733.


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USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS IN OKLAHOMA:

7-16-1966: Larry Dickson at the Tulsa Fairgrounds (George Nesler #29)

7-17-1966: Roger McCluskey at Muskogee Speedway (Mutt Anderson #51)

7-8-1967: Ralph Liguori at the Tulsa Fairgrounds (Carl Forberg #15)

7-9-1967: Greg Weld at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds (Ward Dunseth-Paul Leffler #92)

5-11-1985: Mike Sweeney at Lawton Speedway (Joe Kasparoff #5c)

5-12-1985: Rick Hood at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds (Damon Fortune #39)

9-17-2004: Jay Drake at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex (Tony Stewart Racing #20)


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2023 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS

Driver Point Leader: Justin Grant

Entrant Point Leader: TOPP Motorsports

Most Feature Wins: 11-Justin Grant

Top Rookie in Points: 11th-Daison Pursley

Most Laps Led: 262-Brady Bacon

Most Top-Fives: 25-Brady Bacon

Most Top-Tens: 29-Emerson Axsom

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Brady Bacon

Most Heat Race Wins: 12-Robert Ballou

Most Feature Starts: 36-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary

Biggest Charge of the Year: Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)


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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Feb 13: (SE) Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Feb 14: (SE) Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL

WINNER: Daison Pursley (KO Motorsports #5p)

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, FL

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, FL

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Apr 15: (MS) Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

May 5: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

May 6: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

May 24: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

May 25: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jun 3: (MW) Knoxville Raceway - Knoxville, IA

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jun 13: (E) Grandview Speedway - Bechtelsville, PA

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jun 15: (E) Big Diamond Speedway - Pottsville, PA

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Jun 16: (E) Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Jun 17: (E) Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jun 18: (E) (A) Action Track USA - Kutztown, PA

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway - Wilmot, WI

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jul 3: (MS) Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jul 7: (A) Macon Speedway - Macon, IL

WINNER: Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

Jul 8: (A) Macon Speedway - Macon, IL

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jul 21: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 22: (I) Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Jul 23: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 24: (I) Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

Jul 26: (I) Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 27: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, IN

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jul 28: (I) Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR

WINNER: Matt Westfall (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, IN

WINNER: Logan Seavey (2B Racing #2B)

Sep 16: (MS) (F) Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Logan Seavey (2B Racing #2B)

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Oct 27: (AE) Red Dirt Raceway - Meeker, OK

Oct 28: (AE) Red Dirt Raceway - Meeker, OK

------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------

(SE) represents a non-points, special event

(P) represents a program featuring practice only

(F) represents an event awarding feature points only

(MS) represents an event co-sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series

(AE) represents an event co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing

(MW) represents an event with the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Association Sprint Cars

(E) represents an Eastern Storm event

(A) represents an event awarding appearance points only

(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event


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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS

FEATURE WINS

11-Justin Grant (Apr 15 at Tri-State Speedway, May 5 at Eldora Speedway, Jun 17 at Port Royal Speedway, Jul 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Jul 23 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Aug 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 25 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 26 at Kokomo Speedway, Sep 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & Oct 7 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)

7-Brady Bacon (Feb 16 at Bubba Raceway Park, May 23 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Jun 24 at Wilmot Raceway, Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 8 at Macon Speedway, Sep 7 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway & Sep 16 at Tri-State Speedway)

4-Kyle Cummins (Feb 18 at Bubba Raceway Park, May 25 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 18 at Action Track USA & Jul 24 at Circle City Raceway)

4-Jake Swanson (May 24 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 3 at Knoxville Raceway, Jun 13 at Grandview Speedway & Jul 27 at Lincoln Park Speedway)

3-Emerson Axsom (Jun 15 at Big Diamond Speedway, Jun 16 at Williams Grove Speedway & Jul 28 at Bloomington Speedway)

3-C.J. Leary (Apr 14 at Bloomington Speedway, May 6 at Eldora Speedway & Jul 22 at Kokomo Speedway)

2-Logan Seavey (Sep 15 at Circle City Raceway & Sep 23 at Eldora Speedway)

1-Mitchel Moles (Jul 7 at Macon Speedway)

1-Matt Westfall (Sep 9 at Texarkana 67 Speedway)


NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT WINS:

1-Daison Pursley (Feb 14 at Volusia Speedway Park)

1-Jake Swanson (Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park)


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FEATURE LAPS LED

262-Brady Bacon

253-Justin Grant

111-Emerson Axsom

105-C.J. Leary

102-Kyle Cummins & Jake Swanson

44-Logan Seavey

31-Robert Ballou

30-Matt Westfall

23-Jadon Rogers

18-Mitchel Moles

17-Xavier Doney

16-Timmy Buckwalter

15-Carson Garrett & Thomas Meseraull

14-Briggs Danner

12-Shane Cottle

5-Max Adams

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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES

25-Brady Bacon

23-Justin Grant

20-Kyle Cummins

17-Emerson Axsom

13-C.J. Leary

13-Jake Swanson

11-Robert Ballou

9-Logan Seavey

8-Mitchel Moles

7-Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon

4-Shane Cottle

3-Briggs Danner, Carson Garrett, Daison Pursley & Matt Westfall

2-Timmy Buckwalter, & Thomas Meseraull

1-Max Adams, Dustin Beck, Xavier Doney & Jason McDougal


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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES

29-Emerson Axsom

28-C.J. Leary

27-Kyle Cummins

26-Brady Bacon

25-Justin Grant

24-Robert Ballou & Jake Swanson

20-Mitchel Moles

18-Logan Seavey & Chase Stockon

14-Daison Pursley & Kevin Thomas Jr.

13-Matt Westfall

10-Carson Garrett

9-Shane Cottle & Briggs Danner

8-Jadon Rogers

6-Thomas Meseraull

4-Max Adams

2-Joey Amantea, Brent Beauchamp, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Charles Davis Jr. & Xavier Doney

1-Dustin Beck Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Zach Daum, Steven Drevicki, Cody Gardner, Anton Hernandez, J.J. Hughes, Chase Johnson, Kyle Jones, Riley Kreisel, Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Brody Roa, Kendall Ruble, Brady Short, Kody Swanson, Scotty Weir & Justin Zimmerman


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FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

5-Brady Bacon

4-Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary

3-Justin Grant & Jake Swanson

2-Robert Ballou, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley & Logan Seavey

1-Shane Cottle, Brayden Fox, Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall


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HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

12-Robert Ballou

11-Justin Grant

10-Mitchel Moles

9-Emerson Axsom

8-Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary

7-Carson Garrett & Matt Westfall

6-Chase Stockon

5-Charles Davis Jr. & Kevin Thomas Jr.

4-Jadon Rogers

3-Jake Swanson

2-Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Steven Drevicki & Thomas Meseraull

1-Max Adams, Joey Amantea, Dustin Beck, Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Chance Crum, Briggs Danner, Geoff Ensign, Rylan Gray, Korbyn Hayslett, Anton Hernandez, Dallas Hewitt, Kyle Jones, Larry Kingseed Jr., Ricky Lewis, Brandon Mattox, Trey Osborne, Zack Pretorius, Kendall Ruble, Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Wesley Smith, Mitch Wissmiller & Justin Zimmerman


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SEMI WINS

5-Mitchel Moles

3-Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Chase Stockon & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-C.J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Jake Swanson & Logan Seavey

1-Emerson Axsom, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Zack Pretorius, Jadon Rogers, Carson Short, Matt Westfall & J.J. Yeley


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D-MAIN WINS

1-Brayden Clark & Rylan Gray


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C-MAIN WINS

1-Joey Amantea, Saban Bibent, Colten Cottle, Ivan Glotzbach, Dustin Ingle, Brandon Mattox & Jadon Rogers


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FEATURE STARTS

36-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary

35-Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson

34-Kyle Cummins & Matt Westfall

33-Mitchel Moles

31-Carson Garrett

27-Kevin Thomas Jr.

20-Jadon Rogers

19-Max Adams

16-Shane Cottle

15-Briggs Danner

14-Brandon Mattox

13-Charles Davis Jr. & Thomas Meseraull

9-Joey Amantea

8-Geoff Ensign & Eddie Tafoya Jr.

7-Brent Beauchamp, Alex Bright & Sterling Cling

6-Mario Clouser

5-Ricky Lewis, Tye Mihocko, Trey Osborne & Brady Short

4-Timmy Buckwalter, Chance Crum, Braxton Cummings, Rylan Gray, Dalton Stevens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson & Justin Zimmerman

3-Cole Bodine, Colten Cottle, Dave Darland, Xavier Doney, Steven Drevicki, Tom Harris, Korbyn Hayslett, Jack Hoyer, Hunter Maddox, Matt Mitchell, Zack Pretorius & Scotty Weir

2-Dustin Beck, Harley Burns, Tim Creech, Mitchell Davis, Brayden Fox, Aric Gentry, Anton Hernandez, Dallas Hewitt, J.J. Hughes, Kyle Jones, Jordan Kinser, Preston Lattomus, Carmen Perigo, Brody Roa, Kayla Roell & Kendall Ruble

1-Garrett Abrams, Ed Aikin, Greg Alt, Saban Bibent, Nick Bilbee, Donny Brackett, Andy Bradley, Bobby Butler, Logan Calderwood, Nathan Carle, Isaac Chapple, Zach Daum, Austin DeBlauw, Paul Dues, Logan Faucon, Cody Gardner, Ivan Glotzbach, Kurt Gross, Allen Hafford, Brian Hayden, Tyler Hewitt, Todd Hobson, Jason Howell, Steve Irwin, Chase Johnson, Larry Kingseed Jr., Riley Kreisel, James Lyerla, Jason McDougal, Travis Millar, Kyle Moody, Billy Pauch Jr., Clayton Rossman, Brian Ruhlman, Adyn Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Jake Scott, Sam Scott, Keith Sheffer II, Carson Short, Cameron Smith, Wesley Smith, Travis Thompson, Matt VanderVere, Dan Wade, Paul White, Mitch Wissmiller & J.J. Yeley


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2023 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFIERS

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Jason McDougal

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Chase Stockon

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.

Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant

May 5: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon

May 6: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – Mitchel Moles

May 24: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant

May 25: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Jake Swanson

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Thomas Meseraull

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jun 18: Action Track USA – Kyle Cummins

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Jake Swanson

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Logan Seavey

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Logan Seavey

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brayden Fox

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – C.J. Leary

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Robert Ballou

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Brady Bacon

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Robert Ballou

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Ricky Lewis

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – C.J. Leary

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Jake Swanson

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon


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GREEN APU GREEN FLAG CHALLENGE FEATURE FIRST LAP LEADERS

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – C.J. Leary

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Max Adams

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Timmy Buckwalter

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Emerson Axsom

Jun 18: Action Track USA – Emerson Axsom

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Emerson Axsom

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Justin Grant

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – Xavier Doney

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Jake Swanson

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Briggs Danner

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Justin Grant

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Jadon Rogers

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – C.J. Leary

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Matt Westfall

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Carson Garrett

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Shane Cottle

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou


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HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Robert Ballou (22nd to 10th)

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (16th to 9th)

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Jordan Kinser (20th to 12th)

Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Carson Garrett (16th to 7th)

May 5: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (17th to 8th)

May 6: Eldora Speedway – Carson Garrett (20th to 6th)

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – C.J. Leary (13th to 5th)

May 24: Circle City Raceway – Daison Pursley (16th to 9th)

May 25: Circle City Raceway – Chase Stockon (18th to 7th)

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Chase Johnson (19th to 7th)

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Alex Bright (22nd to 10th)

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Robert Ballou (14th to 7th)

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Daison Pursley (14th to 2nd)

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley (10th to 3rd)

Jun 18: Action Track USA – Brady Bacon (16th to 9th)

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Brady Bacon (5th to 1st)

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Robert Ballou (17th to 8th)

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Matt Westfall (17th to 6th)

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Robert Ballou (16th to 8th)

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Shane Cottle (22nd to 11th)

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (20th to 8th)

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle (12th to 3rd)

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Shane Cottle (17th to 7th)

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brent Beauchamp (22nd to 10th)

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Shane Cottle (22nd to 13th)

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Briggs Danner (16th to 8th)

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (21st to 3rd)

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley (20th to 13th)

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Emerson Axsom (21st to 8th)

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Kyle Jones (21st to 13th)

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Robert Ballou (14th to 3rd)

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins (15th to 5th)

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Matt Westfall (12th to 3rd)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Daison Pursley (18th to 10th)

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Kyle Cummins (21st to 10th)


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DIRT DRAFT FASTEST HOT LAPS DRIVER

Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Kyle Cummins

Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Chase Stockon

Apr 8: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Jake Swanson

Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Jadon Rogers

May 5: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon

May 6: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – Kevin Thomas Jr.

May 24: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant

May 25: Circle City Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Emerson Axsom

Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull

Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jun 18: Action Track USA – N/A

Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Brady Bacon

Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Chase Stockon

Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Max Adams

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley

Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary

Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – Brady Bacon

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Robert Ballou

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Shane Cottle

Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Justin Grant

Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey

Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Brady Bacon

Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Robert Ballou

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Robert Ballou

Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Brady Bacon

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Jake Swanson

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon


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



ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS



ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS

1. [62 wins] Dave Darland

2. [53 wins] Brady Bacon

3. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow

4. [47 wins] Tracy Hines

5. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt

6. [45 wins] Larry Dickson & Justin Grant

8. [42 wins] Pancho Carter

9. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson

10. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen

11. [39 wins] Kevin Thomas Jr.

12. [37 wins] Robert Ballou & Sheldon Kinser

14. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler

16. [32 wins] Rollie Beale

17. [31 wins] Tyler Courtney

18. [30 wins] Chris Windom

19. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley

23. [26 wins] Tony Elliott & Dave Steele

25. [25 wins] Steve Butler, Jay Drake & Parnelli Jones

28. [23 wins] Roger McCluskey

29. [22 wins] Rick Hood, Bubby Jones, C.J. Leary & Sammy Sessions

33. [21 wins] Greg Weld

34. [18 wins] Kyle Cummins

35. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding

38. [16 wins] Damion Gardner & Jud Larson

40. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler

43. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup

47. [13 wins] Steve Chassey

48. [12 wins] Eric Gordon

49. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler

53. [10 wins] Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Logan Seavey, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson

58. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley

62. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana

66. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise

76. [6 wins] Emerson Axsom, Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Shane Cottle, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider, Jake Swanson & Dick Tobias

87. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Derek Davidson, Gene Lee Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Chuck Gurney, Shane Hmiel, Kevin Huntley, Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Jim Mahoney, Andy Michner, Johnny Parsons, Bill Puterbaugh, Tanner Thorson & Cole Whitt

104. [4 wins] Rob Chaney, Cary Faas, Jesse Hockett, Van Johnson, Steve Kinser, Michael Lewis, Ralph Liguori, Don Nordhorn, Lee Osborne, Red Riegel, Ken Schrader, Al Smith & Danny Smith

117. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mitchel Moles, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang

139. [2 wins] Chad Boat, Marvin Carman, Ed Carpenter, Brad Doty, Ed Elisian, Nic Faas, Cy Fairchild, Brad Fox, Arnie Knepper, Danny Lasoski, Mack McClellan, Jason McDougal, James McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Jim McWithey, Danny Milburn, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Jerry Poland, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Mickey Shaw, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Brad Sweet, Bob Sweikert, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Mike Spencer, Bud Tingelstad, Billy Vukovich, Mike Ward, Matt Westfall & Carl Williams

173. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, Ryan Bernal, Jeff Bland Jr., Stan Bowman, Alan Brown, Karl Busson, Johnny Capels, David Cardey, Bob Cicconi, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Duke Cook, Mel Cornett, Allen Crowe, Billy Engelhart, Cotton Farmer, Aaron Farney, Gary Fedewa, Blake Fitzpatrick, Pat Flaherty, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Rickie Gaunt, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Ron Gregory, Richard Griffin, Garrett Hansen, Jerry Hansen, Jim Hemmings, Josh Hodges, Bob Hogle, Jackie Howerton, Chuck Hulse, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Gordon Johncock, Chet Johnson, Page Jones, Bob Kinser, Mike Kirby, Fred Linder, Steve Long, Hank Lower, Brett Mann, Bobby Marshman, Larry Martin, Mike Martin, Brad Marvel, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Bob McCoy, Jim McElreath, Charlie Musselman, Bobby Olivero, Jim Packard, Gary Patterson, Billy Pauch, Dave Peperak, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Bud Randall, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Rodney Ritter Jr., Brody Roa, David Roahrig, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Billy Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Smokey Snellbaker, Wib Spalding, Greg Staab, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Mike Sweeney, Jeff Swindell, Clark Templeman, Tyler Thomas, Bill Tyler, Rick Ungar, Lennie Waldo, Tyler Walker, Scotty Weir, Kenny Weld, Bob Wente, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth


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



ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-PRESENT)

1. (65) Tom Bigelow

2. (62) Dave Darland

3. (60) Tracy Hines

4. (49) Brady Bacon

5. (45) C.J. Leary

6. (39) Levi Jones

7. (37) Larry Dickson

8. (36) Bryan Clauson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

10. (35) Rich Vogler

11. (33) Justin Grant

12. (32) Chase Stockon

13. (31) Sheldon Kinser

14. (30) Pancho Carter

15. (29) Don Branson

16. (27) Dave Steele

17. (26) Jay Drake

18. (24) Gary Bettenhausen & J.J. Yeley

20. (23) Jon Stanbrough

21. (22) Steve Butler

22. (21) A.J. Foyt

23. (20) Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott & Roger McCluskey

26. (19) Greg Weld

27. (18) Parnelli Jones

28. (16) Rollie Beale, Jack Hewitt & Doug Kalitta

31. (15) Kenny Irwin Jr., Sammy Sessions & Brian Tyler

34. (14) Billy Cassella, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins & Damion Gardner

38. (13) Bobby East & Bruce Walkup

40. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom

47. (11) Robert Ballou, Jim McWithey & George Snider

50. (10) Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise, Thomas Meseraull, Mitchel Moles & Jake Swanson

55. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise

58. (8) Shane Cottle, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O’Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Logan Seavey

64. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, Johnny Parsons, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser

80. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath & Ken Schrader

89. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley & Kevin Thomas

100. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith, Brad Sweet & Bob Wente

120. (3) Tommy Astone, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Dave Blaney, Karl Busson, Kevin Doty, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Gary Gray, John Heydenreich, Gordon Johncock, Greg Leffler, Andy Linden, Steve Long, Larry Martin, Justin Marvel, Jason McCord, Larry Moore, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Lee Osborne, Brandon Petty, Jerry Poland, Bob Pratt, Jadon Rogers, Brady Short, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Dean Thompson, Dick Tobias, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & John Wolfe

154. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Chad Boat, Keith Bloom Jr., Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Brayden Fox, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Jason McDougal, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Fred “Jiggs” Peters, Daison Pursley, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson

199. (1) Pat Abold, Donnie Adams, Bobby Adamson, Mark Alderson, Chuck Amati, Chuck Arnold, Dick Atkins, Terry Babb, Joe Barzda, Ryan Bernal, Nick Bilbee, Lee Brewer Jr., Bill Brown, Dale Burton, Gary Cameron, Larry Cannon, Billy Cantrell, Dana Carter, Rob Chaney, Bob Cicconi, Bob Cleberg, Leon Clum, Peter Cozzolino, Briggs Danner, Don Davis, Doc Dawson, Brad Doty, Steven Drevicki, Rex Easton, Al “Cotton” Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Jared Fox, Joe Gaerte, Harry Garrett, Rickie Gaunt, Chuck Gurney, Norm Hall, Jerry Hansen, Brian Hayden, Jonathan Hendrick, Hank Henry, Tyler Hewitt, Ted Hines, Jesse Hockett, Bob Hogle, Danny Holtsclaw, Kevin Huntley, Gary Irvin, Mike Johnson, Dee Jones, Page Jones, Todd Kane, Ray Kenens Jr., Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Buddy Kofoid, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael Lewis, Ricky Lewis, John Logan, Ed Lynch Jr., Critter Malone, Louie Mann, Mike Mann, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, Nick McCormick, Wes McIntyre, Bob McLean, Blake Miller, Jerry Miller Jr., Ron Milton, Hal Minyard, Matt Mitchell, Warren Mockler, Mike Mosley, Mike Murgoitio, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Gary Ponzini, Ande Possman, Roger Rager, Davey Ray, Rex Records, Jerry Richert Jr., Red Riegel, Travis Rilat, Manny Rockhold, Hank Rogers, Bill Rose, Joe Roush, Jerry Russell, Bobby Santos, Don Schilling, John Sernett, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Dean Shirley, Eric Shively, Randy Smith, Wib Spalding, Ned Spath, Greg Staab, Steve Stapp, Richard Summers, Bob Sweikert, Jeff Swindell, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Tom Tepe, Leon Thickstun, Ryan Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Tony Weyant, Austin Williams, Rip Williams, Eddie Wirth & Mitch Wissmiller


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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:

1956: Pat O'Connor (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern), 1957: Elmer George (Midwest) & Bill Randall (Eastern), 1958: Eddie Sachs (Midwest) & Johnny Thomson (Eastern), 1959: Don Branson (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern), 1960: Parnelli Jones (Midwest) & A.J. Foyt (Eastern), 1961: Parnelli Jones, 1962: Parnelli Jones, 1963: Roger McCluskey, 1964: Don Branson, 1965: Johnny Rutherford, 1966: Roger McCluskey, 1967: Greg Weld, 1968: Larry Dickson, 1969: Gary Bettenhausen, 1970: Larry Dickson, 1971: Gary Bettenhausen, 1972: Sammy Sessions, 1973: Rollie Beale, 1974: Pancho Carter, 1975: Larry Dickson, 1976: Pancho Carter, 1977: Sheldon Kinser, 1978: Tom Bigelow, 1979: Greg Leffler, 1980: Rich Vogler, 1981: Sheldon Kinser, 1982: Sheldon Kinser, 1983: Ken Schrader, 1984: Rick Hood, 1985: Rick Hood, 1986: Steve Butler, 1987: Steve Butler, 1988: Steve Butler, 1989: Rich Vogler, 1990: Steve Butler, 1991: Robbie Stanley, 1992: Robbie Stanley, 1993: Robbie Stanley, 1994: Doug Kalitta, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Brian Tyler, 1997: Brian Tyler, 1998: Tony Elliott, 1999: Dave Darland, 2000: Tony Elliott, 2001: J.J. Yeley, 2002: Tracy Hines, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Jay Drake, 2005: Levi Jones, 2006: Josh Wise, 2007: Levi Jones, 2008: Jerry Coons Jr., 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Shane Hmiel (Pavement), 2011: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Bobby Santos (Pavement), 2012: Bryan Clauson, 2013: Bryan Clauson, 2014: Brady Bacon, 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Brady Bacon, 2017: Chris Windom, 2018: Tyler Courtney, 2019: C.J. Leary, 2020: Brady Bacon, 2021: Brady Bacon, 2022: Justin Grant


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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:

1961: Sterling Plumbing & Heating, 1962: Bruce Homeyer, 1963: Bruce Homeyer, 1964: Jud Phillips, 1965: Jack Colvin, 1966: Anderson Products, 1967: Rufus Gray, 1968: Ray Smith, 1969: Willie Davis, 1970: Kenny Lay, 1971: Willie Davis, 1972: Mauri Amerling, 1973: R-B Racing Associates, 1974: Conger & Stapp Racing, 1975: Ernie Ensign, 1976: Steve Stapp Racing, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Sherman Armstrong, 1979: Lloyd Weaver, 1980: Gohr Distributing Co., 1981: Ben Leyba, 1982: Ben Leyba, 1983: Damon Fortune, 1984: Damon Fortune, 1985: Damon Fortune, 1986: Phil Poor, 1987: Jeff Stoops, 1988: Jeff Stoops, 1989: Dynamics, Inc., 1990: Johnny Vance Racing Team, Inc., 1991: Ron Stanley, 1992: Dynamics, Inc., 1993: Dynamics, Inc., 1994: Utopia Services, Inc., 1995: Niebel Engines, Inc., 1996: Dynamics, Inc., 1997: Dynamics, Inc., 1998: Vance-Walker Racing, 1999: Dynamics, Inc., 2000: Walker-Lamers Racing, 2001: Walker-Gratton Racing, 2002: Dynamics, Inc., 2003: Tony Stewart Racing, 2004: Dynamics, Inc., 2005: 2B Racing, 2006: Tony Stewart Racing, 2007: Tony Stewart Racing, 2008: Dynamics, Inc., 2009: Tony Stewart Racing, 2010: Tony Stewart Racing, 2011: Tony Stewart Racing, 2012: CTR/BCI/Curb-Agajanian, 2013: Tony Stewart Racing/Curb-Agajanian, 2014: Dynamics, Inc., 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Dynamics, Inc., 2017: Baldwin Brothers Racing, 2018: Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, 2019: Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, 2020: Dynamics, Inc., 2021: Dynamics, Inc., 2022: TOPP Motorsports


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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

1971: Darl Harrison, 1972: Billy Cassella, 1973: Rich Leavell, 1974: Lee Osborne, 1975: Marvin Carman, 1976: Roger Rager, 1977: Eddie Leavitt, 1978: Tim Richmond, 1979: Jerry Carman, 1980: Frank Riddle, 1981: Steve Long & Johnny Coogan, 1982: Danny Milburn, 1983: Dean Shirley, 1984: Jerry Russell, 1985: Terry Shepherd, 1986: Kenny Jacobs, 1987: Rick Ungar, 1988: Dean Jacobs, 1989: Eric Gordon, 1990: Rick Howerton, 1991: Tony Stewart, 1992: Gary Cameron II, 1993: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1994: Bobby Smith, 1995: Mark Cassella, 1996: Gus Wasson, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Tracy Hines, 1999: Ryan Newman, 2000: Bud Kaeding, 2001: Ed Carpenter, 2002: Boston Reid, 2003: Michael Lewis & Mat Neely, 2004: Josh Ford & Josh Wise, 2005: Darren Hagen, 2006: Scotty Weir, 2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2008: Chad Boat, 2009: Henry Clarke, 2010: Justin Grant, 2011: Coleman Gulick, 2012: C.J. Leary, 2013: Tyler Courtney, 2014: Jarett Andretti, 2015: Aaron Farney, 2016: Isaac Chapple, 2017: Stevie Sussex, 2018: Timmy Buckwalter & Logan Seavey, 2019: Dustin Clark, 2020: Jadon Rogers, 2021: Tanner Thorson, 2022: Emerson Axsom

 

 

FOR DAISON PURSLEY,

THE RED DIRT OF OKLAHOMA IS HOME

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Meeker, Oklahoma (October 24, 2023)………Daison Pursley has a box full of fond memories of Red Dirt Raceway.

He grew up racing and winning in the micro sprint division at the Meeker, Okla. dirt oval, located just a tick under two hours from his native Locust Grove, Okla. Despite now residing in Brownsburg, Ind., for all intents and purposes, Red Dirt Raceway is home for the driver who just turned 19 years old over the weekend.

To date, the most monumental victory of Pursley’s USAC racing career came at Red Dirt. In July of 2021, Pursley notched a NOW600 Micro Sprint win, and several minutes later that same night, picked up his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship win at the 1/4-mile.

Now two years removed from that night, and a significant spinal injury that sidelined for nearly the entire 2022 season, Pursley is now back on track and setting his focus on earning a first career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship points-paying race triumph this weekend. And it very well could happen right at home.

Pursley is set to wheel his KO Motorsports/Hutson John Deere – S & C Machine – Peterbilt/Flea RC/J & D Chevy at Red Dirt for two consecutive nights of racing on Friday-Saturday, October 27-28, with a chance at pulling off a feat so few others have accomplished in the 68-year history of USAC racing.

Just six drivers have earned both their first USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget points-paying event wins at the same track: Bob Hogle (Ascot Park), Bobby Unser (Ascot Park), Gary Patterson (Ascot Park), Jack Hewitt (Eldora Speedway), Mack McClellan (Illiana Motor Speedway) and Mike Bliss (Indianapolis Raceway Park).

Only California’s Hogle and Patterson were able to achieve both accolades in their respective home states as did Ohio’s Jack Hewitt. It’s something that Pursley is keen on seeing through with two opportunities this weekend on back-to-back nights.

Back in 2021, Pursley was a burgeoning talent on the midget racing scene and emerged with his first series win in what was his 47th career start for the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team. This weekend, Red Dirt will mark Pursley’s 39th and 40th career USAC National Sprint Car starts, getting right into the sweet spot of "winning time" just as he did two years earlier.

“I feel like it helped kickstart my career and just told me that I could do this at the national level and that I could maybe be pretty good at it one day,” Pursley reflected. “It was a trying time. You question yourself on whether you can do it and if you’re good enough. Finally, all the stars aligned that night.”

Going even further back, Pursley reflected on the journey leading up to his USAC national break. He grew up as a fan of home state micro sprint heroes Frank Flud, Chris Andrews and Jason McDougal, drivers whom Pursley would eventually race with, and ultimately, go on to defeat from time to time.

Pursley himself became a standout on the NOW600 micro sprint trail, which included a heavy dose of Oklahoma venues such as Red Dirt Raceway, Port City Raceway, Creek County Speedway and I-44 Riverside Speedway. By 2017, he was a USAC champion in the Restricted 600 Micro class.

“On Friday nights, we’d always go up there (to Red Dirt) with my dad, my mom and me, and we’d go racing,” Pursley recalled. “Going up and down the road with your family is something I’ll always cherish and sometimes, kind of miss. You’re just a young kid who doesn’t have any stress in the world, just trying to make a name for yourself in the racing world and trying to make your parents proud. That’s why it was extremely special to finally knock off that first USAC National Midget win at Red Dirt.”

Pursley discovered early on that Red Dirt fit his driving style with a number of wins. However, with the track's confines being a little big on the micro side, Pursley readily admitted he didn’t run the top often, but sure does have a lot of laps running the bottom.

Pursley’s Rookie year on the USAC National Sprint Car trail has had its fair share of highs, tests and learning curves to face. On the opening weekend of the 2023 season in February, he claimed a feature victory in a non-points special event on the half-mile of Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.

In all, he’s accumulated three top-fives in 2023 USAC Sprint points-paying races with bests of second at Williams Grove, third at Port Royal and fifth at Lawrenceburg, and at 11th in the overall standings, is well on his way to collecting Rookie of the Year honors.

Yet a win on his home “turf” this weekend would certainly put the icing on the cake for a solid first season as a USAC National Sprint Car competitor.

“We’ve been in contention to win these races,” Pursley acknowledged. “I just feel like we haven’t been able to put a full night together whether that’s qualifying badly, missing the heat race transfer, then feeling really good in the feature despite starting too far back. We’ve had a really strong Rookie season with a whole lot of firsts. Non-wing sprint cars are animals that we’re trying to tame, and I feel like I’ve done an okay job. Sometimes I feel like I show up and kind of forget what I’m doing, and I feel like a complete Rookie again. It would just be pretty special to cap off that season with a win in my home state.”


UPCOMING RACE DETAILS:

USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints) will compete at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for two consecutive nights of competition on Friday-Saturday, October 27-28. Sport Modifieds/B-Mods and Non-Wing Micros will comprise Friday night’s program while Factory Stocks and Non-Wing Micros will be on hand for Saturday night’s event.

A practice night will begin the weekend on Thursday, October 26, from 6:30-9pm Central. Grandstand admission is free while pit passes are $20 apiece.

On Friday, pit gates open at 2pm central with the grandstands opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following. On Saturday, pit gates open at noon central with the grandstands opening at 4pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

General admission tickets are $30 on Friday and $35 on Saturday. High school students and younger are $10. Tickets are available online at www.reddirtraceway.com under the “Buy Tickets” tab and will be sold the day of the show as well.

All access passes (pit access & general admission seating) are available as well for $40 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are $10. The tailgate area is $175 per carload (up to 8 people per car).

 

 

HISTORY MADE:

KAYLEE BRYSON IS USAC SILVER CROWN

RACING’S TOP ROOKIE IN 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 19, 2023)………At the outset of the 2023 USAC Silver Crown National Championship season, Kaylee Bryson’s primary goal was to capture Rookie of the Year honors.

At the conclusion of the year, that goal has been realized as the Muskogee, Okla. driver earned a fifth place finish in the series standings to be named USAC Silver Crown racing’s top Rookie.

In doing so, she became just the second driver in the past decade of USAC Silver Crown competition to finish inside the top-five of the standings and also be named Rookie of the Year (Logan Seavey in 2021).

As one of just five drivers to start all 11 series feature events in 2023, Bryson became the first Oklahoman to be named USAC Silver Crown’s top Rookie and the first woman to earn Rookie of the Year honors with a national division in the 68-year history of the United States Auto Club.

Obviously, she is recognized as a competitor first and foremost, just like anybody else. But it is important to acknowledge the achievement of breaking barriers by ascending to the heights of becoming the first woman to win a USAC National Rookie of the Year, but also becoming the first woman to finish inside the top-five of the point standings in a USAC National series.

“I didn’t even realize I was the first to do it,” Bryson acknowledged. “It’s always cool to have your name on a record, for sure. It’s something that will be remembered forever, so it’s very cool to be the first to do it.”

Bryson led the Rookie points for all but one of the 11 events throughout the season, earning top-10 finishes in six of the events and was the top Rookie finishing driver in four races, grabbing 8th at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks, a 7th at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, a season-best 6th at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway and another 7th in the season finale at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Of note, another aspect that Bryson made a prime concern was taking care of equipment. In fact, she was running at the finish in 10 of the 11 events with only a broken rocker arm ending their string in September at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds, all of which aided in her top-five point pursuit, which trailed only Logan Seavey, Kody Swanson, Justin Grant and C.J. Leary in the end-of-year standings, all of whom are USAC national champions.

“The goal was to win Rookie of the Year, but we always wanted to do more than that,” Bryson explained. “It felt really good to get fifth in points and it just goes to show how good of a team we have. My entire team works so hard behind the scenes and is so dedicated, and I’m glad that it showed. The top-four guys in front of me in the points are extremely good at what they do and they’re really good drivers who’ve done it for a really long time. To be in the top-five with them feels amazing and I’m just really proud of my team and thankful for all their support.”

Bryson got her feet wet with the series in 2022, starting four events toward the end of the campaign, which allowed her to gain some experience and make some notes all while retaining her Rookie status for 2023. Already possessing seat time on dirt and pavement with the series and returning with the same team helped her gain a slight edge on her competition so that they could hit the ground running in their Sam Pierce/AP Driver Development – Logical Systems, Inc. – RE Technologies – Welsch Heating & Cooling – Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems McGunnegil Chevy with a Maxim chassis on the dirt and a Beast on the pavement.

“I think just getting in the seat and getting laps was huge for me,” Bryson reflected. “I went from midgets to Silver Crown this year where the cars are way bigger and way faster and race on way bigger tracks. It was helpful to get that experience and be able to plan ahead of time while having an offseason to think about it and plan out what I was going to do for the next season.”

The jump from her initial four races to a full 11-race slate between 2022 and the start of 2023 was a major step in the learning process. But the curve from her first outing in 2022 to the end of 2023 saw major strides in numerous areas of her racing acumen. Not to mention, she was amid the beginning stages of her transition from a full dirt schedule to a mix of both pavement and dirt surfaces from race-to-race. However, she had some support in the form of a veteran team and driver coach, both of whom possess more than two decades of experience in the series.

“The biggest thing for me was learning how to manage tires and learning how to drive on pavement,” Bryson stated. “I grew up racing on dirt, so running a series that races on both dirt and pavement was a huge step for me and a huge learning curve. Being able to get comfortable on pavement and learn how to pass cars and qualify well felt like the biggest barrier I had to overcome this year to get fifth in points. My team did a great job teaching me all year and Aaron Pierce did an amazing job as my driver coach. He has so much experience under his belt, and for him to be able to relay what he knows and teach me, was really huge for us.”

Speaking of passing cars, few drivers advanced more positions throughout the 2023 season than Bryson who passed 47 cars, third most in the series. Twice, she gained the most spots in a single race. At Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway, she traveled 15th to 8th, and at Winchester, she powered from 13th to 7th. Even more impressively, it was her first visit to either track, and to add to it, both occurred on pavement surfaces. However, despite all that, she used her multitude of dirt experience to assist her in adapting and succeeding.

“I think (passing cars on pavement) kind of helped from the dirt side of things and I always knew that there was another line to choose,” Bryson said. “Coming out on the pavement, I didn’t have a lot of experience, but I do know that you’re not going to pass a car by following them. We just tried what we could and ended up working for us.”

In fact, the pavement was where she excelled. Her four best results of the season came on pavement. Learning is a natural part of the progression of a racing career, but excelling while learning at the same time is an experience that is difficult to achieve. But Bryson managed to accomplish it.

“Most of the pavement races I went to, I had a blast,” Bryson exclaimed. “At places like Winchester, WWT Raceway and IRP, I had so much fun this year just learning to drive on pavement. In May at IRP, I wasn’t good in qualifying, but by the end of the year, I was two seconds faster than I was at the beginning of the year. So, we’re just constantly improving. I had so much fun racing on the pavement this year, getting faster and passing cars. It’s just so much fun to learn as you go on.”


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 447 Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.

2. 334 Trey Burke, Alvin, Texas

3. 245 Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, Okla.

4. 177 Chase Dietz, York, Pa.

5. 172 Dakoda Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.

6. 160 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

7. 155 Tyler Roahrig, Plymouth, Ind.

8. 135 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

9. 71 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

10. 55 Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.

11. 44 Tim Simmons, Cabot, Ark.

12. 37 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

13. 37 Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

14. 32 Mark Bitner, Columbus, N.J.

15. 27 Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, Calif.

16. 25 John Tosti, High Ridge, Mo.

17. 23 Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, Okla.

18. 20 Zach Hampton, Clayton, Ind.

19. 17 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz.

20. 10 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

21. 10 Gary Dunkle, Lincoln, Neb.

22. 10 Cary Oliver, Buncombe, Ill.

23. 10 Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind.


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1981: Jack Hewitt

1982: Keith Kauffman

1983: Rick Hood

1984: Dave Blaney

1985: Steve Butler

1986: Kenny Jacobs

1987: Jeff Swindell

1988: Gene Lee Gibson

1989: Jimmy Sills

1990: Eric Gordon

1991: Stevie Reeves

1992: Jim Keeker

1993: Randy Tolsma

1994: Kenny Irwin Jr.

1995: Chuck Leary

1996: Ryan Newman

1997: Jimmy Kite

1998: Todd Kane

1999: Paul White

2000: Kasey Kahne

2001: Aaron Fike

2002: Matt Westfall

2003: Ron Gregory

2004: Aaron Pierce

2005: Josh Wise

2006: Mat Neely

2007: Cameron Dodson

2008: Steve Arpin

2009: Kody Swanson

2010: Bryan Clauson

2011: Kyle Larson

2012: Kyle Hamilton

2013: Chris Windom

2014: Caleb Armstrong

2015: C.J. Leary

2016: Casey Shuman

2017: Joss Moffatt

2018: Kyle Robbins

2019: Derek Bischak

2020: Bryan Gossel

2021: Logan Seavey

2022: Gregg Cory

2023: Kaylee Bryson

 

 

ORANGE FOR OSBORNE!

TALL TREY GETS USAC SPRINT CAR RIDE

WITH BALDWIN-FOX

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 18, 2023)……..Throughout the racing season, Trey Osborne’s living quarters have consisted of a rented one car garage with a mattress on the floor to sleep on.

The confines are cramped, and with him being 6’8” tall, space is few and far between. As a matter of fact, his racecar and his sleeping quarters overlap. In fact, hovering over his head as he lies on his mattress each night is the tail tank of his own sprint car.

Now, the Columbus, Ohio native has become a hired gun on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour and will contest the final two events of the 2023 season in the Baldwin-Fox Racing No. 5 on October 27-28 at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway.

Baldwin-Fox Racing captured the 2017 USAC National Sprint Car entrant championship and has won 22 career feature events with the series. The 20-year-old Osborne has been running his own operation on his own dime but has recently found himself hired for full-time duty with a winning USAC Silver Crown series team and now has a shot with a team who has had its share of success on the USAC National Sprint Car circuit.

“It means a lot just to be trusted with it because these cars aren’t cheap,” Osborne explained. “But at the same time, it’s pretty nice to be able to run someone else’s stuff. Ken (Baldwin) has a lot more resources, more parts and pieces and funding than what I can possibly do with my own stuff. I’m really excited to see what we can do before the end of the year.”

In recent weeks, the team has acquired brand-new tall-cage DRC chassis, which Osborne has promptly assembled. Osborne, who works on the southeast side of Indianapolis at a Caterpillar dealership, has made several back-and-forth one hour and 15-minute trips, each way, to and from the Baldwin-Fox shop in West Lafayette, Ind.

“The first day I came up here, he pretty much told me, ‘here’s the shop and here’s where the tools are; here’s our racecars; build them and we’ll go racing,’” Osborne laid out. “I’ve built a primary and a backup car for Red Dirt, so I’ve gotten them together how I like them, and we’ll see what we can do with them. He bought tall cage cars, which is pretty awesome, and it helps me out a lot.”

Though the physical address is a tad different, Osborne’s role remains practically the same as it always has – build, maintain and race. But the wealth of elements he now has at his fingertips in the Baldwin-Fox shop are a game changer.

“My duty is as a driver, but it also involves the same things as it was before with me building everything,” Osborne stated. “Just newer parts, newer cars, nicer parts and engines, and more tools that make it easier to do the work too, plus a big wide-open shop. So, it’s been an interesting change. I sleep under the tail tank of my own car at a garage. To go from that to this is pretty wild.”

Osborne has plans soon to move to the West Lafayette area, but in many ways, has already made his home at the shop as he continuously prepares his new orange-colored racecars for battle. However, his first USAC events for the Baldwin-Fox team include a venue far away from any place he’s ever called home. In fact, it will be the furthest he’s ever traveled to compete in an event.

“This will definitely be the furthest I’ve gone to race anything,” Osborne revealed of the October 27-28 events at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway. “Before this, Michigan was the furthest away and that was with quarter midgets. I’ve been down south before but not to go racing. I watched the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals a few years ago down in Oklahoma, but this will be different.”

Osborne, who’s won twice on the local Indiana scene during his first full season of sprint car racing in 2023 – twice at Paragon Speedway and once at Gas City I-69 Speedway – has turned heads throughout the season and instantly gained a groundswell of new fans with his performances during August’s Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo Speedway. Now, the 2018 USSA Kenyon Midget series champion is ready to tackle a new venture once more at Red Dirt where not only he, but the entire USAC National Sprint Car competitor base, will be making its debut with the series at the 1/4-mile dirt oval.

“Just looking at pictures of the track and the video that I can find, it looks like it’s roughly similar to something we might have at some of the tracks in Indiana,” Osborne contrasted and compared. “It looks like it could be something that’s similar to a Gas City or Kokomo, that sort of racing style I guess.”


UPCOMING RACE DETAILS:

USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints) will compete at Meeker, Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway for two consecutive nights of competition on Friday-Saturday, October 27-28. Sport Modifieds/B-Mods and Non-Wing Micros will comprise Friday night’s program while Factory Stocks and Non-Wing Micros will be on hand for Saturday night’s event.

A practice night will begin the weekend on Thursday, October 26, from 6:30-9pm Central. Grandstand admission is free while pit passes are $20 apiece.

On Friday, pit gates open at 2pm central with the grandstands opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following. On Saturday, pit gates open at noon central with the grandstands opening at 4pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

General admission tickets are $30 on Friday and $35 on Saturday. High school students and younger are $10. Tickets are available online at www.reddirtraceway.com under the “Buy Tickets” tab and will be sold the day of the show as well.

All access passes (pit access & general admission seating) are available as well for $40 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only. Pit passes for ages 5 & under are $10. The tailgate area is $175 per carload (up to 8 people per car).

 

 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

FOR USAC’S NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS ON DEC. 8

You are invited to the 2023 USAC Night of Champions!

Join us at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis on Friday, December 8, to honor and recognize USAC’s 2023 champions and special award recipients. Cocktail hour will begin at 6pm Eastern with the opening ceremonies starting at 6:30pm followed by dinner and the awards ceremony.

Please RSVP your ticket online at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2023-night-of-champions. The RSVP deadline is Friday, December 1. Ticket prices will increase after that date. All tickets will be available for pick up at the Indiana Roof Ballroom on Friday night, December 8.

Night of Champions tickets are $75 apiece and include entry to the reception and dinner, plus two (2) drinks with each ticket. Childrens tickets are $40 each.

There will be no charge to attend the USAC .25 awards banquet, which will take place at 2pm Eastern on Friday, December 8, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. Light food and drinks will be served. This ticket is not valid for the Night of Champions event. Each National .25 Midget champion will receive one champion banner. Additional banners can be purchased for $25 each.

For all questions, please contact Nikki Klepper at nikki@usacnation.com.


WHAT: 68th Annual USAC Night of Champions

WHEN: Friday, December 8, 2023 – Cocktails at 6:00pm Eastern & Opening Ceremonies at 6:30pm Eastern

WHERE: Indiana Roof Ballroom, Indianapolis, Indiana – 140 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204

RSVP: By December 1, 2023 (Prices increase after this date)


 

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM:

SEAVEY REACHES USAC SILVER CROWN

PINNACLE IN 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 16, 2023)………Leading into the USAC Silver Crown National Championship finale at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Logan Seavey’s co-car owners Robbie Rice and Brent Cox confided that sleep was going to be hard to come by as they counted down the days to the final race of the season.

Sutter, California’s Seavey and the Brownsburg/Noblesville, Indiana based Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing team’s anxiety was exacerbated when rain washed out the originally scheduled date after qualifying, postponing the event to the next day and providing the team 24 more hours of anticipation and increasingly bitten fingernails with one goal in mind – beat Kody.

Their respective uneasiness was completely understandable. Seavey and Rice played a starring role in the season finales during each of the past two years where they found themselves right on the cusp of a first championship, both of which involved their arch nemesis, seven-time champion Kody Swanson.

Seavey entered the last race of 2021 trailing Swanson by one point, and in 2022, stood three points ahead of Swanson going into the final round. On both occasions, Seavey and Rice came up just short when all was said and done, finishing a distant second as they watched Swanson add on to his historic resume.

In 2023, Seavey led once again, but this time, the point margin was 16. With the said, the venue of IRP is akin to homefield advantage for Swanson with him being a seven-time Silver Crown winner at the joint while Seavey was practically a newcomer, still learning the ropes of the asphalt trade. However, when the coast was clear after 100 laps and the points were tallied up, Seavey, Rice and Abacus were finally USAC Silver Crown champions.

Seavey’s sixth place run in the race aboard his DiaEdge Mitsubishi Materials - STIDA.com - CG CPAs sponsored machine was good enough to secure the championship by a seven-point margin over Swanson, making it the eighth closest USAC Silver Crown points race on record in the 53-year history of the series. While Abacus grabbed its first USAC title, it was the second for Rice Motorsports who earned the most entrant points back in 2021.

The three dirt wins by Seavey in 2023 met the expectations of the team’s desires as he scored at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, the Illinois State Fairgrounds as well as third consecutive victory in the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, a night in which he swept to victory in all three USAC divisions in the midget and sprint car. Overall, in five dirt starts, he never once finished outside the top-five.

However, the pavement tracks are truly where the tale would be told. Seavey answered resoundingly out of the gate and strung together a 2nd at IRP in May, a 4th at Illinois’ World Wide Technology Raceway, a pair of 5th place results at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway and Ohio’s Toledo Speedway, plus a 6th in the IRP finale in October. The performances exceeded his results from year’s past and kept him and Swanson neck-and-neck at the top of the points all year long.

“Right when we joined this series, the dirt races came right to me,” Seavey acknowledged. “I could run well in those, but the pavement is just a little bit of a different ballgame for me. Everyone knew that if we could pick it up on the pavement and be competitive, we’d have a good shot, and we did that a lot this year. We had good runs pretty much every time on the pavement except for Winchester when we crashed.”

The incident in July at Winchester was seemingly disastrous initially when Seavey’s right front wheel center broke, sending him straight into the outside turn two wall. A 12th place result for Seavey coupled with Swanson’s victory lifted Swanson to the point lead and left the Rice-Abacus team in a perilous position to fully prepare their equipment for another 100-lap test at Toledo two weeks later in a car that had just a handful of pieces that didn’t need replacing.

Among the backstories is that Abacus, which began competition in the USAC National Midget ranks in 2021, joined in on the Seavey/Rice Silver Crown effort to start the 2023 campaign. Following the accident, the two factions melded together with a common goal of tediously putting the car back together piece-by-piece and part-by-part.

With all hands on deck, there was little time to get everything back together with the sands of the hourglass running short. In the end, it was mission accomplished, and it was truly the moment when Rice Motorsports and Abacus Racing truly became one team, which was rewarded with another top-five run at Toledo.

“This whole team has just been working so hard,” Seavey praised. “The Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing guys work as hard as anybody I know. All these guys on all these teams work hard, but Winchester was tough for us, and just to get the car back together and in shape to race was huge.”

The Rice-Abacus crew included team principals Robbie Rice and Brent Cox, plus crewman/spotter Ronnie Gardner as well as Kirk Simpson, Johnny Cofer, Daniel Whitley, Bryan Whitley and engine builder A.J. Felker.

Fans familiar with the sport may recognize some of those names for their prowess behind the wheel as well in years past. Rice was the 1998 Lincoln Park Speedway sprint car track champion while Ronnie Gardner was a five-time USAC Western States Midget titlist. Cofer was crowned as the 1994 USAC Western States Midget champ and Felker was a longtime midget competitor himself, winning at such places as the Winchester Speedway high banks. Daniel Whitley is currently a Rookie driver on the USAC National Midget trail.

“It’s a full effort from everyone who works on this thing and gets it on track,” Seavey reiterated. “It means a lot to me that these guys work so hard so I can drive good racecars. We know our dirt car is really good and we could win some races there, but to beat Kody, we had to at least be competitive on the pavement and we were able to do that this year.”

Seavey also now finds himself in a spot to pocket a substantial amount of money in 2023 by winning two of the three USAC National driving championships. He currently leads the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings by 225 points with just six events remaining. If he is able to close out the midget title, he will “double” his overall reward.

His $20,000 payday for the Silver Crown championship coupled with a possible $30,000 prize for the midget crown would double his championship payout to $100,000 for the season. Not to mention, he’s now the proud owner of driving titles in two of USAC’s three national divisions. He already has a midget championship to his credit from 2018 and now has added on a Silver Crown title in 2023. Now he eyes a future sprint car championship in the coming years in order to make him the eighth USAC Triple Crown champion alongside Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris Windom.

“I love the USAC Silver Crown series, I love these racecars and I love everything about it,” Seavey exclaimed. “I’m just super, super happy to finally get one and now we’ve only got one championship left for the Triple Crown. I’ve got the Midget and the Silver Crown, so hopefully in the next year or two, I can go after a sprint car championship and try to grab one of those.”

Elsewhere during the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season, the series made a triumphant return to the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks for the first time since 2015. In the series’ opener, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) prevailed in a fantastic late race duel with Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), which ended with Grant upside down in the turn one fence.

In May, the Hoosier Hundred returned to the schedule, and was held for the first time on pavement at IRP. Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) scored the 146-lap, 100-mile victory after Kody Swanson fell out with a mechanical issue while leading on lap 116. The 146-lap distance was the longest in 12 years and the car count of 32 was the largest for a pavement USAC Silver Crown race in 18 years. Santos’ take-home pay of $26,000 was among the most lucrative in series history.

Kody Swanson became the first driver to reach 40 career USAC Silver Crown wins during a summer stretch in which he collected three consecutive victories at Madison, Winchester and Toledo, making it the fourth occasion in which he won at least three consecutive main events with the series. No other driver has more than one such streak.

Davey Hamilton Jr. (Boise, Idaho) and Legacy Autosport became first-time series winners on the same afternoon at WWT Raceway. On top of that, the team’s own in-house Legacy Chassis won its first ever race with the series, becoming the first chassis other than a Beast to win a pavement USAC Silver Crown race since Chet Fillip’s Tex-Mex 15 years earlier at Virginia’s Richmond International Raceway in 2008.

Justin Grant broke an 18-race string without a USAC Silver Crown win when he scored the annual Labor Day weekend Ted Horn 100 in early September at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds. Grant proceeded to become the first driver to win the race from the pole position since Shane Cottle did the deed 16 years earlier in 2007.

Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) took over the lead from Kody Swanson a quarter of the way through the season finale at IRP to earn a record eighth career USAC Silver Crown victory at IRP, which ranks number one all-time, breaking a tie he had held with his older brother atop the leaderboard.

Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) finished fifth in the Silver Crown standings which propelled her to earning Rookie of the Year honors with the series. By doing so, she became the first woman to be named Rookie of the Year in a USAC National series. Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) took seventh in points, marking the first time in USAC Silver Crown history that two women have finished inside the top-10 of the series standings.

Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) set an all-time record in October at IRP when he made his 213th career Silver Crown start dating back to 1989. Gamester now owns the record for most career series starts, breaking a tie he had held with Brian Tyler.

Logan Seavey and Kody Swanson tied for most wins in the series during the 2023 campaign with three apiece. Both also shared the series lead with nine top-five finishes in 11 series starts. Kody topped the series with 433 laps led and six fast qualifying times while Seavey finished inside the top-10 on a series-leading 10 occasions.

Five drivers started all 11 feature events in 2023: Kaylee Bryson, Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), Logan Seavey and Kody Swanson. Chase Dietz (York, Pa.) turned in a performance for the ages in his first career series start at Port Royal, finishing as the runner-up to Seavey.

Two drivers shared the biggest hard charging performance of the season. Series Rookie and longtime sprint car veteran Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) advanced 26th to 8th at Du Quoin. Meanwhile, in what was his first Silver Crown start in two years, Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) also went 26th to 8th at Eldora. Courtney’s duties came in a last-minute substitute role when the Chris Dyson Racing team’s driver, Brady Bacon, accidentally spilled methanol in his eye during a fueling mishap in the pits, swelling his eye shut.

A new incentive for lapped cars was implemented for the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season. The first car in the running order that has been lapped was issued an Engler Machine & Tool Fast Pass, granting that team one lap back as long as the car has not pitted or was involved in the most recent caution. Series veteran Dave Berkheimer earned five fast passes throughout the year and collected the $4,000 prize, divided up into $2,000 rewards for both the driver and car owner, which Berkheimer is both.

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) made his USAC Silver Crown debut in 2023, and can now stake his claim as the tallest driver to ever compete in an event with the series. The 6’8” tall redhead was a quick study, earning hard charger honors in the season finale at IRP when he raced from 19th to 12th.

Tommie Estes Jr., a name that has been a fixture in dirt track racing for over 45 years, was named Competition Director for USAC’s Silver Crown National Championship starting with the 2023 season. Estes had previously served as the Competition Director for both the ASCS National Sprint Tour and the Chili Bowl Nationals. For many years, Estes competed extensively in sprint car and midget racing, including with USAC’s National Midget and Silver Crown divisions and was a frequent competitor at the Chili Bowl and the Belleville Midget Nationals.


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:

Most Wins: 3-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson

Driver Champion: Logan Seavey

Entrant Champion: Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22

Rookie of the Year: Kaylee Bryson (5th)

Most Laps Led: 433-Kody Swanson

Most Top-Fives: 9-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson

Most Top-Tens: 10-Logan Seavey

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Kody Swanson

Most Feature Starts: 11-Kaylee Bryson, Trey Burke, Mario Clouser, Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson

Best Finish By A Rookie: Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Chase Dietz (2nd)

Most Positions Advanced in a Race: (18) Sep 2: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Wayne Johnson (26th to 8th) & Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Tyler Courtney (26th to 8th)


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS

May 20: (D) Belleville High Banks - Belleville, KS

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Chris Dyson Racing #9)

May 26: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - Brownsburg, IN

WINNER: Bobby Santos (DJ Racing #98)

Jun 17: (D) Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22)

Jun 23: (P) Madison International Speedway - Oregon, WI

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran-Binks Racing #77)

Jul 20: (P) Winchester Speedway - Winchester, IN

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran-Binks Racing #77)

Aug 5: (P) Toledo Speedway - Toledo, OH

WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran-Binks Racing #77)

Aug 19: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds - Springfield, IL

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22)

Aug 27: (P#) World Wide Technology Raceway - Madison, IL

WINNER: Davey Hamilton Jr. (Legacy Autosport #19)

Sep 2: (D#) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds - Du Quoin, IL

WINNER: Justin Grant (Hemelgarn Racing #91)

Sep 23: (D) Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22)

Oct 14: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - Brownsburg, IN

WINNER: Tanner Swanson (Bowman Racing #2)

------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------

(D) represents a dirt event

(P) represents a pavement event

# represents a daytime event


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 676 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

2. 669 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.

3. 561 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

4. 462 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

5. 447 (R) Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.

6. 441 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.

7. 399 Taylor Ferns, Shelby Township, Mich.

8. 382 Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass.

9. 382 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

10. 334 (R) Trey Burke, Alvin, Texas

11. 301 Travis Welpott, Pendleton, Ind.

12. 299 Derek Bischak, Angola, Ind.

13. 245 (R) Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, Okla.

14. 241 Kyle O'Gara, Beech Grove, Ind.

15. 237 Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind.

16. 220 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

17. 216 Davey Hamilton Jr., Boise, Idaho

18. 201 Dave Berkheimer, Mechanicsburg, Pa.

19. 195 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

20. 177 (R) Chase Dietz, York, Pa.

21. 176 Kyle Steffens, Saint Charles, Mo.

22. 173 Mike McVetta, Grafton, Ohio

23. 173 Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo.

24. 173 Gregg Cory, Shelbyville, Ind.

25. 172 (R) Dakoda Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.

26. 164 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz.

27. 160 (R) Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

28. 155 (R) Tyler Roahrig, Plymouth, Ind.

29. 144 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

30. 139 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.

31. 137 Billy Wease, Noblesville, Ind.

32. 137 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz.

33. 135 (R) Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

34. 135 Tom Paterson, Argos, Ind.

35. 129 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.

36. 125 Tanner Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.

37. 120 Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind.

38. 103 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

39. 97 Chris Fetter, Troy, Mo.

40. 95 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

41. 95 Casey Buckman, Chandler, Ariz.

42. 81 Davey Ray, Davenport, Iowa

43. 71 (R) Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

44. 71 Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill.

45. 70 Chris Urish, Elkhart, Ill.

46. 66 Patrick Bruns, Champaign, Ill.

47. 65 Jacob Wilson, Crawfordsville, Ind.

48. 61 Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo.

49. 55 (R) Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.

50. 53 Korey Weyant, Springfield, Ill.

51. 49 Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.

52. 49 Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Ind.

53. 49 Aaron Pierce, Muncie, Ind.

54. 44 (R) Tim Simmons, Cabot, Ark.

55. 37 (R) Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

56. 37 (R) Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

57. 35 Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, Pa.

58. 33 Brian Ruhlman, Clarklake, Mich.

59. 32 (R) Mark Bitner, Columbus, N.J.

60. 31 Steven Russell, Rochester, Ill.

61. 29 Mark Smith, Sunbury, Pa.

62. 27 (R) Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, Calif.

63. 27 A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Ill.

64. 25 (R) John Tosti, High Ridge, Mo.

65. 23 (R) Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, Okla.

66. 23 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Ind.

67. 20 (R) Zach Hampton, Clayton, Ind.

68. 19 Dallas Hewitt, Troy, Ohio

69. 17 (R) Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz.

70. 10 (R) Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

71. 10 Joss Moffatt, Columbus, Ind.

72. 10 (R) Gary Dunkle, Lincoln, Neb.

73. 10 (R) Cary Oliver, Buncombe, Ill.

74. 10 (R) Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind.

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


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION

1 676 Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#22)

2 669 Doran-Binks Racing, Lebanon, Ohio (#77)

3 561 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91)

4 462 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#6)

5 447 Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#26)

6 441 Kazmark Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#92)

7 399 Taylor Ferns Racing, Shelby Township, Mich. (#555)

8 392 Legacy Autosport, Pittsboro, Ind. (#19)

9 382 DJ Racing, Boca Raton, Fla. (#98)

10 376 BCR Group, South Vienna, Ohio (#81)

11. 308 Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG, Jamestown, Ind. (#11)

12. 301 Welpott Racing, Pendleton, Ind. (#18)

13. 299 Derek Bischak, Indianapolis, Ind. (#131)

14. 268 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#9)

15. 245 TwoC Racing, Liberal, Kan. (#12)

16. 241 SFHR Development, Indianapolis, Ind. (#67)

17. 237 Gamester Racing, Peru, Ind. (#51)

18. 220 Pink 69 Racing, Evansville, Ind. (#69)

19. 213 John Haggenbottom, Bristol, Pa. (#24)

20. 201 Berkheimer Racing, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (#31)

21. 196 Hans Lein, Edgerton, Wis. (#97)

22. 177 Bruce Lee, Abbottstown, Pa. (#86)

23. 176 Steffens Motorsports, Saint Charles, Mo. (#08)

24. 173 RAM Engineering, Waterford, Mich. (#94)

25. 173 Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo. (#06)

26. 173 Williams Racing, Saint Paul, Ind. (#32)

27. 172 C & A Motorsports, New Castle, Ind. (#5)

28. 160 Nolen Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#20)

29. 149 Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG, Jamestown, Ind. (#14)

30. 139 John Stehman, Halifax, Pa. (#52)

31. 137 Robert Wilson Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#60)

32. 135 Tom Paterson, Argos, Ind. (#111)

33. 125 Mike Bowman, Brownsburg, Ind. (#02)

34. 120 KR Racing, New Castle, Ind. (#7)

35. 118 Byrd Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#88)

36. 110 Hodges Motorsports, Albuquerque, N.M. (#74)

37. 97 Chris Fetter, Troy, Mo. (#15)

38. 95 DMW Motorsports, Chandler, Ariz. (#10)

39. 95 C-Buck Motorsports/Eddie Sachs Jr., Chandler, Ariz. (#25)

40. 83 Five Three Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#53)

41. 81 Cornell Racing Stables, Monee, Ill. (#8)

42. 71 Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill. (#2)

43. 70 Chris Urish, Lincoln, Ill. (#77)

44. 67 Westfall Racing, Pleasant Hill, Ohio (#54)

45. 66 Full Throttle Racing, Champaign, Ill. (#95)

46. 65 Wilson Brothers Racing, Crawfordsville, Ind. (#107)

47. 65 BLS Motorsports, Benton, Ill. (#71)

48. 62 Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#126)

49. 61 Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo. (#44)

50. 55 Wingo Brothers Racing, Pittsboro, Ind. (#118)

51. 53 Scott Weyant, Springfield, Ill. (#99)

52. 44 Tim Simmons, Cabot, Ark. (#3)

53. 37 Chip Thomas, Belleville, Ill. (#48)

54. 35 John Tosti, High Ridge, Mo. (#07)

55. 33 Brian Ruhlman, Clarklake, Mich. (#49)

56. 32 Henry Yeska, Columbus, N.J. (#4)

57. 31 McQuinn Motorsports, Springfield, Ill. (#14)

58. 29 L & M Motorsports, Sunbury, Pa. (#01)

59. 27 Patty Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill. (#55)

60. 27 DMW Motorsports, Chandler, Ariz. (#5)

61. 23 Goodnight Racing, Hartford City, Ind. (#39)

62. 20 Brad & Tara Armstrong, New Palestine, Ind. (#99)

63. 19 Dallas Hewitt, Fletcher, Ohio (#57)

64. 17 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz. (#29)

65. 10 A.J. Felker Racing, Jeffersonville, Ind. (#37)

66. 10 Gary Dunkle, Shirley, Ind. (#34)

67. 10 Cary Oliver, Buncombe, Ill. (#110)

68. 10 Dave Peperak Motorsports, Clinton, Ind. (#777)

69. 10 Sammy & Mouren Fetter, Bridgeton, Mo. (#88)


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 447 Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.

2. 334 Trey Burke, Alvin, Texas

3. 245 Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, Okla.

4. 177 Chase Dietz, York, Pa.

5. 172 Dakoda Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.

6. 160 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

7. 155 Tyler Roahrig, Plymouth, Ind.

8. 135 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

9. 71 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

10. 55 Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.

11. 44 Tim Simmons, Cabot, Ark.

12. 37 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

13. 37 Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

14. 32 Mark Bitner, Columbus, N.J.

15. 27 Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, Calif.

16. 25 John Tosti, High Ridge, Mo.

17. 23 Tanner Berryhill, Bixby, Okla.

18. 20 Zach Hampton, Clayton, Ind.

19. 17 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz.

20. 10 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

21. 10 Gary Dunkle, Lincoln, Neb.

22. 10 Cary Oliver, Buncombe, Ill.

23. 10 Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind.


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


RACE WINS:

3-Kody Swanson (Jun 23 at Madison International Speedway, Jul 20 at Winchester Speedway & Aug 5 at Toledo Speedway)

3-Logan Seavey (Jun 17 at Port Royal Speedway, Aug 19 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds & Sep 23 at Eldora Speedway)

1-Brady Bacon (May 20 at the Belleville High Banks)

1-Justin Grant (Sep 2 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds)

1-Davey Hamilton Jr. (Aug 27 at World Wide Technology Raceway)

1-Bobby Santos (May 26 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park)

1-Tanner Swanson (Oct 15 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park)


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


LAPS LED:

433-Kody Swanson

125-Logan Seavey

114-Justin Grant

84-C.J. Leary

77-Tanner Swanson

48-Davey Hamilton Jr.

46-Shane Cottle

31-Bobby Santos

9-Chase Dietz

8-Brady Bacon

1-Emerson Axsom


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


TOP-FIVE FINISHES:

9-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson

5-Justin Grant & Bobby Santos

4-Derek Bischak & C.J. Leary

2-Brady Bacon, Shane Cottle, Chase Dietz, Davey Hamilton Jr., Carmen Perigo & Tyler Roahrig

1-Emerson Axsom, Mario Clouser, Shane Cockrum, Taylor Ferns, Chase Stockon, Tanner Swanson & Matt Westfall


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


TOP-TEN FINISHES:

10-Logan Seavey

9-Kody Swanson

8-Justin Grant

7-Mario Clouser

6-Kaylee Bryson & C.J. Leary

5-Bobby Santos

4-Dakoda Armstrong, Derek Bischak & Taylor Ferns

3-Shane Cottle, Chase Dietz, Davey Hamilton Jr., Kyle O’Gara & Matt Westfall

2-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Trey Burke, Shane Cockrum, Jerry Coons Jr., Russ Gamester, Wayne Johnson, Carmen Perigo, Tyler Roahrig, Chase Stockon & Tanner Swanson

1-Caleb Armstrong, Nathan Byrd, Tyler Courtney, Mike McVetta, Mitchel Moles, Davey Ray, Kyle Steffens, Kevin Thomas Jr., Billy Wease & Jacob Wilson


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


FEATURE STARTS:

11-Kaylee Bryson, Trey Burke, Mario Clouser, Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson

10-Taylor Ferns, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary & Travis Welpott

9-Matt Westfall

8-Russ Gamester

7-Dave Berkheimer & Wayne Johnson

6-Derek Bischak, Gregg Cory, Kyle O'Gara, Tom Paterson, Bobby Santos & Kyle Steffens

5-Bryan Gossel, Davey Hamilton Jr., Mike McVetta & Chase Stockon

4-Dakoda Armstrong, Emerson Axsom, Nathan Byrd, Jerry Coons Jr., Shane Cottle, Mitchel Moles, Kyle Robbins & Billy Wease

3-Casey Buckman, Shane Cockrum, Chase Dietz, Chris Fetter, Patrick Lawson, Carmen Perigo, Tyler Roahrig, Jake Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-Brady Bacon, Patrick Bruns, Danny Long, Trey Osborne, Aaron Pierce, Davey Ray, Tanner Swanson, Ryan Thomas, Chris Urish & Korey Weyant

1-Caleb Armstrong, Tanner Berryhill, Mark Bitner, Alex Bright, Steve Buckwalter, Tyler Courtney, A.J. Fike, Matt Goodnight, Zach Hampton, Dallas Hewitt, Matt Mitchell, Nathan Moore, Brian Ruhlman, Steven Russell, Tim Simmons, Mark Smith, John Tosti, Jacob Wilson & Brent Yarnal


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


HONEST ABE ROOFING FAST QUALIFIERS BY RACE:

May 20: Belleville High Banks – Kody Swanson

May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bobby Santos

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Mitchel Moles

Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kody Swanson

Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kody Swanson

Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kody Swanson

Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey

Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Kody Swanson

Sep 2: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Justin Grant

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Justin Grant

Oct 14: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Kody Swanson


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



HONEST ABE ROOFING FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:

6-Kody Swanson

2-Justin Grant

1-Mitchel Moles, Bobby Santos & Logan Seavey


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


GREEN APU GREEN FLAG CHALLENGE FIRST LAP LEADER:

May 20: Belleville High Banks – Kody Swanson

May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Kody Swanson

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Kody Swanson

Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kody Swanson

Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kody Swanson

Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kody Swanson

Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Emerson Axsom

Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Logan Seavey

Sep 2: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – C.J. Leary

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Chase Dietz

Oct 15: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Kody Swanson


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


TOP ROOKIE FINISHER OF THE RACE:

May 20: Belleville High Banks – Kaylee Bryson (8th)

May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Tyler Roahrig (3rd)

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Chase Dietz (2nd)

Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Tyler Roahrig (3rd)

Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (7th)

Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (6th)

Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Emerson Axsom (5th)

Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Trey Burke (6th)

Sep 2: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Emerson Axsom (7th)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Chase Dietz (3rd)

Oct 15: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Kaylee Bryson (7th)


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


HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE:

May 20: Belleville High Banks – Chase Stockon (13th to 3rd)

May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bryan Gossel (27th to 11th)

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Steve Buckwalter (20th to 14th)

Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (15th to 8th)

Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (13th to 7th)

Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Taylor Ferns (17th to 8th)

Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Taylor Ferns (26th to 12th)

Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Justin Grant (9th to 3rd)

Sep 2: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Wayne Johnson (26th to 8th)

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Tyler Courtney (26th to 8th)

Oct 15: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Trey Osborne (19th to 12th)


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


DIRT DRAFT FASTEST PRACTICE DRIVER

May 20: Belleville High Banks – Brady Bacon

May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bobby Santos

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Kody Swanson

Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kody Swanson

Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kody Swanson

Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kody Swanson

Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Justin Grant

Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Kody Swanson

Sep 2: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Shane Cottle

Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary

Oct 15: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bobby Santos


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STATS

ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:

1. [40 wins] Kody Swanson

2. [23 wins] Jack Hewitt

3. [18 wins] Brian Tyler

4. [16 wins] Dave Steele

5. [15 wins] J.J. Yeley

6. [14 wins] Dave Darland & Chuck Gurney

8. [12 wins] Bobby Santos & Jimmy Sills

10. [11 wins] Bobby East

11. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Mike Bliss & Tanner Swanson

14. [9 wins] Tracy Hines

15. [8 wins] Logan Seavey & Chris Windom

17. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood & George Snider

20. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader & Al Unser

26. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Shane Cockrum, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser & Larry Rice

36. [4 wins] Kyle Larson, Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler

39. [3 wins] Brady Bacon, Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, C.J. Leary, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker & Paul White

56. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Larry Dickson, Billy Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Whitt, Josh Wise & Doug Wolfgang

70. [1 win] Teddy Beach, Christopher Bell, Jeff Bloom, David Byrne, Marvin Carman, Shane Carson, Bob Cicconi, Herb Copeland, Bruce Field, Aaron Fike, Chet Fillip, Bob Frey, Eric Gordon, Davey Hamilton Jr., Kyle Hamilton, John Heydenreich, Gary Hieber, Shane Hmiel, Shane Hollingsworth, Jimmy Horton, Jackie Howerton, Kevin Huntley, Kenny Jacobs, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Jimmy Kite, Chuck Leary, Eddie Leavitt, Jason McCord, Jim McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Mat Neely, Brad Noffsinger, Stevie Reeves, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Danny Smith, Kevin Thomas, Rich Tobias Jr., Chris Urish, Billy Vukovich & Jacob Wilson


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:

47-Kody Swanson

21-Jimmy Sills

19-Dave Steele

17-Tracy Hines

14-Jerry Coons Jr.

13-J.J. Yeley

10-Bobby East & Rich Vogler

9-Justin Grant, Chuck Gurney & Jason Leffler

8-Dave Darland, Russ Gamester, Levi Jones, Johnny Parsons & Tanner Swanson

7-Tom Bigelow, C.J. Leary & Josh Wise

6-Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Chassey, Jack Hewitt & Larry Rice

5-Kenny Irwin Jr., Aaron Pierce, Bobby Santos, Jeff Swindell & Al Unser

4-Donnie Beechler, Bryan Clauson, Tyler Courtney, Larry Dickson, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Rick Hood, Jim Keeker, Sheldon Kinser, Kyle Larson, Brad Noffsinger, Joe Saldana, George Snider, Brian Tyler & Greg Weld

3-Mario Andretti, Mike Bliss, Steve Butler, Pancho Carter, Shane Cottle, Robby Flock, Shane Hmiel, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader & Ron Shuman

2-Dave Blaney, Ed Carpenter, Dane Carter, A.J. Fike, Shane Hollingsworth, Bud Kaeding, Steve Kinser, Lee Kunzman, Chuck Leary, Jon Stanbrough, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tyler Walker, Jacob Wilson & Chris Windom

1-Mark Alderson, Brady Bacon, Teddy Beach, Christopher Bell, Bob Cicconi, Shane Cockrum, Derek Davidson, Cameron Dodson, Pablo Donoso, Thad Dosher, Paul Durant, Bob Ewell, Chet Fillip, Stan Fox, Damion Gardner, Gene Lee Gibson, Eric Gordon, Jeff Gordon, Davey Hamilton, Jac Haudenschild, John Heydenreich, Gary Hieber, Tray House, Jackie Howerton, Kenny Jacobs, Jon Johnson, Bubby Jones, P.J. Jones, Kasey Kahne, Keith Kauffman, Steve Kent, Arnie Knepper, Michael Lewis, Jason McDougal, Lealand McSpadden, Warren Mockler, Mitchel Moles, Mat Neely, Roger Rager, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Bill Rose, Logan Seavey, Randy Tolsma, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Doug Wolfgang


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT RACE WINS:

1. [3 wins] Jack Hewitt

2. [2 wins] Rick Hood

3. [1 win] George Snider, Kody Swanson, Rich Vogler & Billy Vukovich


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER CHAMPIONS:

1971: George Snider, 1972: A.J. Foyt, 1973: Al Unser, 1974: Mario Andretti, 1975: Jimmy Caruthers, 1976: Billy Cassella, 1977: Larry Rice, 1978: Pancho Carter, 1979: Bobby Olivero, 1980: Gary Bettenhausen, 1981: Larry Rice, 1982: Ken Schrader, 1983: Gary Bettenhausen, 1984: Dave Blaney, 1985: Rick Hood, 1986: Jack Hewitt, 1987: Jack Hewitt, 1988: Steve Butler, 1989: Chuck Gurney, 1990: Jimmy Sills, 1991: Jeff Gordon, 1992: Steve Butler, 1993: Mike Bliss, 1994: Jimmy Sills, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Jimmy Sills, 1997: Dave Darland, 1998: Jason Leffler, 1999: Ryan Newman, 2000: Tracy Hines, 2001: Paul White, 2002: J.J. Yeley, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Dave Steele, 2005: Dave Steele, 2006: Bud Kaeding, 2007: Bud Kaeding, 2008: Jerry Coons Jr., 2009: Bud Kaeding, 2010: Levi Jones, 2011: Levi Jones, 2012: Bobby East, 2013: Bobby East, 2014: Kody Swanson, 2015: Kody Swanson, 2016: Chris Windom, 2017: Kody Swanson, 2018: Kody Swanson, 2019: Kody Swanson, 2020: Justin Grant, 2021: Kody Swanson, 2022: Kody Swanson, 2023: Logan Seavey


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:

1971: Leader Card Racers, 1972: A.J. Foyt Enterprises, 1973: Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, 1974: Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, 1975: George Middleton, 1976: Louie Seymour & Sons, 1977: Dave LeFevre, 1978: Johnny Capels, 1979: Leader Card Racers, 1980: Delrose-Holt Racing, 1981: Johnny Vance, 1982: Steve Enslow, 1983: Delrose-Holt Racing, 1984: Ralph & Jim DePalma, 1985: Damon Fortune, 1986: Bob Hampshire, 1987: Bob Hampshire, 1988: Kenneth Jarrett Farms, 1989: Junior Kurtz, 1990: Bob Consani, 1991: Fred Ede, 1992: Kenneth Jarrett Farms, 1993: Del McClure, 1994: Gary Stanton, 1995: Glen Niebel, 1996: Stanton Racing, 1997: Foxco, Inc., 1998: Goetz Racing, 1999: Snider-Foyt Racing, 2000: Terry Riggs, 2001: Paul Cook Racing, 2002: East-Stewart Racing, 2003: East-Stewart Racing, 2004: East-Stewart Racing, 2005: East-Stewart Racing, 2006: Leffler-BK Racing, 2007: BK Racing, 2008: RW Motorsports, 2009: BK Motorsports, 2010: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2011: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2012: RW Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2013: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2014: DePalma Motorsports, 2015: DePalma Motorsports, 2016: DePalma Motorsports, 2017: DePalma Motorsports, 2018: DePalma Motorsports, 2019: Klatt Enterprises, 2020: Hemelgarn Racing, 2021: Rice Motorsports, 2022: Doran-Dyson Racing, 2023: Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1981: Jack Hewitt, 1982: Keith Kauffman, 1983: Rick Hood, 1984: Dave Blaney, 1985: Steve Butler, 1986: Kenny Jacobs, 1987: Jeff Swindell, 1988: Gene Lee Gibson, 1989: Jimmy Sills, 1990: Eric Gordon, 1991: Stevie Reeves, 1992: Jim Keeker, 1993: Randy Tolsma, 1994: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1995: Chuck Leary: 1996: Ryan Newman, 1997: Jimmy Kite, 1998: Todd Kane, 1999: Paul White, 2000: Kasey Kahne, 2001: Aaron Fike, 2002: Matt Westfall, 2003: Ron Gregory, 2004: Aaron Pierce, 2005: Josh Wise, 2006: Mat Neely, 2007: Cameron Dodson, 2008: Steve Arpin, 2009: Kody Swanson, 2010: Bryan Clauson, 2011: Kyle Larson, 2012: Kyle Hamilton, 2013: Chris Windom, 2014: Caleb Armstrong, 2015: C.J. Leary, 2016: Casey Shuman, 2017: Joss Moffatt, 2018: Kyle Robbins, 2019: Derek Bischak, 2020: Bryan Gossel, 2021: Logan Seavey, 2022: Gregg Cory, 2023: Kaylee Bryson


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


ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:

213-Russ Gamester

212-Brian Tyler

201-Dave Darland

184-Jerry Coons Jr.

172-Tracy Hines

163-Jack Hewitt

153-Eric Gordon

151-Johnny Parsons

147-Tony Elliott

139-Kody Swanson

129-George Snider

125-Gary Hieber

115-Chuck Gurney

113-Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills

111-Dave Steele

110-John Heydenreich

106-Aaron Pierce

105-A.J. Fike

100-Larry Rice

94-Jay Drake & Paul White

91-J.J. Yeley

90-Tom Bigelow

88-Mark Alderson

84-Justin Grant & Jason McCord

83-Gary Bettenhausen

79-Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones

78-Chris Windom

77-Rich Vogler

76-Larry Dickson

75-Shane Cottle & Ryan Newman

74-Steve Chassey

73-Bobby Santos & Rich Tobias Jr.

72-Bobby East

71-David Byrne, Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser

70-Steve Butler

68-Billy Engelhart

67-Joe Saldana

66-Brad Noffsinger

65-Jerry Nemire

62-Ron Shuman

60-Randy Bateman, Austin Nemire, Wally Pankratz & Bill Rose

59-C.J. Leary

58-Rick Hood

55-Gary Irvin & Jacob Wilson

54-Tom Capie, Shane Cockrum & Shane Hollingsworth

53-Chet Fillip, Patrick Lawson & Jason Leffler

52-Wayne Reutimann Jr.

50-Matt Westfall

49-Kyle Robbins & Tony Stewart

48-Mike Bliss, Ken Schrader & Travis Welpott

47-Bob Cicconi & Tanner Swanson

46-Jim Keeker, Billy Vukovich & Bentley Warren

45-Derek Davidson & Jeff Swindell

43-Kenny Irwin Jr. & Tyler Walker

42-Dane Carter, Matt Goodnight & Jon Stanbrough

41-Danny Milburn

40-Aaron Fike, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler, Chip Thomas & Chris Urish

39-Dave Berkheimer, Tray House & Jim McElreath

38-Chuck Leary & Bobby Olivero

37-Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh Jr. & Roger Rager

36-Brady Bacon, Ed Carpenter & Ron Dunstan

35-Mike Haggenbottom & Logan Seavey

34-Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas

33-Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite & Josh Wise

32-Brent Kaeding

31-Terry Babb, Steve Cannon, Ron Gregory, Arnie Knepper, Jim Mahoney, Mat Neely & Stevie Reeves

30-Tim Barber, Teddy Beach, Jeff Bloom, Zach Daum, Stan Fox, Manny Rockhold & Jerry Russell

29-Taylor Ferns, Rocky Hodges & Michael Lewis

28-Dave Blaney & Bill Puterbaugh

27-Brad Armstrong, Steve Buckwalter, Bryan Clauson & Davey Ray

26-Dan Drinan & Joe Liguori

25-Kasey Kahne, Nick Lundgreen & Jerry Miller

24-Pat Abold, Derek Hagar & Kenny Jacobs

23-Derek Bischak & Cameron Dodson

22-Billy Cassella, Kevin Doty & Bob Frey

21-Chris Fetter, Kyle Hamilton & Walt Kennedy

20-Bill Baue, Dave Feese, John Starks, Kyle Steffens, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Randy Tolsma

19-Tyler Courtney, Bruce Field, Brian Gerster, Gene Lee Gibson, Bryan Gossel, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden & Casey Shuman

18-Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Mike Murgoitio, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard

17-Patrick Bruns, Jimmy Caruthers, A.J. Foyt, Kyle O’Gara, Sammy Sessions, Billy Wease & Kramer Williamson

16-Robert Ballou, Mario Clouser, Gregg Cory, Pablo Donoso & Jake Swanson

15-Kaylee Bryson, Casey Buckman, Paul Clark, Davey Hamilton Jr., Dallas Hewitt, P.J. Jones, Carmen Perigo & Bruce Walkup

14-Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Danny Long, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks

13-Nathan Byrd, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Mike McVetta, Andy Michner, Tom Paterson, Brian Paulus, Chase Stockon, Rodney Weesner & Bud Wilmot

12-Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, Jason McDougal, Billy Pauch, Ricky Shelton & Bill Tyler

11-Mario Andretti, J.C. Bland, Trey Burke, Justin Carver, Hud Cone, Craig Dori, Dickie Gaines, David Gough, Terry James, Steve Kinser, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, Kyle Larson, James McElreath, Bobby McMahan, Joey Moughan, Rex Norris III, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Greg Weld & Greg Wilson

10-Caleb Armstrong, Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Mark Smith, Robert Smith & Robbie Stanley

9-Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Toni Breidinger, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Wayne Hammond, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson Jr., Chappy Knaack, Eddie Leavitt, Larry Martin, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle, Johnny Rutherford & Korey Weyant

8-Jim Anderson, Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Cole Carter, Mel Cornett, Chris Cumberworth, Doug Didero, Paul Durant, Ray Joe Fager, Larry Gates, Ken Hamilton, Darl Harrison, Roy Hicks, Rod Holshouser, Dakota Jackson, Mike Johnson, Frankie Kerr, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steven Russell, Steve Siegel, Ryan Smith, Sammy Swindell, Rick Treadway, Lennie Waldo, Carl Williams & Doug Wolfgang

7-John Andretti, Eric Butze, Rob Chaney, Lou Cicconi Jr., Chris Dyson, Bob East, Perry Ferrell, Nick Fornoro Jr., Joe Gaerte, Cody Gallogly, Damion Gardner, Cody Gerhardt, Brian Hayden, Jesse Hockett, Blake Hollingsworth, Tony Hunt, Paul Huntington, Wayne Johnson, Chad Kemenah, Paul Koch, Jimmy Light, Joe McCarthy, Thiago Medeiros, Austin Mundie, Michael Roselli Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Alex Shanks, Pete Shepherd III, Mike Thomas, Billy Whitaker & Mitch Wissmiller

6-Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Emerson Axsom, Annie Breidinger, Mike Brooks, Bill Burks Jr., Kellen Conover, Palmer Crowell, Jake Day, Ryan Durst, Bob Ewell, Spike Gehlhausen, Kenny Gentry, Darren Hagen, Tom Hessert III, Larry Hoppes, John Hubbard, Marc Jessup, Doug Kalitta, Kevin Koch, Bill Kojis, Mike Lichty, Jeff Mitrisin, Don Nordhorn, Tyler Roahrig, Brian Ruhlman, Brian Seidel, Jake Simmons, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad

5-Sport Allen, Dakoda Armstrong, Todd Beach, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Shane Carson, Mark Cassella, Kyle Cummins, John Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Kevin Olson, Chris Phillips, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Red Stauffer, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams

4-Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, John Batts Jr., Mike Brecht, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Herb Copeland, Casey Diemert, Lee Dunn, Danny Ebberts, Murray Erickson, Ray Evans, Scott Hansen, Don Hawley, Steve Kent, Dereck King, Steve Knepper, Mike Larrison, Mike Ling, Bobby Marcum, Von McGee, Wes Miller, David Mirk, Mitchel Moles, Nathan Moore, Dave Peperak, Rodney Ritter Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Tim Siner, Billy Vukovich III, Clark Templeman, Kevin Whitesides, Leon Thickstun, Miranda Throckmorton & Ronnie Wuerdeman

3-Steve Adams, Johnny Anderson, Ed Angle, Robin Bank, Justin Barger, John Barrick, Kipp Beard, Doug Berryman, Merle Bettenhausen, Art Bisch Jr., Kevin Bloomstran, Lee Brewer Jr., Rick Brown, Dave Burns, Gary Cameron II, Keith Campbell, Marvin Carman, Roy Caruthers, Wayne Chinn, Bill Compton, Tim Cox, Erin Crocker, Troy DeCaire, Chase Dietz, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, Nick Hamilton, Darryl Haugh, Kelly Kinser, Lance Kobusch, Red Kunstbeck, Ricky Logan, Steve Long, Jim Malloy, Mike Martin, Zach Martini, Bob Meli, Larry Moore, Ryan Moore, Mike Mosley Jr., Mike Ordway, Gary Patterson, Gary Ponzini, Rusty Rasmussen, Wayne Reutimann, Robbie Rice, Travis Rilat, A.J. Russell, Zach Schiff, Frankie Schneider, Ryan Scott, Terry Shepherd, Ron Smoker, Kevin Studley, Brad Sweet, Buz Tapply, Cale Thomas, Dick Tobias, Rick Ungar, Tony Weyant, George White, Jim Whiteside, Greg Wooley & Brent Yarnal

2-Mike Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Nick Bilbee, Dean Billings, Mark Bitner, Austin Blair, Dan Boorse, Ken Brewer, Shane Butler, Steve Carithers, Tim Clark, Jason Conn, Stan Constant, Johnny Coogan, Frank D’Alonso, Daryl Daugherty, Tom Davies, Charles Davis Jr., James Davison, Greg DeCaires, Duke DeRosa, Scott Edmiston, Dean Erfurth, Jay Ervine, Mike Fedorcak, Billy Felts, A.J. Foyt IV, Stewart Friesen, Greg Furlong, Leon Gentry, Mike Gigot, Joe Gosek, Rick Goudy, Chuck Gurney Jr., Randy Hannagan, Scott Hatton, Jon Herb, Jordan Hermansader, Sparky Howard, Bill Hudson, Bruce Jennings, Jerry Karl, Kevin Kierce, Mike Lauterborn, Steve Lotshaw, Ed Lynch, Garry Lee Maier, Troy Matchen, Jay Maupin, Randy Mausteller, Van May, Roger McCluskey, Mike McCreary, Frank McDaniel, Lyn McIntosh, Dustin Morgan, Aaron Mosley, Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, Cary Oliver, Trey Osborne, Lynn Paxton, Scott Pierovich, Troy Regier, Rick Salem, Joey Schmidt, Howie Sewell, David Shain, Rick Sipes, Jigger Sirois, Mark Sokola, Randy Standridge, Nelson Stewart, Rodney Stone, Rob Summers, Kevin Swindell, Al Thomas, Ryan Thomas, Troy Thompson, Troy Vaccaro, Butch Wilkerson, Charlie Workman, Salt Walther & Jack Ziegler

1-Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Tanner Berryhill, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, Alex Bright, Jerry Bruce, Bob Brutto, Will Cagle, Daryl Campbell, Don Carr, Kent Christian, Drew Church, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Kevin Conway, Donnie Crawford, Wally Dallenbach, Bobby Davis Jr., Brad Davis, Bob Davison, Brian DeFord, Terry Doss, Brad Doty, Rodney Duncan, Jesse Dunham, Sondi Eden, Andrew Felker, Elvin Felty, Dan Ford, Michael Ford, Andy Forsberg, Jeff Forshee, Ronnie Franklin, Pete Frazier, Danny Frye Jr., Jeff Galas, Ronnie Gardner, Rickie Gaunt, Cheryl Glass, David Gravel, Gary Griffith, Zach Hampton, Brett Hearn, Jojo Helberg, Jim Hettinger, Nathan High, Larry Hillerud, Ted Hines, Jimmy Horton, Brian Hosford, Rick Howerton, Steve Irwin, Jim Jackson, Earnest Jennings, Rickey Jennings, Matt Jewell, Chase Johnson, Erik Karlsen, Kraig Kinser, Buddy Kofoid, Dana LaLiberte, Harold Leep, Jeff Leka, Ryan Litt, Ed Lynch Jr., Pepi Marchese, David McCreary, Dave McGough, Paul McMahan, Joe Melnick, Thomas Meseraull, Curt Michael, Tye Mihocko, Jim Mills, Matt Mitchell, Mark Monico, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, Tommy Nichols, Don O’Keefe, Jimmy Parsons, Billy Pauch Jr., Stan Ploski, Art Pollard, Jerry Potter, Richard Powell, Pat Quinn, Ron Rae, Fred Rahmer, Robbie Ray, Byron Reed, David Reutimann, Jim Reynard, Randy Roberts, Joe Roush, John Ryals, Eddie Sachs Jr., Doug Saunier, Bill Schemonia, Shane Scully, Jon Sciscoe, Ron Semelka, Steve Sheppard Jr., Danny Shouse, Tim Simmons, Grant Simpson, Anthony Simone, Carl Smith, Steve Smith, Mike Spencer, Darren Spiers, Greg Stephens, Robert Stout, Charlie Swartz, Fred Tegarden Jr., Todd Thomas, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad, Eric Todd, Rick Tomasik, John Tosti, Eric Trousdale, LeRoy Van Conett, Kaylene Verville, Todd Wanless, Curt Waters, Jeff West, Brent Whited, Bryan Whited, Eddie Wirth, Kyle Wissmiller, Kent Wolters, Mike Woodring, Ken Woolley & Tiffany Wyzard


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


2023 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER:


A

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

CALEB ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Legacy Autosport #19)

®EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing #20)


B

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

DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing #31)

®TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG #14)

DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak #131)

®MARK BITNER/Columbus, NJ (Henry Yeska #4)

®ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (John Haggenbottom #24)

PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing #95)

®KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce #26)

CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports-Eddie Sachs Jr. #25)

STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Five Three Motorsports #53)

®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG #11)

NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Byrd Racing #88)


C

®STERLING CLING/Tempe, AZ (John Tosti #07)

MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports #92)

SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports #71), (Hans Lein #97) & (Sam Pierce #126)

JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom #24) & (Patty Bateman #55)

GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing #32)

SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing #9) & (Hodges Motorsports #74)


D

®CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee #86)

®GARY DUNKLE/Lincoln, NE (Gary Dunkle #34)


F

TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing #555)

CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter #15)

A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports #53)


G

RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing #51)

MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing #39)

BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel #06)

JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing #91)


H

DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG #14) & (Legacy Autosport #19)

®ZACH HAMPTON/Mooresville, IN (Brad & Tara Armstrong #99)

DALLAS HEWITT/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt #57)


J

®WAYNE JOHNSON/Tuttle, OK (TwoC Racing #12)


L

PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson #2)

C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises #6)

DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long #44)


M

MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (RAM Engineering #94)

®MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (DMW Motorsports #5)

JOSS MOFFATT/Columbus, IN (A.J. Felker Racing #37)

®MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Hans Lein #97)

®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas #48)


O

KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development #67)

®CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver #110)

TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group #81) & (Sammy & Mouren Fetter #88)


P

TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson #111)

®DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports #777)

CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman #52)

AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce #126)


R

DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables #8)

®TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Legacy Autosport #19)

KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing #7)

BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman #49)

STEVEN RUSSELL/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports #14)


S

BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing #98)

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

®TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons #3)

MARK SMITH/Sunbury, PA (L & M Motorsports #01)

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

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

TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman Racing #02)

JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports #10)

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


T

®RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing #118)

KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Legacy Autosport #19), (John Haggenbottom #24) & (Five Three Motorsports #53)

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


U

CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish #77)


W

BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Robert Wilson Racing #60)

TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing #18)

MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing #54) & (BCR Group #81)

KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant #99)

JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing #107)


Y

®BRENT YARNAL/Phoenix, AZ (Brent Yarnal #29)



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

 

 

TANNER SWANSON SCORES IRP FINALE,

LOGAN SEAVEY SECURES USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 15, 2023)………Familiar territory and new found glory was uncovered during Sunday’s rain-postponed Howard Companies Championship Saturday/Sunday USAC Silver Crown finale at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

For Tanner Swanson, it was business as usual at the .686-mile paved oval as he took over the lead from older brother Kody Swanson on lap 24, then led the remaining 77 laps to earn a record eighth career USAC Silver Crown victory at IRP, which ranks number one all-time.

For Logan Seavey, after two consecutive seasons of close encounters with the USAC Silver Crown championship, on this afternoon, the third time was finally the charm. Seavey finished sixth in the 100-lapper to secure the crown for the first time in his career, five years removed from a USAC National Midget title in 2018.

Tanner (Kingsburg, Calif.) piloted his Bowman Racing/Swift Fab & Welding/Beast/Kistler Chevy to a second consecutive season finale victory at IRP. His 10th overall win in his USAC Silver Crown career moved him to 11th on the all-time list alongside past series champions Gary Bettenhausen and Mike Bliss.

Nine of Tanner’s 10 series triumphs have come with the Bowman Racing team who tabbed Tanner as their driver a decade ago. As it turned out, the pairing of a part-time USAC Silver Crown driver and a part-time USAC Silver Crown entrant was a perfect match for full-time success.

“This team is awesome,” Tanner exclaimed. “When we started running for them, this team hadn’t won a Crown race. Now we’ve won eight of them here and one at Gateway. It’s been an awesome run, and who would’ve thought when Kody and I were 12 and 9 years old in Junior Sprints that we’d be racing on this stage and competitively?”

The winningest brothers in USAC Silver Crown history shared the lead during the first quarter of the event. Third-starting Tanner found himself shuffled back to fifth on the opening lap while pole sitter Kody burst out to lead lap one.

Kody played a key role in the title fight entering IRP, trailing Seavey by 16 points in the standings. Kody shaved three markers off Seavey’s advantage by virtue of capturing the pole during Saturday’s Honest Abe Roofing qualifying session and was keen on grabbing three more bonus points for the most laps led on Sunday in addition to 70 more for winning the main event.

It appeared to be Kody’s day for a substantial period of time as he rushed out to a four to five car length lead over outside front row starter Bobby Santos. Meanwhile, fifth-starting Seavey nearly had an all-out fracas on the opening lap, which sent him into a brief tailspin back to ninth.

“I got a really bad start,” explained Seavey, driver of the Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/DiaEdge Mitsubishi Materials - STIDA.com - CG CPAs/Beast/Felker Chevy. “I ran in the back of Tanner there and about crashed and lost a bunch of track position. By the time I got back to where I needed to be, the leaders were gone, so I just rode around and knew that if I tried to run them down, I’d kill my car. So, I just rode around waiting for a yellow.”

Tanner too found himself in the same boat as Seavey, dropping back to fifth before steadily moving his way forward to fourth past C.J. Leary on lap 11, then by Justin Grant for third on the 15th go around.

By lap 24, Kody’s car was becoming extremely tight in the turns, allowing Santos and Tanner to pull right to the tail of Kody. By turn two, Santos took his shot, driving under Kody to take the lead for about a five second stretch before Tanner pulled off a two-for-one deal by blazing past the inside of both Kody and Santos on the back straightaway to take over the point. It was a fantastic and prompt recovery for Tanner after the early hardship.

“We had such a terrible start, but it kind of ended up being nice,” Tanner revealed. “I got to sit there behind C.J. for a little bit and got to see how he was handling, then got to see Justin, then got to Bobby and Kody. I saw that I had a little bit better car than Bobby and knew that I was going to have time. It’s hard to pass around this place and those two guys are the best there is at it. We were lucky to double up and get both of them at the same time.”

In the ensuing laps, Kody’s handling issues became undeniable as he fell dramatically off the pace, and on lap 26, he kissed the outside wall between turns one and two with his right-side tires, dropping him back to fifth, 10 seconds out of the lead, and just one spot ahead of Seavey in sixth, which positioned Seavey back into the driver’s seat of the championship.

When 14th running Trey Burke’s car went up in smoke on the 44th lap to bring out the first caution of the event, Kody dipped into pit lane under yellow to allow the Doran-Binks Racing crew to make an air pressure adjustment on the right rear tire. Kody returned to the track just in the nick of time to beat the pace truck and remain on the lead lap, but ducked back into the pits a lap later as the crew went right back to work on the right rear.

Returning to the field in the 11th spot at the tail end of the lead lap, Kody soon found himself in serious trouble on the lap 54 restart. Entering the low side of turn one, Kody’s left front wheel locked up, sending a smoke signal into the crisp, cool air and right into the path of oncoming Derek Bischak. As a result, Bischak slammed the wall and received significant front-end damage that knocked him out of the race, while Swanson bounced off the wall and kept going.

Seavey, now running fifth at the midway point, felt as comfortable as he had all day, but he also knew he couldn’t allow himself to be that comfortable, knowing that Kody was still back there on the lead lap despite his recent struggle. Seavey gained fourth on lap 63 when he charged around the outside of Leary in turns three and four. Of utmost importance, the fourth spot was crucial to Seavey and ingrained in his mind throughout the day, knowing that if he finished there, he would clinch the title regardless of where Kody finished.

In the meantime, Kody had changed up his line to more of a lower entry on each end of the racetrack. He utilized the new path to race his way by Dakoda Armstrong, Kyle O'Gara, Kaylee Bryson, Mario Clouser and Davey Hamilton Jr. in quick succession to climb his way up from 11th to 6th in an 11-lap span by lap 73.

By that point, race leader Tanner had the field covered to the tune of more than four seconds, but the battle raged on for fourth, fifth and sixth between Seavey, Leary and Kody who were all in Blue Angels formation under a blanket, which many needed on this day due to the cool temperatures. Leary swiped fourth from Seavey on lap 83, but Seavey remained tight on Leary’s bumper all while Kody kept poking his nose along the side of Seavey lap after lap as they split around the lapped car of Travis Welpott with just 13 laps to go in a particularly close encounter of the third turn kind.

While Tanner Swanson’s lead ballooned to seven seconds at the front of the field with less than 10 laps remaining, Kody Swanson was throwing everything he had in the tank at Seavey to work his way up another spot. Instead, with three to go, Kody grabbed two more as he darted around the outside of Seavey in turn three, then cut to the inside of Leary off turn four to go sixth to fourth in one fell swoop.

It was there in that moment that Seavey conceded the spot and fell into line, essentially saying “no más,” as he fell into line and finished the last couple laps sans stress for himself, his spotter and the entire crew.

“I saved my stuff to make sure I had a little bit there in the end if (Kody) came back through,” Seavey said of his plan after Kody pitted at mid-race. “I was able to hold him off as long as I needed to but then had to settle in those last few and make sure we finished. It sucks a little bit because I feel like this is the best we’ve ever been here and I’d like to go race up there with the guys up front, but there comes a point when you’ve got to look at the big picture and settle in there and finish the race.”

Tanner finished off a dominant victory by a whopping 9.799 second margin over Bobby Santos, Justin Grant, Kody Swanson and C.J. Leary. Logan Seavey came home sixth to win the championship by a seven-point margin over Kody, making it the eighth closest USAC Silver Crown points race in the 53-year history of the series.

Additionally, Seavey provided his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing team the series entrant title for 2023. For Rice, it’s his second Silver Crown entrant title after also scoring in 2021 while Abacus earned its first, and very well could soon double up with Seavey as they both currently lead the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings.

Furthermore, Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) set an all-time record on Sunday at IRP with his 213th career series start dating back to 1989. Gamester now owns the record for most career series starts, breaking a tie he had held with Brian Tyler.


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


USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 14-15, 2023 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Howard Companies Championship Saturday & Sunday

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-20.838; 2. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-20.845; 3. Tanner Swanson, 2, Bowman-20.914; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-20.958; 5. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-20.969; 6. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-21.187; 7. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.193; 8. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-21.257; 9. Davey Hamilton Jr., 19, Legacy-21.403; 10. Kyle O'Gara, 67, SFHR-21.449; 11. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-21.530; 12. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-21.664; 13. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-21.674; 14. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-21.676; 15. Tanner Berryhill, 14, Hamilton/SRG-21.776; 16. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-21.859; 17. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-21.975; 18. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-22.115; 19. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams-22.301; 20. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-22.379; 21. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-24.321; 22. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-NT; 23. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 24. Mike McVetta, 94, RAM-NT; 25. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-NT

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (3), 2. Bobby Santos (2), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Kody Swanson (1), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Kaylee Bryson (11), 8. Davey Hamilton Jr. (9), 9. Mario Clouser (6), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (12), 11. Kyle O’Gara (10), 12. Trey Osborne (19), 13. Kyle Steffens (16), 14. Bryan Gossel (17), 15. Travis Welpott (20), 16. Gregg Cory (18), 17. Derek Bischak (13), 18. Trey Burke (15), 19. Russ Gamester (7), 20. Tanner Berryhill (14), 21. Tom Paterson (21). 44:04.426

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-23 Kody Swanson, Laps 24-100 Tanner Swanson.

FINAL USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-676, 2-Kody Swanson-669, 3-Justin Grant-561, 4-C.J. Leary-462, 5-Kaylee Bryson-447, 6-Mario Clouser-441, 7-Taylor Ferns-399, 8-Bobby Santos-382, 9-Matt Westfall-382, 10-Trey Burke-334.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-186, 2-Logan Seavey-144, 3-Justin Grant-120, 4-Emerson Axsom-117, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-85.


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Bobby Santos (20.665)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (20.838)

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Kody Swanson

Hard Charger: Trey Osborne (19th to 12th)

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

October 14, 2023 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 2E, Yeley/Petty-14.451; 2. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-14.480; 3. Braden Chiaramonte, 73B, Chiaramonte-14.497; 4. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-14.502; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.542; 6. Andrew Sweeney, 98A, Guerrero-14.653; 7. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-14.684; 8. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.713; 9. J.J. Yeley, 2Y, Yeley/Petty-14.725; 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.727; 11. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-14.727; 12. Brody Fuson, 51, Van Meter-14.730; 13. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.731; 14. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.761; 15. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-14.767; 16. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.775; 17. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.813; 18. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.829; 19. Richard McCormick, 71X, Luport-15.036; 20. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-15.056; 21. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-15.183; 22. Shane Sexton, 74, Gatlin/Sexton-15.256; 23. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-15.325; 24. David Gasper, 73, Ford-15.495; 25. Racin Silva, 5S, Silva-15.678; 26. Mark Henry, 39R, Henry-15.914; 27. Camie Bell, 29C, Bell-16.711.

FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / BILLSJERKY.NET FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tafoya, 2. Lewis, 3. Malcolm, 4. V.Sweeney, 5. Bender, 6. Johnson, 7. McCormick, 8. Silva, 9. S.Sexton. NT.

IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Davis, 2. McCarthy, 3. C.Williams, 4. Grabowski, 5. Roa, 6. Calderwood, 7. A.Williams, 8. Owens, 9. Henry. NT.

WC FRIEND COMPANY THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Fuson, 2. L.Williams, 3. A.Sweeney, 4. Yeley, 5. Gasper, 6. Chiaramonte, 7. Turnbull, 8. G.Sexton, 9. Bell. NT.

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Roa, 2. Johnson, 3. Gasper, 4. Chiaramonte, 5. A.Williams, 6. Bender, 7. G.Sexton, 8. Calderwood, 9. Turnbull, 10. McCormick, 11. S.Sexton, 12. Henry, 13. Bell, 14. Silva, 15. Owens. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ricky Lewis (3), 2. Tommy Malcolm (16), 3. Brody Fuson (12), 4. Braden Chiaramonte (9), 5. R.J. Johnson (7), 6. David Gasper (22), 7. Austin Williams (11), 8. Brody Roa (8), 9. Matt McCarthy (17), 10. Andrew Sweeney (4), 11. Logan Williams (18), 12. A.J. Bender (13), 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (10), 14. J.J. Yeley (1), 15. James Turnbull II (15), 16. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 17. Cody Williams (14), 18. Logan Calderwood (21), 19. Grant Sexton (20), 20. Richard McCormick (19), 21. Austin Grabowski (2), 22. Verne Sweeney (6). NT.
----------------------------
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Yeley, Laps 9-30 Lewis.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: David Gasper (22nd to 6th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Eddie Tafoya Jr.

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: November 3&4 – Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, Arizona - “56th Annual Western World Championships”

 

 

IRP’S USAC SILVER CROWN FINALE

POSTPONED TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 14, 2023)………Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown National Championship finale has been postponed to Sunday, October 15, after persistent showers hammered Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park following qualifying.

Track drying efforts were made for nearly two hours, but the cool temperatures combined with the existing moisture on the surface of the .686-mile paved oval didn’t help matters.

On Sunday, the pits open at 9am Eastern with the front gates opening at 11am, practice at 11am and the three feature events beginning at noon. The 30-lap Browns Oil Service Pavement Midget feature will begin the festivities followed by a 40-lap 500 Sprint Car Tour feature and the 100-lap USAC Silver Crown finale.

Wristbands, tickets and pit passes from Saturday may be used for entry to Sunday’s racing program at IRP.

USAC Silver Crown Dirt Draft Practice and Honest Abe Qualifying was completed on Saturday prior to the weather intervening. Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) was the fastest in both practice sessions while Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) captured the pole position with a lap of 20.838 seconds during qualifying.

Swanson’s fast qualifying effort earned him three bonus points toward the USAC Silver Crown championship standings. He now stands 13 points behind championship leader Logan Seavey. Seavey will start in the fifth spot, and if he is able to finish fourth or better in Sunday’s main event, he would clinch the series title.


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


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

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-20.838; 2. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-20.845; 3. Tanner Swanson, 2, Bowman-20.914; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-20.958; 5. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-20.969; 6. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-21.187; 7. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.193; 8. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-21.257; 9. Davey Hamilton Jr., 19, Legacy-21.403; 10. Kyle O'Gara, 67, SFHR-21.449; 11. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-21.530; 12. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-21.664; 13. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-21.674; 14. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-21.676; 15. Tanner Berryhill, 14, Hamilton/SRG-21.776; 16. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-21.859; 17. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-21.975; 18. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-22.115; 19. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams-22.301; 20. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-22.379; 21. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-24.321; 22. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-NT; 23. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 24. Mike McVetta, 94, RAM-NT; 25. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-NT

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses)

Postponed to Sunday, October 15.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-621, 2-Kody Swanson-608, 3-Justin Grant-497, 4-C.J. Leary-404, 5-Mario Clouser-395, 6-Kaylee Bryson-395, 7-Taylor Ferns-389, 8-Matt Westfall-382, 9-Bobby Santos-315, 10-Trey Burke-307.

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

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 15, 2023 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Howard Companies Championship Saturday


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Bobby Santos (20.665)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (20.838)

 

 

THE SEAVEY & SWANSON SHOW:

GLOVES ARE OFF FOR SATURDAY'S

USAC SILVER CROWN FINALE AT IRP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 12, 2023)………On Tuesday afternoon, both Logan Seavey, Kody Swanson and their respective teams took a relatively similar approach into a private testing session at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The task was simple – to make sure everything is buttoned up for this weekend’s running of the Howard Companies Championship Saturday USAC Silver Crown season finale on October 14 at IRP where Seavey brings in a 16-point lead in the standings over Swanson.

Seeing how the pavement cars haven’t turned a wheel in more than six weeks, and nearly five months since their last run at IRP, the test was beneficial in a myriad of manners, least of all to make sure it was “all systems go” heading into Saturday.

For Seavey and his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing team, there were oil leaks and rear end leaks to double check on and the team even made a mock qualifying run to help ensure a quality starting spot so that they won’t have to fight their way up through the field on race day.

As far as Swanson and the Doran-Binks Racing operation, the modus operandi was to sort out the brake trouble that plagued them the last time out at WWT Raceway in late August and to get a little more homework completed to make certain that all the i’s were dotted, and all the t’s were crossed heading into the real deal this weekend.

While both teams’ ultimate goal of a championship remains the same, their approaches to Saturday’s final race day of the USAC Silver Crown season differ just a bit. Both have been in this very same position each of the last three years with Swanson leading Seavey by one entering the finale in 2021 while Seavey came into the finale of 2022 with a three-point edge. Both times, however, Swanson ultimately prevailed with the series crown.

For Seavey, the task on paper for Saturday is simple – finish fourth or better, and regardless of what Swanson does, Seavey wins the championship. As a change of pace, Seavey doesn’t have to win or beat Kody this time around. Knowing that they finished as the runner-up this past May at IRP does a bit to ease their comfort level. But “comfort” is a relative term in auto racing, although Seavey admitted, “I feel a lot better on the pavement; this is one of our better tracks, so overall, I feel better about it than I did last year.”

As for Swanson, the weight is lifted off his shoulders a bit. He’s fully aware that he can only control what he can control, and that means trying to earn three points for winning the pole, grabbing three more points for leading the most laps, and 70 more for scoring the feature win, all departments in which he ranks number one all-time at the .686-mile paved oval. From there, the points will take care of themselves, championship or no championship.

“For me this time, there’s no pressure, like at all,” Swanson admitted. “We’ve won some races and we’ve been fast, but we’ve had a couple miscues that put us in this situation. We’re far enough back that the ball is in his court. If he finishes inside the top-four, there’s nothing that I can do. I just want to win the race.”

Swanson experienced those “miscues” at IRP in May when a fuel pump issue knocked him out of the race while leading and once more at WWT Raceway in August when his brakes malfunctioned, again while leading, relegating him to 19th and 14th place results, respectively. All the while, Seavey racked up a 2nd and 4th place finish in those two outings, gaining him valuable points. On the flipside, when Seavey’s right front wheel center broke at Winchester and sent him into the wall, Swanson answered with a resounding victory.

Yes, all the races pay the same amount of points each time out on the USAC Silver Crown schedule, and with the slate only being 11 races long throughout the year, mistakes must be minimized and avoiding DNFs are critical in determining a champion, requiring almost outright perfection each race, every race on both dirt and pavement. But the points are put under an even higher resolution microscope in a one-race setting, and Seavey acknowledged that fact. But same as always, they’re trying to keep everything as even-keeled as possible and preparing the same as they do every time they’re in the shop or at the racetrack.

“Obviously, the nerves are a little bit up on everybody,” Seavey stated. “We’re all looking at the same goal and we see the points and what not. We always try to be prepared as much as possible. Winchester was our first real DNF of the year and it hurt us really bad. But we got our car rebuilt after that and we were just as good. I’d like to think we’re as prepared and I’m just as prepared as we always would be, and we can just show up here and try to win a race.”

Swanson acknowledges his role on the race team is a bit more atypical. Prior to testing on Tuesday at IRP, Swanson was in the team’s Cincinnati, Ohio-based shop, located roughly two hours away, until 10:30pm the night before in order to be ready for testing the next morning. Though stress is a natural element of this aspect of the sport, Swanson is trying not to sweat it out regarding the points race, and instead, focusing on the part of just trying to go out and win.

“There are little parts of it I’m involved with that make it challenging,” Swanson explained. “In some ways, it can stress you out because you’re involved in so many layers. But I’m doing my best to enjoy each opportunity and each race and not to get so caught up in it. We’re just trying to win a race this weekend and hope it works out. There are many hands that are in on it and I’m thankful for everyone who does pitch in on it.”

Just two years ago, Seavey’s ambition on the pavement was just to finish races and to finish on the lead lap. Two years later, he’s eager to win on the pavement and has finished inside the top-five in all but one race this year, the lone DNF being due to an accident. Due to his relative lack of experience on the pavement in comparison to Swanson, Seavey feels as if there’s no way he can ride around and coast to reach his goal on Saturday night. It’s going to be an all-out effort from top to bottom for 100 laps to get to where he wants to be.

“I don’t feel like I can slow down at all,” Seavey stated. “I have to run as hard as I can to be in the top four or five. I just don’t have the experience the other guys have but it’s part of learning and being a part of a series you’re new to and a surface that you’re new to. To run fourth on pavement would be a great day, but our goal coming into every pavement race is to win even though we haven’t won one yet. Even from last year to this year, I’ve gotten a lot more confident in the car. Running the Little 500 (at Anderson Speedway) helped in that regard, learning how to run side-by-side with other cars and pass on pavement. A couple years ago, the goal was to just finish.”

The high-speed chess match between Seavey and Swanson has gone back and forth all year long. Seavey has won three times on the dirt while Swanson has answered with a top-five in every dirt outing. Swanson has been victorious three times on the pavement this year while Seavey has answered with top-fives in all but one of those starts. So much is so even with these two wheelmen, and faltering at any point in the season can be detrimental, most definitely in a season finale setting.

“It’s part of Silver Crown racing,” Swanson said. “The season is so short, you can’t afford anything that doesn’t go your way, and some years, that’s how it goes. I’m really fortunate to have had a number of years where things did work out and this year, we still have a chance. I’m not complaining in any way. I’m just thankful to have a chance and we’ll try to go out and win a race this weekend.”

RACE DETAILS

Championship Saturday features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, the 500 Sprint Car Tour and Pavement Midgets on Saturday, October 14.

Spectator gates open at noon eastern, followed by 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice at 12:30, Pavement Midget Practice at 12:55, USAC Silver Crown Practice at 1:20, 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice at 1:50, Pavement Midget Practice at 2:15, USAC Silver Crown Practice at 2:40, 500 Sprint Car Tour Qualifying at 3:10, Pavement Midget Qualifying at 3:40, USAC Silver Crown Qualifying at 4:10, Opening Ceremonies at 4:45 with main events starting at 5pm. Times are subject to change. All times are eastern.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.raceIRP.com. Tickets will also be on sale at the gate on race day.

Saturday’s event will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.

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

SATURDAY’S IRP USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:

02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman Racing)

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

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

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

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

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

14 (R) TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

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

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

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Dave Berkheimer)

32 (R) GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Robert Wilson Racing)

67 KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)

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

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

94 MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (Ram Engineering)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

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

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

 

 

MOHAVE VALLEY HOSTS USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS THIS SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

OCTOBER 10, 2023... The chase for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship resumes this Saturday, October 14th at Mohave Valley Raceway. Promoted by Ron Meyer, the fifteenth point race will also feature Dwarf Cars, Mini Dwarfs- Masters and Sportsman, and the Southwest versus California Lightning Sprints. Located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona, the Pit Gates will open at 2:30pm, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:30pm, with Racing scheduled for 7:30pm. For more information, visit mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000.

NOTE: The November 3&4 “Western World Championships” has been moved from Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona to Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona. Please update your schedules.

NOTE: The November 11 main event at Perris Auto Speedway is now scheduled for 30 laps.

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.)
- APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Due to the current tire shortages, ANY Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition until further notice. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: MUFFLERS ARE NOT REQUIRED at Mohave Valley 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.

SPECIAL NOTICE AT MOHAVE VALLEY:
- CASH ONLY: Mohave Valley Raceway is a cash only facility.
- PIT AREA PARKING: Personal vehicles or side by sides, etc. are NOT allowed in the pits. If it is not towing the race car/truck, on the trailer with the car, or in the trailer with the car, then it will NOT be allowed. NO exceptions!

Saturday’s race is the fifth event in series history at the Mohave Valley clay oval. Brody Roa topped his second Mohave Valley win on May 6th and Chase Johnson raced to victory on April 1st. On that night, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams lowered his track record with a time of 13.923 seconds. The complete Mohave Valley USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

“The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) leads the USAC/CRA standings with a stout 142 point lead. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance owned #17R Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Roa ran second to “Thunder” Tommy Malcolm at the September 23rd “Glenn Howard Classic” at Perris Auto Speedway. To date, Brody has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 177 feature laps led to his credit. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion ranks fourth with 21 career USAC/CRA triumphs and will be looking to get closer to his first CRA crown with another Mohave Valley win.

Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Corona, California) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings and is enjoying his best season in sprint cars. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored his third win of the campaign at the “Glenn Howard Classic.” To date, the veteran driver has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 95 feature laps led on the year. Tommy “Thunder” will have his sights on adding a Mohave Valley victory to his resume.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) is third in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Piloting the family owned #2 Digalert / Ramona Duck Club DRC, Williams charged from seventh to third at Perris Auto Speedway on September 23rd. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 32 feature laps led to his credit. With eleven career triumphs, Austin will be looking to earn his first win of the season this Saturday night.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams (Corona, California) sits fourth in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC raced to a seventh place finish at Perris Auto Speedway. To date, the former National Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, and nine top-10 finishes on the season. “The Cadillac” has three career wins and will have his sights on his first victory of the season.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA championship points. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / GAS Chassis entry, Bender finished nineteenth at the Perris “Howard Classic.” At press time, last season’s USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has six heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, and ten top-10 finishes to his credit. This Saturday night, A.J. will be looking to claim the first USAC/CRA victory of his career.

Grant Sexton (Lakeside, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors and ranks eighth in the point standings. The driver of the family owned #22 Sexton Fire Protection / East County Electric Works Triple X is followed by James Turnbull II (Indio, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California), Dawson Faria (Tipton, California), and Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Arizona).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Calderwood, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, R.J. Johnson, Logan Williams, Chris Gansen, Brent Owens, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Andrew Sweeney, Chris Bonneau, Richard McCormick, Braden Chiaramonte, Mark Henry, and more.

Mohave Valley Raceway is located at 2750 Laguna Road in Mohave Valley, Arizona. For more event information, visit the track’s website at mohavevalleyracceway.com or call 928.346.3000. Mohave Valley Raceway is a cash only facility and grandstand tickets are available on race day. General Admission tickets are $25, Senior tickets (60 & over) are $20, Military tickets (with ID) are $20, Children tickets (6 to 12) are $15, and Children (5 and under) are FREE. Outside food, beverages, and ice chests are not permitted.

The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, WC Friend Company, Woodland Auto Display, BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, contact Tony Jones at tonyjonesracing@gmail.com or PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the AMSOIL 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.
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AMSOIL 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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 8-Brody Roa, 3-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Justin Grant, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Matt Mitchell.

MOHAVE VALLEY AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP TRACK RECORD: Cody Williams – 13.923 (04/01/23)

MOHAVE VALLEY AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Brody Roa, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-Chase Johnson.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1-Brody Roa-1064, 2-Tommy Malcolm-922, 3-Austin Williams-816, 4-Cody Williams-779, 5-A.J. Bender-749, 6-Logan Calderwood-663, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-571, 8-Grant Sexton-544, 9-Verne Sweeney-461, 10-R.J. Johnson-377.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
January 27: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
January 28: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
March 3: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 4: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Justin Grant)
March 24: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (RAIN)
March 25: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (RAIN)
April 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
April 22: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
May 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
June 10: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 24: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
July 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
August 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
September 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
October 14: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
November 3: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 4: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 11: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (30 Laps)
---------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

THE FINALE:

SEAVEY & SWANSON DECIDE

USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE ON SATURDAY AT IRP

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (October 11, 2023)………This is it. This is the one. This is the finale.

The stage is set for this Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown National Championship season closer on the .686-mile paved oval of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Ind. on October 14 during Howard Companies Championship Saturday.

A championship is on the line between Logan Seavey and Kody Swanson. Seavey’s bid for a first career USAC Silver Crown championship comes down to the wire for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, Swanson’s goal of an unprecedented eighth career USAC Silver Crown title, and third in a row, is on the line.

Some nerves are wracked but confident. Some nerves are calm but sleep leading into race day may not come as easy as it once did.

Who will thrive and who will shine? This season goes to 11 and race number 11 of the 2023 campaign will answer all our lingering questions.

For now, all we can do is speculate, pontificate and await. Here’s six storylines leading into the 2023 USAC Silver Crown championship finale on Saturday at IRP.


SEAVEY VS. SWANSON – ROUND THREE

Just 16 points separate Logan Seavey and Kody Swanson heading into the final bout of the USAC Silver Crown championship season this Saturday at IRP. Regardless of what Swanson accomplishes throughout the day, if Seavey finishes fourth or better in the main event, the title is his.

A maximum of 76 points are up for grabs with three points apiece available for the fastest qualifier and the driver leading the most laps. The feature winner takes 70.

It’s the third consecutive season the championship race has come down to the fellow Californians on the pavement. Entering 2021’s finale, Swanson held a one-point lead over Seavey. Swanson proceeded to win while Seavey finished 10th with Swanson claiming the title by 34 markers.

At the 2022 closer, Seavey entered with a one-point lead, but was plagued by mechanical issues that caused his ride to drop out with a broken oil pump belt while running third. Swanson’s fourth place result coupled with Seavey’s 20th gave Swanson a 41-point edge in the final tally.


TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THE TITLE

Not only is the driver championship up for grabs, so too are each driver’s respective teams. Seavey’s Rice Motorsports team captured the USAC Silver Crown entrant title in 2021 and finished as the runner-up with Seavey in 2022. Once again, this pairing is on top entering Saturday’s finale.

This year, the team has a bit of a different makeup than usual. Abacus Racing, who Seavey currently drives for in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition, partnered with Rice Motorsports on the Silver Crown side this year. Abacus is seeking its first USAC National entrant championship and could double up with multiple championships alongside Seavey in 2023.

Doran Racing will attempt to defend its Silver Crown entrant championship from a year ago as Doran-Dyson Racing. The Doran team also found a new partner for 2023 in Dan Binks to form the Doran-Binks Racing outfit.

For Binks, it’s his first attempt at Silver Crown glory after previously serving as the crew chief for Corvette Racing’s factory sports car team throughout a nearly two decade span. Under Binks’ direction, the team won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times and numerous IMSA championships. Doran, meanwhile, has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway as a crew chief, a team member, a team manager, a car owner and even as a car manufacturer.


THE IRP STRANGLEHOLD IS MAKING HISTORY

Three names synonymous with success at IRP over much of the past two decades are, without a doubt, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson and Bobby Santos. All three could also find themselves at the top of the IRP USAC record book on Saturday.

Kody Swanson and Tanner Swanson share many distinctions throughout their USAC Silver Crown careers. Among the brothers’ claims to fame are their share of the all-time lead in Silver Crown race victories at IRP with seven apiece.

Tanner evened the score on this weekend a year ago, passing Kody with 36 laps to go to grab the victory. Furthermore, the two Swansons also hold the top-two spots in terms of Silver Crown poles at IRP with Kody at eight and Tanner at seven.

Santos (Franklin, Mass.) owns 15 victories under the USAC banner at IRP, and with a 16th on Saturday, would become the all-time winningest driver with the series at IRP, a spot he’s currently tied for with Tracy Hines.

Santos’ sixth career USAC Silver Crown victory came at IRP this past spring, and a seventh on Saturday would tie him for the all-time lead on the list.


GAMESTER BACK TO #1 ALL-TIME

In the grand ol’ 53-year history of USAC Silver Crown competition, no driver owns more career series starts than Russ Gamester and Brian Tyler.

After Saturday’s race at IRP, that distinction could involve just Gamester (Peru, Ind.) who is primed to take over the lead in the category as he prepares to make his 213th career series start since making his series debut in 1989.

Saturday would also mark his 30th career IRP Silver Crown start dating back to 1991, making him the first driver to reach that mark at the west side Indy oval. Among the 1989 USAC National Midget champion’s six career USAC Silver Crown wins is a daytime victory on a Sunday afternoon at IRP in 2000.


LAST CHANCE TO DANCE IN ‘23

For many outside the title fight, Saturday’s IRP 100-lapper presents one final opportunity to make a lasting mark on the 2023 season.

Several consistent frontrunners have yet to win on the trail this year, but you can fully expect them to be in contention when the time comes to get down to business this weekend.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) stands fourth in points and owns a pair of runner-up results this year, including on the pavement of Ohio’s Toledo Speedway and on the dirt at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Illinois. In fact, Leary finished second at IRP on this weekend in 2022.

Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) has taken it to a whole new level on the Silver Crown circuit in 2023, already grabbing four top-five finishes (all on the pavement) as he searches for his first career series triumph. This year alone, he can count a pair of third-place results at Winchester and Toledo, plus a fourth at IRP and a 5th at WWT.

In three career IRP Silver Crown starts, Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) hasn’t finished outside the top-nine. His best result of the 2023 season came on the pavement at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway with a fourth.

Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) earned a career-best finish of third at IRP in 2022. Her best result of the 2023 campaign also came at IRP when she garnered a fifth in May.

Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) looks to cement her status as the series’ Rookie of the Year as she aims to best her top season finishes of 6th at Toledo, 7th at Winchester and 7th at WWT Raceway. Fellow Rookie Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas) will aim to finish a solid first series season inside the top-10 of the standings with a nice run on Saturday at IRP following a recent sixth place result at WWT.


DOUBLE & TRIPLE-DIPPERS AT IRP

Saturday will be a madhouse with three divisions all competing in full programs at IRP – USAC Silver Crown, the 500 Sprint Car tour and the Browns Oil Service Champion Midget Twin 25s.

Not only will the pits be spilling over with cars, it’ll be bustling with drivers pulling double and even triple duty as they constantly jump from one car to another throughout the day.

Four drivers will be competing in on all three divisions on Saturday: Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Bobby Santos and Kyle O’Gara, all of whom already find themselves in the win column at IRP.

Meanwhile, 11 more drivers in the Silver Crown lineup will be in the seat of at least one other car at IRP. The list includes Trey Burke (Sprint), Nathan Byrd (Midget), Mario Clouser (Midget), Dakoda Armstrong (Sprint), Taylor Ferns (Sprint), Bryan Gossel (Sprint), Justin Grant (Midget), Tom Paterson (Sprint), Kyle Robbins (Sprint), Logan Seavey (Midget) and Travis Welpott (Sprint).


RACE DETAILS

Championship Saturday features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, the 500 Sprint Car Tour and Pavement Midgets.

Spectator gates open at noon eastern, followed by 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice at 12:30, Pavement Midget Practice at 12:55, USAC Silver Crown Practice at 1:20, 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice at 1:50, Pavement Midget Practice at 2:15, USAC Silver Crown Practice at 2:40, 500 Sprint Car Tour Qualifying at 3:10, Pavement Midget Qualifying at 3:40, USAC Silver Crown Qualifying at 4:10, Opening Ceremonies at 4:45, 500 Sprint Car Tour Feature at 5:05, Pavement Midget Feature at 6:05 and the USAC Silver Crown Feature at 7:05. Times are subject to change. All times are eastern.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.raceIRP.com. Tickets will also be on sale at the gate on race day.

Saturday’s event will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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SATURDAY’S IRP USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:

02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman Racing)

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

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

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

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

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

14 (R) TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

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

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

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Dave Berkheimer)

32 (R) GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Robert Wilson Racing)

67 KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)

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

81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

94 MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (Ram Engineering)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

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

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


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


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK:

1 Lap - 5/20/2000 - Jason Leffler - 20.298 - 121.667 mph

10 Laps - 8/2/2001 - Derek Davidson - 3:35.06 - 104.789 mph

15 Laps - 5/22/2003 - Chet Fillip - 5:16.38 - 117.087 mph

20 Laps - 8/2/1995 - Eric Gordon - 7:14.71 - 113.621 mph

25 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jim Childers - 9:51.91 - 104.306 mph

100 Laps - 5/12/2001 - Mike Bliss - 35:41.40 - 115.326 mph

146 Laps - 5/26/2023 - Bobby Santos - 1:13:52.03 - 81.354 mph

150 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jeff Bloom - 1:02:32.109 - 98.728 mph

USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT IRP:

7-Kody Swanson & Tanner Swanson

6-Bobby Santos

5-Mike Bliss

3-Bobby East

2-Kenny Irwin Jr., Jim Keeker, Jason Leffler & Ken Schrader

1-Pat Abold, Jeff Bloom, David Byrne, Bob Cicconi, Jay Drake, Bruce Field, Russ Gamester, Kyle Hamilton, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Kasey Kahne, Jason McCord, Ryan Newman, Johnny Parsons, George Snider, Dave Steele, Tony Stewart, Brian Tyler & J.J. Yeley


USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT IRP:

1985: Rick Hood (7/13)

1986: Ken Schrader (7/13)

1987: Jeff Bloom (7/11)

1988: Bruce Field (7/9)

1989: Bob Cicconi (7/8) & Ken Schrader (7/8)

1990: George Snider (6/30)

1991: Johnny Parsons (6/29)

1992: Jim Keeker (6/27)

1993: Mike Bliss (6/26)

1994: Mike Bliss (8/4)

1995: Jim Keeker (8/2)

1996: Mike Bliss (5/18) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/31)

1997: Pat Abold (5/17) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/30)

1998: Tony Stewart (5/16) & Jason Leffler (7/29)

1999: Ryan Newman (5/22) & Dave Steele (8/4)

2000: Jason Leffler (5/20) & Russ Gamester (8/6)

2001: Mike Bliss (5/12) & Kasey Kahne (8/2)

2002: Mike Bliss (8/1)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/22) & Jason McCord (7/31)

2004: Jay Drake (8/5)

2005: Bobby East (8/4)

2006: Brian Tyler (8/3)

2007: Bobby East (7/26)

2008: Bobby East (7/24)

2009: Bobby Santos (7/23)

2010: Tracy Hines (7/22)

2011: Kody Swanson (7/28)

2012: Bobby Santos (5/19) & Bobby Santos (7/26)

2013: Tanner Swanson (7/27)

2014: Tanner Swanson (5/17) & David Byrne (7/24)

2015: Tanner Swanson (5/23) & Tanner Swanson (7/23)

2016: Tanner Swanson (5/27) & Kody Swanson (7/21)

2017: Kody Swanson (5/26) & Bobby Santos (7/20)

2018: Kody Swanson (5/25)

2019: Kyle Hamilton (5/24) & Kody Swanson (9/7)

2020: Tanner Swanson (8/21)

2021: Kody Swanson (5/29) & Kody Swanson (8/14)

2022: Bobby Santos (5/27) & Tanner Swanson (10/22)

2023: Bobby Santos (5/26)

USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK:

JULY 13, 1985 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Rick Hood (5), 2. Ken Schrader (2), 3. Dave Blaney (4), 4. Larry Rice (21), 5. Gary Bettenhausen (13), 6. Joe Saldana (18), 7. Bruce Field (6), 8. John Andretti (12), 9. Rich Vogler (1), 10. Sheldon Kinser (3), 11. John Batts Jr. (24), 12. Jac Haudenschild (16), 13. Tom Bigelow (7), 14. Jerry Nemire (10), 15. Kramer Williamson (22), 16. Ken Hamilton (8), 17. Billy Engelhart (11), 18. Mark Alderson (23), 19. George Snider (9), 20. Gary Irvin (15), 21. Steve Chassey (17), 22. Doug Saunier (20), 23. Danny Milburn (19), 24. Johnny Parsons (14). 1:07:16.06

JULY 13, 1986 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ken Schrader (2), 2. Steve Butler (15), 3. Rick Hood (9), 4. Dave Blaney (7), 5. Billy Engelhart (3), 6. Jack Hewitt (21), 7. George Snider (5), 8. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 9. Warren Mockler (16), 10. Bob Frey (12), 11. Tom Bigelow (10), 12. Larry Dickson (13), 13. Jeff Bloom (20), 14. Manny Rockhold (23), 15. Greg Staab (19), 16. Steve Chassey (18), 17. Duke Cook (17), 18. Taylor Andrews (24), 19. Larry Rice (4), 20. Nick Fornoro Jr. (11), 21. Bruce Field (6), 22. Gary Irvin (8), 23. Johnny Parsons (22), 24. Mark Alderson (14). 1:03:15.05

JULY 11, 1987 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jeff Bloom (3), 2. Jack Hewitt (17), 3. Steve Butler (2), 4. Rick Hood (16), 5. Jeff Swindell (14), 6. Bruce Field (12), 7. Steve Chassey (13), 8. Warren Mockler (19), 9. Mark Alderson (7), 10. Tony Elliott (26), 11. Kenny Jacobs (9), 12. Duke Cook/Ken Schrader (18), 13. Larry Rice (21), 14. Jim Childers (15), 15. Terry Kawell (24), 16. Manny Rockhold (20), 17. Gary Bettenhausen (11), 18. Bob Frey (8), 19. Bob Cicconi (6), 20. Rich Vogler (1), 21. Andy Hillenburg (10), 22. Ron Dunstan (23), 23. Kelly Kinser (22), 24. Mike Bliss (25), 25. Ken Schrader (4), 26. Dave Blaney (5). 1:02:32.109

JULY 9, 1988 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bruce Field (6), 2. Steve Butler (17), 3. Bob Frey (16), 4. George Snider (15), 5. Steve Chassey (9), 6. Tray House (14), 7. Billy Vukovich III (3), 8. Gene Lee Gibson (1), 9. Jack Hewitt (19), 10. Jerry Russell (23), 11. Larry Rice (10), 12. Jim Keeker (21), 13. Kenny Jacobs (11), 14. Palmer Crowell (5), 15. Gary Bettenhausen (4), 16. Andy Hillenburg (8), 17. Ray Joe Fager (25), 18. Mark Alderson (13), 19. Ken Schrader (7), 20. Johnny Parsons (2), 21. Gary Irvin (18), 22. Gary Hieber (22), 23. Tony Elliott (24), 24. Bob Cicconi (20), 25. Rich Vogler (26), 26. Jeff Bloom (12). NT

JULY 8, 1989 FEATURE: (75 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Bob Cicconi (6), 2. Ken Schrader (2), 3. Bruce Field (9), 4. Gary Bettenhausen (12), 5. Mark Alderson (4), 6. Johnny Parsons (13), 7. Bob Frey (3), 8. Larry Rice (14), 9. Rusty Rasmussen (8), 10. Walt Kennedy (23), 11. George Snider (19), 12. Andy Hillenburg (15), 13. Tony Elliott (10), 14. Tom Bigelow (21), 15. Wayne Hammond (11), 16. Warren Mockler (22), 17. Gene Lee Gibson (20), 18. Gary Hieber (17), 19. Steve Butler (5), 20. Manny Rockhold (7), 21. Jim Mahoney (16), 22. Steve Chassey (18), 23. Rich Vogler (1), 24. Jeff Bloom (24). NT

JULY 8, 1989 FEATURE: (75 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Ken Schrader (2), 2. Gary Bettenhausen (4), 3. Bob Cicconi (1), 4. Andy Hillenburg (12), 5. Bruce Field (3), 6. Wayne Hammond (15), 7. Mark Alderson (5), 8. Rusty Rasmussen (9), 9. Johnny Parsons (6), 10. Jeff Bloom (20), 11. George Snider (11), 12. Larry Rice (8), 13. Warren Mockler (16), 14. Tom Bigelow (14), 15. Rick Tomasik (24), 16. Gary Hieber (18), 17. Danny Milburn (21), 18. Tony Elliott (13), 19. Mike Thomas (23), 20. Lyn McIntosh (22), 21. Bob Frey (7), 22. Gene Lee Gibson (17), 23. Walt Kennedy (10), 24. Jim Mahoney (19). NT

JUNE 30, 1990 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. George Snider (16), 2. Ken Schrader (11), 3. Eric Gordon (2), 4. Bob Frey (10), 5. Brent Kaeding (3), 6. Jeff Gordon (6), 7. Jack Hewitt (15), 8. Davey Hamilton (9), 9. Wally Pankratz (7), 10. Andy Hillenburg (17), 11. Bob Cicconi (5), 12. Warren Mockler (1), 13. Chuck Gurney (13), 14. Roy Caruthers (14), 15. Rusty McClure (23), 16. Wayne Hammond (12), 17. Jimmy Sills (18), 18. Steve Butler (19), 19. Tray House (20), 20. Gary Hieber (21), 21. Rich Vogler (8), 22. Stan Fox (4), 23. Tony Elliott (22), 24. Bentley Warren (25), 25. Manny Rockhold (24). NT

JUNE 29, 1991 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Johnny Parsons (1), 2. Eric Gordon (6), 3. Jim Keeker (15), 4. Steve Butler (16), 5. Wally Pankratz (5), 6. Russ Gamester (8), 7. Chuck Gurney (9), 8. Steve Chassey (11), 9. Larry Dickson (14), 10. Tony Elliott (21), 11. Tray House (20), 12. Gary Hieber (18), 13. Andy Hillenburg (13), 14. Mike Fedorcak (22), 15. Greg Staab (19), 16. Jerry Nemire (23), 17. Gene Lee Gibson (10), 18. Jeff Gordon (3), 19. Brad Marvel (24), 20. Robbie Stanley (12), 21. Stan Fox (4), 22. Bob Cicconi (17), 23. Jimmy Sills (2), 24. George Snider (7). 42:09.55

JUNE 27, 1992 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jim Keeker (1), 2. Johnny Parsons (2), 3. Jimmy Sills (7), 4. Mike Bliss (4), 5. Jim Mahoney (11), 6. Tony Stewart (5), 7. Steve Butler (8), 8. Stevie Reeves (17), 9. Chip Thomas (9), 10. Russ Gamester (6), 11. Eric Gordon (13), 12. Joe Gaerte (10), 13. Wally Pankratz (3), 14. Tony Elliott (20), 15. Larry Dickson (23), 16. Tray House (22), 17. Greg Staab (24), 18. Cary Faas (18), 19. Page Jones (14), 20. Jack Hewitt (15), 21. Tyce Carlson (16), 22. Mike Fedorcak (19), 23. Davey Hamilton (12), 24. Warren Mockler (21). NT

JUNE 26, 1993 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (3), 2. Johnny Parsons (2), 3. George Snider (4), 4. Stevie Reeves (9), 5. Eric Gordon (16), 6. Ron Shuman (14), 7. Jim Keeker (11), 8. Steve Butler (6), 9. Tony Elliott (10), 10. Jim Mahoney (8), 11. Gary Hieber (12), 12. Bob Cicconi (21), 13. Ronnie Burke (19), 14. Bob Frey (20), 15. Greg Staab (18), 16. Wally Pankratz (5), 17. Bill Baue (24), 18. Jimmy Sills (1), 19. Tray House (22), 20. Larry Dickson (13), 21. Tyce Carlson (15), 22. Chip Thomas (17), 23. Tony Stewart (7), 24. Gary Cameron II (23). NT

AUGUST 4, 1994 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (4), 2. P.J. Jones (1), 3. Johnny Parsons (3), 4. Kenny Irwin Jr. (8), 5. Jimmy Sills (12), 6. Tony Elliott (6), 7. Ron Shuman (15), 8. George Snider (20), 9. Randy Tolsma (14), 10. Chuck Gurney (17), 11. Jack Runyon (19), 12. Wally Pankratz (13), 13. Kenneth Nichols (24), 14. Rocky Hodges (23), 15. Bentley Warren (10), 16. Jack Hewitt (21), 17. Chuck Leary (16), 18. Rusty McClure (11), 19. Andy Michner (2), 20. Gary Hieber (18), 21. Page Jones (5), 22. Eric Gordon (7), 23. Russ Gamester (9), 24. Dave Steele (22). NT

AUGUST 2, 1995 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Jim Keeker (1), 2. Tony Stewart (2), 3. Kenny Irwin Jr. (11), 4. Mike Bliss (3), 5. Davey Hamilton (12), 6. Dave Darland (7), 7. Eric Gordon (5), 8. Dave Steele (13), 9. Johnny Parsons (9), 10. Dan Drinan (15), 11. Bentley Warren (22), 12. Jack Runyon (14), 13. Lee Brewer Jr. (24), 14. Gary Hieber (17), 15. Jimmy Sills (8), 16. Jack Hewitt (4), 17. Chuck Gurney (6), 18. Tyce Carlson (20), 19. Randy Tolsma (18), 20. Jimmy Kite (23), 21. Kevin Doty (19), 22. Andy Michner (16), 23. Chuck Leary (21), 24. Rocky Hodges (10). NT

MAY 18, 1996 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (7), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (4), 3. Dave Blaney (2), 4. Kevin Doty (5), 5. Dave Steele (3), 6. Jim Keeker (6), 7. Johnny Parsons (17), 8. Chuck Gurney (8), 9. Chet Fillip (22), 10. Dave Darland (24), 11. Jack Hewitt (9), 12. Russ Gamester (13), 13. Wally Pankratz (14), 14. Chip Thomas (27), 15. Jimmy Sills (29), 16. Sammy Swindell (11), 17. Ryan Newman (12), 18. Pat Abold (16), 19. Robby Flock (1), 20. Tony Elliott (26), 21. Jim Mahoney (19), 22. Frankie Kerr (10), 23. Jackie Burke (23), 24. Chuck Leary (15), 25. John Heydenreich (20), 26. Bill Baue (21), 27. Kenneth Nichols (25), 28. Bill Rose (30), 29. Eric Gordon (18), 30. Bentley Warren (28). NT

JULY 31, 1996 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kenny Irwin Jr. (1), 2. Jimmy Sills (2), 3. Mike Bliss (11), 4. Robby Flock (8), 5. Eric Gordon (24), 6. Davey Hamilton (7), 7. Jack Hewitt (14), 8. Dave Darland (15), 9. Andy Michner (13), 10. Pat Abold (10), 11. Donnie Beechler (23), 12. Paul Durant (27), 13. Kenneth Nichols (29), 14. Steve Barth (12), 15. Chuck Gurney (20), 16. Randy Tolsma (21), 17. Gary Hieber (30), 18. Rocky Hodges (5), 19. Tracy Hines (19), 20. Tony Stewart (3), 21. Ryan Newman (9), 22. Dan Drinan (6), 23. Jackie Burke (18), 24. Bill Baue (28), 25. Gary Irvin (17), 26. Brian Tyler (22), 27. Dave Steele (4), 28. Tony Elliott (26), 29. Jim Keeker (16), 30. Bill Rose (25). NT

MAY 17, 1997 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Pat Abold (4), 2. Jimmy Kite (8), 3. Jack Hewitt (6), 4. Donnie Beechler (28), 5. Jim Keeker (1), 6. Davey Hamilton (2), 7. Kenny Irwin Jr. (7), 8. Chuck Leary (9), 9. Andy Michner (11), 10. Russ Gamester (16), 11. Chuck Gurney (13), 12. Bentley Warren (12), 13. Brian Tyler (23), 14. Eric Gordon (29), 15. Dave Darland (27), 16. Ronnie Burke (26), 17. Rocky Hodges (19), 18. Joe Gosek (30), 19. Cory Kruseman (18), 20. Bill Baue (25), 21. Todd Thomas (20), 22. Tracy Hines (17), 23. Ryan Newman (14), 24. Robby Flock (15), 25. Jimmy Sills (5), 26. Kevin Thomas (10), 27. Brian Gerster (3), 28. Jason McCord (24), 29. Jay Drake (22), 30. Dave Steele (21). NT

JULY 30, 1997 FEATURE: (100 Laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kenny Irwin Jr. (28), 2. Mike Bliss (12), 3. Dan Drinan (13), 4. Pat Abold (9), 5. Bentley Warren (26), 6. Chet Fillip (8), 7. Tracy Hines (19), 8. Jimmy Kite (5), 9. Jim Keeker (15), 10. Jeff Mitrisin (30), 11. Jason McCord (23), 12. Joe Gosek (29), 13. Jason Leffler (21), 14. Dave Darland (14), 15. Andy Michner (27), 16. Russ Gamester (1), 17. Robby Flock (18), 18. Ryan Newman (11), 19. Davey Hamilton (10), 20. Jack Hewitt (3), 21. Donnie Beechler (22), 22. J.J. Yeley (20), 23. Tony Stewart (2), 24. Jay Drake (4), 25. Brian Gerster (6), 26. Doug Kalitta (24), 27. Ronnie Burke (25), 28. John Heydenreich (16), 29. Paul Durant (7), 30. Chuck Leary (17). NT

MAY 16, 1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Stewart (2), 2. Pat Abold (5), 3. Dave Steele (13), 4. Russ Gamester (3), 5. Jason Leffler (1), 6. Doug Didero (7), 7. Tracy Hines (21), 8. Brian Tyler (19), 9. Chet Fillip (11), 10. Jimmy Sills (6), 11. Ryan Newman (26), 12. Bentley Warren (18), 13. Gary Hieber (25), 14. Kevin Thomas (15), 15. J.J. Yeley (27), 16. Ronnie Day (22), 17. John Heydenreich (20), 18. Eric Gordon (16), 19. Jason McCord (10), 20. Mike Brooks (12), 21. Lou Cicconi Jr. (28), 22. Dave Darland (14), 23. Donnie Beechler (4), 24. Troy Regier (30), 25. Jay Drake (9), 26. Todd Kane (23), 27. Chuck Leary (8), 28. Ken Hamilton (24), 29. Bill Rose (29), 30. Robby Flock (17). 44:57.26

JULY 29, 1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason Leffler (1), 2. Dave Steele (2), 3. Russ Gamester (3), 4. Ryan Newman (4), 5. Tony Stewart (21), 6. Brian Tyler (6), 7. Robby Flock (11), 8. Jack Hewitt (9), 9. Eric Gordon (16), 10. Dan Drinan (12), 11. Dave Darland (18), 12. Pat Abold (15), 13. Tracy Hines (22), 14. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (14), 15. Donnie Beechler (17), 16. Bentley Warren (23), 17. Jimmy Sills (10), 18. Gary Hieber (20), 19. Brad Armstrong (27), 20. John Heydenreich (7), 21. Chet Fillip (19), 22. Mike Brooks (24), 23. Mike Bliss (5), 24. Derek Davidson (26), 25. Doug Didero (25), 26. Bill Baue (29), 27. Brian Gerster (13), 28. Lou Cicconi Jr. (30), 29. Dave Blaney (8), 30. Johnny Parsons (28). NT

MAY 22, 1999 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Newman (1), 2. Tracy Hines (5), 3. Brian Tyler (14), 4. Russ Gamester (7), 5. Pat Abold (9), 6. Robby Flock (20), 7. Jason McCord (16), 8. Tony Elliott (8), 9. Doug Didero (4), 10. Derek Davidson (12), 11. Chet Fillip (17), 12. Jack Hewitt (21), 13. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (25), 14. Bentley Warren (18), 15. J.J. Yeley (29), 16. Gary Hieber (2), 17. Kipp Beard (15), 18. Ken Hamilton (19), 19. Jimmy McCune (22), 20. Dane Carter (23), 21. Mike Ordway (26), 22. Bill Tyler (28), 23. Tim Cox (30), 24. Jay Drake (11), 25. Brad Noffsinger (10), 26. Jason Leffler (#2) (13), 27. Paul White (27), 28. Dave Darland (3), 29. Jimmy Sills (6), 30. Bill Baue (24). NT

AUGUST 4, 1999 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (4), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (2), 3. Chuck Leary (1), 4. Ryan Newman (3), 5. Russ Gamester (7), 6. Jack Hewitt (8), 7. Gary Hieber (12), 8. Jason Leffler (5), 9. Tracy Hines (11), 10. Jay Drake (9), 11. Mike Bliss (21), 12. Bentley Warren (24), 13. Dave Darland (13), 14. Brian Paulus (26), 15. Rebel Jackson Jr. (10), 16. Eric Gordon (25), 17. Chet Fillip (19), 18. Jason McCord (23), 19. J.J. Yeley (16), 20. Brad Noffsinger (6), 21. Jimmy Sills (17), 22. Rick Treadway (28), 23. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 24. Brian Gerster (30), 25. Tony Elliott (18), 26. Tom Capie (20), 27. Brian Tyler (14), 28. Jimmy McCune (22), 29. Dane Carter (27), 30. Paul White (15). 41:00.18

MAY 20, 2000 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason Leffler (1), 2. Ryan Newman (10), 3. Jimmy McCune (3), 4. Kasey Kahne (27), 5. Brian Tyler (13), 6. Brian Paulus (14), 7. Dave Darland (24), 8. Russ Gamester (16), 9. Tony Elliott (19), 10. Jack Hewitt (26), 11. Dave Steele (2), 12. John Heydenreich (4), 13. Pat Abold (29), 14. Paul White (17), 15. Jimmy Sills (20), 16. Jay Drake (21), 17. Bobby McMahan (22), 18. Brad Noffsinger (18), 19. Billy Whittaker (6), 20. Eric Gordon (23), 21. J.J. Yeley (15), 22. Gary Hieber (7), 23. Ed Carpenter (8), 24. Todd Kane (28), 25. Jason McCord (5), 26. Chet Fillip (9), 27. Tracy Hines (11), 28. Bud Kaeding (12), 29. A.J. Fike (25), 30. Bentley Warren (30). NT

AUGUST 6, 2000 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Russ Gamester (5), 2. J.J. Yeley (1), 3. Chet Fillip (10), 4. Dave Steele (12), 5. John Heydenreich (13), 6. Jason McCord (8), 7. Jason Leffler (4), 8. Brad Noffsinger (7), 9. Tony Stewart (2), 10. Jimmy McCune (24), 11. Brian Tyler (20), 12. Dave Darland (23), 13. Kasey Kahne (9), 14. Ed Carpenter (26), 15. Eric Gordon (27), 16. Tracy Hines (16), 17. A.J. Fike (17), 18. Pat Abold (21), 19. Derek Davidson (25), 20. Jack Hewitt (11), 21. Ryan Newman (3), 22. Bud Kaeding (6), 23. Rich Tobias Jr. (28), 24. Dane Carter (22), 25. Gary Hieber (15), 26. Brian Paulus (18), 27. Bill Rose (19), 28. Tony Elliott (30), 29. Chuck Leary (29), 30. Paul White (14). 39:07.17

MAY 12, 2001 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (5), 2. Russ Gamester (6), 3. Tracy Hines (1), 4. Derek Davidson (12), 5. Paul White (2), 6. Ed Carpenter (19), 7. Jason McCord (20), 8. Kasey Kahne (3), 9. Dave Darland (8), 10. Chet Fillip (7), 11. J.J. Yeley (9), 12. Jay Drake (10), 13. Brian Tyler (21), 14. Dane Carter (4), 15. Brad Noffsinger (15), 16. John Heydenreich (17), 17. Bud Kaeding (13), 18. Tony Elliott (23), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (27), 20. Gary Hieber (18), 21. Michael Lewis (25), 22. Bobby McMahan (30), 23. Jimmy McCune (28), 24. Eric Gordon (22), 25. Dave Steele (11), 26. Brian Paulus (16), 27. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (24), 28. Carl Edwards (26), 29. Tyler Walker (14), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (29) 35:41.40

AUGUST 2, 2001 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kasey Kahne (9), 2. Brian Tyler (1), 3. Brad Noffsinger (3), 4. J.J. Yeley (7), 5. Michael Lewis (5), 6. Tracy Hines (8), 7. Paul White (6), 8. P.J. Jones (15), 9. Tyler Walker (2), 10. Russ Gamester (4), 11. Bud Kaeding (11), 12. Jason McCord (10), 13. Dave Steele (17), 14. Derek Davidson (22), 15. Jonathan Vennard (30), 16. Tony Elliott (28), 17. Ed Carpenter (20), 18. Aaron Fike (19), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 20. Carl Edwards (24), 21. Cory Kruseman (13), 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (25), 23. Tom Capie (29), 24. John Heydenreich (21), 25. Jay Drake (18), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (26), 27. Mike Bliss (23), 28. Tony Stewart (16), 29. Dave Darland (#135) (27). (Dane Carter car disqualified for failing to pass post-race technical inspection) (12). 38:33.06

AUGUST 1, 2002 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (1), 2. Russ Gamester (3), 3. Jason Leffler (6), 4. J.J. Yeley (2), 5. Tracy Hines (8), 6. Carl Edwards (16), 7. Dave Steele (12), 8. John Heydenreich (20), 9. Brian Tyler (7), 10. Tony Stewart (22), 11. Aaron Pollock (9), 12. Ed Carpenter (18), 13. Tyler Walker (25), 14. Dave Darland (14), 15. Derek Davidson (11), 16. Tony Elliott (31), 17. Paul White (19), 18. Teddy Beach (27), 19. Jimmy Kite (30), 20. P.J. Jones (15), 21. Aaron Fike (5), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (29), 23. Brad Noffsinger (17), 24. David Gough (28), 25. Jason McCord (24), 26. Jonathan Vennard (13), 27. Chet Fillip (4), 28. Jay Drake (26), 29. Kasey Kahne (21), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (23), 31. Bobby East (10). 44:55.65

MAY 22, 2003 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (4), 2. Dave Steele (1), 3. Brian Tyler (11), 4. Dave Darland (19), 5. Tracy Hines (6), 6. Chet Fillip (21), 7. A.J. Fike (18), 8. John Starks (10), 9. Tyler Walker (2), 10. Michael Lewis (20), 11. Jason McCord (22), 12. Russ Gamester (7), 13. Bobby East (9), 14. Jay Drake (13), 15. Teddy Beach (26), 16. Paul White (25), 17. Dane Carter (30), 18. Matt Westfall (23), 19. Donny Schatz (16), 20. Ron Gregory (5), 21. Ed Carpenter (15), 22. Aaron Pierce (8), 23. John Heydenreich (31), 24. Levi Jones (27), 25. Brad Noffsinger (28), 26. Lance Kobusch (14), 27. Bentley Warren (29), 28. Jason Leffler (3), 29. Jimmy McCune (17), 30. Aaron Fike (24), 31. Bud Kaeding (12). NT

JULY 31, 2003 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Jason McCord (15), 2. J.J. Yeley (1), 3. Carl Edwards (4), 4. Dave Darland (12), 5. Dave Steele (2), 6. Bobby East (3), 7. Tony Elliott (18), 8. Paul White (7), 9. Dane Carter (24), 10. Brad Noffsinger (13), 11. Jimmy McCune (17), 12. Jonathan Vennard (30), 13. David Bridges (27), 14. John Starks (16), 15. Rich Tobias Jr. (25), 16. Aaron Pierce (28), 17. Tyler Walker (14), 18. Ron Gregory (10), 19. Jason Leffler (8), 20. John Heydenreich (19), 21. Eric Butze (11), 22. Jimmy Kite (23), 23. Levi Jones (29), 24. Kasey Kahne (26), 25. Tracy Hines (6), 26. Brian Tyler (5), 27. Mike Bliss (9), 28. Michael Lewis (22), 29. Aaron Fike (20), 30. Chet Fillip (21), 31. Eric Gordon (31). NT

AUGUST 5, 2004 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jay Drake (1), 2. Dave Darland (6), 3. Jason McCord (10), 4. Eric Gordon (21), 5. Dave Blaney (7), 6. Chet Fillip (26), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 8. Bobby Santos (13), 9. Bobby East (11), 10. Aaron Pierce (19), 11. Dave Steele (22), 12. Bud Kaeding (3), 13. Dane Carter (4), 14. Russ Gamester (14), 15. Ron Gregory (25), 16. Aaron Fike (29), 17. P.J. Jones (18), 18. Boston Reid (15), 19. Paul White (5), 20. John Heydenreich (30), 21. Brian Tyler (17), 22. Tony Elliott (28), 23. Jeff Gardner (23), 24. Jimmy Kite (20), 25. Mike Bliss (2), 26. Tracy Hines (27), 27. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (8), 28. Tyler Walker (9), 29. Michael Lewis (16), 30. Aaron Pollock (24). 44:35.25

AUGUST 4, 2005 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (4), 2. Jason Leffler (1), 3. Josh Wise (5), 4. Jason McCord (22), 5. Tracy Hines (9), 6. Eric Gordon (21), 7. Chet Fillip (16), 8. Jimmy Kite (24), 9. Michael Lewis (23), 10. Dave Steele (8), 11. Ryan Durst (14), 12. Stevie Reeves (27), 13. Ron Gregory (12), 14. Tim Barber (17), 15. Todd Beach (25), 16. John Heydenreich (32), 17. Brian Tyler (29), 18. Dave Darland (10), 19. Kasey Kahne (3), 20. Teddy Beach (15), 21. Carl Edwards (13), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 23. Marc Jessup (6), 24. Tyler Walker (7), 25. Paul White (19), 26. Jay Drake (2), 27. Kyle Nicholas (28), 28. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (11), 29. Brad Armstrong (30), 30. Kevin Swindell (26), 31. Mike Bliss (20), 32. Russ Gamester (31). 40:07.731

AUGUST 3, 2006 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (3), 2. Carl Edwards (5), 3. Dave Steele (4), 4. Aaron Pierce (7), 5. Bryn Gohn (12), 6. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (10), 7. Thiago Medeiros (9), 8. Josh Wise (1), 9. Mat Neely (8), 10. Jay Drake (6), 11. Bud Kaeding (2), 12. Bobby Santos (13), 13. Tim Barber (11), 14. Rodney Weesner (14). 42:43.281

JULY 26, 2007 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (2), 2. Pablo Donoso (7), 3. Tim Barber (5), 4. Cameron Dodson (3), 5. Mike Murgoitio (9), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (11), 7. Bud Kaeding (12), 8. Jason Leffler (1), 9. Brian Tyler (15), 10. Billy Wease (10), 11. A.J. Fike (4), 12. Mat Neely (8), 13. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (16), 14. Aaron Pierce (6), 15. Marc Jessup (14), 16. Paul White (17), 17. Brad Armstrong (18), 18. P.J. Jones (13). 47:41.509

JULY 24, 2008 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby East (2), 2. Ryan Newman (3), 3. Chet Fillip (4), 4. Dave Darland (17), 5. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 6. Aaron Pierce (11), 7. Levi Jones (6), 8. A.J. Fike (13), 9. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (12), 10. Mike Murgoitio (8), 11. Brian Tyler (14), 12. Eric Gordon (5), 13. Jacob Wilson (20), 14. Shane Hmiel (1), 15. Tracy Hines (7), 16. Steve Arpin (21), 17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (24), 18. Michael Annett (25), 19. Brad Armstrong (22), 20. Ryan Smith (19), 21. Zach Schiff (16), 22. Mario Marietta (15), 23. Shane Hollingsworth (18), 24. Tom Capie (26), 25. Cameron Dodson (23), 26. Shane Cottle (10). 42:46.92

JULY 23, 2009 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (2), 2. Bobby East (3), 3. Bud Kaeding (4), 4. Chet Fillip (1), 5. Tyler Walker (10), 6. Kody Swanson (19), 7. Eric Gordon (6), 8. Ryan Newman (9), 9. Cameron Dodson (20), 10. Tracy Hines (12), 11. Josh Wise (21), 12. Dakoda Armstrong (5), 13. Mike Lichty (11), 14. Davey Hamilton (23), 15. Mario Marietta (16), 16. Levi Jones (14), 17. A.J. Fike (15), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 19. Jacob Wilson (7), 20. Brian Tyler (18), 21. Aaron Pierce (27), 22. Zach Daum (25), 23. Shane Hmiel (17), 24. Ryan Smith (28), 25. Brad Armstrong (26), 26. Tony Hunt (22), 27. Russ Gamester (13), 28. Dave Darland (24), 29. Patrick Bruns (29), 30. Rodney Weesner (30). 37:41.05

JULY 22, 2010 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (3), 2. Levi Jones (7), 3. Jacob Wilson (8), 4. Brad Sweet (1), 5. Bobby East (10), 6. Bobby Santos (13), 7. Bud Kaeding (11), 8. Shane Hmiel (16), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 10. Troy DeCaire (30), 11. Bryan Clauson (14), 12. Brian Tyler (17), 13. Eric Gordon (15), 14. Mario Marietta (20), 15. A.J. Fike (5), 16. Justin Carver (24), 17. Aaron Pierce (22), 18. Shane Hollingsworth (25), 19. Mike Larrison (23), 20. Tanner Swanson (6), 21. Coleman Gulick (28), 22. Derek Hagar (27), 23. Kody Swanson (4), 24. Ryan Newman (2), 25. Mike Lichty (26), 26. Russ Gamester (19), 27. Zach Daum (12), 28. Jason Leffler (18), 29. Zach Martini (29), 30. Tyler Walker (21). NT

JULY 28, 2011 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (6), 2. Tracy Hines (1), 3. Tanner Swanson (5), 4. Levi Jones (4), 5. Bobby Santos (19), 6. Bryan Clauson (12), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 8. Ryan Newman (8), 9. Bobby East (3), 10. Eric Gordon (9), 11. Brian Tyler (11), 12. Aaron Pierce (18), 13. Bud Kaeding (17), 14. Josh Wise (14), 15. Jacob Wilson (15), 16. A.J. Fike (13), 17. Russ Gamester (16), 18. Dave Steele (22), 19. Kyle Larson (10), 20. Zach Daum (21), 21. Jimmy Kite (28), 22. Todd Kane (29), 23. Mike Larrison (24), 24. David Byrne (20), 25. Derek Hagar (27), 26. John Heydenreich (26), 27. Jason Leffler (2), 28. Ryan Smith (23), 29. Brian Gerster (25). NT

MAY 19, 2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (3), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. Bud Kaeding (2), 4. Tanner Swanson (4), 5. Jacob Wilson (5), 6. Tracy Hines (11), 7. Eric Gordon (14), 8. Levi Jones (7), 9. A.J. Fike (8), 10. Russ Gamester (19), 11. Bobby East (6), 12. Kyle Hamilton (12), 13. Zach Daum (15), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (10), 15. Jimmy Kite (17), 16. Doug Berryman (16), 17. David Byrne (13), 18. Brian Tyler (9), 19. Donnie Beechler (18). 47:57.38

JULY 26, 2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Kody Swanson (4), 3. Bobby East (11), 4. Kyle Larson (3), 5. Tanner Swanson (2), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 7. Eric Gordon (7), 8. Russ Gamester (9), 9. Levi Jones (14), 10. Bud Kaeding (16), 11. Jacob Wilson (12), 12. Kyle Hamilton (10), 13. Brian Tyler (8), 14. A.J. Fike (15), 15. Taylor Ferns (13), 16. Tracy Hines (5), 17. Aaron Pierce (17), 18. Jimmy Kite (18). 36:48.05

JULY 27, 2013 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. David Byrne (6), 4. Chris Windom (3), 5. Tracy Hines (5), 6. Jacob Wilson (8), 7. Bobby East (11), 8. Aaron Pierce (13), 9. Brian Tyler (15), 10. Taylor Ferns (9), 11. Russ Gamester (12), 12. Frank D’Alonso (17), 13. Randy Bateman (16), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 15. Jarett Andretti (14), 16. Bobby Santos (7), 17. Shane Hollingsworth (10). NT

MAY 17, 2014 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Kody Swanson (18), 3. David Byrne (3), 4. Tracy Hines (2), 5. Bobby Santos (5), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Kyle O’Gara (9), 8. Jacob Wilson (4), 9. Bobby East (12), 10. A.J. Fike (11), 11. Taylor Ferns (6), 12. Cale Thomas (14), 13. Christopher Bell (17), 14. Jarett Andretti (10), 15. John Hunt (16), 16. Caleb Armstrong (7), 17. Shane Cockrum (13), 18. Davey Ray (15), 19. Dave Darland (19). NT

JULY 24, 2014 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. David Byrne (4), 2. Tanner Swanson (1), 3. Kody Swanson (5), 4. Ryan Newman (2), 5. Bobby Santos (3), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Jacob Wilson (9), 8. Bobby East (10), 9. Jarett Andretti (14), 10. Ken Schrader (12), 11. Davey Hamilton Jr. (18), 12. Chris Phillips (20), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 14. Davey Ray (22), 15. Patrick Lawson (24), 16. Kyle O’Gara (13), 17. Caleb Armstrong (11), 18. Cale Thomas (16), 19. Tracy Hines (6), 20. C.J. Leary (15), 21. Ryan Litt (17), 22. John Heydenreich (19), 23. A.J. Fike (21), 24. Jarid Blondel (23). NT

MAY 23, 2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Kody Swanson (5), 3. Bobby Santos (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Aaron Pierce (8), 6. A.J. Fike (2), 7. Tracy Hines (3), 8. David Byrne (10), 9. C.J. Leary (9), 10. Austin Nemire (12), 11. Jarett Andretti (11), 12. Rex Norris III (13), 13. Jacob Wilson (6), 14. Dave Baumgartner (14), 15. Patrick Lawson (15), 16. Davey Ray (18), 17. Tad Roach (16), 18. Jimmy Parsons (17). 40:23.16

JULY 23, 2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Ryan Newman (2), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Chris Windom (9), 6. Aaron Pierce (1), 7. David Byrne (7), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 9. A.J. Fike (10), 10. Austin Nemire (11), 11. Rex Norris III (13), 12. Joe Axsom (14), 13. Jarett Andretti (15), 14. Tim Barber (16), 15. Patrick Lawson (18), 16. C.J. Leary (12), 17. Jacob Wilson (8), 18. Jimmy McCune (17), 19. Tad Roach (19). 37:25.11

MAY 27, 2016 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (2), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. Robert Stout (5), 5. Aaron Pierce (6), 6. Justin Grant (12), 7. David Byrne (9), 8. Joe Axsom (11), 9. Shane Cockrum (16), 10. Joe Liguori (10), 11. Austin Nemire (13), 12. Casey Shuman (14), 13. Shane Cottle (15), 14. Jacob Wilson (8), 15. Bobby Santos (1), 16. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 17. Patrick Lawson (17). 51:38.838

JULY 21, 2016 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Tanner Swanson (4), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Chris Windom (6), 6. Ryan Newman (2), 7. Justin Grant (9), 8. Jacob Wilson (8), 9. Joe Axsom (10), 10. Joe Liguori (11), 11. Casey Shuman (15), 12. Austin Nemire (12), 13. Kevin Studley (17), 14. David Byrne (7), 15. Patrick Lawson (16), 16. Shane Cottle (13), 17. Shane Cockrum (14). 45:52.428

MAY 26, 2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (3), 3. Tanner Swanson (2), 4. Chris Windom (6), 5. Aaron Pierce (9), 6. David Byrne (7), 7. Kevin Studley (15), 8. A.J. Russell (11), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 10. Patrick Lawson (17), 11. Toni Breidinger (13), 12. Joss Moffatt (14), 13. Troy Thompson (20), 14. Justin Grant (4), 15. Davey Hamilton Jr. (8), 16. Bill Rose (18), 17. Joe Liguori (16), 18. Joe Axsom (10), 19. J.C. Bland (19), 20. Cody Gerhardt (12). 47:17.986

JULY 20, 2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (3), 2. Tanner Swanson (1), 3. Aaron Pierce (4), 4. Kody Swanson (2), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Justin Grant (5), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 8. David Byrne (8), 9. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 10. Annie Breidinger (18), 11. Kevin Studley (13), 12. Tyler Courtney (17), 13. Joss Moffatt (16), 14. Matt Goodnight (21), 15. Patrick Lawson (14), 16. Joe Liguori (20), 17. Joe Axsom (11), 18. Ryan Newman (6), 19. Bill Rose (15), 20. Damion Gardner (9), 21. Shane Cottle (19). 47:34.181

MAY 25, 2018 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Tanner Swanson (22), 3. Aaron Pierce (6), 4. Bobby Santos (2), 5. Chris Windom (4), 6. Justin Grant (5), 7. David Byrne (3), 8. Jim Anderson (8), 9. Eric Gordon (9), 10. Kyle Hamilton (21), 11. Travis Welpott (17), 12. Patrick Lawson (16), 13. Cody Gerhardt (14), 14. Dave Darland (13), 15. Kyle Robbins (11), 16. Toni Breidinger (15), 17. Matt Goodnight (12), 18. Bill Rose (18), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 20. Derek Bischak (20), 21. Austin Blair (10), 22. Mike Haggenbottom (19). 40:54.232

MAY 24, 2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Hamilton (2), 2. Tanner Swanson (17), 3. Bobby Santos (4), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Eric Gordon (16), 6. David Byrne (6), 7. Brian Gerster (9), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 9. Austin Nemire (12), 10. Cody Gallogly (8), 11. Kyle Robbins (11), 12. John Heydenreich (15), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (14), 14. Chris Windom (5), 15. Derek Bischak (7), 16. Kody Swanson (1), 17. Matt Goodnight (13). NT

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (2), 2. Tanner Swanson (1), 3. Kyle Hamilton (6), 4. Jim Anderson (10), 5. James Davison (9), 6. David Byrne (5), 7. Bobby Santos (3), 8. Justin Grant (4), 9. Chris Windom (11), 10. Kyle Robbins (20), 11. Joe Liguori (12), 12. Patrick Lawson (18), 13. Annie Breidinger (22), 14. Austin Nemire (14), 15. Matt Goodnight (15), 16. Eric Gordon (8), 17. Mike Haggenbottom (19), 18. John Heydenreich (21), 19. Ryan Newman (7), 20. Cameron Dodson (17), 21. Derek Bischak (23), 22. Cody Gallogly (16), 23. Brian Gerster (13), 24. Dave Berkheimer (24). 50:56.46

AUGUST 21, 2020 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (2), 2. Aaron Pierce (7), 3. Kyle Hamilton (4), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Justin Grant (3), 6. Eric Gordon (6), 7. Patrick Lawson (21), 8. Russ Gamester (8), 9. Chris Windom (10), 10. Kody Swanson (1), 11. Shane Cottle (13), 12. Austin Nemire (14), 13. Matt Goodnight (15), 14. Travis Welpott (18), 15. Mike Haggenbottom (20), 16. Toni Breidinger (17), 17. Kyle Robbins (19), 18. Derek Bischak (11), 19. Kyle O’Gara (12), 20. John Heydenreich (9), 21. Bryan Gossel (22), 22. Jim Anderson (16), 23. Dave Berkheimer (24), 24. Brent Yarnal (23). 50:44.343

MAY 29, 2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (2), 3. David Byrne (3), 4. Justin Grant (4), 5. Taylor Ferns (8), 6. Jim Anderson (5), 7. Logan Seavey (12), 8. Shane Cottle (6), 9. Patrick Lawson (17), 10. Austin Nemire (13), 11. Kyle Robbins (10), 12. Kyle O'Gara (14), 13. Bryan Gossel (16), 14. Mike Haggenbottom (19), 15. Eric Gordon (11), 16. Matt Goodnight (15), 17. Annie Breidinger (18), 18. Jake Day (21), 19. Tanner Swanson (23), 20. Travis Welpott (9), 21. Nathan Byrd (7), 22. Dave Berkheimer (22), 23. Brent Yarnal (20). NT

AUGUST 14, 2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Tyler Roahrig (7), 3. Bobby Santos (3), 4. Tanner Swanson (2), 5. David Byrne (6), 6. Kyle O'Gara (11), 7. Austin Nemire (16), 8. Logan Seavey (9), 9. Russ Gamester (10), 10. Travis Welpott (13), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (23), 12. Annie Breidinger (22), 13. Aaron Pierce (12), 14. Eric Gordon (14), 15. Nathan Byrd (18), 16. Bryan Gossel (24), 17. Derek Bischak (4), 18. Justin Grant (8), 19. Jake Day (25), 20. Ryan Newman (5), 21. Kyle Robbins (20), 22. Shane Cottle (15), 23. Joe Liguori (19), 24. Taylor Ferns (17), 25. Patrick Lawson (21), 26. Dave Berkheimer (26). 57:28.825

MAY 27, 2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Taylor Ferns (10), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Logan Seavey (8), 6. Brian Tyler (13), 7. Mario Clouser (24), 8. Davey Hamilton Jr. (22), 9. Eric Gordon (21), 10. Gregg Cory (18), 11. Kyle O’Gara (11), 12. Nathan Byrd (14), 13. Justin Grant (12), 14. Bryan Gossel (20), 15. Nick Hamilton (5), 16. Tanner Swanson (7), 17. Travis Welpott (25), 18. Ryan Newman (2), 19. Russ Gamester (9), 20. Kyle Robbins (16), 21. Austin Nemire (15), 22. Mike McVetta (19), 23. Patrick Lawson (17), 24. Derek Bischak (4), 25. Dave Berkheimer (23). 50:50.044

OCTOBER 22, 2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (2), 2. C.J. Leary (10), 3. Tyler Roahrig (9), 4. Kody Swanson (1), 5. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 6. Justin Grant (6), 7. Bobby Santos (4), 8. Nathan Byrd (8), 9. Mario Clouser (7), 10. Nick Hamilton (5), 11. Brian Tyler (13), 12. Travis Welpott (19), 13. Gregg Cory (17), 14. Kyle Robbins (16), 15. Jake Day (20), 16. Bryan Gossel (15), 17. Mike McVetta (14), 18. Russ Gamester (11), 19. Kaylee Bryson (18), 20. Logan Seavey (3), 21. Dave Berkheimer (21). 40:52.622

MAY 26, 2023 FEATURE: (146 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (1), 2. Logan Seavey (15), 3. Tyler Roahrig (10), 4. Derek Bischak (6), 5. Taylor Ferns (13), 6. Nathan Byrd (8), 7. Tanner Swanson (3), 8. Justin Grant (4), 9. Mario Clouser (18), 10. Mike McVetta (20), 11. Bryan Gossel (27), 12. Jerry Coons Jr. (23), 13. Casey Buckman (19), 14. Wayne Johnson (24), 15. Kaylee Bryson (30), 16. Travis Welpott (26), 17. Gregg Cory (28), 18. Russ Gamester (9), 19. Kody Swanson (2), 20. Kyle Steffens (22), 21. Trey Burke (21), 22. Patrick Lawson (11), 23. Matt Westfall (25), 24. C.J. Leary (5), 25. Kyle O'Gara (16), 26. Brent Yarnal (29), 27. Dave Berkheimer (32), 28. Emerson Axsom (7), 29. Billy Wease (14), 30. Kyle Robbins (17), 31. Davey Hamilton Jr. (12), 32. Tom Paterson (31). 1:13:52.03 (New Track Record)

 

 

ANDREOTTI POWERS TO $3,000 KERN COUNTY WIN;
FUSON CLAIMS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TITLE

BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 9, 2023… Starting fourth, Jake Andreotti of Castro Valley, California led all 30-laps to claim Saturday’s $3,000 “George Snider Classic” victory at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park. Returning from the Midwest to pilot Pete Davis’ #00 Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters / Buchannan Automotive entry, Andreotti earned the fourth USAC Western States Midget triumph of his career. Newly crowned champion Brody Fuson, fast qualifier and new track record holder Cade Lewis, Chase Johnson, and Braden Chiaramonte followed Andreotti to the checkered flags.

Andreotti opened his night by qualifying second overall and was one of six drivers to qualify under his track record that was set at the last KCRP visit in April. Jake would go on to win his 10-lap heat race sponsored by Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters and finished fourteenth in points while running a limited schedule.

Bakersfield, California’s Cade Lewis established the new track record with a time of 14.199 seconds at the 1/3-mile clay oval. Driving Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5K Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Lewis’s time earned his second Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of the season. Cade would later place third in his heat race, score third in the main event, and finish second in the point standings.

Brody Fuson of Bakersfield, California was the first driver to break Andreotti’s track record from April before settling into third on the Woodland time charts. Racing Rusty Carlile’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, Fuson won the 10-lap Jordan Hanni Well Drilling Heat Race and ran second to Andreotti in the main event. Once the Jason Vance checkered flags flew, Fuson has clinched the USAC Western States Midget Series Championship for 2023.

Starting fourteenth, newcomer Brandt Twitty of Bakersfield, California earned the night’s Ebbco Offroad Hard Charger Award after finishing eighth in the 30-lap “Sammy Bahr Feature.” Piloting the family owned #56 entry, Twitty did break Andreotti’s old track record but was found to be too light at the scales. Brandt placed seventh in his heat race and placed thirty-third in the point chase after his first night of racing with the series.

Madera, California’s Marvin Mitchell claimed the night’s Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award” after placing thirteenth in the main event. Driving his #78 TRC Transmission Elite, the longtime veteran qualified fourteenth overall and placed seventh in his heat race. Marvin closed out his season ranked thirteenth in points after a limited schedule.

With his eleventh place finish in the main event, Ben Covich of Auckland, New Zealand earned Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC Western States Midget Series. The owner/driver of the #65 Dean “Kiwi” Alexander / Matt Streeter Racing backed Spike was thirteenth fast in time trials and ran eighth in his heat race.

The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks Allstate Boring, BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Ebbco Offroad, Esslinger Engineering, Extreme Mufflers, Finishline Promotions, FloRacing, Graunstadt Enterprises, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters, Jordan Hanni Well Drilling, JT Engineering, M&M Racing Photos, Mitchell Vranjes Engineering, P1 Racing Images, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, SCRAFAN.COM, Sidewaze Designs, Steve Lafond, Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Tel Tac Digital Tachometers, T-Zone Promotions, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES: October 7, 2023 – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park - Bakersfield, California – “George Snider Classic” & “Championship Night”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY FAST QUALIFIER: 1. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-14.199 (New Track Record); 2. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-14.304; 3. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-14.385; 4. Braden Chiaramonte, 14J, Graunstadt-14.564; 5. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-14.628; 6. Ben Worth, 5V, Alexander-14.639; 7. T.J. Smith, 32, Sarale-14.639; 8. Chase Johnson, 73, Ford-14.735; 9. Keoni Texeira, 50, Texeira-14.916; 10. Samuel May, 55, Lambert-15.000; 11. Terry Nichols, 1P, Nichols/Peckfelder-15.386; 12. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-16.065; 13. Ben Covich, 65, Covich-16.261: 14. Marvin Mitchell, 78, Mitchell-16.702; 15. Brandt Twitty, 56, Twitty-NT.

JORDAN HANNI WELL DRILLING FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Fuson, 2. Smith, 3. Lewis, 4. Sarna, 5. Texeira, 6. Nichols, 7. Twitty, 8. Covich. NT.

HOT HEAD COMPETITION ENGINE HEATERS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Andreotti, 2. Chiaramonte, 3. Worth, 4. Johnson, 5. May, 6. Hazelton, 7. Mitchell. NT

SAMMY BAHR FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Jake Andreotti (4), 2. Brody Fuson (3), 3. Cade Lewis (5), 4. Chase Johnson (7), 5. Braden Chiaramonte (2), 6. T.J. Smith (6), 7. C.J. Sarna (1), 8. Brandt Twitty (14), 9. Ben Worth (15), 10. Terry Nichols (10), 11. Ben Covich (12), 12. Ron Hazleton (11), 13. Marvin Mitchell (13), 14. Keoni Texeira (8), 15. Samuel May (9). NT.
----------------------------
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Andreotti.
EBBCO OFFROAD HARD CHARGER: Brant Twitty (14th to 8th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13: Marvin Mitchell

FINAL USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-831, 2-Cade Lewis-790, 3-C.J. Sarna-558, 4-Ben Worth-532, 5-Ron Hazelton-528, 6-Ben Covich-410, 7-Caden Sarale-404, 8-Randi Pankratz-403, 9-Samuel May-384, 10-T.J. Smith-341.

FINAL WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-58, 2-Cade Lewis-38, 3-Caden Sarale-17, 4-Jake Andreotti-14, 5-Ben Worth-13, --C.J. Sarna-13, 7-David Gasper-11, --T.J. Smith-11, 9-Robby Josett-8, --Brandon Wiley-8.

FINAL SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-700, 2-Cade Lewis-680, 3-C.J. Sarna-502, 4-Ron Hazelton-490, 5-Ben Worth-465, 6-Ben Covich-390, 7-Randi Pankratz-362, 8-Caden Sarale-351, 10-T.J. Smith-296.

FINAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Cade Lewis-35, 2-Brody Fuson-32, 3-Ron Hazelton-25, 4-Ben Covich-20, 5-C.J. Sarna-12, 6-Marvin Mitchell-11, 7-David Gasper-10, 8-Samuel May-9, --Jake Andreotti-9, --Ben Worth-9.

 

 

MASTERMIND:

LEARY LANDS 2023

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER TITLE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 8, 2023)………C.J. Leary has won a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, an Indiana Sprint Week title and an Eastern Storm crown in his career.

In 2023, the Greenfield, Ind. driver added another highlight to his impressive reel by capturing the second annual Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Championship Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment.

Leary earned $10,000 for his efforts in the 10-race miniseries and an extra $2,500 for his BGE Dougherty Motorsports team based out of Evansville, Ind. He finished off the championship with a sixth-place result on Saturday night at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.

In the end, Leary won the Bubby Jones title by a 10-point margin over runner-up Emerson Axsom who carried the series lead into the Lawrenceburg finale by five markers. Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) had led the standings for the past five events since mid-July.

For Leary, it’s another feather in his cap as he also will receive a custom trophy provided by Potter Metal Art and a year-end acknowledgement at USAC’s Night of Champions in December for his accomplishment in winning the series named in honor of the 1998 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee, nicknamed Ol’ Bub.

“It’s something we set out to do at the beginning of the year,” Leary stated. “Bubby was a badass, so it’s cool to win this in his honor. It’s super special and the Bubby Jones deal ranks right up there (in my career). It’s 10 races all across the country and it’s definitely an honor.”

In 10 Bubby Jones series starts, Leary piloted his Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete - Highsmith Guns - Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/DRC/1-Way Chevy to a pair of wins, including the opener at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in May as well as the Indiana Sprint Week round at Kokomo Speedway in July.

On the journey, Leary also notched a second in the series debut at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway, a 4th at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, a 5th at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track, a 6th at both Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway and Lawrenceburg, plus an eighth at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway and a 10th at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway.

Only one aberration disrupted Leary’s flow – a flat tire at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, which dropped him down to a 17th place result and lowered him to fourth in the points, 37 out of the lead, leading Leary to believe that a Bubby Jones title run might be out of the question.

“I felt like we may not be able to get it done,” Leary admitted. “We blew a tire at Port Royal and ended up running 17th. I felt like that really hindered our shot with it only being a 10-race series. But we were able to rebound pretty well, ran good and won some races, and that’s what it’s all about.”

While Leary took two victories in the 10-race victories, five more drivers also earned their share of glory in the series. In fact, four drivers won on multiple occasions.

Emerson Axsom won twice on June 16 at Williams Grove and July 28 at Bloomington. Brady Bacon, the 2022 Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster champion, scored two triumphs on May 23 at Terre Haute and on September 16 at Tri-State. Justin Grant took two on June 17 at Port Royal and on October 7 at Lawrenceburg.

Grabbing one victory apiece, meanwhile, were Jake Swanson on June 3 at Knoxville and Matt Westfall on September 9 at Texarkana 67.

Spire Sports + Entertainment served as the presenting sponsor of the series. SS+E has been involved in numerous race promotion and marketing efforts for tracks and events on the USAC schedule in recent years. Founded in 2010, Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) has blossomed into a multi-tiered entity. Since then, SS+E has become a subsidiary of parent organization Spire Holdings, which includes a a diverse sports portfolio, including Spire Motorsports, SS+E, ECHL hockey teams the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush and the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits and short track promotions company Track Enterprises.


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


BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER CHAMPIONS

2022: Brady Bacon

2023: C.J. Leary


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


2023 BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER WINNERS

May 6: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

May 23: Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway - Knoxville, IA

WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, IN

WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

Jul 28: Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, IN

WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR

WINNER: Matt Westfall (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)

Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, IN

WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)

Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, IN

WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)


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


2023 FINAL BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER POINT STANDINGS

1. 636-C.J. Leary

2. 626-Emerson Axsom

3. 595-Brady Bacon

4. 595-Mitchel Moles

5. 578-Jake Swanson

6. 568-Justin Grant

7. 540-Kyle Cummins

8. 523-Chase Stockon

9. 486-Daison Pursley

10. 472-Robert Ballou

11. 425-Logan Seavey

12. 408-Matt Westfall

13. 406-Carson Garrett

14. 358-Kevin Thomas Jr.

15. 293-Briggs Danner

16. 257-Max Adams

17. 215-Charles Davis Jr.

18. 186-Jadon Rogers

19. 131-Shane Cottle

20. 129-Brandon Mattox

21. 114-Justin Zimmerman

22. 106-Thomas Meseraull

23. 104-Eddie Tafoya Jr.

24. 95-Geoff Ensign

25. 88-Matt Mitchell

26. 80-Mario Clouser

27. 73-Steven Drevicki

28. 71-Timmy Buckwalter

29. 68-Brent Beauchamp & Alex Bright

31. 66-Joey Amantea

32. 64-Dustin Beck & Dalton Stevens

34. 59-Sterling Cling & Chase Johnson

36. 55-J.J. Hughes & Zack Pretorius

38. 52-Kendall Ruble

39. 50-Hunter Maddox

40. 48-Cody Gardner & Riley Kreisel

42. 47-Wesley Smith

43. 46-Nick Bilbee & Paul White

45. 45-Tim Creech & Stevie Sussex

47. 43-Dallas Hewitt & Brady Short

49. 42-Ivan Glotzbach & Brody Roa

51. 38-Kyle Jones & Kody Swanson

53. 36-Saban Bibent, Braxton Cummings & Preston Lattomus

56. 34-Logan Calderwood & Travis Thompson

58. 33-J.J. Yeley

59. 32-Garrett Abrams & Jack Hoyer

61. 31-Chance Crum & Adyn Schmidt

63. 30-Jason Howell

64. 28-Scotty Weir

65. 27-Andy Bradley

66. 24-Ed Aikin, Trey Osborne & Keith Sheffer II

69. 23-Nathan Carle, Stephen Schnapf & Carson Short

72. 20-Ryan Barr, Troy Carey, Jason Cherry, Aric Gentry, Rylan Gray, Tom Harris, Jack James, Travis Millar & Kevin Newton

81. 10-Dave Axton, A.J. Bender, Cole Bodine, Donny Brackett, Wyatt Burks, Isaac Chapple, Brayden Clark, Colten Cottle, Dave Darland, Michael Daugherty, Bryan Debrick, Xavier Doney, Don Droud Jr., Gary Floyd, Parker Frederickson, Matt Goodnight, Brian Hayden, Anton Hernandez, Tyler Hewitt, Raymond Holden, Allen Howard Jr., Chase Howard, Jonathan Hughes, Dustin Ingle, Johnny Ivers, Tyler Kendall, Larry Kingseed Jr., Jordan Kinser, Tyler Miller, Joss Moffatt, Kyle Moody, Christian Moore, Evan Mosley, Devan Myers, Chase Parson, Jeff Pritchett, Kayla Roell, Brian Ruhlman, Bryar Schroeter, Sam Scott, Kobe Simpson, Alec Sipes, Doug Sylvester, Vinny Ward, Noah Whitehouse, Tayte Williamson & Ben Woods

 

 

USAC LEGEND DAVE DARLAND ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 6, 2023)………Dave Darland, one of seven USAC Triple Crown champions and the winningest driver in USAC National Sprint Car history, announced his retirement via a Facebook post on Friday night.

Darland achieved his USAC Triple Crown club status by winning the USAC Silver Crown title in 1997, the National Sprint Car crown in 1999 and back-to-back National Midget driving championships in 2001-02. Only Darland, Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris Windom belong to that exclusive club.

The first of Darland’s record 62 career USAC National Sprint Car victories came in May of 1993 during the Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track for car owner Brent Earlywine. In fact, his total of 115 USAC feature victories (nationally and regionally) ranks fifth all-time, and also includes 30 National Midget triumphs and 14 with the Silver Crown series.

Darland, of Lincoln, Ind., recorded a total of 1,334 USAC National starts, which ranks first in series history, including 797 in the USAC Sprint Cars, 336 in the Midgets and 201 Silver Crown. His first USAC start came on September 29, 1986, with the National Sprint Cars in the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. His most recent start came at his home track of Kokomo Speedway in August of 2023.

The 2017 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee has raced everywhere and won nearly everything in his long and storied career. He’s won on pavement and dirt, won from coast-to-coast, and titles upon titles, and was one of the most popular drivers to ever compete on the USAC trail, affectionately earning the nickname, “The People’s Champ.”

“Forty-two years of sprint car racing (52 years of being behind the wheel of a race car), that's a long time,” Darland stated. “One-hundred-plus races per year for many years, thousands and thousands of miles traveled, records set and records broken. Fans who became friends and family, great car owners to fulfill the need of racing and awesome sponsors who made it happen.”

Darland announced that the Friday, October 13, Kokomo Klash at Kokomo Speedway would be the last race of his career. But now, the 57-year-old has decided it’s time to step away from the cockpit for good.

“Now is the time for my family and my five grandkids; my time,” Darland explained. “I’m retiring and (there’s) no looking back. The memories have been made and I've fulfilled my dreams and plans.”

Darland initially gained fame locally on the Indiana sprint car scene, driving his father Bob Darland’s famed yellow number 36D. His first sprint car victory came at Kokomo when he defeated the legendary Bob Kinser. Several track championships came his way in the ensuing years, including four at Kokomo in 1987-91-93-94 and at Lincoln Park Speedway in 1990-91.

He truly broke onto the national scene with a Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown victory in 1995 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds for car owner Galen Fox, then became a hired gun, winning the 1999 USAC National Sprint Car title for the Hoffman family’s Dynamics, Inc. team and the 2001-02 USAC National Midget points championships for car owner Steve Lewis, three of the most famed car owners and teams to ever compete in the sport.

All these years later, Darland has solidified his position as one of the all-time greats in USAC racing, a status he will retain for eternity.

“Who would have thought that a straggly kid from Lincoln, Indiana would have come this far?” Darland pondered. “Thank you to every person who stood beside me, with me and against me. You made me the person that I am, the career that I've had, and for that, I am forever grateful. Thank you for being the best fans, friends and family.”

 

 

$20 GRAND GRANT!

JG POCKETS A USAC SPRINT CAR PAYDAY

AT LAWRENCEBURG’S FALL NATIONALS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 7, 2023)………Justin Grant has characterized Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway as sort of a second home to him throughout his racing career.

He’s won numerous races at the 3/8-mile dirt oval, including the first feature victory of his USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship career in 2012, but none have been more lucrative than the $20,000 payday he pocketed on Saturday night during the 16th running of the Fall Nationals.

Just as he did that night more than a decade ago, the Ione, Calif. native capped the evening with a hat shake, saluting the fans while holding his helmet out of the top of the roll cage during his ceremonial victory lap.

On a night in which he became the 10th driver to achieve 400 career USAC National Sprint Car feature starts, Grant raced away to the most dominant score of the 2023 season, lapping all but the top-seven finishers in a a 6.756 second shellacking behind the wheel of his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

His win total on the 2023 USAC National Sprint Car season now stands at 11, the most since Tyler Courtney achieved the same amount during the 2018 season. Grant’s 45th career USAC National Sprint Car victory also moved him into a tie for sixth all-time alongside 1968-70-75 series champion Larry Dickson.

It’s been quite a run for Grant over his last 17 USAC National Sprint Car feature starts, winning eight times in that timeframe with the series, and the Fall Nationals triumph arrives on the heels of last weekend’s $20,039 Driven2SaveLives BC39 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I’m so blessed to be able to get into these absolute hot rods every night,” Grant exclaimed. “Everything I’ve jumped into lately has been the fastest car on the racetrack. This car was on absolute rails tonight. (Jeff Walker) had us dialed in and I could run wide open even when it was up against the wall; I had grip, and I was stable. The thing has been unreal, and I didn’t feel like I was as on top of my game as I’d like to be. I was a little behind the racecar, but fortunately, we’ve been so good and that makes my job easy.”

Despite winning his heat race, the initial satisfaction of the victory was soon clouded by a sudden issue that had the team scrambling to make wholesale changes to remedy the situation.

“After the heat race, the car shut off coming to the checkered,” Grant explained. “Running down the back stretch, it shut off, then came back on. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it, so we changed ignitions, we changed steering gears, we changed cam spuds and the fuel pump, and we were back there thrashing from the time the heat race was over. We were still putting the body back on when the eight-minute horn went off for the feature.”

Rolling off from the seventh starting position, Grant had some digging to do to work his way to the front while Robert Ballou led the initial eight laps from the pole position. Meanwhile, Grant was already hustling as he made his way up to fourth by lap four with a two-for-one pass on the bottom of turns three and four to slip by Max Adams and Jake Swanson.

The yellow flag was displayed on lap six when 17th running Saban Bibent suffered a flat right rear tire, then slapped the outside turn one wall. He was finished for the evening as was eighth place running Brady Bacon who pulled off during the caution with a driveline issue.

Grant entered the race with a 66-point lead in the USAC National Sprint Car championship fight over Bacon. But with Bacon’s mechanical issue and subsequent 19th place result, the thoughts of any kind of points racing or conservatism for Grant went out the window.

“When Brady fell out, I thought, well, that’s a freebie. I can go out and make $20 grand, and if I crash trying, then it’s no harm, no foul,” Grant mused. “It actually made me drive the thing a little harder probably because I didn’t have to worry about it. I could just go out and bash, and in the worst-case scenario, we come out of here how we went in. It was a good opportunity for us to go try and make some money.”

Shortly after the ensuing restart, second running Thomas Meseraull turned the volume up to 11. He slid Ballou for the lead in turn one on lap seven, and proceeded to lead the next half-lap until he tagged the outside wall with his right rear tire, sending him helicoptering down the racetrack before coming to a rest. The incident eliminated Meseraull from the race and ended his opportunity for a $30,000 payday, which would’ve included a $10,000 bounty that was up for grabs to a driver outside the top-12 in USAC national sprint car points who could win the event.

Grant had moved into third with a low-side pass of C.J. Leary in turns three and four just before the red flag, and with the exodus of Meseraull, Grant lined up second behind Ballou for the seventh sojourn. Two laps later, on the ninth of 30 circuits, Bacon found the lead when he again streamed to the bottom of turn three before sliding up right across the nose of Ballou exiting turn four and beat him to the line by a single car length.

From there, it was curtains for the rest of the field as Grant stretched his lead to more than three seconds by the halfway mark at lap 15, and soon found himself back inside the top-10 by virtue of lapping 10th running Kyle Cummins followed by Emerson Axsom in ninth, and ultimately, eighth-place Mitchel Moles with five laps remaining.

In the end, Grant became a six-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Lawrenceburg, just one behind Dave Darland for the all-time lead. Just shy of a half-lap behind Grant at the finish line were Robert Ballou in the runner-up spot followed by Jake Swanson in third, Logan Seavey in fourth and Jadon Rogers fifth after starting back in 12th.

Grant’s victory came in the final race of Dave and Kim Rudisell’s 17-year tenure as the promoters of Lawrenceburg Speedway, who on Saturday night, served as the race organizers of their 40th USAC National Sprint Car event at the track, which ranks eighth all-time.

“Thanks to the Rudisells for all they’ve done here,” Grant stated. “This place has been like a second home to me over the years. It’s sad to see them go, but I’m grateful and thankful for everything they’ve done for Indiana non-wing racing. We hate to see them go, but we understand.”

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) equaled his best USAC finish of the year with his third runner-up result in his Ballou Motorsports/The Boss Builder’s Outlet Super Store – Dragonfly Aviation/DRC/Ott Chevy. Utilizing a new DRC chassis, Ballou led the first eight laps of the feature and earned his best Fall Nationals finish since winning the first two editions of the event in 2007-08.

Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) returned to the podium for the first time in exactly one month to earn his best career Fall Nationals finish aboard his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Stratis Construction – USW Cat Construction/DRC/1-Way Chevy. In two USAC starts at Lawrenceburg this season, Swanson finished on the podium both nights, also scoring a second in July.

Reigning Fall Nationals winner Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) had a night that began tumultuously with engine trouble in hot laps. Armed with a backup, the car proceeded to sputter in qualifying and struggled in the heat before the team tuned it up closer to their liking. Starting 21st, Cummins raced to the 10th spot, earning hard charger honors in his Rock Steady Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. The night was also made special with it being the first race ever attended by his two-week-old son, Krew Cummins.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) also walked away with heavier pockets after driving his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete - Highsmith Guns - Elliott’s/DRC/1-Way Chevy to a sixth-place finish. Leary earned the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Series Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment championship, a 10-race miniseries throughout the USAC National Sprint Car season. In the final tally, Leary captured the crown by 10 markers over Emerson Axsom.


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

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.637; 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.695; 3. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-13.765; 4. Thomas Meseraull, 23, NIKSTE-13.770; 5. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.823; 6. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-13.839; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.912; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.010; 9. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-14.012; 10. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-14.037; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 24, LSR-14.083; 12. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-14.100; 13. Joss Moffatt, 5J, Moffatt-14.158; 14. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-14.169; 15. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-14.207; 16. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-14.223; 17. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.246; 18. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-14.383; 19. Garrett Abrams, 32, Abrams-14.383; 20. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.395; 21. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-14.474; 22. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.712; 23. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.729; 24. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-14.738; 25. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-15.703; 26. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-NT; 27. Nathan Carle, 14c, Carle-NT (Time of 14.470 disallowed due to illegal tire).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chance Crum, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Nick Bilbee, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Joss Moffatt, 8. Kyle Cummins, 9. Garrett Abrams. 1:53.99

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Nathan Carle, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Briggs Danner, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Max Adams, 5. Sterling Cling, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Saban Bibent, 8. Rylan Gray. 1:56.80

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Saban Bibent, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Garrett Abrams, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Nathan Carle, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Joss Moffatt. 2:28.18

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (7), 2. Robert Ballou (1), 3. Jake Swanson (3), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Jadon Rogers (12), 6. C.J. Leary (6), 7. Briggs Danner (8), 8. Mitchel Moles (15), 9. Emerson Axsom (14), 10. Kyle Cummins (21), 11. Nick Bilbee (20), 12. Carson Garrett (11), 13. Chase Stockon (18), 14. Sterling Cling (16), 15. Daison Pursley (19), 16. Garrett Abrams (17), 17. Max Adams (2), 18. Thomas Meseraull (4), 19. Brady Bacon (10), 20. Saban Bibent (13), 21. Nathan Carle (22), 22. Chance Crum (9). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Robert Ballou, Laps 9-30 Justin Grant.

**Matt Westfall flipped during qualifying. Joss Moffatt flipped during the semi. Thomas Meseraull flipped on lap 7 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2329, 2-Brady Bacon-2220, 3-Emerson Axsom-2159, 4-Jake Swanson-2101, 5-C.J. Leary-2040, 6-Kyle Cummins-2011, 7-Robert Ballou-1977, 8-Chase Stockon-1755, 9-Logan Seavey-1750, 10-Mitchel Moles-1733.

FINAL BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-636, 2-Emerson Axsom-626, 3-Brady Bacon-595, 4-Mitchel Moles-595, 5-Jake Swanson-578, 6-Justin Grant-568, 7-Kyle Cummins-540, 8-Chase Stockon-523, 9-Daison Pursley-486, 10-Robert Ballou-472.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-186, 2-Logan Seavey-144, 3-Justin Grant-119, 4-Emerson Axsom-117, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Chase Stockon-95, 9-Brady Bacon-92, 10-Mitchel Moles-85.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: October 27-28, 2023 – Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, Oklahoma – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Brady Bacon (13.805)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (13.637)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chance Crum

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged/Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Briggs Danner

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Brady Bacon

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Robert Ballou

Hard Charger: Kyle Cummins (21st to 10th)

 

 

SAFETY BARS REQUIRED

IN USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES FOR 2024

Speedway, Indiana (October 5, 2023)………Beginning with the 2024 season, all chassis in USAC’s AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship division will be required to have additional bars installed to support and decrease the span between the front and rear uprights in the drivers area.

The new support bars must be in addition to the front and rear. Any attempts to manipulate the front and rear uprights to conform to these measurements will not be allowed at the discretion of USAC officials.

The support bar may be designed similar to what was known as a “safety bar.” It must be attached to the top rail at a point 15-20 inches from the rear of the front. It must attach to the hip rail and have a gusset attached to the rear upright near a point opposite of the rear brace/shock mount bar. The curve must be between 4-7 inches measured from outside of the rear upright tube to the outside of the support bar. See Diagram #16.12.1.

An existing chassis with a left side support bar installed that does not meet the option of the specification above may add a gusset that attaches to the top rail 15-20 inches from the rear of the front upright and angle to the support bar. The existing support bar tubing must meet the minimum as described above (1.375 X .083 ASTM4130) normalized steel or equivalent material). See Diagram #16.12.2.

A support bar may be added to the top rail at a point 15-20 inches from the rear of the front upright and to the rear upright near a point of the rear brace/shock mount bar but no higher than 7 inches above the hip. This bar may have a slight curve near the rear upright to accommodate elbow room and ease of fitment. See Diagram #16.12.3.

“Driver safety is of utmost importance to us all at USAC,” USAC Competition Director Tommie Estes stated. “I feel it’s time that we have safety bars on these cars moving forward as we begin the 2024 season.”

The new safety bar rule will be in place for the start of the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season which begins at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on February 9-10, followed by two dates at Barberville, Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on February 12-13 before returning to Bubba Raceway Park for three more nights on February 15-16-17.

 

 

 

THE AUTUMN WIND IS A RACER:

$20,000 ON THE LINE AT SATURDAY’S

LAWRENCEBURG FALL NATIONALS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 5, 2023)………When the people say it’s all coming down to the home stretch, no more of an apt description could be given to what lies ahead this weekend.

All the leaves are brown, the money is green and so much is at stake when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship makes its annual pilgrimage to southeastern Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway this Saturday night, October 7.

To the winners go the spoils in several facets this time around. The Fall Nationals will reward its newest champ with a $20,000 check, while non-USAC regulars will have the opportunity to boost their take home pay to $30,000 if they can achieve a noble triumph.

Emerson Axsom leads a trail of hopefuls aiming to claim a $10,000 bonus in the finale of the 10-race Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment.

Justin Grant hopes to cement his second consecutive USAC National Sprint Car title in the Midwest season finale as Brady Bacon gives chase to track him back down.

Time is winding down. The final stretch, the final month of the USAC Sprint Car season has arrived. Here’s six Fall Nationals storylines to watch as they pass like sand through the hourglass.


FALL NATTIES

No less than seven past Fall Nationals winners are expected to compete in this Saturday’s event, the most ever in the race’s history, which dates back to 2007.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) scored the first two Fall Nationals wins in 2007 and 2008. Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) claimed his very first career USAC victory in the 2012 event. Thomas Meseraull locked up a victory at the 2015 race.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) is the lone three-time winner of the Fall Nationals in 2017-19-21. Each of the past three Fall Nationals features have seen three different first-time event winners: Ione, California’s Justin Grant (2018), Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon (2020) and Princeton, Indiana’s Kyle Cummins (2022).

Meanwhile, two drivers who’ve experienced their fair share of Lawrenceburg success are seeking their first career Fall Nationals victories: C.J. Leary and Logan Seavey.

Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) has won a pair of USAC National Sprint Car races at The Burg with both coming in the summer of 2017 and 2020 and was also a track champion in 2013. Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has won two of the past four USAC National Sprint Car events since mid-September. His prowess at Lawrenceburg extends to victories in both USAC National Sprint Car and National Midget competition in 2021.


BOUNTY HUNTERS

USAC regulars have gone undefeated all season in AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition with full-time series drivers and teams winning every event run thus far in 2023.

Now, NOS Energy Drink and USAC have posted a $10,000 bounty to any driver who can beat the USAC regulars during Saturday night’s Fall Nationals at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Any driver outside the top-12 in the USAC National Sprint Car standings will be eligible for the opportunity to cash in an extra $10,000 bonus by winning that night’s feature event.

With the Fall Nationals already paying $20,000 to the feature winner, it is possible that a driver could walk out of the southeastern Indiana 3/8-mile dirt oval that night with a total of $30,000 in earnings.

Among the top contenders to claim the bounty are three-time Fall Nationals winner Kevin Thomas Jr. as well as Thomas Meseraull, another prior Fall Nationals winner in his own right. Three-time Lawrenceburg sprint car track champion Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) is among those drivers, already winning four local races at the track this year plus the track title.

Also making a run at the bounty are Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) who has twice finished on the podium with USAC this year, plus one-time USAC National Sprint Car winner Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) and Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.), the reigning USAC East Coast Sprint Car champ and current series point leader.

Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) will find himself in the mix for the bounty as will Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.), Sterling Cling (Tempe, Ariz.) and Joss Moffatt (Columbus, Ind.). Cling and Moffatt have both won on the local level at Lawrenceburg this season.


PURSUING THEIR MASTERS

One thing is for sure on Saturday night. A Bubby Jones Master of Goin' Faster Series Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment champion will be crowned.

The finale of the 10-race series within a series arrives this weekend at Lawrenceburg with Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing team standing atop the points. At stake is a $10,000 bonus for the champion driver plus a $2500 bonus to the crew chief champion.

With a maximum of 84 points up for grabs on race night (6 for the fast qualifier, 8 for each heat race winner & 70 for the feature winner), technically, seven drivers remain eligible to take home the top prize.

It’s tight at the top with Axsom leading Leary by five while reigning Master of Goin’ Faster champ Brady Bacon sits third, just 14 points out of the lead. Fourth through seventh entering the event include Mitchel Moles (-33), Jake Swanson (-66), Kyle Cummins (-79) and Justin Grant (-84).

Winners of the Bubby Jones races thus far in 2023 include two-time winners Emerson Axsom (June 16 at Williams Grove & Jul 28 at Bloomington), Brady Bacon (May 23 at Terre Haute & Sep 16 at Tri-State Speedway) and C.J. Leary (May 6 at Eldora & Jul 22 at Kokomo). One-time miniseries winners this season include Jake Swanson (June 3 at Knoxville), Justin Grant (June 17 at Port Royal) and Matt Westfall (September 9 at Texarkana 67).


THE NATIONAL TITLE RACE

Don’t sleep on the USAC National Sprint Car championship race. Three races are left on the docket with Saturday’s round at Lawrenceburg marking the final Midwest race of the season, and three total races remaining on the season.

Justin Grant enters Saturday's Fall Nationals with his largest point lead of the year at 66 markers over Brady Bacon. The previous largest point lead possessed by any driver with the series this season was Grant with a 42-point advantage back in early May.

Bacon’s recent difficulties at Eldora, which began with a flip in qualifying, followed by methanol getting into his eye in the pits and concluding with a blown engine in the feature, did significant damage to his “drive for five” in terms of USAC National Sprint Car championships.

Grant has hit his most consistent stretch of the year. His recent 12-race stretch consists of five wins, nine top-fives and 12 top-tens, which have pushed him to the brink of becoming a back-to-back series champ.


SUMMER RACE REWIND

USAC National Sprint Cars have officially completed one event this season at Lawrenceburg, which came in July of 2023 during USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week, an entertaining event which saw opportunities knocked, lost and regained, and that just represented the final few laps.

With five laps remaining, hopes of winning were fleeting for Justin Grant. Yet that’s precisely when he was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. After leading the initial 23 laps of the 30-lap feature, Grant could only watch as C.J. Leary passed by and pulled away from him with just a handful of laps remaining.

But then, a crazy thing little thing happened. As Leary began to distance himself from Grant on lap 26, Leary got bitten by the third turn wall, sending him flipping over several times and denying him the glory.

Re-enter Grant as the leader, and this time, he was unshaken, unstirred and untouchable as he closed out The Burg with his fifth career USAC victory at Lawrenceburg, tied for second all-time behind only Dave Darland with seven.

While Jake Swanson scored a solid second, Brady Bacon charged from his 22nd starting spot to take third after being forced to start at the tail of the field when his car was deemed underweight at the scales. Kevin Thomas Jr. took another solid fourth place finish where he’s previously won five times while Daison Pursley scurried up to fifth, his most recent top-five run this season.


GRAND FINALE FOR THE RUDISELLS

Saturday will be the farewell for Dave and Kim Rudisell as promoters of Lawrenceburg Speedway, a position they have held since the 2007 season.

This weekend’s race will be the 40th and final USAC National Sprint Car event promoted by the husband and wife promoting duo. Their tenure at the southeastern Indiana dirt oval ranks eighth in series history and 14th across all three USAC National divisions.

In terms of USAC National Sprint Car races promoted, Earl Baltes of Eldora Speedway fame is first with 209. Don Smith ranks second with 89 followed by Roger & Linda Holdeman (87), The O’Connor Family (61), Don Kazarian (53), Tom Helfrich (50), Bob Sargent/Track Enterprises (44), Lindy Vicari (39), Dave & Kim Rudisell (39) and Spiker Promotions (32).


RACE DETAILS

This Saturday night, October 7, it’s the 16th running of the Fall Nationals at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway, paying $20,000-to-win. A $10,000 bonus is also on the line for any driver outside the top-12 in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings.

Pits open at 3pm Eastern with the grandstands opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5:15pm and cars on track at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following. General admission tickets are $35, kids 7-12 are $7 and children 6 and under are free.

The Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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



BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-574, 2-C.J. Leary-569, 3-Brady Bacon-560, 4-Mitchel Moles-541, 5-Jake Swanson-508, 6-Kyle Cummins-495, 7-Justin Grant-490, 8-Chase Stockon-485, 9-Daison Pursley-452, 10-Matt Westfall-398.


FALL NATIONALS WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

2007: Robert Ballou (MSCS)

2008: Robert Ballou (MSCS)

2009: Damion Gardner (USAC) & Jon Stanbrough (MSCS)

2010: Rained Out

2011: Levi Jones (USAC)

2012: Chase Stockon (USAC)

2013: Bryan Clauson (USAC)

2014: Bryan Clauson (USAC)

2015: Thomas Meseraull (USAC)

2016: Josh Hodges (USAC)

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr. (USAC)

2018: Justin Grant (USAC)

2019: Kevin Thomas Jr. (USAC)

2020: Brady Bacon (USAC)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (USAC)

2022: Kyle Cummins (USAC)


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/9/2008 - Levi Jones - 12.926 - 104.441 mph

8 Laps - 9/28/2013 - Tracy Hines - 1:51.91 - 96.506 mph

10 Laps - 7/10/2008 - Cole Whitt - 2:18.199 - 7.692 mph

12 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Stevie Sussex - 2:51.399 - 4.521 mph

30 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Josh Hodges - 7:21.09 - 91.818 mph


USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

7-Dave Darland

5-Justin Grant, Jon Stanbrough & Kevin Thomas Jr.

4-Jack Hewitt

3-Brady Bacon, Kevin Briscoe, Bryan Clauson & Rick Hood

2-Tony Elliott, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Danny Milburn & Brian Tyler

1-Robert Ballou, Jeff Bland Jr., Mark Cassella, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Kevin Doty, Jay Drake, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Josh Hodges, Logan Jarrett, Thomas Meseraull, Rodney Ritter Jr., Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley


USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:

1983: Danny Milburn (9/18)

1984: Rick Hood (6/9) & Danny Milburn (9/16)

1985: Rick Hood (6/8)

1986: Rick Hood (6/7)

1988: Jack Hewitt (6/4)

1989: Rodney Ritter Jr. (7/1)

1992: Kevin Thomas (8/8)

1993: Jack Hewitt (7/10)

1994: Jon Stanbrough (6/18)

1995: Jack Hewitt (7/1)

1996: Mark Cassella (8/31)

1997: Brian Tyler (7/19) & Brian Tyler (8/30)

1998: Kevin Doty (5/30), Dave Darland (7/18) & Dave Darland (8/29)

1999: Kevin Briscoe (6/5), Jack Hewitt (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/28)

2000: Kevin Briscoe (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/26)

2001: Dave Darland (7/26)

2002: Kevin Briscoe (7/25)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/31), Jay Drake (6/1) & Jon Stanbrough (7/24)

2004: Jon Stanbrough (7/22)

2005: Dickie Gaines (7/21)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (4/22)

2007: Levi Jones (4/21), Jon Stanbrough (7/11) & Dave Darland (7/12)

2008: Jeff Bland Jr. (7/9) & Brady Short (7/10)

2009: Josh Wise (4/18), Dave Darland (7/10), Jerry Coons Jr. (8/22 Special Event) & Damion Gardner (10/2)

2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/17) & Dave Darland (7/9)

2011: Robert Ballou (7/10), Levi Jones (10/1)

2012: Justin Grant (7/15) & Chase Stockon (9/29)

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/14) & Bryan Clauson (9/28)

2014: Justin Grant (4/5) & Bryan Clauson (9/27)

2015: Logan Jarrett (4/4), Brady Bacon (7/12) & Thomas Meseraull (10/3)

2016: Dave Darland (4/2), Bryan Clauson (7/10) & Josh Hodges (10/1)

2017: Chris Windom (4/1), C.J. Leary (7/9) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/30)

2018: Tyler Courtney (7/22) & Justin Grant (9/29)

2019: Justin Grant (7/21) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/5)

2020: C.J. Leary (7/26) & Brady Bacon (10/3)

2021: Brady Bacon (4/3), Logan Seavey (7/25) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/2)

2022: Kyle Cummins (10/1)

2023: Justin Grant (7/24)


FALL NATIONALS USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY

2007 FEATURE: 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kevin Swindell, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Casey Shuman, 5. A.J. Anderson, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Dakoda Armstrong, 8. Kyle Wissmiller, 9. Jeff Bland Jr., 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Derek Franks, 12. Ricky Williams, 13. Brady Bacon, 14. Sammy Imel, 15. Kevin Briscoe, 16. Darren Hagen, 17. Matt Westfall, 18. Alex Shanks, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. Joss Moffatt, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Kent Christian, 23. Brett Burdette, 24. Chris Windom.

2008 FEATURE: 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Daron Clayton, 5. Joss Moffatt, 6. Ricky Williams, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Jeff Bland Jr., 10. J. J. Yeley, 11. Lance Grimes, 12. Logan Hupp, 13. Ryan Pace, 14. Critter Malone, 15. John Memmer, 16. Dickie Gaines, 17. Bobby Stines, 18. Kyle Cummins, 19. Kurt Gross, 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Brett Burdette, 23. Kyle Robbins, 24. Josh Clemons.

2009 NIGHT ONE FEATURE: 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Cole Whitt, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 10. Scotty Weir, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Jeff Bland Jr., 13. Nic Faas, 14. Bobby East, 15. Darren Hagen, 16. Casey Riggs, 17. Brady Short, 18. Bryan Clauson, 19. Jesse Hockett, 20. Brady Bacon, 21. John Memmer, 22. Chad Boat, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Chase Stockon.

2009 NIGHT TWO FEATURE: 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Chad Boat, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Brady Short, 9. Jeff Bland Jr., 10. Dave Darland, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Coleman Gulick, 13. Casey Riggs, 14. Jonathan Hendrick, 15. Ty Deckard, 16. Ricky Williams, 17. Shawn Westerfeld, 18. Blake Fitzpatrick, 19. Hud Cone, 20. Scotty Weir, 21. Jesse Hockett, 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 23. Jerry Coons Jr., 24. Joss Moffatt.

2010 FEATURE: Rained Out

2011 FEATURE: 1. Levi Jones, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Casey Riggs, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Ted Hines, 9. Bobby East, 10. Bryan Clauson, 11. Jac Haudenschild, 12. Brady Short, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Blake Fitzpatrick, 15. Damion Gardner, 16. Matt Westfall, 17. Logan Hupp, 18. Chase Stockon, 19. Jonathan Hendrick, 20. Brady Bacon, 21. Coleman Gulick, 22. Justin Grant, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Critter Malone. NT

2012 FEATURE: 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Bobby East, 13. Logan Hupp, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Robert Ballou, 16. Scotty Weir, 17. Brady Short, 18. Wes McIntyre, 19. Dave Darland, 20. Jonathan Hendrick, 21. Dakota Jackson, 22. Daron Clayton, 23. Coleman Gulick.

2013 FEATURE: 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Justin Grant, 6. Gary Taylor, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Chad Boespflug, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Shawn Westerfeld, 12. Daron Clayton, 13. Kyle Cummins, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Joss Moffatt, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Ted Hines, 20. Scotty Weir, 21. Tyler Courtney, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Matt Westfall.

2014 FEATURE: 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jac Haudenschild, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Daron Clayton, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Scotty Weir, 17. Kevin Thomas Jr., 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. C.J. Leary, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Shane Cottle. NT

2015 FEATURE: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Kody Swanson, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Scotty Weir, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Robert Ballou, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. Justin Grant, 14. Jarett Andretti, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Max McGhee, 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 19. Dustin Ingle, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Garrett Abrams, 22. Kyle Cummins.

2016 FEATURE: 1. Josh Hodges, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Stevie Sussex, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Jarett Andretti, 11. Chase Stockon, 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Carson Short, 14. Bret Mellenberndt, 15. Nick Bilbee, 16. A.J. Hopkins, 17. C.J. Leary, 18. Chad Boespflug, 19. Isaac Chapple, 20. Aaron Farney, 21. Joss Moffatt, 22. Landon Simon, 23. Drew Abel. 7:21.09 (NTR)

2017 FEATURE: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Josh Hodges, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Jon Stanbrough, 11. Nick Bilbee, 12. Scotty Weir, 13. Joss Moffatt, 14. Chase Stockon, 15. Kyle Robbins, 16. Isaac Chapple, 17. Garrett Abrams, 18. J.J. Hughes, 19. Tony McVey, 20. Dave Darland, 21. Aric Gentry, 22. Shawn Westerfeld, 23. Chad Boespflug. NT

2018 FEATURE: 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (7), 4. Chris Windom (18), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 6. Dave Darland (1), 7. Jarett Andretti (11), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Isaac Chapple (8), 10. Josh Hodges (9), 11. Dallas Hewitt (19), 12. Tyler Thomas (20), 13. Dakota Jackson (13), 14. Nick Bilbee (16), 15. Matt Westfall (14), 16. Justin Peck (15), 17. Jason McDougal (12), 18. Shane Cottle (10), 19. Dickie Gaines (17), 20. Brandon Spithaler (21), 21. C.J. Leary (6). NT

2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 2. Tyler Courtney (6), 3. Justin Grant (1), 4. C.J. Leary (3), 5. Chris Windom (8), 6. Nick Bilbee (10), 7. Brady Bacon (2), 8. Jarett Andretti (13), 9. Scotty Weir (14), 10. Chase Stockon (4), 11. Josh Hodges (7), 12. Dustin Clark (16), 13. Mario Clouser (15), 14. Isaac Chapple (17), 15. Max Adams (9), 16. Dustin Smith (11), 17. J.J. Hughes (19), 18. Tyler Kendall (21), 19. Justin Owen (18), 20. Garrett Abrams (20), 21. Kyle Cummins (12), 22. Aric Gentry (22). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (2), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 3. Chris Windom (1), 4. C.J. Leary (5), 5. Robert Ballou (19), 6. Kyle Cummins (11), 7. Justin Grant (3), 8. Dave Darland (18), 9. Jake Swanson (6), 10. Cole Bodine (8), 11. Scotty Weir (14), 12. Max Adams (10), 13. Shane Cottle (12), 14. Tye Mihocko (16), 15. Chase Stockon (22), 16. Carson Short (17), 17. J.J. Hughes (7), 18. Logan Seavey (15), 19. Nick Bilbee (21), 20. Mario Clouser (13), 21. Joss Moffatt (20), 22. Tyler Courtney (4) (Courtney was initially declared the winner but was repositioned to 22nd for being 15 pounds underweight in post-race tech inspection.) NT

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 2. Chris Windom (8), 3. Tanner Thorson (6), 4. Brady Bacon (11), 5. Jake Swanson (10), 6. Justin Grant (14), 7. Logan Seavey (4), 8. Max Adams (9), 9. Chase Stockon (7), 10. C.J. Leary (5), 11. Thomas Meseraull (16), 12. Brandon Mattox (19), 13. Dallas Hewitt (20), 14. Saban Bibent (1), 15. Jadon Rogers (15), 16. Ryan Thomas (12), 17. Emerson Axsom (2), 18. Justin Owen (18), 19. Shane Cottle (22), 20. Robert Ballou (13), 21. J.J. Hughes (17), 22. Jason McDougal (21). NT

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (2), 2. Logan Seavey (1), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Mitchel Moles (10), 5. Brady Bacon (11), 6. Anton Hernandez (3), 7. Thomas Meseraull (5), 8. Chase Stockon (8), 9. Robert Ballou (12), 10. Max Adams (14), 11. Emerson Axsom (7), 12. C.J. Leary (6), 13. Jake Swanson (18), 14. Jadon Rogers (19), 15. Matt Westfall (16), 16. Keith Sheffer II (21), 17. Brandon Mattox (22), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 19. Jason McDougal (9), 20. Saban Bibent (13), 21. Tripp Gerrald (20), 22. J.J. Hughes (17). NT

 

2024 USAC SPRINT SEASON LAUNCHES WITH 7 FLORIDA RACES IN FEBRUARY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 5, 2023)………For the 15th consecutive season, the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship campaign will launch in the state of Florida during the month of February.

In 2024, USAC National Sprint Cars’ trip to Florida will feature its biggest schedule of events ever with seven total races – five at Ocala’s Bubba Raceway Park and two at Barberville’s Volusia Speedway Park.

Leading off the 2024 season is the 15th annual edition of Winter Dirt Games at Bubba Raceway Park on Friday-Saturday, February 9-10, at the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track with a practice night set to begin the festivities on Thursday night, February 8. The first night of racing in Ocala on Friday will pay $6,000-to-win while Saturday night’s weekend capper will pay $7,500-to-win.

USAC National Sprint Car action then moves on down the road to Volusia Speedway Park on Monday-Tuesday, February 12-13, for two consecutive nights of racing on the half-mile dirt oval as part of the DIRTcar Nationals, culminating in a $10,000-to-win finale on Tuesday. As a change from this past year, the Volusia events will be full points-paying events.

Rounding out the Sunshine State trip is a return to Bubba Raceway Park for three more consecutive nights of USAC National Sprint Car racing on February 15-16-17. The first two nights will pay $6,000-to-win with Saturday night’s finale paying $10,000-to-win.

Additional information on times and ticket prices for the event will be made available in the coming months.

Thirty-three previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been held at Bubba Raceway Park since 2011. Brady Bacon and Kyle Cummins won features on each of the two nights back in February of 2023 in Ocala. USAC made its Volusia debut in February of 2023 with Jake Swanson and Daison Pursley coming home victorious. Brady Bacon and Damion Gardner are the all-time winningest USAC National Sprint Car drivers in the state of Florida with five victories apiece.

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.

 

 

BARNHILL ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY AFTER BC39 ACCIDENT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (October 2, 2023)………Austin Barnhill remains on the road to recovery following a semi-feature crash during last Friday night’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Barnhill (Wilmington, N.C.) underwent surgery on Saturday morning after being diagnosed with a shattered C6 vertebrae in his neck. The procedure lasted five hours, and for the first time since the accident three days earlier, Barnhill was able to walk on his own.

Austin’s mother, Kristi Barnhill, expressed her gratitude for USAC, the American Medical Response (AMR) and the Lawrenceburg Speedway Fire-Rescue teams and their immediate response to tend to her son.

“According to the doctors, for the extent of his injuries, he is a miracle,” Kristi stated. “A big part of that is because of the (safety) team, the facility we were at, and the response of the responders. This could have been a very different situation if things had not been handled as quickly and efficiently as they were, and for that, I will, nor will Austin, ever be able to show our gratitude that he can stand and walk. It’s going to be a process of recovery but he’s a tough kid with a huge racing family behind him along with family and friends.

As of Monday morning, his neck and throat remain sore, but doctors are optimistic on Austin’s progress. Austin began therapy on Monday and walked two laps around the Critical Care Unit floor at the hospital. Austin’s family reported that he could be moved to a surgery progressive room in the coming days.

The 23-year-old Barnhill made his USAC National Midget debut in 2021 and has made five feature starts in that time frame. He was competing for the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team at the time of his accident last Friday.

 

 

RYAN TIMMONS LEADS USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CARS TO KERN COUNTY
By Lance Jennings

OCTOBER 2, 2023... The chase for the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Championship will be settled this Saturday, October 7th, at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP). Promoted by Larry Collins, the “Championship Night” and “George Snider Classic” will also feature the USAC Western States Midgets and Southern California Dwarf Cars. Located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California, the Pit Gates will open at 2:00pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 4:30pm, Time Trials at 4:55pm, and Racing is scheduled at 6:20pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.

For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night’s action over the internet.

After the races, the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars and USAC Western States Midgets will celebrate their 2023 season with an awards banquet / after party. The event is nearly sold out, but interested parties can contact Stephanie Odom at odom.stephanie@me.com for tickets.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- MEMBERSHIPS / TEMPORARY PERMITS: All USAC racers MUST PURCHASE their USAC license / membership or temporary permit online PRIOR TO THE EVENT at usaclicense.com or usacracing.com.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP).
- 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 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.

In addition to championship points, each night will award points for the season-long Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Standings, Sammy Bahr & Ray Stansberry Feature Points, and Passing Master Standings. The top drivers in Woodland TQ points will take home $500-for-1st, $300-for-2nd, and $200-for-3rd. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet following the “George Snider Classic / Championship Night” on October 7th at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park.

Saturday’s event will be the fourth appearance for the non-winged 360 sprint cars at the fast 1/3-mile oval. Chase Johnson topped the first two races and local driver Brody Fuson claimed last year’s “George Snider Classic” and “Championship Night.” Kyle Edwards established the 1-lap qualifying track record of 14.394 on February 26, 2022.

After running fourth at Ventura on September 16th, Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, California) has extended his point lead to 72 markers over the competition. Driving the family owned #29T Red Line Oil / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons has two feature wins, one heat race victory, five top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the season. The 2016 Rookie of the Year is tied with Chase Johnson for twelfth on the win list and will be looking for his eighth career victory and the championship this Saturday night.

Ron LaPlant (Oroville, California) ranks second in the USAC West Coast point standings. Racing his #69 RJL Truck & Tractor Painting / Feather Falls Casino Eagle, LaPlant earned his third BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger / “Best Passing Job” honors at Ventura with a ninth place run from seventeenth. To date, the leading rookie contender has five top-ten finishes and 18 feature laps led to his credit. Ron will have his sights on the first victory of his career at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway.

Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, California) has tied Ron LaPlant for second in the chase for the championship. Piloting the family owned #39 Safehouse Security / Van Dyne Engineering Triple X, Edwards placed seventh at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. At press time, the third generation driver has posted two heat race victories, four top-10 finishes, and 6 feature laps led in the campaign. Kyle will be looking for the first win of his career at the “George Snider Classic.”

Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) sits fourth in the point standings. Driving Bob & Toni Van Meter’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson raced to the Ventura win on September 16th. To date, the USAC Western States Midget point leader has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13” Award, two top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the season. Fresh off last Saturday’s USAC Western States Midget win at Antioch, Brody will have his sights on the fourth USAC 360 win of his career.

After finishing fifth at Ventura, David Gasper (Goleta, California) is fifth in the championship standings. Driving the Gasper Racing / Kittle Motorsports #18 AR Air Repair / Valley Precision Products Triple X, Gasper has one feature win, two top-10 finishes, and 24 feature laps led to his credit. The rookie contender and two-time California Lightning Sprints Champion will be a favorite to watch at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park.

While Ron LaPlant leads the chase for rookie of the year honors, David Gasper, Jon DeWees (Lemoore, California), Adam Christian (Santa Clara, California), Bryan Whitley (Oak View, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Heath Holdsclaw (Loomis, California), Verne Sweeney (Lomita, California), and “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski (Riverside, California) are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are 2022 Rookie of the Year Tyler Hatzikian, Tom Hendricks, Cody Majors, 2022 Champion Trent Carter, Chris Ennis, Elexa Herrera, Camie Bell, Hannah Mayhew, Logan Calderwood, James Herrera, Matt Day, Tanner Boul, Malyssa Perkins, and more.

The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP) 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, Junior tickets (6-12) are $10, and Kids Tickets (5 and under) are FREE. CAMPING IS FREE. For more event information, visit kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.

The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, P1 Racing Images / A.J. Johnson, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wagtimers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email Stephanie Odom at Odom.Stephanie@me.com or Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 2010-Craig Stidham, 2011-Richard Vander Weerd, 2012-Bud Kaeding, 2013-Danny Faria Jr., 2014-Matt Mitchell, 2015-Danny Faria Jr., 2016-Brody Roa, 2017-Jake Swanson, 2018-Austin Liggett, 2019-Tristan Guardino, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-D.J. Johnson, 2022-Trent Carter.

GEORGE SNIDER CLASSIC WINNERS: 2022-Brody Fuson.

CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT WINNERS: 2017-Tristan Guardino, 2018-Ryan Timmons, 2019-Kaleb Montgomery, 2020-CANCELLED, 2021-NO RACE, 2022-Brody Fuson.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Timmons, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-David Gasper.

KERN COUNTY USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Kyle Edwards - 14.394 (02/26/22)

KERN COUNTY USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Brody Fuson.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ryan Timmons-372, 2. Ron LaPlant®-300, -. Kyle Edwards-300, 4. Brody Fuson-295, 5. David Gasper®-244, 6. Tyler Hatzikian-232, 7. Tom Hendricks-210, 8. Jon DeWees®-198, 9. Cody Majors-197, 10. Trent Carter-182, 11. Chris Ennis-175, 12. Adam Christian®-167, 13. Elexa Herrera-152, ---. Jake Andreotti®-152, 15. Camie Bell-148, 16. Steve Hix-143, 17. Bryan Whitley®-137, 18. Hannah Mayhew-133, 19. Tom Dunkel®-129, 20. Troy Rutherford-125, 21. Logan Calderwood-111, 22. Heath Holdsclaw®-101, 23. James Herrera-93, 24. Cole Wakim®-85, 25. Matt Day-76, 26. A.J. Bender-75, 27. Tanner Boul-72, 28. Kaleb Montgomery-68, 29. D.J. Johnson-61, 30. Chris Wakim®-60, 31. Verne Sweeney®-49, 32. Joey Bishop-47, 33. Rick Hendrix-46, 34. Charlie Butcher-41, 35. Bruce Douglass-40, 36. Austin Grabowski®-33, 37. Grant Sexton®-29, 38. Eathon Lanfri®-28, 39. Malyssa Perkins®-10, ---. Tony Everhart®-10.

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-24, 2. Brody Fuson-16, 3. David Gasper®-13, -. Kyle Edwards-13, 5. Troy Rutherford-12, 6. Cody Majors-9, 7. Logan Calderwood-6, 8. Kaleb Montgomery-5, 9. Ron LaPlant®-3, 10. Cole Wakim-2, 11. Tyler Hatzikian-1, --. Chris Ennis-1.

SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-317, 2. Ron LaPlant®-272, 3. Kyle Edwards-261, 4. Brody Fuson-241, 5. Tyler Hatzikian-215, 6. David Gasper®-196, 7. Tom Hendricks-188, 8. Jon DeWees®-175, 9. Cody Majors-168, 10. Trent Carter-166, 11. Chris Ennis-145, 12. Adam Christian®-144, 13. Jake Andreotti®-137, 14. Elexa Herrera-130, 15. Steve Hix-127, 16. Camie Bell-124, 17. Bryan Whitley-119, 18. Tom Dunkel-115, 19. Hannah Mayhew-111, 20. Troy Rutherford-98, 21. Logan Calderwood-95, 22. Heath Holdsclaw®-92, 23. James Herrera-87, 24. Cole Wakim®-78, 25. Matt Day-68, 26. Tanner Boul-64, 27. A.J. Bender-62, 28. Chris Wakim®-56, 29. D.J. Johnson-55, ---. Kaleb Montgomery-55, 31. Verne Sweeney®-43, 32. Rick Hendrix-39, 33. Bruce Douglass-35, 34. Joey Bishop-34, 35. Charlie Butcher-33, 36. Austin Grabowski®-27, 37. Eathon Lanfri®-25, 38. Grant Sexton®-23.

PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. Ron LaPlant®-29, 2. Jon DeWees®-23, 3. Tom Hendricks-19, 4. Heath Holdsclaw®-16, 5. Elexa Herrera-15, 6. Adam Christian®-14, 7. Ryan Timmons-13, 8. Brody Fuson-11, -. Camie Bell-11, 10. Hannah Mayhew-10, ---. Trent Carter-10, 12. Chris Ennis-6, --. Bryan Whitley-6, --. Bruce Douglass-6, --. Kyle Edwards-6, --. Tom Dunkel-6, 17. D.J. Johnson-5, --. James Herrera-5, --. Matt Day-5, --. Tyler Hatzikian-5, 21. Tanner Boul-4, --. Steve Hix-4, --. Troy Rutherford-4, 24. Cody Majors-3, --. Verne Sweeney®-3, --. Cole Wakim®-3, 27. David Gasper®-2, --. Joey Bishop-2, 29. Eathon Lanfri®-1, --. Jake Andreotti®-1, --. Chris Wakim®-1, --. Logan Calderwood-1.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 25: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (RAIN)
April 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
May 13: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
June 3: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
June 17: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
September 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (With USAC Western States Midgets / Championship Night / George Snider Classic / Awards Banquet)
November 24: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

FUSON TOPS FIFTH FEATURE AT ANTIOCH; LEWIS WINS GRAUNSTADT CHALLENGE

ANTIOCH, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 1, 2023… Starting fourth, Brody Fuson of Bakersfield, California powered to the lead on the opening lap and sailed to the $2,000 Tel Tac Digital Tachometers sponsored victory at Antioch Speedway. Piloting Rusty Carlile’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, Fuson claimed his fifth USAC Western States Midget triumph of the campaign. Cade Lewis, Caden Sarale, T.J. Smith, and fast qualifier Brandon Wiley rounded out the top five drivers.

Before winning the final round of the “Antioch Challenge Mini Series Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises,” Fuson qualified third overall, ran second to Lewis in his heat race, and placed fourth in the mini-series point chase. The point leader heads to this Saturday’s “Championship Night” finale at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park with a 38-point advantage.

Santa Maria, California’s Brandon Wiley opened the night by earning his first Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award. Making his first start in Pete Davis’ #00 Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters / Buchannan Automotive Stealth, the former USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rookie of the Year posted a time of 13.963 seconds over the sixteen car roster. Brandon scored third in his heat race, scored fifth in the feature, and finished fourteenth in the Antioch Challenge.

Cade Lewis of Bakersfield, California raced to victory in the 10-lap Jordan Hanni Well Drilling Heat Race. Driving Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5K Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Lewis was fifth quick in time trials, ran second to Fuson in the main event, and won the Antioch Challenge Mini Series by three markers over T.J. Smith. Cade heads to KCRP ranked second in points and has a shot at the USAC Western States championship at the “George Snider Classic.”

Lewis’ teammate, Coalinga, California’s Ben Worth topped the 10-lap Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters Heat Race. Piloting Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5V Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Worth qualified tenth overall, scored thirteenth in the feature after an early exit, earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, and finished third in the mini-series. The former rookie of the year sits fifth in the point chase heading to the last point race of the season.

Three “lucky pill draw awards” were available at Antioch that were claimed by Marvin Mitchell, Brody Fuson, and Danika Jo Faccinto. Mitchell earned the Rod End Supply Award, was fifteenth quick in time trials, ran eighth in his heat race, and scored fourteenth after mechanical issues in the feature aboard the #78 TRC Transmission Elite. Fuson won the Saldana Racing Products Award and Faccinto claimed the Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Award, qualified eleventh, ran fifth in her heat race, and scored eleventh in the main event aboard the #13 Roza Motorsports / Sala Racing Spike. Mitchell left Antioch ranked sixteenth in points, Fuson leads the standings, and Faccinto is thirteenth in the point chase.

Starting thirteenth, Ben Covich of Auckland, New Zealand earned the night’s Ebbco Offroad Hard Charger Award after finishing ninth in the main event. The owner/driver of the #65 Dean “Kiwi” Alexander / Matt Streeter Racing was thirteenth fast in time trials and scored sixth in his heat race. With one point race left, Covich is eighth in the point standings and is in a hard fought battle with Samuel May for top rookie honors.

This Saturday, October 7, the USAC Western States Midget Series will return to The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California. For more event information, visit kernraceway.com.

The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Ebbco Offroad, Esslinger Engineering, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Graunstadt Enterprises, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters, Jordan Hanni Well Drilling, JT Engineering, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Tel Tac Digital Tachometers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 30, 2023 – Antioch Speedway - Antioch, California – “Antioch Challenge #2 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises” – “Chet Thomson Memorial”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Brandon Wiley, 00, Davis-13.963; 2. T.J. Smith, 68, Six8-13.979; 3. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.988; 4. Caden Sarale, 14J, Graunstadt-14.059; 5. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-14.070; 6. Michael Faccinto, 14J, Streeter-14.199; 7. Nikko Panella, 32, Sarale-14.277; 8. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-14.486; 9. Samuel May, 55, Lambert-14.566; 10. Ben Worth, 5V, Alexander-14.612; 11. Danika Jo Faccinto, 13, Parker-14.629; 12. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-15.639; 13. Ben Covich, 65, Covich-15.916; 14. Kevin Gray, 7L, Gray-16.023; 15. Marvin Mitchell, 78, Mitchell-16.809; 16. Keoni Texeira, 50, Texeira-NT.

JORDAN HANNI WELL DRILLING FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Lewis, 2. Fuson, 3. Wiley, 4. May, 5. D.Faccinto, 6. Covich, 7. Panella, 8. Mitchell. NT.

HOT HEAD COMPETITION ENGINE HEATERS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Worth, 2. M.Faccinto, 3. Smith, 4. Sarale, 5. Sarna, 6. Hazelton, 7. Gray. NT.

SAMMY BAHR FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Brody Fuson (4), 2. Cade Lewis (2), 3. Caden Sarale (3), 4. T.J. Smith (5), 5. Brandon Wiley (6), 6. C.J. Sarna (9), 7. Nikko Panella (8), 8. Samuel May (10), 9. Ben Covich (13), 10. Ron Hazelton (12), 11. Danika Jo Faccinto (11), 12. Michael Faccinto (1), 13. Ben Worth (7), 14. Marvin Mitchell (15). NT.
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**Gray did not start feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Fuson.
EBBCO OFFROAD HARD CHARGER: Ben Covich (13th to 9)
ROD END SUPPLY / BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS LUCKY PILL DRAW: Marvin Mitchell
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / ROD END SUPPLY LUCKY PILL DRAW: Brody Fuson
BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS LUCKY PILL DRAW: Danika Jo Faccinto
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13: Ben Worth

NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-752, 2-Cade Lewis-714, 3-C.J. Sarna-499, 4-Ron Hazelton-486, 5-Ben Worth-479, 6-Caden Sarale-404, 7-Randi Pankratz-403, 8-Ben Covich-368, 9-Samuel May-347, 10-T.J. Smith-279.

FINAL ANTIOCH CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GRAUNSTADT ENTERPRISES POINTS: 1-Cade Lewis-153, 2-T.J. Smith-150, 3-Ben Worth-116, 4-Brody Fuson-115, --C.J. Sarna-115, 6-Caden Sarale-112, 7-Samuel May-108, 8-Nikko Panella-104, 9-Danika Jo Faccinto-99, 10-Ben Covich-93.

NEW WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-54, 2-Cade Lewis-32, 3-Caden Sarale-17, 4-Ben Worth-12, 5-C.J. Sarna-11, --David Gasper-11, --T.J. Smith-11, 8-Jake Andreotti-9, 9-Robby Josett-8, --Brandon Wiley-8.

NEW SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-633, 2-Cade Lewis-616, 3-Ron Hazelton-451, 4-C.J. Sarna-450, 5-Ben Worth-419, 6-Randi Pankratz-362, 7-Caden Sarale-351, 8-Ben Covich-349, 9-Samuel May-304, 10-T.J. Smith-241.

NEW PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Cade Lewis-33, 2-Brody Fuson-31, 3-Ron Hazelton-25, 4-Ben Covich-19, 5-C.J. Sarna-12, 6-Marvin Mitchell-11, 7-David Gasper-10, 8-Samuel May-9, 9-Caden Sarale-8, 10-Steve Paden-7, --Robby Josett-7.

NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: October 7 – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, California – “Championship Night” & “George Snider Classic”

 

 

JUSTIN TIME:

GRANT GETS FIRST USAC MIDGET WIN

OF ’23 AT BC39 NIGHT TWO PRELIM

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 29, 2023)………One night after witnessing his RMS Racing teammate, Thomas Meseraull, grab his very own long-awaited first USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory of the year, Justin Grant didn’t have to wait long to deliver his response.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) tracked down racelong leader Emerson Axsom on the 20th lap of Friday night’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 Preliminary Night Two feature, then led the remaining 11 circuits to capture his first series triumph of the year in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

The 15th career series victory for Grant was his first since the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway in November of 2022 and moved him inside the top-50 all-time in terms of USAC National Midget wins, tying him with fellow USAC National champions Don Branson, Larry Rice and Chris Windom.

Furthermore, Grant became the second driver this year (Logan Seavey) to win features in all three USAC National divisions (Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget. It’s the fifth time Grant has achieved the feat (2017-18-21-22-23), second most all-time behind Dave Steele’s six.

Entering the season as the odds-on favorite to complete the career USAC Triple Crown as the National Midget champion, it’s been a season of hardship, frustration and disappointment for Grant and the crew on his RMS Racing No. 2. After a pair of subpar runs last weekend, all knew something needed to change with the car, and fast.

“We’ve been trying to pick at it and pick at it and pick at it, trying to get the balance better, but after Eldora, it’s like, we are so bad,” realized Grant. “We changed all four spring rates and all four shock dampenings. We changed everything from front to back. We changed everything we could possibly change and our whole approach to it. It wasn’t going to be any worse, so there was nothing to lose. We were so bad, we changed it all, and it was really good tonight.”

Grant took the car in-house, completely gutted and stripping it, basically restarting from scratch to put them back in the form that guided them to five USAC National Midget feature wins in 2022. Several late nights this week consisted of shop time, eating pizza, drinking beer and working non-stop to come up with a better mousetrap.

“I was able to get the car to my shop this week,” Grant revealed. “Me and a buddy of mine (Robert Brown Jr.) just tore it down and went through it, started over and brainstormed on how to make it better, and I think we did. Matt Hummel at FK Shocks and I drew up four sets of shock numbers. I said, ‘I want that.’ He said, ‘I don’t know if I can build that.’ I said, ‘well, you’ll figure it out.’ He figured it out and got those done for us.”

Grant started fifth in the field as outside front row starter Emerson Axsom raced to the lead on the opening lap by a car length over pole sitter Cannon McIntosh and proceeded to lead much of the 30-lapper.

An early race mover was USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget upstart Zach Wigal who moved into the top-three by lap six after starting back in the seventh spot. In the battle for the third position, Grant and Wigal nearly found calamity in turn two on lap eight, resulting in Wigal running out of room and glancing off the outside wall and dropping him back to fifth.

In turn three, Wigal attempted to make up lost ground by sliding past Karter Sarff before colliding with the outside wall, which knocked out the front end on his machine and concluded what was a solid run in his first career USAC National Midget feature start. Wigal eagerly displayed his chagrin with a salute involving a couple fingers aimed toward Grant, which was made all the more fascinating due to the fact that, in an interview earlier in the night on the PA system, Wigal specifically mentioned Grant as one of his childhood heroes that he’d always looked up to.

Just after the halfway point, Grant turned up the wick, moving to second past McIntosh in turn four as the pair of drivers seeking their first USAC National Midget wins of the year nearly squeezed themselves into the wall of voodoo. With no room to spare, McIntosh wound up bouncing off the turn four wall as Grant scooted by into second.

Now, Grant’s mission was to track down Axsom for the race lead, and it took him just four more laps to erase a half second deficit before clamping down on the top spot. On lap 20, Grant made the move successful, sliding across the nose of Axsom in turns one and two to overtake the position.

From there, Grant shuffled away until he was nearly off the grid, 2.947 seconds ahead of the field at the finish line while an intense tussle was underway to secure the final two lock-in spots for Saturday night’s $20,039-to-win feature. McIntosh drove under Axsom to take second at the stripe off the final turn on the final lap while Axsom grabbed the third and final lock-in spot by a car length over the surging Tanner Thorson in fourth. Ryan Timms, meanwhile, rounded out the top-five.

As far as Grant’s victory, it was both a longtime coming and a relief in many ways. After nearly three full seasons with RMS, Grant and the crew have a rapport that allowed them to endure and overcome this prolonged tough stretch, one that lasted much longer than they would’ve preferred. But when the rewards came on Friday night, there’ve been few wins that were more satisfying.

“Even when we’re not running well, it’s always, ‘hey, we’re going to figure it out,” Grant explained. “We’ve all got to get better. It’s never me that needs to drive the thing better or anything like that. You don’t go through the year we’ve gone through without this car and then come here and win without that support system. I’m super fortunate I’m the one that gets to go out there and celebrate in front of people, but there’s so many people behind me.”

One of those individuals assisting him on this night was his sprint car sidekick, Jeff Walker. Grant explained that Walker gets out of him what he’s really trying to say, then expands on it in order to fix the problem. On this particular night, Walker was able to talk Grant out of doing anything too drastic after the qualifiers.

“Tonight, after the qualifiers, I was saying it was too hard on entry to get in right; it’s snagging me and I want to do this and I want to do that,” Grant relayed. “He told me, that’s why your name’s on the visor. That thing is fast, and if it’s hard to drive, that’s a you problem.”

The early part of this week saw Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) change scenery as he switched teams from his Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports ride to the CB Industries/Gearwrench – TRD – PristineAuction.com/Spike/Speedway Toyota. In his first run for the CBI team, McIntosh posted his best finish of the USAC National Midget season with a runner-up result, thus locking his way into Saturday's feature at IMS.

Somewhat similarly to McIntosh, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) also made his debut for a new team behind the wheel of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 68. Axsom proceeded to lead a race-high 19 laps en route to a third-place result, also locking him into Saturday’s main event lineup in his Curb Records - TRD/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.

Following the feature event, the special annual Stoops Pursuit race was held, rescheduled to Friday night after the originally scheduled edition on Wednesday was postponed by rain. Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) prevailed in the 25-lap event aboard his RAMCO Speed Group/Racers for Autism – The BLRH Group – American Fire Extinguishers/Spike/Toyota.

Daum and Ethan Mitchell slugged it out for much of the affair, exchanging the lead three times during the final 16 laps before the 10th starting Daum made the winning move under Mitchell with four laps remaining. Mitchell led the most laps (19) before slotting into second with Cannon McIntosh third (from 17th), Emerson Axsom fourth (from 19th) while Logan Seavey rounded out the top-five.


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

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 2. Cannon McIntosh (#86 CBI), 3. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus), 4. Austin Barnhill (#17B Dave Mac-Dalby), 5. Isaac Chapple (#6 Hall), 6. Landon Brooks (#1D RAMCO), 7. Jeff Schindler (#8x Schindler), 8. Ian Creager (#36 Creager), 9. Mark McMahill (#10c MWR). NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Zach Daum (#7p RAMCO), 2. Daison Pursley (#19 Reinbold-Underwood), 3. Brady Bacon (#21H TKH), 4. Ryan Timms (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Jake Andreotti (#25m Malloy), 6. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Bryan Stanfill (#75AU Griffiths), 8. Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor), 9. Scott Orr (#5s Hodge). NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Justin Grant (#2 RMS), 2. Tanner Thorson (#88 Thorson), 3. Zach Wigal (#40x Mounce-Stout), 4. Daniel Robinson (#57A RAB), 5. Mitchell Davis (#56 O’Dell), 6. Scott Evans (#118 Evans), 7. Wes Pinkerton (#9 Pinkerton), 8. Connor Wolf (#1G RAMCO). NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points) 1. Karter Sarff (#21K Sarff), 2. Emerson Axsom (#68 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Clinton Boyles (#11 Beierle), 4. Trevor Cline (#55 Cline), 5. Jake Bubak (#27B Bourke), 6. Justin Zimmerman (#1z Zimmerman), 7. Don O’Keefe Jr. (#99 LOK/Carson-Segur), 8. Kenney Johnson (#46 Johnson). NT

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Jake Bubak, 5. Scott Evans, 6. Ian Creager, 7. Justin Zimmerman, 8. Austin Barnhill. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Karter Sarff, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Landon Brooks, 6. Daniel Robinson, 7. Bryan Stanfill, 8. Connor Wolf, 9. Scott Orr. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Gavin Miller, 2. Zach Wigal, 3. Trevor Cline, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Kenney Johnson, 8. Don O’Keefe Jr. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Mitchell Davis, 5. Isaac Chapple, 6. Jeff Schindler, 7. Aaron Leffel, 8. Wes Pinkerton. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Clinton Boyles, 2. Jake Bubak, 3. Daniel Robinson, 4. Isaac Chapple, 5. Justin Zimmerman, 6. Kenney Johnson, 7. Aaron Leffel, 8. Jeff Schindler, 9. Bryan Stanfill, 10. Don O’Keefe Jr., 11. Scott Evans, 12. Wes Pinkerton, 13. Ian Creager, 14. Austin Barnhill, 15. Mark McMahill, 16. Scott Orr, 17. Connor Wolf. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (5), 2. Cannon McIntosh (1), 3. Emerson Axsom (2), 4. Tanner Thorson (8), 5. Ryan Timms (9), 6. Karter Sarff (3), 7. Logan Seavey (11), 8. Ethan Mitchell (10), 9. Daison Pursley (12), 10. Jake Andreotti (13), 11. Jake Bubak (18), 12. Mitchell Davis (16), 13. Justin Zimmerman (21), 14. Gavin Miller (14), 15. Zach Daum (6), 16. Clinton Boyles (17), 17. Trevor Cline (15), 18. Isaac Chapple (20), 19. Kenney Johnson (22), 20. Daniel Robinson (19), 21. Zach Wigal (7), 22. Brady Bacon (4). NT

STOOPS PURSUIT: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Daum (10), 2. Ethan Mitchell (2), 3. Cannon McIntosh (17), 4. Emerson Axsom (19), 5. Logan Seavey (8), 6. Daniel Whitley (#58 Abacus) (20), 7. Karter Sarff (15), 8. C.J. Leary (#14 Legacy) (23), 9. Mitchel Moles (#19T Reinbold-Underwood) (22), 10. Kaylee Bryson (#89 CBI) (21), 11. Kameron Key (#21J TKH) (3), 12. Kyle Jones (#7m RAMCO) (6), 13. Jade Avedisian (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (7), 14. Tanner Thorson (18), 15. Gavin Miller (1), 16. Ryan Timms (12), 17. Bryant Wiedeman (#81 CBI) (4), 18. Chase McDermand (#40 Mounce-Stout) (16), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#1 Crouch) (5), 20. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (9), 21. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood) (13), 22. Brady Bacon (14), 23. Daison Pursley (11). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Emerson Axsom, Laps 20-30 Justin Grant.

STOOPS PURSUIT LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Ethan Mitchell, Lap 8 Kameron Key, Laps 9-12 Ethan Mitchell, Lap 13 Zach Daum, Laps 14-21 Ethan Mitchell, Laps 22-25 Zach Daum.

**Kenney Johnson flipped during the fourth heat. Austin Barnhill flipped during the first qualifying race. Scott Orr flipped during the second qualifying race. Austin Barnhill flipped during the semi.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1347, 2-Bryant Wiedeman-1138, 3-Justin Grant-1116, 4-Ryan Timms-1091, 5-Daison Pursley-1087, 6-Jade Avedisian-1081, 7-Jacob Denney-1015, 8-Gavin Miller-995, 9-Cannon McIntosh-918, 10-Taylor Reimer-868.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-182, 2-Logan Seavey-134, 3-Emerson Axsom-112, 4-Justin Grant-110, 5-Shane Cottle-106, 6-Matt Westfall-105, 7-Robert Ballou-100, 8-Brady Bacon-92, 9-Chase Stockon-90, 10-Mitchel Moles-79.

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (12.015)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ethan Mitchell

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Zach Daum

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Karter Sarff

Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Qualifier Winner: Brady Bacon

T.J. Forged Third Qualifier Winner: Gavin Miller

Car IQ Fourth Qualifier Winner: Zach Daum

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Clinton Boyles

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Emerson Axsom

MPI Up on the Wheel Hard Charger: Justin Zimmerman (21st to 13th)

 

 

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

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Thomas Meseraull.

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

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

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

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

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

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

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Hayden Reinbold

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kameron Key

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull

Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Jade Avedisian

Rod End Supply Second Qualifier Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Qualifier Winner: Kyle Jones

Car IQ Fourth Qualifier Winner: Chase McDermand

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Thomas Meseraull

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

 

 

BC39 STOOPS PURSUIT RESCHEDULED

FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

WEDNESDAY’S BC39 OPENER RAINED OUT,

USAC MIDGETS RESUME THURSDAY AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS RETURN TO ANTIOCH
By Lance Jennings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

72 USAC MIDGETS VIE FOR

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

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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


AN ENORMOUS FIELD OF 72

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

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

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

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


LONE BACON

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

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

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

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

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


SPLIT RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


THE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE OF SEAVEY

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

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

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


CANNON & THE AXE

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

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

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

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


A HOARD OF ROOKIES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


RACE DETAILS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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2023 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES

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

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

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

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

2 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 Randi Pankratz/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

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

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

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

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

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

11 Clinton Boyles/Greenwood, MO (Scott Beierle)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

22 John Heydenreich/Bloomsburg, PA (John Heydenreich)

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

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

25 Jacob Denney/Galloway, OH (Tom Malloy)

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

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

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

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

32 Gary Taylor/Snohomish, WA (Brian Dunlap)

36 Ian Creager/Covington, OH (Tod Creager)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

57 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Abacus Racing)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

81 Bryant Wiedeman/Colby, KS (CB Industries)

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

86 Cannon McIntosh/Bixby, OK (CB Industries)

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

89 Kaylee Bryson/Muskogee, OK (CB Industries)

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

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

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

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

136 Chris Baue/Indianapolis, IN (Bill Baue)

(R) represents a BC39 Rookie


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


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



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


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


PAST BC39 FEATURE RESULTS:

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

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

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

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

 

 

CANNON RESETS, JOINS CB INDUSTRIES

FOR REST OF 2023 USAC MIDGET SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


RACE DETAILS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

3 WINS, 1 FAIRYTALE NIGHT!

SEAVEY SWEEPS USAC PORTION

OF ELDORA’S 4-CROWN NATIONALS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS

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

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

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Bryant Wiedeman

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Logan Seavey.

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

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

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

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

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

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

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Korbyn Hayslett

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Logan Seavey

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

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

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (17.076)

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Chase Dietz

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

 

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

WINDOM & THEN SOME!

BIG DADDY & CBI WIN AGAIN AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Chris Windom.

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

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

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

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

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

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (16.637)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Bryant Wiedeman

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Chris Windom

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

 

 

GRANT SCORES USAC SILVER CROWN POLE

FOR SATURDAY'S 4-CROWN AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

FEATURE STARTING LINEUP: (50 laps)

ROW 1: 91 Justin Grant – 6 C.J. Leary

ROW 2: 9 Brady Bacon – 10 Jake Swanson

ROW 3: 86 Chase Dietz – 22-Logan Seavey

ROW 4: 54 Matt Westfall – 77-Kody Swanson

ROW 5: 92 Mario Clouser – 52 Carmen Perigo

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

ROW 7: 20 Emerson Axsom – 81 Trey Osborne

ROW 8: 49 Brian Ruhlman – 97 Mitchel Moles

ROW 9: 7 Kyle Robbins – 26 Kaylee Bryson

ROW 10: 5 Matt Mitchell – 57 Dallas Hewitt

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

ROW 12: 99 Zach Hampton – 11 Trey Burke

ROW 13: 51 Russ Gamester – 12 Wayne Johnson

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

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

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

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

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

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (17.076)

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

 

 

BC39 FORMAT REVEALED FOR SEPT. 27-30

USAC EVENT AT THE DIRT TRACK AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

Let’s take a look at the format.


WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

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

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

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

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


THURSDAY & FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28-29

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

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

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

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

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

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


SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


THE DETAILS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

GAS SEAVEY:

USAC MIDGET POINT LEADER

STRIKES ANOTHER WIN AT GAS CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

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

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Cannon McIntosh (12.170)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Justin Grant

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

 

 

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT:

GRANT SPRINTS TO JAMES DEAN CLASSIC

WIN AT GAS CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

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

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (11.712)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Zack Pretorius

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

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Shane Cottle

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

 

 

BC39 PRELIM NIGHT

USAC MIDGET ROSTERS REVEALED!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2023, FIELD

08 Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

1 Kevin Thomas Jr. (Crouch Motorsports)

4 Chelby Hinton (Klatt Enterprises)

5J Josh Hodge (Josh Hodge Racing)

7c Josh Bilicki (RAMCO Speed Group)

7m Kyle Jones (RAMCO Speed Group)

7x Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing)

8 Randi Pankratz (Wally Pankratz)

9p Kevin Cook (Kevin Cook)

10A Tommy Colburn (MWR Technology)

14 C.J. Leary (Legacy Autosport)

18N Weston Gorham (Kelly Gorham)

19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21D Justin Dickerson (Mike Dickerson)

21J Kameron Key (TKH Motorsports)

22 John Heydenreich (John Heydenreich)

22p Taylor Courtney (RAMCO Speed Group)

23 Preston Lattomus (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)

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

27 Keith Rauch (Bourke Motorsports)

32 Gary Taylor (Brian Dunlap)

40 Chase McDermand (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

40B Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)

44 Adam Andretti (Jeff Johnson)

54 Matt Westfall (Steve Bordner)

58 Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing)

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

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

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

71T Kyler Johnson (Todd Henry)

81 Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries)

85 Jerry Coons Jr. (Central Motorsports)

89 Kaylee Bryson (CB Industries)

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

136 Chris Baue (Bill Baue)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023, FIELD

1D Landon Brooks (RAMCO Speed Group)

1G Connor Wolf (RAMCO Speed Group)

1z Justin Zimmerman (Justin Zimmerman)

2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)

3G Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing)

5s Scott Orr (Josh Hodge Racing)

6 Isaac Chapple (Doug Hall)

7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)

8x Jeff Schindler (Jeff Schindler)

9 Wes Pinkerton (Wes Pinkerton)

10c Mark McMahill (MWR Technology)

11 Clinton Boyles (Scott Beierle)

11L Aaron Leffel (Team Taylor Racing)

17B Austin Barnhill (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

19 Daison Pursley (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19m Ethan Mitchell (Bundy Built Motorsports)

19T Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19x TBA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

21H Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports)

21K Karter Sarff (Jayme Sarff)

25m Jake Andreotti (Tom Malloy)

27B Jake Bubak (Bourke Motorsports)

36 Ian Creager (Tod Creager)

40x Zach Wigal (Chase McDermand)

41 Oliver Akard (Team OMR)

46 Kenney Johnson (Jeff Johnson)

56 Mitchell Davis (Pat O’Dell)

57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)

57A Daniel Robinson (RAB Racing)

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

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

86 Brent Crews (CB Industries)

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

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

118 Scott Evans (Scott Evans)

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

DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO PERRIS FOR “GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC”
By Lance Jennings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023... This Saturday, September 23rd, the chase for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship returns to Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the annual “Glenn Howard Classic” is presented by Heimark Distributors / Anheuser Busch and will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, and PASSCAR Super 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.

Race fans are encouraged to support the race track and watch the races in person. Events at Perris Auto Speedway WILL NOT be live streamed on FloRacing in 2023.

NOTE: The November 3&4 “Western World Championships” has been moved from Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona to Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona. Please update your schedules.

NOTE: The November 11 main event at Perris Auto Speedway is now scheduled for 30 laps.

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.)
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535; SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78; FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101; COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S; B&B: FRAC-0375S; SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK, P1 AUSTRALIA: SSM5C.
*Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- 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.

Saturday's event honors Glenn Howard who is considered by many in the industry as a "racer's racer." Throughout his involvement in the sport, Glenn had served as a crew member, driver, car owner, sponsor, official, and businessman. Howard's So-Cal Performance was recognized as a major parts supplier to racers across the globe for many years. In 1993, Glenn became the first president of the Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) and helped to build the foundation of the nationally respected club. After his term was over, Howard remained active in motorsports until his passing in September 2007. Kazarian, Perris Auto Speedway, and the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series are proud to honor Glenn's memory with the annual event and the winner’s list is at the end of the release.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 247 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-three different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 51 “home track” wins and this year’s races have been claimed by Justin Grant, Matt Mitchell, “Thunder” Tommy Malcolm, and Brody Roa (twice). Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After scoring his eighth win of the season at Perris on July 15th, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) leads the USAC/CRA standings with a stout 151 point lead. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance owned #17R Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Roa has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 177 feature laps led to his credit. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion ranks fourth with 21 career USAC/CRA triumphs and will be looking to get closer to his first CRA title with his first Howard Classic victory.

Having a career year, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Corona, California) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored a thirteenth place finish on July 15th. To date, the veteran driver has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 77 feature laps led on the year. Tommy “Thunder” will have his sights on earning another “home track” victory this Saturday night.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits third in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Piloting the family owned #2 Digalert / Ramona Duck Club DRC, Williams had mechanical problems in the outing at Perris. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 32 feature laps led to his credit. With eleven career triumphs, Austin will be looking to earn his first win of the season at Perris Auto Speedway.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams (Corona, California) is fourth in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC raced to a third place finish in the July 15 main event. To date, the former National Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, and eighth top-10 finishes on the season. “The Cadillac” has three career wins and will have his sights on his victory of 2023 at the “Glenn Howard Classic.”

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA championship points. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / GAS Chassis entry, Bender finished second to Brody Roa on July 15th after starting ninth. At press time, last season’s USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has six heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, and ten top-10 finishes to his credit. This Saturday night, Bender will be looking to claim the first USAC/CRA victory of his career.

Grant Sexton (Lakeside, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors and ranks seventh in the point standings. The driver of the family owned #22 Sexton Fire Protection / East County Electric Works Triple X is followed by James Turnbull II (Indio, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California), Dawson Faria (Tipton, California), Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Arizona), and Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Calderwood, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, Logan Williams, Chris Gansen, Brent Owens, James Herrera, Matt McCarthy, Andrew Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Chris Bonneau, Kyle Edwards, Gary Marshall Jr., Don Gansen, Tyler Hatzikian, Mark Henry, 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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, WC Friend Company, Woodland Auto Display, BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, contact Tony Jones at tonyjonesracing@gmail.com or PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the AMSOIL 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.
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AMSOIL 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.

GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC/MEMORIAL WINNERS: 2008-Tony Jones, 2009-Bryan Clauson, 2010-Cory Kruseman, 2011-Nic Faas, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Nic Faas, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Damion Gardner, 2016-Austin Williams, 2017-Damion Gardner, 2018-Damion Gardner, 2019-Austin Williams, 2020-CANCELLED, 2021-Charles Davis Jr., 2022-Damion Gardner.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 8-Brody Roa, 2-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Justin Grant, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Matt Mitchell.

PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

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

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1-Brody Roa-991, 2-Tommy Malcolm-840, 3-Austin Williams-745, 4-Cody Williams-723, 5-A.J. Bender-717, 6-Logan Calderwood-609, 7-Grant Sexton-506, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-500, 9-Verne Sweeney-417, 10-R.J. Johnson-377.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
January 27: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
January 28: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
March 3: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 4: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Justin Grant)
March 24: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (RAIN)
March 25: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (RAIN)
April 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
April 22: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
May 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
June 10: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 24: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
July 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
August 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (RAIN)
September 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 14: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
November 3: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 4: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 11: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (30 Laps)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

ROCK ON!

JAMES DEAN CLASSIC STORYLINES

FOR THURSDAY’S USAC DOUBLE AT GAS CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Gas City, Indiana (September 19, 2023)………Double the series. Double the action. Double the fun!

That’s how the agenda rolls each year in late September at Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National join together for a rare doubleheader.

The best of both worlds is presented this Thursday night, September 21, at the Hoosier state 1/4-mile dirt oval during the fifth edition of the James Dean Classic.

Gas City has hosted two of the best finishes of the entire USAC National season with Logan Seavey’s late-race heroics with the midgets in June and Justin Grant’s last turn photo finish triumph in July with the sprint cars.

Gas City never disappoints. Gas City always delivers. And we’ve got the goods two times over this Thursday night.

Here’s six storylines fit for the silver screen. Six storylines in honor of Jimmy Dean. James Dean. Rock on!


SEAVEY’S GAS CITY TURNING POINT

Logan Seavey’s streak of 11 consecutive top-five finishes with the USAC National Midgets started right at Gas City in June during Indiana Midget Week.

Entering the Gas City round three months ago, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was mired an astonishing 110 points out of the championship lead and stood sixth overall in the standings.

After leading the final two laps of a 30-lap racelong duel with Emerson Axsom, Seavey scored his and Abacus Racing’ first ever USAC victory. Since that point, the team has been nearly unstoppable, winning four, finishing second on three occasions, taking third another three times and once finishing fourth.

All of it has boosted Seavey to a whopping 171-point lead entering his return to Gas City this Thursday.


SEE SAW STORY: GRANT & BACON SPRINT CAR TITLE FIGHT CONTINUES

Between Justin Grant and Brady Bacon, the pair have captured each of the last three USAC National Sprint Car driving titles with Grant attempting to defend his 2022 championship while Bacon aims to reach the top for a fifth time after previous crowns in 2014-16-20-21.

It’s readily apparent that the same two vets will be duking it out to the finish line once again in 2023 with Grant holding on to a nine-point edge over Bacon with five races remaining starting Thursday at Gas City.

Grant (Ione, Calif.) owns the bragging rights at Gas City this year, already having won the Indiana Sprint Week round in July. Furthermore, Grant is a past James Dean Classic victor in 2020. Bacon owns winning experience at Gas City too, collecting the USAC Sprint Cars’ springtime appearance in 2015.

Grant and Bacon also are the two winningest drivers in USAC National Sprint Car competition this season with Grant taking nine and Bacon seven of his own. Either is clearly capable of hitting double-digits in the win column, something that hasn’t been done with the series since Tyler Courtney in 2018.

DOUBLE DOUBLE, IN-N-OUT OF TWO DIFFERENT RIDES

The fun part of a USAC doubleheader on the fan side is getting to watch drivers tackle multiple disciplines of racing on one track on one night.

For drivers, it gets busy with double the workload, but also presents a chance for a rare opportunity to not only race a sprint car and midget on the same night, but also the chance to win in both on one night.

At least four drivers are set to compete in both ends of Gas City’s doubleheader: Logan Seavey, Justin Grant, Thomas Meseraull and Daison Pursley.

Seavey and Grant have both been victorious in USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget racing at Gas City in their careers. In fact, Seavey has already experienced the joy of winning two USAC National features in one day this past August when he scored a Silver Crown win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds during the day and with the National Midgets during the night at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.

Meseraull (San Jose, Calif. has twice been a track champion at Gas City and has won with the USAC Regional Midgets there as well. Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) has found himself in victory lane behind the wheel of sprints and midgets in his young career but is eying a first points victory of the season this Thursday.

BUDDY ON THE GAS ONCE AGAIN

No driver has won three career USAC National Midget features at Gas City I-69 Speedway, but Buddy Kofoid will be taking his shot at that record this Thursday night in a fifth Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports machine.

Fresh off a pair of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car wins over the past couple weekends in his home state of California, Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) has made four USAC Midget starts in 2023, winning twice during USAC Indiana Midget Week at Lincoln Park Speedway and at Circle City Raceway while also finishing second and fourth in his other two appearances.

Kofoid’s two victories in USAC National Midget competition are tied for the most all-time alongside Shane Cottle, Darren Hagen and Kyle Larson.

KAYLEE, JADE, TAYLOR & HOLLY

Four of the most successful women ever to compete in the USAC National Midget ranks will be on hand to race with the series at Gas City this Thursday night, aiming to make some history of their own.

Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) equaled the best ever finish by a woman in a USAC National Midget event during the 2022 James Dean Classic at Gas City when she led a race-high 18 laps and finished as the runner-up. This Thursday, she’ll make her season debut with the series in the CB Industries No. 89.

Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) is among the group, and has finished as the runner-up multiple times in her career with the series, both this season. She scored a second in her Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports ride at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track in May and notched another second during the most recent round at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway in early September.

Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) finished eighth in her lone visit to Gas City this season. Reimer’s most recent outing with the USAC National Midgets resulted in her leading a race-high 16 laps en route to a fifth-place finish at Angell Park.

Holly Jones (nee Shelton), a veteran of 53 career USAC National Midget feature starts, returns to the series after a five-year absence to drive for Bundy Built Motorsports, and owns a best career series finish of third.


MOLES BACK UP TO SPEED

It wasn’t long ago that Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) found himself on the sidelines, dejected after a string of major crashes through the months of July and August.

In the four races since that point when he missed the entirety of the three-night Sprint Car Smackdown XII due to a concussion suffered during a major incident on the opening night of event, few drivers have been more productive than the second year USAC Sprint Car driver.

Down south at Texas’ Devil’s Bowl Speedway, he raked in a ninth, followed by a fifth at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway. Moles swung into Indiana last weekend and recorded an eighth at Circle City Raceway and a fourth at Tri-State Speedway.

Only Moles, Justin Grant and Kyle Cummins have finished inside the top-10 in each of their past four USAC National Sprint Car feature starts entering Gas City.


RACE DETAILS

The fifth running of the James Dean Classic features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

Pit gates open at 2pm Eastern with the grandstands opening at 4pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm and cars on track at 6:15pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

General admission tickets are $30. Kids 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.

The full event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2093, 2-Brady Bacon-2084, 3-Kyle Cummins-1966, 4-Emerson Axsom-1961, 5-Jake Swanson-1926, 6-C.J. Leary-1853, 7-Robert Ballou-1771, 8-Chase Stockon-1633, 9-Mitchel Moles-1594, 10-Logan Seavey-1544.


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 4/26/2013 - Thomas Meseraull - 11.441 - 78.665 mph

6 Laps - 7/18/2003 - Bud Kaeding - 1:18.03 - 69.204 mph

8 Laps - 7/11/2008 - A.J. Anderson - 1:41.67 - 71.266 mph

10 Laps - 7/10/2015 - Brady Bacon - 2:01.65 - 73.983 mph

12 Laps - 9/26/2019 - Chad Boespflug - 2:28.28 - 72.835 mph

30 Laps - 7/8/2011 - Dave Darland - 6:25.08 - 70.115 mph


JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2-Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Justin Grant & Chris Windom

JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2018: Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/28)

2019: Chris Windom (9/26)

2020: Justin Grant (9/25)

2022: Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/22)

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

6-Jon Stanbrough

4-Shane Cottle

3-Tracy Hines & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-Cory Kruseman, Dave Darland, Justin Grant, Hunter Schuerenberg, Logan Seavey & J.J. Yeley

1-Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Tyler Courtney, Daron Clayton, Jay Drake, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Chase Stockon, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & Chris Windom

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2002: Cory Kruseman (7/19)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/30) & J.J. Yeley (7/18)

2004: Tracy Hines (4/30)

2005: Jay Drake (6/3) & Cory Kruseman (7/20)

2006: Shane Cottle & Jon Stanbrough (7/19)

2007: Jon Stanbrough (6/14), Daron Clayton (7/13) & Jon Stanbrough (7/14)

2008: Shane Cottle (4/18) & Cole Whitt (7/11)

2009: Dave Darland (4/17) & Levi Jones (7/11)

2010: Tracy Hines (4/16) & Jon Stanbrough (7/10)

2011: Hunter Schuerenberg (4/29) & Dave Darland (7/8)

2012: Hunter Schuerenberg (4/27) & Bryan Clauson (7/13)

2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4/26) & Jon Stanbrough (7/12)

2014: Tracy Hines (4/25) & Jon Stanbrough (7/11)

2015: Brady Bacon (5/15) & Chase Stockon (7/10)

2016: Scotty Weir (5/20) & Tyler Courtney (7/8)

2017: C.J. Leary (7/10)

2018: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9/28)

2019: Shane Cottle (7/18) & Chris Windom (9/26)

2020: Logan Seavey (7/24) & Justin Grant (9/25)

2021: Logan Seavey (7/26)

2022: Shane Cottle (7/22) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/22)

2023: Justin Grant (7/22)

PAST JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC SPRINT CAR RESULTS:

2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Isaac Chapple (2), 4. Chris Windom (6), 5. Chase Stockon (3), 6. Dave Darland (12), 7. Kyle Cummins (18), 8. Justin Grant (7), 9. Tyler Thomas (8), 10. Clinton Boyles (20), 11. Shane Cottle (9), 12. Matt Westfall (13), 13. Brady Bacon (14), 14. Carson Short (16), 15. Tyler Hewitt (22), 16. Tony DiMattia (15), 17. Tyler Courtney (17), 18. Jason McDougal (1), 19. Josh Hodges (11), 20. Dallas Hewitt (21), 21. Dustin Ingle (19), 22. Thomas Meseraull (10). NT

2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (1), 2. Tyler Courtney (7), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 5. Chase Stockon (8), 6. C.J. Leary (6), 7. Brady Bacon (4), 8. Jason McDougal (17), 9. Isaac Chapple (9), 10. Max Adams (15), 11. Scotty Weir (14), 12. Matt Westfall (20), 13. Tye Mihocko (18), 14. Matt Goodnight (10), 15. Harley Burns (12), 16. Cody White (16), 17. Cole Ketcham (13), 18. Dustin Ingle (19), 19. Dave Darland (21), 20. Chad Boespflug (11), 21. Thomas Meseraull (5), 22. Dustin Clark (23), 23. Shane Cottle (22). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (8), 2. Brady Bacon (5), 3. Chase Stockon (3), 4. Chris Windom (22), 5. Shane Cottle (15), 6. Dave Darland (2), 7. Jadon Rogers (4), 8. Robert Ballou (18), 9. Mario Clouser (23*), 10. Carson Short (17), 11. Brandon Mattox (10), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 13. Chase Johnson (16), 14. Scotty Weir (19), 15. Kyle Cummins (7), 16. Brandon Long (11), 17. Clinton Boyles (9), 18. Ricky Lewis (14), 19. Evan Mosley (21), 20. Kendall Ruble (20), 21. Logan Seavey (6), 22. Anton Hernandez (13). (Feature winner C.J. Leary (1) was disqualified for a tire violation.) NT

2021: RAINED OUT

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 2. Logan Seavey (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (6), 4. Robert Ballou (11), 5. Justin Grant (14), 6. Mitchel Moles (4), 7. C.J. Leary (5), 8. Emerson Axsom (13), 9. Brent Beauchamp (8), 10. Brady Bacon (3), 11. Jake Swanson (10), 12. Thomas Meseraull (16), 13. Jason McDougal (9), 14. Geoff Ensign (18), 15. Shane Cottle (15), 16. Jadon Rogers (20), 17. Colten Cottle (12), 18. Max Adams (17), 19. Chase Stockon (7), 20. Scotty Weir (19), 21. Matt Westfall (22), 22. Harley Burns (21). 7:04.41


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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1078, 2-Justin Grant-907, 3-Jade Avedisian-891, 4-Ryan Timms-884, 5-Bryant Wiedeman-878, 6-Daison Pursley-849, 7-Cannon McIntosh-816, 8-Jacob Denney-789, 9-Gavin Miller-787, 10-Taylor Reimer-717.

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 6/1/2016 - Rico Abreu - 12.048 - 74.701 mph

8 Laps - 6/10/2011 - Matt Smith - 1:39.76 - 72.173 mph

10 Laps - 6/5/2019 - Tyler Courtney - 2:05.54 - 71.690 mph

12 Laps - 6/17/2020 - Rico Abreu - 2:43.872 - 65.905 mph

JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

1-Buddy Kofoid & Cannon McIntosh

JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2020: Cannon McIntosh (9/25)

2022: Buddy Kofoid (9/22)

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2-Shane Cottle, Darren Hagen, Buddy Kofoid & Kyle Larson

1-Spencer Bayston, Steve Buckwalter, Jerry Coons Jr., Justin Grant, Brad Kuhn, Cannon McIntosh, Michael Pickens, Davey Ray, Logan Seavey & Tanner Thorson

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2005: Davey Ray (8/19)

2006: Shane Cottle (8/18)

2007: Shane Cottle (8/10)

2008: Brad Kuhn (8/6)

2009: Jerry Coons Jr. (6/10)

2010: Steve Buckwalter (6/16)

2011: Darren Hagen (6/8)

2012: Darren Hagen (6/13)

2013: Kyle Larson (6/12)

2015: Tanner Thorson (6/10)

2016: Spencer Bayston (6/1)

2017: Michael Pickens (6/7)

2019: Justin Grant (6/5)

2020: Kyle Larson (6/17) & Cannon McIntosh (9/25)

2021: Buddy Kofoid (6/11)

2022: Buddy Kofoid (9/22)

2023: Logan Seavey (6/7)

PAST JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (4), 2. Tyler Courtney (6), 3. Kyle Cummins (11), 4. Tanner Thorson (17), 5. Emerson Axsom (5), 6. Justin Grant (8), 7. Buddy Kofoid (18), 8. Daison Pursley (1), 9. Chris Windom (15), 10. Tanner Carrick (13), 11. Brady Bacon (22), 12. Andrew Layser (9), 13. Logan Seavey (14), 14. Clinton Boyles (19), 15. Thomas Meseraull (7), 16. Chase Johnson (2), 17. Cole Bodine (10), 18. Robert Dalby (21), 19. Kaylee Bryson (20), 20. Chase Randall (16), 21. Tyler Nelson (12), 22. Hayden Reinbold (23*), 23. Ethan Mitchell (3). NT

2021 FEATURE: RAINED OUT

2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (8), 2. Kaylee Bryson (2), 3. Brenham Crouch (1), 4. Chance Crum (3), 5. Jacob Denney (4), 6. Ethan Mitchell (5), 7. Cannon McIntosh (23), 8. Thomas Meseraull (9), 9. Tanner Carrick (10), 10. Justin Grant (11), 11. Dominic Gorden (19), 12. Mitchel Moles (14), 13. Alex Bright (15), 14. Kyle Cummins (16), 15. Taylor Reimer (7), 16. Maria Cofer (6), 17. Michael Magic (21), 18. Hayden Reinbold (13), 19. Adam Taylor (17), 20. Blake Brannon (18), 21. Bryan Stanfill (20), 22. Bryant Wiedeman (12), 23. Jakeb Boxell (22). NT

 

 

MAJOR BOUNTY POSTED

FOR USAC NON-FULL-TIMERS

AT LAWRENCEBURG’S FALL NATIONALS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (September 19, 2023)………USAC regulars have gone undefeated all season in AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition with full-time series drivers and teams winning every event run thus far in 2023.

Now, NOS Energy Drink and USAC are posting a $10,000 bounty to any driver who can beat the USAC regulars during the Saturday night, October 7, Fall Nationals at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Any driver outside the top-12 in the USAC National Sprint Car standings will be eligible for the opportunity to cash in an extra $10,000 bonus by winning that night’s feature event.

With the Fall Nationals already paying $20,000 to the feature winner, it is possible that a driver could walk out of the southeastern Indiana 3/8-mile dirt oval that night with a total of $30,000 in earnings.

The Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway began in 2007, and this year, enters its 16th edition under the promotion of Dave and Kim Rudisell. Robert Ballou captured the inaugural running of the Fall Nationals in 2007.

Furthermore, the Fall Nationals presents the finale of the 10-race Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Series presented by Spire Sports + Entertainment. Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) leads the miniseries’ point standings by five points over C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.). Defending “Bubby Jones” champ Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) sits third, 14 points out of the lead.

The Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster driving champion will earn a $10,000 bonus while the champion crew chief will receive a $2,500 reward.

 

 

BIGGEST FIELD EVER FOR

USAC SILVER CROWN AT ELDORA THIS WEEKEND!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Rossburg, Ohio (September 19, 2023)………A record-high field of 37 USAC Silver Crown drivers and cars are entered for the 41st running of the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway this Friday-Saturday, September 22-23.

That’s the most ever for a USAC Silver Crown event at the Rossburg, Ohio half-mile dirt oval dating back to the first running in 1981.

The previous highest car count of 36 champ cars at Eldora occurred in both the 1996 and 2001 runnings of the 4-Crown Nationals Presented By NKTELCO.

This weekend’s field includes four past Eldora 4-Crown Nationals USAC Silver Crown winners, including Jerry Coons Jr. (2007 & 2014), C.J. Leary (2018), Brady Bacon (2019) and Logan Seavey (2021-22).

Seavey leads the USAC Silver Crown National Championship point standings by a single point entering the Eldora round this weekend.

The USAC Silver Crown portion of the program encompasses two nights at Eldora this weekend. On Friday, USAC Silver Crown practice will be held, followed by two-at-a-time USAC Silver Crown qualifying in which the top-20 fastest on time will be locked into Saturday’s feature.

Also on Friday night, a 12-lap qualifying race will be held for all those who are not locked into the feature. From that field, the top-six finishers will transfer into the Saturday’s 50-lap feature.

RACE DETAILS

On Friday, September 22, at Eldora, the BeFour the Crowns program will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC Silver Crown Qualifying & Qualifying Race and the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Spectator gates open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting taking place at 5:30pm and cars on track at 6pm. General admission tickets are $35 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for ages 12 and under.

On Saturday, September 23, at Eldora, the 41st running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKTELCO features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, All Star Circuit of Champions and the USAC Silver Crown National Championship. Spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session taking place from 3-4pm in the Fan Zone. The drivers meeting will take place at 4:30pm and cars on track at 6pm. General admission tickets are $40 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $45 for adults and $10 for ages 12 and under.

ELDORA USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (37 CARS & DRIVERS)

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

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

3 (R) TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)

4 (R) MARK BITNER/Columbus, NJ (Henry Yeska)

5 (R) MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (DMW Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

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

10 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)

11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing/SRG)

12 (R) WAYNE JOHNSON/Oklahoma City, OK (Two C Racing)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

20 (R) EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)

24 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (John Haggenbottom)

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

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)

34 (R) GARY DUNKLE/Lincoln, NE (Gary Dunkle)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

49 BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)

53 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Five Three Motorsports)

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

55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)

57 DALLAS HEWITT/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)

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)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

97 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Hans Lein)

99 (R) ZACH HAMPTON/Mooresville, IN (Armstrong Racing)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

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

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

 

 

BRODY FUSON SURGES TO LATE VENTURA VICTORY
By Lance Jennings

VENTURA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 18, 2023…Fresh off winning the previous weekend in a USAC Western States Midget, Brody Fuson of Bakersfield, California returned to Ventura Raceway and topped last Saturday’s 250th USAC West Coast Sprint Car event. By winning a dash off the last corner, Fuson took the checkered flag ahead of Jake Andreotti, Logan Calderwood, point leader Ryan Timmons, and David Gasper.

Making his first start in Joey Bishop’s #45 JBM Golf Carts entry, San Diego, California’s A.J. Bender started on the pole position. Bender led the opening ten laps until mechanical problems sidelined the former Turkey Night Grand Prix Sprint Car winner. Still under green flag conditions, June 17th Ventura winner Jake Andreotti of Castro Valley, California inherited the lead. Andreotti set a fast pace and sliced his way through slower traffic as Calderwood, Gasper, Fuson, and Timmons were gaining ground.

A lap 25 caution flag reset the field as Andreotti had a great restart and maintained command. Fuson charged forward and challenged the leader on the last lap with three corners to go. Going down the back straightaway and going into the third turn, Fuson looked to have the lead. Andreotti drove hard into the corner and it was even off the last turn. Going to the finish line, Fuson surged ahead and claimed the third USAC West Coast Sprint Car victory of his career.

Racing Bob & Toni Van Meter’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / WE Spike, Brody Fuson qualified second overall, won the 10-lap Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat Race, and topped the 30-lap “Sammy Bahr and Ray Stansberry” main event after starting fifth. Heading to the final point race on October 7th at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park, the USAC Western States Midget point leader ranks fourth in the USAC West Coast Sprint Car standings.

Menifee, California’s Tom Dunkel opened the night by winning the “Lucky Pill Draw” presented by High Tech Performance and earned ten gallons of fuel. In addition, he won the Rod End Supply / Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Pill Draw Award. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel #17A Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Dunkel was eleventh quick in time trials, ran fourth in his heat race, and scored eighth in the feature from twelfth. In limited starts, Tom has climbed to nineteenth in the point chase.

David Gasper of Goleta, California won the Brown & Miller Racing Solutions / Rod End Supply “lucky pill draw award.” Driving the Gasper Racing / Kittle Motorsports owned #18 AR Air Repair / Valley Precision Products Triple X, Gasper qualified sixth overall, ran third in his heat race, and finished fifth in the main event. David left the Ventura County Fairgrounds ranked fifth in the point standings and second in rookie honors.

Point leader Ryan Timmons of Pleasant Hill, California earned his sixth career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award. Piloting the family owned #29T Red Line Oil / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons posted a time of 12.198 seconds over the 21-car roster. Ryan placed third in his heat race and powered to fourth in the main event from the sixth starting spot. By finishing fourth, the former rookie of the year earned $100 from an anonymous race fan. At press time, Timmons has a 72-point advantage heading to the October 7th “Championship Night.”

Racing the May Motorsports’ #8M RDM Mechanics / Keen Concrete Maxim, Jake Andreotti qualified seventh overall, won the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race, and led nineteen laps of the main event. Running a limited schedule, Andreotti has moved into a tie with Elexa Herrera for thirteenth in USAC West Coast points.

Simi Valley, California’s Tom Hendricks raced to victory in the 10-lap Competition Suspension Incorporated Third Heat Race. The owner / driver of the #14 Snap-On Tools / Powerhouse Performance ITI, Hendricks was eighteenth fast in time trials and scored twentieth in the feature after an early exit. The veteran driver left Ventura Raceway ranked seventh in the point standings.

Ron LaPlant of Oroville, California earned his third BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with a ninth place run from seventeenth. The owner / driver of the #69 RJL Truck and Tractor Painting / Feather Falls Casino Eagle was sixteenth quick in time trials and placed second in his heat race. Heading to the last point race, Ron is second in the standings and leads the chase for top rookie honors.

Santa Clara, California’s Adam Christian claimed the Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award” after finishing thirteenth in the main event. The owner/driver of the #12 Yak Graphics Triple X qualified fourteenth overall and scored third in his heat race. The rookie contender heads to the “George Snider Classic” ranked twelfth in the USAC West Coast standings.

The non-winged 360 sprint cars will return to action on Saturday, October 7th at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California for “Championship Night” and the “George Snider Classic.” The final point race will also feature the USAC Western States Midgets and Dwarf Cars.

The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wagtimers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC West Coast Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 16, 2023 – Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-12.198; 2. Brody Fuson, 51, Van Meter-12.264; 3. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-12.357; 4. Kyle Edwards, 39, Edwards-12.379; 5. Cole Wakim, 9, Wakim-12.424; 6. David Gasper, 18, Gasper/Kittle-12.464; 7. Jake Andreotti, 8M, May-12.475; 8. A.J. Bender, 45, Bishop-12.555; 9. Rick Hendrix, 15, Hendrix-12.575; 10. Chris Wakim, 9W, Wakim-12.613; 11. Tom Dunkel, 17A, Dunkel-12.631; 12. Tyler Hatzikian, 27, Hatzikian-12.638; 13. Bryan Whitley, 22, Whitley-12.638; 14. Adam Christian, 12, Christian-12.750; 15. Jon DeWees, 63D, DeWees-12.785; 16. Ron LaPlant, 69, LaPlant-12.914; 17. Heath Holdsclaw, 33, Case-12.965; 18. Tom Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-13.049; 19. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-13.469; 20. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-13.833; 21. Camie Bell, 29C, Bell-14.503.

EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Andreotti, 2. LaPlant, 3. Timmons, 4. Whitley, 5. Edwards, 6. Ch.Wakim, 7. Ennis. NT.

BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Fuson, 2. Bender, 3. Christian, 4. Dunkel, 5. Co.Wakim, 6. Holdsclaw, 7. Herrera. NT.

COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hendricks, 2. Hendrix, 3. Gasper, 4. Calderwood, 5. DeWees, 6. Bell. NT.

SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Brody Fuson (5), 2. Jake Andreotti (2), 3. Logan Calderwood (4), 4. Ryan Timmons (6), 5. David Gasper (3), 6. Cole Wakim (9), 7. Kyle Edwards (8), 8. Tom Dunkel (12), 9. Ron LaPlant (17), 10. Heath Holdsclaw (18), 11. Jon DeWees (16), 12. Rick Hendrix (10), 13. Adam Christian (15), 14. Bryan Whitley (14), 15. Camie Bell (21), 16. Elexa Herrera (20), 17. Chris Wakim (11), 18. Tyler Hatzikian (13), 19. A.J. Bender (1), 20. Tom Hendricks (7). NT.
----------------------------
**Chris Ennis did not start feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Bender, Laps 11-29 Andreotti, Lap 30 Fuson.

BR MOTORSPORTS / ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Ron LaPlant (17th to 9th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Adam Christian
BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS / ROD END SUPPLY PILL DRAW: David Gasper
ROD END SUPPLY / BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS PILL DRAW: Tom Dunkel
WHEEL PACK AWARD: Elexa Herrera
HIGH TECH PERFORMANCE LUCKY PILL DRAW AWARD: Tom Dunkel

NEW USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Ryan Timmons-372, 2-Ron LaPlant-300, --Kyle Edwards-300, 4-Brody Fuson-295, 5-David Gasper-244, 6-Tyler Hatzikian-232, 7-Tom Hendricks-210, 8-Jon DeWees-198, 9-Cody Majors-197, 10-Trent Carter-182.

NEW WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1-Ryan Timmons-24, 3-Brody Fuson-16, 3-David Gasper-13, --Kyle Edwards-13, 5-Troy Rutherford-12, 6-Cody Majors-9, 7-Logan Calderwood-6, 8-Kaleb Montgomery-5, 9-Ron LaPlant-3, 10-Cole Wakim-2.

NEW SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE POINTS: 1-Ryan Timmons-317, 2-Ron LaPlant-272, 3-Kyle Edwards-261, 4-Brody Fuson-241, 5-Tyler Hatzikian-215, 6-Davis Gasper-196, 7-Tom Hendricks-188, 8-Jon DeWees-175, 9-Cody Majors-168, 10-Trent Carter-166.

NEW PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Ron LaPlant-29, 2-Jon DeWees-23, 3-Tom Hendricks-19, 4-Heath Holdsclaw-16, 5-Elexa Herrera-15, 6-Adam Christian-14, 7-Ryan Timmons-13, 8-Brody Fuson-11, --Camie Bell-11, --Hannah Mayhew-10, --Trent Carter-10.

NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE: October 7 – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, California – “Championship Night” & “George Snider Classic”

 

 

THE NEXT GENERATION: CALE COONS WINS HIS FIRST AT MONTPELIER

Montpelier, Indiana (September 16, 2023)………The Coons name is synonymous in USAC racing lore with Jerry Coons Jr. earning a total of four career national championships with the club in his Triple Crown career.

Now, the next generation of the Coons racing family has entered victory lane for the first time in USAC competition.

Cale Coons, son of Jerry Coons Jr., raced to his first career USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget victory on Saturday night at Indiana’s Montpelier Motor Speedway.

The Greencastle, Ind. native zipped by racelong leader Zach Wigal with six laps remaining to reign victorious in the 20-lap main event in his Team Taylor Racing ride.

Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) led the first 14 laps of the feature before falling back to third at the finish line. Bryce Massingill (Troy, Ohio) took the second spot from Wigal in the waning laps and was able to extend his series point lead over Wigal to 29.

Aaron Leffel (Springfield, Ohio) grabbed fourth while Luke Lemons (Dayton, Ohio) scored a fifth after starting all the way back in the 19th position, which earned him Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger honors.

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

USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: September 16, 2023 – Montpelier Motor Speedway – Montpelier, Indiana

FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Cale Coons (#11T Taylor), 2. Bryce Massingill (#35 Massingill), 3. Zach Wigal (#18 Wigal), 4. Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor), 5. Luke Lemons (#33L Lemons), 6. Matt Lux (#5KB Wells), 7. Stratton Briggs (#21 Fedorczyk), 8. Cole Morgan (#7m Morgan), 9. Gunnar Lucius (#22 Lucius), 10. Ian Creager (#36 Creager), 11. Tyler Nelson (#10N Nelson), 12. Tate Martz (#34 GMB), 13. Josh Yenser (#16y Yenser), 14. Michael Magic (#5m Magic), 15. Tyler Kalb (#32 Kalb), 16. Jimmie Guidry (#21G Guidry), 17. Abby Hohlbein (#11H Hohlbein), 18. Jon Watson (#20x Watson), 19. Ryan Moran (#01 Moran), 20. Jakeb Boxell (#44JB Boxell-Merkler). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Zach Wigal, Laps 15-20 Cale Coons.

ALSO AT THE TRACK: Marcel Berndt (#2 Briggs), Luke Hall (#74 Heitmeyer), Blake Adams (#44 Adams), Jim Jones (#97 Jones), Jody Paul (#5J Paul), Thomas Bigelow (#2B Bigelow), John Ralsten (#6m Ralsten) & Brayden Schwartz (#55 Schwartz).

USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Bryce Massingill-1112, 2-Zach Wigal-1083, 3-Stratton Briggs-1033, 4-Matt Lux-1016, 5-Ian Creager-959, 6-Gunnar Lucius-941, 7-Abby Hohlbein-857, 8-Jakeb Boxell-786, 9-Josh Yenser-581, 10-Luke Lemons-628.

NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: October 7, 2023 – Waynesfield Raceway Park – Waynesfield, Ohio

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

VMS Motorsports Fast Qualifier: Bryce Massingill

Performance Electronics First Heat Winner: Zach Wigal

U.S. Lawns Second Heat Winner: Aaron Leffel

Stiefel’s Home & Auto Third Heat: Bryce Massingill

Semi Winner: Jakeb Boxell

Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger: Luke Lemons (19th to 5th)

Rosewood Machine Precision Move of the Race: Cole Morgan

HARF/DARF Hard Luck: Jim Jones

Impact Racing Lucky Racer: Ian Creager

Larry Hajduk Memorial Crew Chief Awards: Thomas Briggs & Noah Lemons

 

 

$20 GRAND MACHO MAN!

BACON HURRIES TO HAUBSTADT HUSTLER WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (September 16, 2023)………Tri-State Speedway has been very, very good to Brady Bacon in 2023.

In April, the Broken Arrow, Okla. native earned his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car win at the track, and on Saturday night, he raced to a first career Haubstadt Hustler victory in the richest event ever held at the Haubstadt, Indiana dirt oval worth $20,000.

The 16th running of the event, co-sanctioned by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the Midwest Sprint Car Series, came down to a duel between Bacon and four-time Haubstadt Hustler victor Kevin Thomas Jr. en route to Bacon’s 40-lap triumph at a track he’s admittedly struggled at in the past and hadn’t won a USAC race at since the spring of 2015.

Wheeling his Dynamics, Inc./4-Wide Salute Podcast – Tel-Star Technologies – DriveWFX.com/Triple X/Rider Chevy, Bacon’s victory was a major milestone, providing him with his 53rd career USAC National Sprint Car feature win and giving him sole possession of second place on the all-time list ahead of 1978 series champion Tom Bigelow. Now, Bacon trails only Dave Darland’s record of 62 series wins, which sits number one all-time.

Utilizing the MSCS format of group qualifying, a four-car heat race invert and a redraw for position to set the feature lineup, the USAC National Sprint Car points race was on hiatus for the evening with every licensed driver and entrant with the series receiving 50 appearance points across the board regardless of finishing position. For four-time USAC champion Bacon, it was a nice change of pace amidst the pressurized title race of which he trails Justin Grant by nine with only five events left to go.

“It was kind of nice,” Bacon admitted. “It’s been pretty stressful I’m sure for him and I both to get through each night, but tonight, I finally got to try something different, and obviously, it paid off. It’s the biggest race here and at a place where we have admittedly struggled in the past. It was good to me earlier this year with my first World of Outlaws win and this is a pretty special one tonight. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve last won here in a non-wing sprint car.”

Bacon started from the pole position and immediately engaged in a tumultuous opening lap scuffle with outside front row starter Robert Ballou. As Bacon worked the middle line and Ballou the outside, the two came together at the exit of turn four, smacking wheels together as they crossed the stripe to complete lap one. To begin lap two, chrome-to-chrome contact was on the docket between Ballou’s front bumper and Bacon’s rear bumper which sent Bacon sideways in turn one. However, Bacon mashed the gas and was able to escape unscathed after the early race attack from Ballou.

By lap 10, Bacon had entered lapped traffic with a full second lead over Ballou. However, on lap 13, Ballou’s car suddenly lost power, knocking him out of the race and relegating him to watching the rest of the race from the infield with an unsavory 22nd place result.

Dustin Beck was the beneficiary of Ballou’s misfortune with the former modified standout and Tri-State Speedway regular moving up to second in only his fourth career USAC feature start. He split through traffic and kept pace with Bacon for the lead, albeit about five car lengths back as the race neared the midway point.

Trouble hit fourth running Justin Grant on the 20th lap when he suddenly slowed with a broken tie-rod. He was able to make it back to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area for repairs and returned to the tail of the field for the restart before going on to race his way back to an eighth-place result.

On the race’s resumption, ninth starting Kevin Thomas Jr. darted into the second position when Beck slid high in turn two on the 22nd lap. Now down a half-straightaway to Bacon for the lead, it was “game on” for the stalwarts of the sport who own a whopping 92 USAC National Sprint Car features between the two.

The gap was closed even further at the front of the field on lap 24 when the caution flag was displayed after Carson Short and Jadon Rogers found calamity in the corner amid a tussle for the seventh spot. The two drivers connected wheels in turn two with Short nearly getting upside before landing on all fours and stopping with extensive damage to his car, ending his fantastic charge from the 17th starting position. Three laps later, Rogers slowed to bring out the caution, prematurely ending the defending Haubstadt Hustler champion’s reign.

Down the stretch, the unflappable Bacon kept Thomas Jr. at arm’s length. For the most part. With five laps remaining, Bacon had his rhythm disrupted when he went low off turn four to overtake the lapped car of Andy Bradley. In doing so, Bacon’s car slipped completely sideways. Second running Thomas Jr. closed in and made slight contact with the rear of Bacon’s machine, but both managed to continue without harm or foul.

With three laps to go, third-running Beck was in the camera frame, running just a few car lengths from the tail tank of Thomas Jr. However, he soon skated up the track in turn two and caught the outside wall, resulting in the loss of a full-straightaway of ground.

Moments later, 16th running Kayla Roell walked away from a wild flip in turn one, ending her first Haubstadt Hustler run on lap 38. For the feature, she was behind the wheel of KO Motorsports teammate Daison Pursley's backup car after earlier trouble in her primary ride.

At the front of the field, Bacon had a bit of anxiousness, but at this point in his career, he’d seen it all and was prepared for the final stretch run at a major payday.

“I was a little concerned because I was actually tight,” Bacon remembered. “Sitting under the red, I was worried that my tire was going to go down a little bit. I just drove it as hard as I could, and I knew if I could get a couple laps in, the bottom gets slower, and you can get your momentum going on the top.”

On Bacon’s rear bumper for the late-race restart was Kevin Thomas Jr., one of the best in the business and a driver who’s tied for the all-time lead in USAC National Sprint Car victories (6) at the venue known as The Class Track.

“On the green-white-checker, he’s one of the best here, and I just tried to not make any mistakes,” Bacon explained. “I was getting kind of sloppy there catching a lapped car and about spun out. Once we could get rolling on the top, I felt really good. I’ve never been that good on the top here like that. I was struggling a little bit in lapped traffic, which is usually where I’m good at on the bottom. I just had a lot of speed on the top.”

That’s where Bacon stayed for the remaining two laps, never straying from the high line. Thomas Jr. was able to pull even with Bacon for a fleeting moment in turn four on the final lap, but Bacon’s momentum propelled him ahead to the win by a 0.289 second margin.

Thomas Jr. ran second ahead of Dustin Beck in third with Mitchel Moles fourth and Kyle Cummins fifth, who earned hard charger honors after officially starting 15th, but dropped to as far back as 22nd after an opening lap skirmish into the infield sent him nearly all the way back to the tail.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) made his first USAC run in Kevin Newton’s No. 16 a successful one as he turned in his best finish of the USAC season to finish second, his sixth career top-two Haubstadt Hustler finish aboard the Honest Abe Roofing – Benic Enterprises/DRC/Claxton Chevy.

“I felt like we were pretty equal there,” Thomas Jr. said of he and Bacon’s late-race battle. “On the long runs, I could search around. He was leading, so it’s hard to move around. He was running the top there and it was a little lippy on the edge of wanting to push. The way you run this track is very inconsistent as a driver. But he’s one of the best at being consistent. I gave it everything I’ve got, but I think I maybe needed a little bit of lapped traffic and some more laps. I mean, they gave us 40, so how much more can you ask for?”

Dustin Beck (Petersburg, Ind.) recorded his best career USAC National Sprint Car result in a fine drive in the seat of his Hensen-Rupp/Royal Express Car Wash – Clark’s Commercial Services/Maxim/SPEC Chevy. The finish came on the heels of his best performance in a sprint car just two weeks earlier with a similar third place run in MSCS competition at Tri-State.

“I actually podiumed for the first time here two weeks ago and that really hasn’t sunk in yet either,” Beck revealed. “This is definitely a confidence builder. I think we can run with these guys, and we’ve hit on something lately that’s working, so I’m confident now running here.”

In Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) posted his 10th career fast time in USAC National Sprint Car competition. That moved him to 50th place all-time alongside Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise, Thomas Meseraull and Jake Swanson.

Tenth place finishing driver C.J. Leary reached a milestone with his 400th career USAC National Sprint Car feature start, becoming just the ninth driver to reach the mark. Dave Darland holds the all-time record of 797 starts ahead of Tracy Hines (484), Brady Bacon (473), Robert Ballou (470), Chris Windom (470), Jon Stanbrough (448), Tom Bigelow (447) and Chase Stockon (440).


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 16, 2023 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 16th Haubstadt Hustler – Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.123; 2. Adyn Schmidt, 12s, Schmidt-13.201; 3. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.209; 4. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-13.250; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16, Newton-13.288; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.309; 7. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.320; 8. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.345; 9. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.353; 10. Dustin Beck, 75, Hensen/Rupp-13.360; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.381; 12. Stephen Schnapf, 39, Hoosier Speed/Fortune-13.414; 13. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-13.445; 14. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-13.463; 15. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.478; 16. Andy Bradley, 86, Hoosier Speed/Fortune-13.539; 17. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.581; 18. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-13.658; 19. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-13.688; 20. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.754; 21. Sam Scott, 7s, Scott-13.755; 22. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.772; 23. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-13.886; 24. Carson Short, 84, Beadles-13.900; 25. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-13.971; 26. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.985; 27. Michael Daugherty, 3.14, Daugherty-14.050; 28. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-14.077; 29. Jeff Pritchett, 2J, Nine-One-One-14.170; 30. Johnny Ivers, 55, Ivers/Thomas-14.198; 31. Allen Howard Jr., 4u, AJR-14.230; 32. Kevin Newton, 16TH, Newton-14.552; 33. Raymond Holden, 2R, Holden-14.934.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kendall Ruble, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Sam Scott, 7. Kayla Roell, 8. Jeff Pritchett, 9. Raymond Holden. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Dustin Beck, 2. J.J. Hughes, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Adyn Schmidt, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Johnny Ivers. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Justin Grant, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Brady Short, 6. Michael Daugherty, 7. Allen Howard Jr., 8. Donny Brackett. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Stephen Schnapf, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Andy Bradley, 5. Carson Short, 6. Aric Gentry, 7. Jake Swanson, 8. Kevin Newton. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Short, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Brady Short, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Jake Swanson, 8. Sam Scott, 9. Jeff Pritchett, 10. Allen Howard Jr., 11. Johnny Ivers, 12. Aric Gentry, 13. Raymond Holden, 14. Michael Daugherty. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 3. Dustin Beck (3), 4. Mitchel Moles (5), 5. Kyle Cummins (15), 6. J.J. Hughes (6), 7. Kendall Ruble (4), 8. Justin Grant (7), 9. Carson Garrett (10), 10. C.J. Leary (11), 11. Logan Seavey (20), 12. Chase Stockon (21), 13. Daison Pursley (12), 14. Emerson Axsom (13), 15. Brady Short (19), 16. Adyn Schmidt (14), 17. Kayla Roell (23-P), 18. Andy Bradley (16), 19. Jadon Rogers (18), 20. Carson Short (17), 21. Matt Westfall (22), 22. Robert Ballou (2), 23. Stephen Schnapf (8). NT

**(P) represents an MSCS provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Brady Bacon.

**Aric Gentry flipped during the semi. Kayla Roell flipped on lap 38 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2093, 2-Brady Bacon-2084, 3-Kyle Cummins-1966, 4-Emerson Axsom-1961, 5-Jake Swanson-1926, 6-C.J. Leary-1853, 7-Robert Ballou-1771, 8-Chase Stockon-1633, 9-Mitchel Moles-1594, 10-Logan Seavey-1544.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-170, 2-Logan Seavey-115, 3-Emerson Axsom-108, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Robert Ballou-98, 6-Justin Grant-95, 7-Matt Westfall-92, 8-Brady Bacon-91, 9-Chase Stockon-86, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-70.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-574, 2-C.J. Leary-569, 3-Brady Bacon-560, 4-Mitchel Moles-541, 5-Jake Swanson-508, 6-Kyle Cummins-495, 7-Justin Grant-490, 8-Chase Stockon-485, 9-Daison Pursley-452, 10-Matt Westfall-398.

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


CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Mitchel Moles (13.123)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles (13.123)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kendall Ruble

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Dustin Beck

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Short

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Brady Bacon

Hard Charger: Kyle Cummins (15th to 5th)

 

 

LAST LAP, LAST TURN HERO:

SEAVEY SCORES PHOTO FINISH

USAC SPRINT CAR WIN AT CIRCLE CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (September 15, 2023)………Throughout the first 31 races of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season, Logan Seavey had led just one single, solitary lap.

During Friday night’s feature at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway, all the Sutter, Calif. native led was about 10 feet or so to pull off his first series victory of the year in his 2B Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Benic Enterprises – Goodnight Racing/DRC/Claxton Chevy.

Shane Cottle, who had taken over the lead on lap 19 of the 30-lap main event, appeared to have the race in his grasp until roughly four laps to go. That’s when Seavey began to make some headway on Cottle who had pegged himself to the bottom groove.

Lap after lap, Seavey got a little bit closer, until he found himself trailing Cottle by a single car length at the line on the white flag lap. Seavey dug in, and at the exit of turn four on the 30th and final lap, finally emerged ahead of Cottle, just moments before the two crossed the finish line with Seavey out front.

Seavey’s one car length margin of victory was calculated at a 0.142 second interval over Cottle, the second closest finish of the series season behind only Mitchel Moles’ 0.093 second score over Carson Garrett in July at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.

Already a four-time NOS Energy Drink National Midget winner and twice a Silver Crown victor in 2023, Seavey’s National Sprint Car win made him the first driver this season to earn victories in all three of USAC’s national divisions.

Furthermore, Seavey provided his 2B Racing team with its first USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph since a May 18, 2012, win by driver Bobby East at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway more than 11 years ago.

Overall, it was Seavey’s ninth career USAC National Sprint Car win, moving him to 57th on the all-time list and into a tie with Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg and Robbie Stanley. But this one at Circle City was certainly among the most satisfying.

“I was just watching the laps click down with seven or eight to go and I really wasn’t gaining on him,” Seavey recalled. “I knew that the harder I ran, the slower I’d go. I just talked to myself a little bit and made sure I hit my marks rather than overdrive it. There were a few laps where I was turning down off four and it was okay, but I knew that in order to run him down earlier, I had to get up there and pound it.”

Prior to this night, Seavey’s best performance of the USAC National Sprint Car season came via a runner-up result in July at the very same place – Circle City Raceway. Although it had been his best run to this point in the year, Seavey felt he left one on the table. He was determined not to let that happen this time around.

“The last time I was here, I got myself a little bit out of balance in the middle of the race and I felt like I gave one away,” Seavey admitted. “This time, I wanted to make sure my car was going to stay good against the cushion so I could run it as hard as I could, but man, it was tough.”

To boot, Seavey’s car was one he had not driven before. The chassis is a nine-year-old DRC built in 2014 that has been driven occasionally by Scotty Weir on the local level at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway. It was originally owned by Baldwin Brothers Racing but was later sold to Lou Gagliardi’s team and driven by Dustin Smith. When Gagliardi sold his equipment a couple years ago, 2B Racing team owner Scott Benic purchased the car. But that’s only where the story begins.

Benic had the car powder coated and sold it to Australian driver Travis Millar, who raced it during this summer’s USAC Indiana Sprint Week series. At the conclusion of ISW, Millar sold the car back to Benic and the 2B Racing team made the machine their backup car. After not running up to their expectations last weekend, the car with a long, winding history was upgraded to the primary ride for Seavey at Circle City. Thanks to the car affectionately nicknamed “Barney,” the old dinosaur put Seavey and 2B Racing back in victory lane.

Carson Garrett started first and ran first for the initial six laps of the feature until outside front row starting Seavey made a flourish into the lead with a full head of steam as he charged around the outside of Garrett to lead lap seven by a foot with Cummins, winner of the last two USAC Sprint Car races this season at Circle City, right on their heels back in third.

Seventh running Jadon Rogers spun to a stop in turn three on lap eight to bring out the yellow. Sixth starting Cottle had held steady in sixth until the caution, but the emperor soon found his new groove along the bottom of the 1/4-mile dirt oval as he marched his way up to fourth three laps later.

After clipping the turn four infield tire on lap 14, Cottle lost substantial ground in his quest. However, he soon received a reprieve due to the misfortune of those just in front of him. On lap 17, Garrett (2nd) and Cummins (3rd) headed for the same piece of real estate entering turn one. Cummins climbed Garrett's left side wheels, resulting in Garrett spinning to a stop as Cummins continued onward.

Seavey's 1.154 second lead was eradicated with the stoppage, and the beneficiary soon after was Cottle. In one fell swoop, Cottle drove under both Cummins and Seavey to advance from third to first on lap 19. With five to go, Cottle’s seemingly healthy lead stood at more than a full second until Seavey tracked him down to earn his first series win since June of 2022 at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway.

The confidence and swagger for Seavey and the 2B Racing team has rekindled of late after what has been a trying season that has had the team outside of the top-10 in the series point standings all year long. But the team stuck with it, and finally, good fortune was theirs in the end.

“These guys are doing everything they can to make this car good for us,” Seavey praised. “We’ve had some good runs and we’ve also struggled a lot too. Scott (Benic), Derek (Claxton), Matt (Meeks), Kevin Newton and everyone who works on this thing has put in the time and effort and has not given up. There have been a lot of nights where we were all just looking at each other not knowing what we were doing wrong. They brought in a new car this week and it drove really good all day. Hopefully we can keep this speed up for the rest of the year.”

For Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), it was a frustrating end to what was a spectacular performance which saw him nearly win his first USAC feature of the season. But just like the end of his USAC Silver Crown run at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in August, his winning expedition was ripped away in the waning laps by Seavey. Nonetheless, Cottle earned Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying honors to open the night, then drove his Epperson Racing/Epperson Painting – PPG Paints/DRC/Claxton Chevy to a season-best second place result.

“I don’t know what I could’ve done differently,” Cottle lamented. “I was good around the bottom, and I kept hearing him for about two or three laps. All I could do was just keep hitting my marks. He was just better than I was. It’s just one of them deals.”

Mired back in the 14th starting spot, Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) had a long road to hoe on his way to a third-place result in his Ballou Motorsports/The Boss Builder’s Outlet Super Store – Dragonfly Aviation/Twister-X/Ott Chevy. That effort of 11 positions gained earned Ballou hard charger honors for the evening.

“You’ve just got to go where they’re not, so I picked the middle land,” Ballou explained. “At the beginning, they were kind of dicing around the bottom. I went a lane above them and got by some guys that are normally really difficult to pass. I think I must’ve caught them by surprise. The seas kind of parted, so I moved to the middle, and we were okay until about 10 to go and I just kind of lost a little drive. These top-five to 10 guys are extremely tough and they’ve got really good crews and they’ve got really good engines and they’ve got their package together. I’ve been just a tick off all season and we’re finally starting to creep around to where I think we’re almost in a stride.”

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 15, 2023 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.133; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.159; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.176; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.183; 5. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-12.184; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.234; 7. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.260; 8. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.321; 9. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-12.367; 10. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.392; 11. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-12.414; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.465; 13. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.470; 14. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.481; 15. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-12.503; 16. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.515; 17. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.616; 18. Kody Swanson, 77, Wedgewood-12.626; 19. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.659; 20. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-12.752; 21. Thomas Meseraull, 23, NIKSTE-12.839; 22. Jack Hoyer, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.849; 23. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.870; 24. John Sluss, 4R, RayPro-12.958; 25. Scott Hampton, 51, Slinkard-12.963; 26. Devan Myers, 75, Myers-12.987; 27. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-12.999; 28. Bryar Schroeter, 21s, Schroeter-13.156; 29. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-13.293; 30. Wes Pinkerton, 21, Hajduk-13.545.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Mitchel Moles, 7. Bryar Schroeter, 8. Scott Hampton, 9. Jack Hoyer, 10. Chase Stockon. 2:10.14

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Brent Beauchamp, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Frankie Guerrini, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Hunter Maddox, 9. Trey Osborne, 10. Devan Myers. 2:11.70

T.J. FORGED / CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Kody Swanson, 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7. Daison Pursley, 8. Chance Crum, 9. John Sluss. 2:11.46

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Trey Osborne, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Jack Hoyer, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Hunter Maddox, 10. Bryar Schroeter, 11. John Sluss, 12. Gabriel Gilbert, 13. Devan Myers, 14. Scott Hampton. NT

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

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Carson Garrett, Laps 7-18 Logan Seavey, Laps 19-29 Shane Cottle, Lap 30 Logan Seavey.

**Scott Hampton flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-2043, 2-Brady Bacon-2034, 3-Kyle Cummins-1916, 4-Emerson Axsom-1911, 5-Jake Swanson-1876, 6-C.J. Leary-1803, 7-Robert Ballou-1721, 8-Chase Stockon-1583, 9-Mitchel Moles-1544, 10-Logan Seavey-1494.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-170, 2-Emerson Axsom-108, 3-Logan Seavey-106, 4-Shane Cottle-106, 5-Robert Ballou-98, 6-Justin Grant-95, 7-Brady Bacon-91, 8-Matt Westfall-91, 9-Chase Stockon-77, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-63.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 16, 2023 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 16th Haubstadt Hustler – Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Brady Bacon (12.351)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Shane Cottle (12.133)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Brent Beauchamp

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

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

Kenny Baldwin Hard Work Award: Chance Crum

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Carson Garrett

Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (14th to 3rd)

 

 

BC39 ENTRY LIST HITS 70!

CANNON, AXSOM & KTJ JOIN IN ON THE IMS DIRT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 14, 2023)………Seventy (70) USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets are now entered for the fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The latest additions to the lineup include driver Cannon McIntosh and the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team. The Bixby, Okla. native finished as the runner-up in the 2022 BC39 and led a race-high 20 of the 39 laps at the 1/4-mile dirt track.

Additionally, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) has officially been added as the seventh driver for the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports stable. The 2021 fifth place finishing BC39 driver will pilot car No. 68 for the reigning BC39 winning team.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led the first ever laps in BC39 history during the inaugural 2018 event in which he finished third. KTJ will be behind the wheel of the Crouch Motorsports No. 1 for the 2023 edition of the race.

Also filing BC39 entries today were Louisiana driver Chelby Hinton who’ll wheel a car owned by Klatt Enterprises and wrenched by USAC Hall of Famer Bob East. North Carolina’s Austin Barnhill will drive for Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports. Kevin Cook (Winchester, Ind.) will be in the seat of his own No. 9p.

** The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25, at www.TheBC39.com. **

Previously filing their entries to compete in this year’s BC39 were Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the 2018 BC39 winner, plus 2022 BC39 winner, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), who will be participating during Wednesday and Thursday’s preliminary rounds.

Current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader and 2018 series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is entered as well as two-time USAC National champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and 2019 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.).

The always exciting Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) is entered after contending for the win in each of the past two editions of the BC39 in 2021-22 as is top USAC Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) who owns the best finish by a woman in BC39 history with a 7th in 2022.

USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) is entered for the four-night event as is three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), 2023 series winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) and USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, the winning team of the 2022 running of the BC39, has entered seven cars for the event, including entries for series for 2023 USAC National Midget winners Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.), plus Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Mariah Ede (Fresno, Calif.).

The 2022 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), will make his second BC39 appearance this year after leading the initial 12 laps of last year’s BC39. Two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) will also return to the BC39 as well as first-time 2023 USAC National Midget feature winner Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) and recent series winner Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.).


DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


2023 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES

(70 cars as of September 14, 2023)

08 Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

1 Kevin Thomas Jr. (Crouch Motorsports)

1D Landon Brooks (RAMCO Speed Group)

1G Connor Wolf (RAMCO Speed Group)

1z Justin Zimmerman (Justin Zimmerman)

2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)

3G Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing)

4 Chelby Hinton (Klatt Enterprises)

5J Josh Hodge (Josh Hodge Racing)

5s Scott Orr (Josh Hodge Racing)

6 Isaac Chapple (Doug Hall)

7c Josh Bilicki (RAMCO Speed Group)

7m Kyle Jones (RAMCO Speed Group)

7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)

7x Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing)

8 Randi Pankratz (Wally Pankratz)

8x Jeff Schindler (Jeff Schindler)

9 Wes Pinkerton (Wes Pinkerton)

9p Kevin Cook (Kevin Cook)

10A Tommy Colburn (MWR Technology)

10c Mark McMahill (MWR Technology)

11 Clinton Boyles (Scott Beierle)

11L Aaron Leffel (Team Taylor Racing)

14 C.J. Leary (Legacy Autosport)

17B Austin Barnhill (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)

18N Weston Gorham (Kelly Gorham)

19 Daison Pursley (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19m Ethan Mitchell (Bundy Built Motorsports)

19T Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19x TBA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

21D Justin Dickerson (Mike Dickerson)

21H Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports)

21J Kameron Key (TKH Motorsports)

21K Karter Sarff (Jayme Sarff)

22 John Heydenreich (John Heydenreich)

22p Taylor Courtney (RAMCO Speed Group)

23 Preston Lattomus (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)

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

25m Jake Andreotti (Tom Malloy)

27 Keith Rauch (Bourke Motorsports)

27B Jake Bubak (Bourke Motorsports)

32 Gary Taylor (Brian Dunlap)

36 Ian Creager (Tod Creager)

40 Chase McDermand (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

40B Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)

40x Zach Wigal (Chase McDermand)

41 Oliver Akard (Team OMR)

44 Adam Andretti (Jeff Johnson)

46 Kenney Johnson (Jeff Johnson)

54 Matt Westfall (Steve Bordner)

56 Mitchell Davis (Pat O’Dell)

57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)

57A Daniel Robinson (RAB Racing)

58 Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing)

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

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

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

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

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

71T Kyler Johnson (Todd Henry)

81 Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries)

85 Jerry Coons Jr. (Central Motorsports)

86 Brent Crews (CB Industries)

89 Kaylee Bryson (CB Industries)

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

99 TBA (Carson-Segur Racing)

99K Robert Carson (Carson-Segur Racing)

118 Scott Evans (Scott Evans)

 

 

HUSTLIN’ FOR $20,000:

USAC & MSCS SPRINT CARS FACE OFF

SATURDAY AT TRI-STATE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Haubstadt, Indiana (September 13, 2023)………The richest Haubstadt Hustler to date is on tap for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and Midwest Sprint Car Series this Saturday night, September 16, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana.

Forty laps will lead to a $20,000 payday for one driver and one team to experience this weekend at The Class Track’s 1/4-mile dirt oval during the 16th running of the Haubstadt Hustler.

A long(er) distance, a big payout, the prospect of Jadon Rogers repeating, Kyle Cummins setting a new all-time record and the possibility of an emerging first-time USAC National Sprint Car points-paying race winner such as Daison Pursley, Carson Garrett and others are more than enough to whet the appetite.

But that only scratches the surface with the Haubstadt Hustler presenting round two of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta and the penultimate round of the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment series.

All hotly contested races and all at the forefront of the storylines that we have our eyes peeled to this coming Saturday in southern Indiana.


RODGERS RUNNIN' IT BACK

Countless individuals have clutched onto the dream of winning their first career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature race. Some are able to realize that dream but, for most, it remains but a fleeting notion that is never fully seized.

It was “carpe diem” for Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) during the 2022 Haubstadt Hustler as he led the final five laps to score his first career USAC feature victory.

It had been a long time coming for the 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, the same season in which he raced from his 14th starting position to finish 2nd during his first Haubstadt Hustler start.

He’s also the most recent winner at Tri-State, scoring the Midwest Sprint Car Series show on Labor Day weekend, September 3. He ran fourth with USAC there in the spring of this year, equaling his best performance of the season with the series.

Furthermore, he seems to have found a home with Michael Dutcher Motorsports, finishing 5th, 4th, 7th and 4th in four of his past five starts with the team as he angles to return to victory lane for the first time in a calendar year with USAC and also provide Dutcher his first USAC win since 2015. A Dutcher-owned car won the Haubstadt Hustler in 2013 with Kevin Thomas Jr. at the wheel.


CUMMINS ONE AWAY

Two-time Haubstadt Hustler winner Kyle Cummins has been the barometer that many others have measured themselves against when it comes to racing at Tri-State Speedway.

Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) is tied atop the list for all-time USAC National Sprint Car victories at the track, having won six times, including the Haubstadt Hustler on two occasions in 2016 and 2019. With one more victory, he’d officially become the king of USAC Sprint Car racing at Tri-State in terms of total wins.

However, he’s been shut out of victory lane in each of his last five outings with USAC at TSS dating back to the spring of 2021, the longest such stretch of his career.

Cummins, who swept to victory in all eight of his sprint car starts at Tri-State in 2019, has already won twice this year at TSS with MSCS, during May’s Memorial Weekend Classic and August’s Hoosier Sprint Nationals.


DAISON & CARSON, FIRST ONE?

Daron Clayton (2006), Hunter Schuerenberg (2008), Blake Fitzpatrick (2010), Carson Short (2016), Stephen Schnapf (2020) and Jadon Rogers (2022) all know the feeling well.

They’ve all experienced a first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win at Tri-State Speedway.

Daison Pursley and Carson Garrett are two individuals looking to experience the same feeling this Saturday night during the Haubstadt Hustler, both of whom have ties to the southern Indiana dirt oval.

Mind you, yes, Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) did win a non-point paying USAC Sprint Car feature down in Florida at Volusia Speedway Park to kick off the season, but another on Saturday would actually be his first points-paying victory with the series. The top-Rookie in the 2023 USAC National Sprint Car standings finished 8th in his Haubstadt Hustler debut in 2021, which also marked his first career USAC Sprint Car start with the KO Motorsports team, a team that is a regular fixture at Tri-State.

Meanwhile, Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) has already won twice with MSCS this season, once in May and again in June. He ran seventh in the spring with USAC at Tri-State but has grown by leaps and bounds ever since. With USAC, he finished with a career best second place result (by inches) at Illinois’ Macon Speedway and has also run inside the top-five multiple times since. Now he’s primed to be USAC’s first “first-time” Sprint Car winner of 2023.


TRIFECTA ROUND TWO

And then there were three!

Justin Grant, Kyle Cummins and Logan Seavey are gunning for their share of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta, round two of which arrives during this Saturday’s Haubstadt Hustler.

Two Trifecta events remain with a pair of $20,000-to-win showdowns on Saturday at Tri-State and on Saturday, October 7, during Lawrenceburg Speedway’s Fall Nationals.

Grant took round one of the Trifecta in August at Kokomo’s Smackdown ahead of Cummins and Seavey. Now Grant is chasing a clean sweep worth more than $100,000 in total prize money if he can win at both Tri-State and Lawrenceburg.

The driver with the highest average Trifecta finishing position and also finishes inside the top-three in the trio of events will earn the prize – over 100,000 dollars in total to win all three, a $20,000 bonus to finish second or better in all three and $10,000 to score a top-three result in all three races.


BUBBY JONES PENULTIMATE ROUND

Emerson Axsom leads a hotly contested title race in the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment standings.

The 10-race miniseries for the USAC National Sprint Cars takes on round nine on Saturday at Tri-State, a series in which Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) possesses a 13-point lead over C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.).

Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) remains 41 points out of the lead with defending “Bubby” champ Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 49 markers back and Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) 59 tallies behind the leader.

The driver accumulating the most total points throughout the 2023 Bubby Jones Racing Master of Goin’ Faster series will be rewarded with a $10,000 prize. Furthermore, the championship winning crew chief will collect a $2,500 bonus.

Winners of the Bubby Jones races thus far in 2023 include C.J. Leary (May 6 at Eldora), Brady Bacon (May 23 at Terre Haute), Jake Swanson (June 3 at Knoxville), Emerson Axsom (June 16 at Williams Grove), Justin Grant (June 17 at Port Royal), C.J. Leary (July 22 at Kokomo), Emerson Axsom (July 28 at Bloomington) and Matt Westfall (September 9 at Texarkana 67).

Two Bubby Jones events remain in 2023 starting at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, September 16, and ending on Saturday, October 7, at Lawrenceburg Speedway.


DIFFERENT FORMAT & “POINT”ING IT OUT

At this time of the season, much of the talk surrounds the season-long championship points races. While Saturday’s Haubstadt Hustler, co-sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series, will pay points toward the USAC National Sprint Car title race, the points will only be distributed in the form of appearance points.

All participating USAC National Sprint Car licensed drivers and entrants will receive 50 points across the board for their participation in the event regardless of finishing position this Saturday night.

The MSCS format of group qualifying to set heat race lineups and a draw to determine the feature inversion will be utilized for the Haubstadt Hustler, as has traditionally been the case in this event. April’s Spring Showdown at Tri-State, also co-sanctioned by USAC and MSCS, routinely uses the USAC format.

That takes points out of the equation for the night, meaning teams and drivers might play it a bit less conservatively when it comes to taking chances, and perhaps, on the set-up. But knowing this group, there’s not much “conserving” when $20,000 and bragging rights are on the line.


RACE DETAILS

Saturday’s program at Tri-State Speedway features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series) as well as the Midwest Mini Sprint Association.

Pits open at 2pm Central with grandstands opening at 3:30pm, the drivers meeting at 5:30pm and cars on track at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing.

Adult general admission tickets are $30, students (ages 13-18) are $20 and children 12 and under free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.


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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-1979, 2-Brady Bacon-1970, 3-Emerson Axsom-1861, 4-Kyle Cummins-1845, 5-Jake Swanson-1835, 6-C.J. Leary-1752, 7-Robert Ballou-1650, 8-Chase Stockon-1551, 9-Mitchel Moles-1491, 10-Daison Pursley-1455.



TRACK RECORD FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/30/2000 - Levi Jones - 12.644 - 71.180 mph

6 Laps - 7/07/2005 - Hud Cone - 1:20.59 - 67.006 mph

8 Laps - 7/15/2006 - Shane Hollingsworth - 1:49.65 - 65.664 mph

10 Laps - 9/2/2006 - Dave Darland - 2:09.02 - 69.757 mph

12 Laps - 9/14/2013 - Chase Stockon - 2:42.02 - 66.658 mph

30 Laps - 7/18/2015 - Brady Short - 7:31.50 - 59.801 mph


HAUBSTADT HUSTLER WINNERS:

2008: Jeff Bland Jr.

2009: Bryan Clauson

2010: Jon Stanbrough

2011: Casey Riggs

2012: Daron Clayton

2013: Kevin Thomas Jr.

2014: Daron Clayton

2015: Brady Short

2016: Kyle Cummins

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr.

2018: Kevin Thomas Jr.

2019: Kyle Cummins

2020: Chase Stockon

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr.

2022: Jadon Rogers


TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS

6-Kyle Cummins & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Daron Clayton

4-Cory Kruseman

3-Rick Hood

2-Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brady Short, Jon Stanbrough & Chase Stockon

1-Brady Bacon, Steve Butler, Dave Darland, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Blake Fitzpatrick, Damion Gardner, Tracy Hines, Kenny Jacobs, Levi Jones, Casey Riggs, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley

TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS

1983: Rick Hood (9/4)

1984: Steve Butler (5/28) & Rick Hood (9/2)

1988: Kenny Jacobs (8/7)

1989: Rick Hood (6/3)

2000: Cory Kruseman (7/30)

2001: Tony Elliott (5/13) & Jay Drake (7/22)

2002: Tracy Hines (5/19) & Cory Kruseman (7/21)

2003: J.J. Yeley (7/20)

2004: Cory Kruseman (7/18)

2005: Cory Kruseman (7/17)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (7/15) & Daron Clayton (9/2)

2007: Daron Clayton (7/21)

2008: Hunter Schuerenberg (7/19)

2009: Levi Jones (7/18)

2010: Blake Fitzpatrick (7/17)

2011: Damion Gardner (7/16) & Casey Riggs (9/17)

2012: Hunter Schuerenberg (5/12), Jon Stanbrough (7/21) & Daron Clayton (9/15)

2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5/11) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9/14)

2014: Daron Clayton (4/26), Robert Ballou (7/19) & Daron Clayton (9/13)

2015: Brady Bacon (4/18), Brady Short (7/18) & Brady Short (9/19)

2016: Chase Stockon (4/16), Carson Short (7/16) & Kyle Cummins (9/17)

2017: Chris Windom (4/15), Kyle Cummins (7/15) & Kevin Thomas, Jr., (9/16)

2018: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4/28), Dave Darland (7/28) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9/15)

2019: Kyle Cummins (7/27) & Kyle Cummins (9/14)

2020: Stephen Schnapf (6/14), Kyle Cummins (8/2) & Chase Stockon (9/19)

2021: Kyle Cummins (4/17), Justin Grant (7/31) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (9/18)

2022: Robert Ballou (7/30) & Jadon Rogers (9/17)

2023: Justin Grant (4/15)

PAST HAUBSTADT HUSTLER RESULTS:

2008 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Jeff Bland Jr., 2. Brady Short, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Darren Hagen, 7. Chad Boat, 8. Jon Stanbrough, 9. Kyle Cummins, 10. Hud Cone, 11. A.J. Anderson, 12. Robert Ballou, 13. Blake Fitzpatrick, 14. Daron Clayton, 15. Chris Windom, 16. Shawn Krockenberger, 17. John Memmer, 18. Shane Cottle, 19. J.J. Yeley, 20. Alex Shanks, 21. Ricky Williams.

2009 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Brady Short, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Casey Shuman, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Blake Fitzpatrick, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Jeff Bland Jr., 14. Hud Cone, 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16. Kyle Cummins, 17. Mark Perry III, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Nic Faas, 20. Robert Ballou, 21. Danny Holtsclaw.

2010 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Blake Fitzpatrick, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Critter Malone, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. Jonathan Hendrick, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Damion Gardner, 12. Kurt Gross, 13. Jeff Bland Jr., 14. Adam Nigg, 15. Jared Harris, 16. Chase Briscoe, 17. Justin Grant, 18. Jonathan Vennard, 19. Kevin Thomas Jr., 20. Brady Short, 21. Daron Clayton.

2011 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Casey Riggs, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Hunter Schuerenberg, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Keith Bloom, 10. Critter Malone, 11. Jonathan Hendrick, 12. Kyle Cummins, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Wes McIntyre, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Daron Clayton, 17. Blake Fitzpatrick, 18. Braylon Fitzpatrick, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Hud Cone, 21. Brady Short, 22. Chris Windom, 23. Chase Stockon, 24. Chase Briscoe, 25. Shane Cottle. NT

2012 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Daron Clayton, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 8. Jon Stanbrough, 9. Chase Briscoe, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Dakota Jackson, 14. Hunter Schuerenberg, 15. Bobby East, 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Brady Short, 19. Seth Parker, 20. Brandon Mattox, 21. Wes McIntyre, 22. Kyle Cummins, 23. Bryan Clauson (re-positioned due to missing scales). NT

2013 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Brady Short, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Daron Clayton, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Bryan Clauson, 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Robert Ballou, 12. Blake Fitzpatrick, 13. Jeff Bland Jr., 14. Bradley Sterrett, 15. Nick Drake, 16. Carson Short, 17. Chase Briscoe, 18. A.J. Hopkins, 19. Kurt Gross, 20. Tyler Courtney, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Wes McIntyre, 23. Seth Parker. NT

2014 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Daron Clayton, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Tracy Hines, 10. Brian Karraker, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. C.J. Leary, 14. Brady Short, 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 16. Shane Cockrum, 17. Chris Windom, 18. Donny Brackett, 19. Nick Hale, 20. Carson Short, 21. Brandon Mattox, 22. Hud Cone, 23. Mitch Wissmiller, 24. Jeff Bland Jr. NT

2015 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Brady Short, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Dakota Jackson, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Chris Windom, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Shane Cottle, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Brandon Mattox, 14. Kent Schmidt, 15. Jon Stanbrough, 16. James Lyerla, 17. Kyle Cummins, 18. Donny Brackett, 19. Chad Boespflug, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Justin Grant, 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 23. Mike Terry Jr., 24. Daron Clayton. NT

2016 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Carson Short, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Jon Stanbrough, 11. C.J. Leary, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Brian Karraker, 14. Tyler Hewitt, 15. Brandon Mattox, 16. Tyler Thomas, 17. Daron Clayton, 18. Dakota Jackson, 19. Brady Short, 20. Chad Boespflug, 21. Thomas Meseraull, 22. Donny Brackett, 23. Aaron Farney. NT

2017 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Chet Williams, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Brady Short, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Justin Grant, 11. Chad Boespflug, 12. Carson Short, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Donny Brackett, 15. Chase Stockon, 16. Isaac Chapple, 17. Josh Hodges, 18. Brady Bacon, 19. Dakota Jackson, 20. Aric Gentry, 21. Brandon Mattox, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Shane Cottle, 24. Kendall Ruble. NT

2018 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Jason McDougal (8), 4. Dave Darland (7), 5. Carson Short (15), 6. Tyler Courtney (16), 7. Robert Ballou (10), 8. Chase Stockon (11), 9. Kyle Cummins (9), 10. Donny Brackett (13), 11. Stephen Schnapf (5), 12. Isaac Chapple (14), 13. Chet Williams (19), 14. Brady Bacon (6), 15. Critter Malone (21), 16. Kendall Ruble (20), 17. Chris Windom (4), 18. Daron Clayton (17), 19. Justin Grant (12), 20. Tony DiMattia (22), 21. Brandon Mattox (23), 22. Kent Schmidt (1), 23. Aric Gentry (18). NT

2019 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (3), 2. Tyler Courtney (4), 3. C.J. Leary (1), 4. Kendall Ruble (5), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Critter Malone (11), 7. Chase Stockon (9), 8. Brady Bacon (19), 9. Brady Short (18), 10. Josh Hodges (6), 11. Stephen Schnapf (23), 12. Max Adams (14), 13. Carson Short (22), 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (17), 15. Donny Brackett (16), 16. Kent Schmidt (15), 17. Dustin Christie (2), 18. Jason McDougal (21), 19. Brian Karraker (8), 20. Chayse Hayhurst (12), 21. Dakota Jackson (20), 22. Justin Grant (13), 23. Isaac Chapple (24), 24. Collin Ambrose (25), 25. Shane Cottle (7). NT

2020 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chase Stockon (2), 2. Jadon Rogers (14), 3. Robert Ballou (18), 4. Critter Malone (19), 5. Chris Windom (8), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Brady Bacon (12), 8. C.J. Leary (10), 9. Kyle Cummins (1), 10. Brandon Mattox (13), 11. Kent Schmidt (6), 12. Dave Darland (5), 13. Anton Hernandez (16), 14. Dakota Jackson (17), 15. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 16. Carson Short (15), 17. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (22), 18. Chayse Hayhurst (24), 19. Aric Gentry (20), 20. Clinton Boyles (9), 21. Shane Cottle (21), 22. Jonathan Vennard (23), 23. Stephen Schnapf (11), DQ. Kendall Ruble.

2021 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 2. Justin Grant (3), 3. Brady Bacon (8), 4. Tanner Thorson (7), 5. Chase Stockon (2), 6. Robert Ballou (15), 7. Brady Short (1), 8. Daison Pursley (12), 9. Jason McDougal (11), 10. Jake Swanson (14), 11. Kyle Cummins (5), 12. Koby Barksdale (20), 13. Jadon Rogers (13), 14. Kent Schmidt (16), 15. C.J. Leary (19), 16. Chris Windom (10), 17. Emerson Axsom (17), 18. Stephen Schnapf (9), 19. Collin Ambrose (23-P), 20. Kendall Ruble (6), 21. Carson Garrett (18), 22. Cindy Chambers (24-P), 23. Max Adams (21), 24. Aric Gentry (22). NT

2022 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jadon Rogers (1), 2. Kyle Cummins (7), 3. Jason McDougal (3), 4. Chase Stockon (8), 5. Brady Bacon (10), 6. C.J. Leary (2), 7. Justin Grant (15), 8. Emerson Axsom (6), 9. Mitchel Moles (12), 10. Robert Ballou (11), 11. Carson Garrett (13), 12. Daison Pursley (17), 13. Matt Westfall (16), 14. Kendall Ruble (5), 15. Collin Ambrose (9), 16. Dustin Beck (20), 17. Brady Short (14), 18. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 19. Stan Beadles (19), 20. Carson Short (21), 21. Adyn Schmidt (22), 22. Brandon Mattox (23-U), 23. Aric Gentry (18), 24. Brandon Smith (24-M). NT

 

 

USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CARS RETURN TO VENTURA SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023... After a break in the schedule, the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars will return to Ventura Raceway this Saturday, September 16th. Promoted by Jim Naylor, the championship point race will also feature the VRA Dwarf Cars, WMR Midgets, VRA Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sport Compacts, and VRA Junior Classes. Located at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California, the Pit Gates will open at noon, the Front Gates open at 3:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 5:30pm at “The Best Little Dirt Track in America.” For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- MEMBERSHIPS / TEMPORARY PERMITS: All USAC racers MUST PURCHASE their USAC license / membership or temporary permit online PRIOR TO THE EVENT at usaclicense.com or usacracing.com.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Due to current shortages, ANY Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition until further notice. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78, FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101, COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S, B&B: FRAC-0375S, SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK. P1 AUSTRALIA: SSM5C. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- 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 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.

In addition to championship points, each night will award points for the season-long Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Standings, Sammy Bahr & Ray Stansberry Feature Points, and Passing Master Standings. The top drivers in Woodland TQ points will take home $500-for-1st, $300-for-2nd, and $200-for-3rd. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet following the “George Snider Classic / Championship Night” on October 7th at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park.

Since April 4, 2009, the Ventura County Fairgrounds has held twenty-six West Coast 360 events and eighteen different drivers have claimed victory. Rookie contender David Gasper took the checkered flags in just the second start of his career on May 13th and Jake Andreotti led all 30-laps to add his name to the winner’s list on June 17th. Former VRA Champion, Troy Rutherford established the 1-lap track record of 11.941 on June 4, 2022 and the complete Ventura winner’s list is at the end of the release.

After running fifth at Ventura on June 17th, Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, California) has extended his point lead to 52 markers over the competition. Driving the family owned #29T Red Line Oil / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons has two feature wins, one heat race victory, four top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the season. The 2016 Rookie of the Year is tied with Chase Johnson for twelfth on the win list and will be looking for his eighth career victory this Saturday night.

Ron LaPlant (Oroville, California) is second in the USAC West Coast point standings. Racing his #69 RJL Truck & Tractor Painting / Feather Falls Casino Eagle, LaPlant earned the Hard Charger / “Best Passing Job” honors at Ventura with a ninth place run eighteenth. At press time, the leading rookie contender has two BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, four top-ten finishes, and 18 feature laps led to his credit. Ron will have his sights on the first victory of his career at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, California) sits third in the chase for the championship. Piloting the family owned #39 Safehouse Security / Van Dyne Engineering Triple X, Edwards charged from ninth to fourth in the July 17th main event. To date, the third generation driver has posted two heat race victories, three top-10 finishes, and 6 feature laps led in the campaign. Kyle will be looking for the first series win of his career at Ventura Raceway.

After scoring twelfth at Ventura on June 17th, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) has climbed to fourth in the point chase. Driving Bob & Toni Van Meter’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13” Award, one top-10 finish, and 13 feature laps led on the season. Fresh off last Saturday’s USAC Western States Midget win at Ventura, Brody will have his sights on the third USAC 360 win of his career.

Tyler Hatzikian (Murrieta, California) is fifth in the championship standings. The owner / driver of the #27 Tyler Surfboards / Original Roadhouse Bar & Grill Triple X placed seventeenth at the last Ventura visit. At press time, the 2022 Rookie of the Year has three top-10 finishes on the year and will have his sights on his first USAC win at Ventura Raceway.

While Ron LaPlant leads the chase for rookie of the year honors, David Gasper (Goleta, California), Jon DeWees (Lemoore, California), Adam Christian (Santa Clara, California), Bryan Whitley (Oak View, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Heath Holdsclaw (Loomis, California), Verne Sweeney (Lomita, California), and “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski (Riverside, California) are also in contention.

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Cody Majors, 2022 Champion Trent Carter, Tom Hendricks, Chris Ennis, Hannah Mayhew, Elexa Herrera, Camie Bell, James Herrera, Tanner Boul, Joey Bishop, and more.

Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $22, General Admission Senior (60 and older), Active Military (ID Required), and Student tickets (with ID) are $18. Kids tickets (12 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.

The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wagtimers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email Stephanie Odom at Odom.Stephanie@me.com or Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 2010-Craig Stidham, 2011-Richard Vander Weerd, 2012-Bud Kaeding, 2013-Danny Faria Jr., 2014-Matt Mitchell, 2015-Danny Faria Jr., 2016-Brody Roa, 2017-Jake Swanson, 2018-Austin Liggett, 2019-Tristan Guardino, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-D.J. Johnson, 2022-Trent Carter.

VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Troy Rutherford - 11.941 (06/04/22)

VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: (Includes Non-Point Races) 3-Tristan Guardino, 3-Troy Rutherford, 3-Jake Swanson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-David Gasper, 1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Ryan Timms, 1-Daniel Whitley.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Timmons, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-David Gasper.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ryan Timmons-299, 2. Ron LaPlant®-247, 3. Kyle Edwards-241, 4. Brody Fuson-212, 5. Tyler Hatzikian-205, 6. Cody Majors-197, 7. Trent Carter-182, 8. David Gasper®-179, --. Tom Hendricks-179, 10. Chris Ennis-163, 11. Jon DeWees®-153, 12. Steve Hix-143, 13. Hannah Mayhew-133, 14. Troy Rutherford-125, 15. Adam Christian®-124, 16. Elexa Herrera-119, 17. Camie Bell-112, 18. Bryan Whitley®-97, 19. James Herrera-93, 20. Jake Andreotti®-77, 21. Matt Day-76, 22. Tom Dunkel®-75, 23. Tanner Boul-72, 24. Kaleb Montgomery-68, 25. D.J. Johnson-61, 26. Heath Holdsclaw®-55, 27. Verne Sweeney®-49, 28. Joey Bishop-47, 29. A.J. Bender-43, 30. Charlie Butcher-41, 31. Bruce Douglass-40, 32. Logan Calderwood-38, 33. Austin Grabowski®-33, 34. Grant Sexton®-29, 35. Eathon Lanfri®-28, ---. Chris Wakim®-28, 37. Cole Wakim®-24, 38. Malyssa Perkins®-10, ---. Tony Everhart®-10.

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-18, 2. David Gasper®-12, -. Troy Rutherford-12, 4. Brody Fuson-11, 5. Kyle Edwards-10, 6. Cody Majors-9, 7. Kaleb Montgomery-5, 8. Ron LaPlant®-3, 9. Logan Calderwood-2, 10. Tyler Hatzikian-1, --. Chris Ennis-1.

SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-256, 2. Ron LaPlant®-226, 3. Kyle Edwards-209, 4. Tyler Hatzikian-188, 5. Brody Fuson-171, 6. Cody Majors-168, 7. Trent Carter-166, 8. Tom Hendricks-165, 9. Chris Ennis-145, 10. David Gasper®-138, 11. Jon DeWees®-134, 12. Steve Hix-127, 13. Hannah Mayhew-111, 14. Adam Christian®-107, 15. Elexa Herrera-99, 16. Troy Rutherford-98, 17. Camie Bell-91, 18. James Herrera-87, 19. Bryan Whitley-84, 20. Jake Andreotti®-70, 21. Matt Day-68, 22. Tom Dunkel-66, 23. Tanner Boul-64, 24. D.J. Johnson-55, ---. Kaleb Montgomery-55, 26. Heath Holdsclaw®-49, 27. Verne Sweeney®-43, 28. A.J. Bender-37, 29. Bruce Douglass-35, 30. Joey Bishop-34, 31. Charlie Butcher-33, 32. Logan Calderwood-31, 33. Austin Grabowski®-27, ---. Chris Wakim®-27, 35. Eathon Lanfri®-25, 36. Cole Wakim®-23, ---. Grant Sexton®-23.

PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. 1. Ron LaPlant®-21, 2. Tom Hendricks-19, 3. Jon DeWees®-18, 4. Adam Christian®-12, 5. Elexa Herrera-11, --. Ryan Timmons-11, 7. Hannah Mayhew-10, --. Trent Carter-10, 9. Heath Holdsclaw®-8, 10. Brody Fuson-7, 11. Chris Ennis-6, ---. Bryan Whitley-6, ---. Bruce Douglass-6, 14. D.J. Johnson-5, ---. James Herrera-5, ---. Matt Day-5, ---. Camie Bell-5, ---. Tyler Hatzikian-5, ---. Kyle Edwards-5, 20. Tanner Boul-4, ---. Steve Hix-4, ---. Troy Rutherford-4, 23. Cody Majors-3, ---. Verne Sweeney®-3, 25. David Gasper®-2, ---. Joey Bishop-2, ---. Tom Dunkel-2, 28. Eathon Lanfri®-1, ---. Jake Andreotti®-1, ---. Chris Wakim®-1.

2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 25: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (RAIN)
April 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
May 13: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
June 3: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
June 17: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
July 29: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 26: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (With USAC Western States Midgets / Championship Night / George Snider Classic / Awards Banquet)
November 24: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

 

STORYLINES! USAC SPRINTS GET AFTER IT AT CIRCLE CITY ON FRIDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (September 13, 2023)………Circle City Raceway presents a smorgasbord of opportunities this Friday night, September 15, in Indianapolis, Ind.

For fans, it’s the final central Indiana race of the year for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, and that keyword “Championship” is more prevalent than ever this time of the year for drivers and teams with a tight point race on the board with a mere seven events remaining.

It’s time to make a final push before the curtain falls on 2023, from the top of the title race to those wanting to make a final splash to close the season on a sweet note and to make a lasting impression going into the fall and winter months.

It’s also time to run through the storylines we’re all going to be tuned into for this Friday’s showdown in the Circle City.

BATTLE ROYALE BETWEEN GRANT & BACON

First and foremost, as we enter the latter stages of the season, the race for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship becomes top of mind.

The point lead has switched hands 13 times this season among six different drivers. In comparison, in the three-year span between 2020-22, the series point lead changed only 11 times between six drivers. Needless to say, this has already become one of the fiercest title fights in series history, and we’re still a full seven events from the finish line.

Reigning champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) took over the lead after last week’s series venture to Texas and Arkansas, and now leads four-time titlist Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) by a mere nine-point margin.

Neither driver has won before at Circle City in USAC National Sprint Car competition. Both drivers have come close, however, with each collecting best results of second place along the way. Grant did so in July of 2022 and Bacon followed suit in September of 2022. Grant has recorded a pair of fast qualifying times at Circle City this season alone while Bacon won the first ever sprint car race run at Circle City in 2021, sanctioned by MSCS.

CUMMINS IS ROCK STEADY AT CIRCLE CITY

No driver of late has been as consistently successful at Circle City as Kyle Cummins has, especially this year. In three starts at the 1/4-mile dirt oval this season, the Princeton, Ind. driver has yet to finish outside the top-two.

In May, he finished as the runner-up to Jake Swanson before reeling off two-straight triumphs in May and again in July. He could become the second driver this season to pull off the rare feat of winning three-straight at a single track.

Tom Bigelow is the only driver to win three consecutive USAC National Sprint Car features at a dirt track in Indianapolis, doing so in succession at the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the 1977 campaign.

WESTFALL ON THE CLIMB

Matt Westfall pulled off one of the most popular victories in recent USAC National Sprint Car history last weekend in the series debut at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway.

There, the veteran racer burst from third to first on the opening lap, then carried onward to a dominant victory, his first with the series in more than 17 seasons!

The Pleasant Hill, Ohio driver hopes his next victory takes a little less time to achieve than the last. After all, his previous best finish of the season with the series before last Saturday came right at Circle City Raceway when he advanced from his ninth starting spot to finish fifth.

SWANSON & MORE LURKING AGAIN

Four drivers have finished inside the top-10 in all three of their USAC National Sprint Car starts this season at Circle City.

The aforementioned Cummins has finished inside the top-two in all three while C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) has earned a 7th, 9th and 9th in three appearances along with a fast qualifying time in July and is wheeling a car for the same BGE Dougherty Motorsports team which won the Fall Circle City event a year ago in 2022.

Top series Rookie Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) has excelled at Circle City this year, pocketing a 9th, 6th and a 10th in three tries with his KO Motorsports team.

However, only one other driver besides Cummins has raced to multiple top-two results at Circle City in 2023, that being Jake Swanson. The Anaheim, Calif. racer won the first night in May, then finished as the runner-up to Cummins the following night. In July, he returned to finish 8th and looks to add on to his tally which already features four wins in what has been a career-best year on the national tour.

FULL CIRCLE IN THE CITY

Not many times does one get a chance to compete at a track on four different occasions in one calendar year. But that’s what is on the docket this Friday for USAC National Sprint Car drivers at Circle City.

Many drivers have shown flashes of brilliance at the southeast side Indy oval this year and look to position themselves as a winner come this weekend.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) charged from 12th to 3rd at Circle City back in July. Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) possesses a pair of 4th place finishes in each of his past two tries there this season. Bacon finished 3rd on back-to-back nights in May. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) led both May races for a total of 14 laps and finished 5th and 7th there this year.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) posted his best USAC National Sprint Car result of the season with a runner-up finish in July. Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) put up an 8th and a 7th, both in May while Grant took fourth back in May.

RACE DETAILS

On Friday night, September 15, at Circle City Raceway, the program card features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in addition to the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets and DIRTcar UMP Modifieds.

Pits open at 2pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6:30pm followed by qualifying and racing.

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 12 and under are free. General admission tickets for Seniors 65+, Veterans, Military, First Responders and Teacher are $20. Pit passes for ages 11 and older are $45. Pit passes for ages 12 and under are $20.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-1979, 2-Brady Bacon-1970, 3-Emerson Axsom-1861, 4-Kyle Cummins-1845, 5-Jake Swanson-1835, 6-C.J. Leary-1752, 7-Robert Ballou-1650, 8-Chase Stockon-1551, 9-Mitchel Moles-1491, 10-Daison Pursley-1455.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

2-Kyle Cummins

1-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)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 9/16/2022 - Mitchel Moles - 11.819

10 Laps - 9/16/2022 - Jadon Rogers - 2:04.23

12 Laps - 9/16/2022 - Jake Swanson - 2:39.26

PAST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

SEPTEMBER 17, 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 25, 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 16, 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

 

 

STORYLINES!

USAC SPRINTS GET AFTER IT

IN THE CIRCLE CITY THIS FRIDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (September 12, 2023)………Circle City Raceway presents a smorgasbord of opportunities this Friday night, September 15, in Indianapolis, Ind.

For fans, it’s the final central Indiana race of the year for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, and that key word “Championship” is more prevalent than ever this time of the year for drivers and teams with a tight points race on the board with a mere seven events remaining.

It’s time to make a final push before the curtain falls on 2023, from the top of the title race to those wanting to make a final splash to close up the season on a sweet note and to make a lasting impression going into the fall and winter months.

It’s also time to run through the storylines we’re all going to be tuned into for this Friday’s showdown in the Circle City.


BATTLE ROYALE BETWEEN GRANT & BACON

First and foremost, as we enter the latter stages of the season, the race for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship becomes top of mind.

The point lead has switched hands 13 times this season among six different drivers. In comparison, in the three-year span between 2020-22, the series point lead changed only 11 times between six drivers. Needless to say, this has already become one of the fiercest title fights in series history, and we’re still a full seven events from the finish line.

Reigning champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) took over the lead after last week’s series venture to Texas and Arkansas, and now leads four-time titlist Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) by a mere nine-point margin.

Neither driver has won before at Circle City in USAC National Sprint Car competition. Both drivers have come close, however, with each collecting best results of second place along the way. Grant did so in July of 2022 and Bacon followed suit in September of 2022. Grant has recorded a pair of fast qualifying times at Circle City this season alone while Bacon won the first ever sprint car race run at Circle City in 2021, sanctioned by MSCS.


CUMMINS IS ROCK STEADY AT CIRCLE CITY

No driver of late has been as consistently successful at Circle City as Kyle Cummins has, especially this year. In three starts at the 1/4-mile dirt oval this season, the Princeton, Ind. driver has yet to finish outside the top-two.

In May, he finished as the runner-up to Jake Swanson before reeling off two-straight triumphs in May and again in July. He could become the second driver this season to pull off the rare feat of winning three-straight at a single track.

Tom Bigelow is the only driver to win three consecutive USAC National Sprint Car features at a dirt track in Indianapolis, doing so in succession at the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the 1977 campaign.


WESTFALL ON THE CLIMB

Matt Westfall pulled off one of the most popular victories in recent USAC National Sprint Car history last weekend in the series debut at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway.

There, the veteran racer burst from third to first on the opening lap, then carried onward to a dominant victory, his first with the series in more than 17 seasons!

The Pleasant Hill, Ohio driver hopes his next victory takes a little less time to achieve than the last. After all, his previous best finish of the season with the series before last Saturday came right at Circle City Raceway when he advanced from his ninth starting spot to finish fifth.


SWANSON & MORE LURKING AGAIN

Four drivers have finished inside the top-10 in all three of their USAC National Sprint Car starts this season at Circle City.

The aforementioned Cummins has finished inside the top-two in all three while C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) has earned a 7th, 9th and 9th in three appearances along with a fast qualifying time in July and is wheeling a car for the same BGE Dougherty Motorsports team which won the Fall Circle City event a year ago in 2022.

Top series Rookie Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) has excelled at Circle City this year, pocketing a 9th, 6th and a 10th in three tries with his KO Motorsports team.

However, only one other driver besides Cummins has raced to multiple top-two results at Circle City in 2023, that being Jake Swanson. The Anaheim, Calif. racer won the first night in May, then finished as the runner-up to Cummins the following night. In July, he returned to finish 8th and looks to add on to his tally which already features four wins in what has been a career-best year on the national tour.


FULL CIRCLE IN THE CITY

Not many times does one get a chance to compete at a track on four different occasions in one calendar year. But that’s what is on the docket this Friday for USAC National Sprint Car drivers at Circle City.

Many drivers have shown flashes of brilliance at the southeast side Indy oval this year and look to position themselves as a winner come this weekend.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) charged from 12th to 3rd at Circle City back in July. Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) possesses a pair of 4th place finishes in each of his past two tries there this season. Bacon finished 3rd on back-to-back nights in May. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) led both May races for a total of 14 laps and finished 5th and 7th there this year.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) posted his best USAC National Sprint Car result of the season with a runner-up finish in July. Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) put up an 8th and a 7th, both in May while Grant took fourth back in May.


RACE DETAILS

On Friday night, September 15, at Circle City Raceway, the program card features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in addition to the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets and DIRTcar UMP Modifieds.

Pits open at 2pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6:30pm followed by qualifying and racing.

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 12 and under are free. General admission tickets for Seniors 65+, Veterans, Military, First Responders and Teacher are $20. Pit passes for ages 11 and older are $45. Pit passes for ages 12 and under are $20.

Both nights of racing at Circle City Raceway can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.


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


USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-1979, 2-Brady Bacon-1970, 3-Emerson Axsom-1861, 4-Kyle Cummins-1845, 5-Jake Swanson-1835, 6-C.J. Leary-1752, 7-Robert Ballou-1650, 8-Chase Stockon-1551, 9-Mitchel Moles-1491, 10-Daison Pursley-1455.


USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

2-Kyle Cummins

1-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)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 9/16/2022 - Mitchel Moles - 11.819

10 Laps - 9/16/2022 - Jadon Rogers - 2:04.23

12 Laps - 9/16/2022 - Jake Swanson - 2:39.26


PAST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY:

SEPTEMBER 17, 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 25, 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 16, 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

 

 

UP TO 65!

BC39 FIELD RISES AGAIN

AS KUNZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN ENTERS 7 CARS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 11, 2023)………The reigning Driven2SaveLives BC39 winning team and driver have filed their entries to compete in the fifth running of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

** The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases from $75 to $150 on Monday, September 11. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25. **

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, winner of the 2022 running of the BC39, has entered seven cars for the event for drivers Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), Mariah Ede (Fresno, Calif.) and a yet-to-be announced entry are part of the team’s lineup.

The 2022 BC39 winner, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), is among the seven entries for KKM, and will be participating during Wednesday and Thursday of this year’s edition in car number 67K. Kofoid, the 2021-22 USAC National Midget driving champion, captured the 2022 BC39 in a riveting duel with Cannon McIntosh for the victory.

Also among the latest BC39 entries are 2022 main event starters Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) and Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.).

Previously filing their entries to compete in this year’s BC39 were Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the 2018 BC39 winner, plus current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader and 2018 series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) as well as two-time USAC National champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and 2019 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.).

The always exciting Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) is entered after contending for the win in each of the past two editions of the BC39 in 2021-22. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), who led the first laps in BC39 history during the 2018 event, is also entered as is top USAC Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) who owns the best finish by a woman in BC39 history with a 7th in 2022.

USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) is entered for the four-night event as is three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), 2023 series winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) and USAC National Sprint Car feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

The 2022 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) will make his second BC39 appearance this year along with two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and first-time 2023 USAC National Midget feature winner Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.).


DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases from $75 to $150 after Monday, September 11. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


2023 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES

(65 cars as of September 11, 2023)

1 Justin Zimmerman (Justin Zimmerman)

1D Landon Brooks (RAMCO Speed Group)

1G Connor Wolf (RAMCO Speed Group)

2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)

3G Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing)

5J Josh Hodge (Josh Hodge Racing)

5s Scott Orr (Josh Hodge Racing)

6 Isaac Chapple (Doug Hall)

7c Josh Bilicki (RAMCO Speed Group)

7m Kyle Jones (RAMCO Speed Group)

7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)

7x Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing)

8 Randi Pankratz (Wally Pankratz)

8x Jeff Schindler (Jeff Schindler)

9p Wes Pinkerton (Wes Pinkerton)

10A Tommy Colburn (MWR Technology)

10c Mark McMahill (MWR Technology)

11 Clinton Boyles (Scott Beierle)

11L Aaron Leffel (Team Taylor Racing)

14 C.J. Leary (Legacy Autosport)

18N Weston Gorham (Kelly Gorham)

19 Daison Pursley (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19m Ethan Mitchell (Bundy Built Motorsports)

19T Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19x TBA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

21D Justin Dickerson (Mike Dickerson)

21H Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports)

21J Kameron Key (TKH Motorsports)

21K Karter Sarff (Jayme Sarff)

22 John Heydenreich (John Heydenreich)

22p Taylor Courtney (RAMCO Speed Group)

23 Preston Lattomus (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)

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

25m Jake Andreotti (Tom Malloy)

27 Keith Rauch (Bourke Motorsports)

27B Jake Bubak (Bourke Motorsports)

32 Gary Taylor (Brian Dunlap)

36 Ian Creager (Tod Creager)

40 Chase McDermand (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

40B Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)

40x Zach Wigal (Chase McDermand)

41 Oliver Akard (Team OMR)

44 Adam Andretti (Jeff Johnson)

46 Kenney Johnson (Jeff Johnson)

54 Matt Westfall (Steve Bordner)

56 Mitchell Davis (Pat O’Dell)

57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)

57A Daniel Robinson (RAB Racing)

58 Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing)

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

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

68 TBA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)

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

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

71T Kyler Johnson (Todd Henry)

81 Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries)

85 Jerry Coons Jr. (Central Motorsports)

86 Brent Crews (CB Industries)

89 Kaylee Bryson (CB Industries)

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

99 TBA (Carson-Segur Racing)

99K Robert Carson (Carson-Segur Racing)

118 Scott Evans (Scott Evans)


 

BRODY FUSON TOPS VENTURA FEATURE

VENTURA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 10, 2023… Starting sixth, Brody Fuson of Bakersfield, California claimed Saturday’s USAC Western States Midget Series return to Ventura Raceway. Piloting Rusty Carlile’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, the point leader took command from Robby Josett on the twenty-first circuit and scored his fourth win of the season. Rookie David Gasper, Caden Sarale, T.J. Smith, and Cade Lewis rounded out the top-five drivers.

Rookie driver Samuel May of Oxnard, California started on the pole position and led the opening lap. May’s lead was short lived as veteran driver Robby Josett of Santa Clarita, California took over for the next nineteen laps.

Before earning the eighth win of his career, Fuson posted his sixth Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of the season with a time of 12.234 seconds. The Bakersfield driver scored third in his heat race and raced to his third straight win at the Ventura clay oval. The last time that happened, Billy Boat won four consecutive victories from November 1995 through April 1996. Brody left the Ventura County Fairgrounds with a 34-point advantage.

Atascadero, California’s Randi Pankratz raced to victory in the 10-lap Jordan Hanni Well Drilling First Heat Race. Piloting Wally Pankratz’s #8 HASA Pool Products / Sta-Rite Triple X, Pankratz qualified ninth overall and finished tenth in the main event. The veteran driver ranks sixth in the point chase.

David Gasper of Goleta, California topped the 10-lap Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters Second Heat Race. Driving Keith Ford’s #73 Naturipe / Surecan LLC Triple X, the rookie driver was second quick in time trials and finished second to Fuson in the main event after starting fifth. The California Lightning Sprint Champion has climbed to tenth in the point standings and third in rookie honors.

Starting ninth, Stockton, California’s Caden Sarale earned the night’s Ebbco Offroad Hard Charger Award after finishing third in the main event. Racing the Graunstadt Enterprises #14J T&T Trucking / Gary Silva Ranches Spike, Sarale was eighth fast in time trials and placed fourth in his heat race. The young driver heads to Antioch ranked seventh in points.

Jim Keene of Bakersfield, California made his first start of the year and opened the night by winning the “Lucky Pill Draw” to earn 10 gallons of fuel from High Tech Performance. Piloting Dennis Hart’s #15X Capital E Trucking Spike, Keene had mechanical issues in qualifying, finished sixth in his heat race, and charged from thirteenth to eighth in the main event. Jim also won the Brown & Miller Racing Solutions / Saldana Racing Products “lucky pill draw” and is twenty-ninth in the standings.

Leading Rookie, Ben Covich of Auckland, New Zealand won the Competition Suspension Incorporated / Brown & Miller Racing Solutions “lucky pill draw award.” The owner/driver of the #65 “Kiwi” Alexander / Matt Streeter Racing Spike qualified tenth overall, ran fifth in his heat race, and finished ninth in the main event. With two point races remaining, Ben is eighth in points and locked in a close rookie battle with Samuel May.

On Saturday, September 30th, the USAC Western States Midget Series will return to Antioch Speedway. For more event information, visit antiochspeedway.com.

The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Ebbco Offroad, Esslinger Engineering, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Graunstadt Enterprises, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters, Jordan Hanni Well Drilling, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Tel Tac Digital Tachometers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 9, 2023 – Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.234; 2. David Gasper, 73, Ford-12.284; 3. T.J. Smith, 68, Six8-12.341; 4. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-12.346; 5. Robby Josett, 73X, Ford-12.371; 6. Samuel May, 55, Lambert-12.417; 7. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.462; 8. Caden Sarale, 14J, Graunstadt-12.574; 9. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.662; 10. Ben Covich, 65, Covich-12.968; 11. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-14.513; 12. Billy Rayburn, 18K, Kruseman-14.613; 13. Jim Keene, 15X, Hart-NT.

JORDAN HANNI WELL DRILLING FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Pankratz, 2. Josett, 3. Fuson, 4. Smith, 5. Sarna, 6. Keene, 7. Hazelton. NT.

HOT HEAD COMPETITION ENGINE HEATERS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gasper, 2. Lewis, 3. May, 4. Sarale, 5. Covich, 6. Rayburn. NT.

SAMMY BAHR FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Brody Fuson (6), 2. David Gasper (5), 3. Caden Sarale (9), 4. T.J. Smith (4), 5. Cade Lewis (3), 6. Robby Josett (2), 7. C.J. Sarna (8), 8. Jim Keene (13), 9. Ben Covich (10), 10. Randi Pankratz (7), 11. Ron Hazelton (11), 12. Samuel May (1), 13. Billy Rayburn (12). NT. ---------------------------- FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 May, Laps 2-20 Josett, Laps 21-30 Fuson

EBBCO OFFROAD HARD CHARGER: Caden Sarale (9th to 3rd) BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS PILL DRAW: Jim Keene COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED / BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS PILL DRAW: Ben Covich HIGH TECH PERFORMANCE LUCKY PILL DRAW: Jim Keene WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13: Billy Rayburn

NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-671, 2-Cade Lewis-637, 3-Ron Hazelton-440, --C.J. Sarna-440, 5-Ben Worth-434, 6-Randi Pankratz-403, 7-Caden Sarale-332, 8-Ben Covich-319, 9-Samuel May-293, 10-David Gasper-264.

NEW WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-50, 2-Cade Lewis-30, 3-Caden Sarale-14, 4-Ben Worth-12, 5-C.J. Sarna-11, --David Gasper-11, 7-Jake Andreotti-9, 8-Robby Josett-8, 9-Blake Bower-7, --Randi Pankratz-7.

NEW SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-563, 2-Cade Lewis-549, 3-Ron Hazelton-408, 4-C.J. Sarna-395, 5-Ben Worth-382, 6-Randi Pankratz-362, 7-Ben Covich-303, 8-Caden Sarale-287, 9-Samuel May-255, 10-David Gasper-232.

NEW PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Cade Lewis-33, 2-Brody Fuson-28, 3-Ron Hazelton-23, 4-Ben Covich-15, 5-Marvin Mitchell-10, --David Gasper-10, 7-C.J. Sarna-9, 8-Caden Sarale-8, 9-Steve Paden-7, --Robby Josett-7, --Samuel May-7.

NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: September 30 – Antioch Speedway – Antioch, California - “Antioch Challenge Mini Series #2 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises”

 

 

17 YEARS IN THE MAKING!

WESTFALL IS A USAC SPRINT CAR WINNER

AGAIN AT TEXARKANA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Texarkana, Arkansas (September 9, 2023)………Seventeen years, two months and twenty-three days.

That was the wait Matt Westfall endured between his first and second career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victories.

The dash in the years between his 2006 triumph at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway and Saturday night’s score at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway was filled with countless hours of traveling the country chasing everything from sprint cars to midgets to Silver Crown cars to late models to modifieds to SpeedSTRs and nearly everything else in between.

However, the feeling of joy he experienced to finally put a cap on the gap between USAC win number one and two was both satisfying and gratifying for the 46-year-old Pleasant Hill, Ohio native who led all 30 laps in his Ray Marshall Motorsports/Buckeye Machine – Hempy Water/DRC/Gressman Chevy.

“It’s unbelievable,” Westfall exclaimed. “When I won my first one back in ‘06, I told my dad I could retire. We’ve been going up and down the road the last couple years with USAC and we got going really good at the end of last year. Then they came out with a new tire this year and I’ve struggled ever since. We went back to the main gameplan, and it worked out tonight.”

Not only did Westfall pocket a $10,000 Wingless Short Track Nationals payday, but it also came in the series debut at the 1/4-mile dirt oval as well as the first USAC race in The Natural State in a decade. Westfall also provided fellow Ohioan Ray Marshall, who has fielded cars in the series since 2010, his first USAC victory as a car owner.

In the process, Westfall also set a new USAC record for years between national feature victories. Westfall broke the USAC National Sprint record of 12 years, 11 months and 4 days between wins by Doug Wolfgang from 1978-1991. The previous longest interval between USAC National victories of any kind was a record owned by Arnie Knepper in the midgets, as he picked up wins 13 years, 2 months and 8 days apart from one another in a span lasting from 1970-1983.

Starting third, Westfall wasted no time leapfrogging the front row of Robert Ballou and Brody Roa on the initial lap. Both Ballou and Roa went topside while Westfall stuck his wheels as far on the bottom of the racing surface as humanly possible.

Westfall nailed it, driving by Roa immediately before surpassing pole sitter Ballou at the exit of turn four to beat him to the line by a car-length-and-a-half ahead at the end of lap one. By lap five, Westfall was a full two seconds ahead of the field with an equation of car, driver and track working in unison with perfect three-part harmony.

C.J. Leary slotted into second after driving underneath Ballou for the runner-up spot on lap three after starting fifth on the grid. A handful of laps later, Ballou had to contend with Brady Bacon for third, the same pair which went toe-to-toe for the win in the latter stages of the feature two nights earlier at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Texas.

This time around, Bacon slid Ballou on the ninth go-around for third before Ballou returned to the spot a half-lap later in turn three with a similar maneuver of his own. On lap 10, Bacon stuck the landing when he went topside around Ballou on the back straight before hitting the bottom to take away Ballou’s line in turn three. As Bacon headed back to the outside off the turn four exit, so too did Ballou, clipping his right rear tire against Bacon’s left front. Two laps later, Bacon kept the topside momentum up and surpassed Ballou on the back stretch to take over the position on lap 13.

By then, Westfall's lead was beginning to become more and more insurmountable with each arriving moment. Westfall’s four second advantage put him a full straightaway ahead of Leary in the second position nearing the halfway point and up to five seconds with just eight laps remaining with no one in the proximity of his area code or even his zip code for that matter.

Suddenly, the dynamics changed on lap 23 when third running Bacon caught the cushion between turns one and two, popping his car up into the air before making a 90-degree right hand turn which nosed him into the outside wall before completing a 360 twirl and coming to a stop.

An attempt was made to push Bacon away to refire, but instead, veered him straight left into the infield due to a disconnected draglink. Bacon was escorted back to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area for repairs, making it back on track just in time before, ultimately, finishing 15th. The unsightly finish for Bacon took him off the top line of the season long USAC National Sprint Car championship standings where he now sits second behind Justin Grant.

The erasure of Westfall’s big lead was only temporary, as once the race restarted, he picked up right where he left off, in trouncing mode, spurting away from Leary et al as he perused the bottom directly into victory lane by a 1.576 second margin over C.J. Leary, Chase Stockon, Justin Grant and Mitchel Moles.

Westfall knew right what he wanted to do from the get-go, going straight to the low side of the racetrack and never once abandoning it throughout the 30-lap distance. While Westfall is accustomed to taking this particular path, on this night, it’s an avenue he saw as early as his heat race, and then made that his home for the main event.

“In the heat race, we went down there on the bottom,” Westfall recalled. “You keep watching all these young kids who just blow through it, and they can’t stick the bottom. I was pretty happy with how the car was for us and I’ve got to thank Ray Marshall for everything he does for me. This is really cool.”

Following an early race issue which knocked him out of Thursday’s series race and relegated him to a last place finish, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) returned to form at Texarkana, finishing second in his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete - Highsmith Guns - Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) began his quest from the 10th position. He steadily moved up through the pack, and by the end, he had netted himself a third-place result in his KO Motorsports/Banded Ag – Superior Tank & Trailer – Dewig Meats – AMSOIL/Triple X/Fisher Chevy. The finish equaled his best USAC performance of the season.

Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) finished sixth in the feature and retained his lead of the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment standings by 13 points over Leary with two races remaining in the 10-race miniseries.

Sixteenth starting Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) advanced six positions in the feature to finish 10th, providing him a surge to the top of the ProSource Passing Master standings for the Texas/Arkansas swing weekend, which encompassed Thursday’s race at Devil’s Bowl Speedway and Saturday’s round at Texarkana 67 Speedway. Cummins passed a total of 19 cars throughout the entirety of the two programs.

Kyle Jones (Kennedale, Texas), making just his second career USAC National Sprint Car start, earned hard charger honors for the night by advancing from 21st to 13th. Meanwhile, fellow Texan, Justin Zimmerman (Athens, Texas), was the recipient of the ProSource Hard Work Award as the slowest qualifying driver to transfer into the feature.

Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) recorded the 10th Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying time of his USAC National Sprint Car career, moving him into the top-50 all-time alongside Sonny Ates, Jim Hurtubise and Thomas Meseraull.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 9, 2023 – Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, Arkansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Wingless Short Track Nationals

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.311 (New Track Record); 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-14.397; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.493; 4. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.708; 5. Jack Hoyer, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.741; 6. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-14.744; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.757; 8. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-14.758; 9. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-14.793; 10. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.809; 11. Cody Gardner, G6, Gaines-14.924; 12. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.016; 13. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2J, Yeley-15.060; 14. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.076; 15. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-15.089; 16. Paul White, 1, Wade-15.124; 17. Jason Howell, 44, Sturgeon-15.165; 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.196; 19. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-15.213; 20. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-15.262; 21. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-15.306; 22. Kyle Jones, 11, Melton-15.323; 23. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.334; 24. Chase Parson, 57, Parson-15.476; 25. Bryan Debrick, 10, Debrick-15.494; 26. Justin Zimmerman, #1, D-Up-15.495; 27. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-15.515; 28. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-15.529; 29. Christian Moore, 6, Moore-15.707; 30. Chase Howard, 13, Howard-15.771; 31. Gary Floyd, 72, Sturgeon-15.814.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Jason Howell, 6. Jack Hoyer, 7. Bryan Debrick, 8. Christian Moore. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Brody Roa, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Justin Zimmerman, 6. Kyle Jones, 7. Chase Howard, 8. Charles Davis Jr. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Cody Gardner, 6. A.J. Bender, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Gary Floyd. 2:35.06 (New Track Record)

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Paul White, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Chase Parson, 7. Dalton Stevens. 2:40.09

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Jack Hoyer, 3. Cody Gardner, 4. Justin Zimmerman, 5. Jason Howell, 6. Kyle Jones, 7. A.J. Bender, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Chase Parson, 10. Christian Moore, 11. Gary Floyd, 12. Chase Howard, 13. Bryan Debrick, 14. Dalton Stevens. 3:08.44 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Matt Westfall (3), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Chase Stockon (10), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Mitchel Moles (8), 6. Emerson Axsom (9), 7. Jake Swanson (6), 8. Robert Ballou (1), 9. Cody Gardner (14), 10. Kyle Cummins (16), 11. Paul White (17), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Kyle Jones (21), 14. Brody Roa (2), 15. Brady Bacon (4), 16. Logan Seavey (12), 17. Jason Howell (18), 18. Jack Hoyer (11), 19. Jadon Rogers (20), 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 22. Justin Zimmerman (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Matt Westfall.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-1979, 2-Brady Bacon-1970, 3-Emerson Axsom-1861, 4-Kyle Cummins-1845, 5-Jake Swanson-1835, 6-C.J. Leary-1752, 7-Robert Ballou-1650, 8-Chase Stockon-1551, 9-Mitchel Moles-1491, 10-Daison Pursley-1455.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-170, 2-Logan Seavey-105, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Emerson Axsom-98, 5-Justin Grant-95, 6-Matt Westfall-90, 7-Robert Ballou-87, 8-Brady Bacon-85, 9-Chase Stockon-76, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-63.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-539, 2-C.J. Leary-526, 3-Jake Swanson-498, 4-Brady Bacon-490, 5-Mitchel Moles-480, 6-Chase Stockon-446, 7-Justin Grant-441, 8-Kyle Cummins-437, 9-Daison Pursley-415, 10-Matt Westfall-375.

FINAL TEXAS & ARKANSAS SWING PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-19, 2-Emerson Axsom-17, 3-Brody Roa-12, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-11, 5-C.J. Leary-10, 6-Justin Zimmerman-10, 7-Chase Stockon-9, 8-Kyle Jones-9, 9-Matt Westfall-8, 10-Justin Grant-8.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 15, 2023 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Robert Ballou (14.447)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jake Swanson (14.311)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

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

ProSource Hard Work Award: Justin Zimmerman

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Matt Westfall

Hard Charger: Kyle Jones (21st to 13th)

 

 

BC39 ENTRY LIST HITS 55!

GRANT & T-MEZ ENTER SEPT. 27-30

USAC MIDGET EVENT AT IMS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 8, 2023)………RMS Racing teammates Justin Grant and Thomas Meseraull, both of whom finished inside the top-four a year ago, have filed their entries to compete in the fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 on September 27-30 featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

** The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases to $150 on Monday, September 11. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25. **

Grant (Ione, Calif.) captured the USAC Silver Crown National Championship in 2020 and the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2022. He earned honors as the hard charger at the 2022 BC39, starting 18th and finishing 4th.

The always exciting Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) made a big move from his 11th starting position to finish 3rd in the 2022 BC39, his best career finish in the event after contending for the win late in the 2021 event.

Previously filing their entries to compete in this year’s BC39 were Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the 2018 BC39 winner, plus current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader and 2018 series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) as well as 2019 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.).

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), who led the first laps in BC39 history during the 2018 event, is entered as is top USAC Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) who owns the best finish by a woman in BC39 history with a 7th in 2022.

USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) is entered for the four-night event as is three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), 2023 series winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

The 2022 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) will make his second BC39 appearance this year along with two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and first-time 2023 USAC National Midget feature winner Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.).


DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases to $150 on Monday, September 11. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


2023 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES

(55 cars as of September 8, 2023)

1 Justin Zimmerman (Justin Zimmerman)

1D Landon Brooks (RAMCO Speed Group)

1G Connor Wolf (RAMCO Speed Group)

2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)

5J Josh Hodge (Josh Hodge Racing)

5s Scott Orr (Josh Hodge Racing)

6 Isaac Chapple (Doug Hall)

7c Josh Bilicki (RAMCO Speed Group)

7m Kyle Jones (RAMCO Speed Group)

7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)

7x Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing)

8 Randi Pankratz (Wally Pankratz)

9p Wes Pinkerton (Wes Pinkerton)

10A Tommy Colburn (MWR Technology)

10c Mark McMahill (MWR Technology)

11 Clinton Boyles (Scott Beierle)

11L Aaron Leffel (Team Taylor Racing)

14 C.J. Leary (Legacy Autosport)

18N Weston Gorham (Kelly Gorham)

19 Daison Pursley (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

19K Kevin Thomas Jr. (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

19T Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)

21D Justin Dickerson (Mike Dickerson)

21H Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports)

21J Kameron Key (TKH Motorsports)

21K Karter Sarff (Jayme Sarff)

22 John Heydenreich (John Heydenreich)

22p Taylor Courtney (RAMCO Speed Group)

23 Preston Lattomus (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)

25m Jake Andreotti (Tom Malloy)

27 Keith Rauch (Bourke Motorsports)

27B Jake Bubak (Bourke Motorsports)

32 Gary Taylor (Brian Dunlap)

36 Ian Creager (Tod Creager)

40 Chase McDermand (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)

40B Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)

40x Zach Wigal (Chase McDermand)

41 Oliver Akard (Team OMR)

44 Adam Andretti (Jeff Johnson)

46 Kenney Johnson (Jeff Johnson)

54 Matt Westfall (Steve Bordner)

56 Mitchell Davis (Pat O’Dell)

57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)

57A Daniel Robinson (RAB Racing)

58 Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing)

71T Kyler Johnson (Todd Henry)

81 Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries)

85 Jerry Coons Jr. (Central Motorsports)

86 Brent Crews (CB Industries)

89 Kaylee Bryson (CB Industries)

99 TBA (Carson-Segur Racing)

99K Robert Carson (Carson-Segur Racing)

118 Scott Evans (Scott Evans)

 

LONE STAR MILESTONE!

BACON MOVES TO 2ND ALL-TIME

WITH USAC SPRINT WIN #52 AT DEVIL’S BOWL

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Mesquite, Texas (September 7, 2023)………For Brady Bacon, Devil’s Bowl Speedway was sort of like a Kokomo of the south. Both are tracks he’d competed at extensively but had long come up empty handed in the win column after an extensive number of runner-up finishes.

Not anymore.

The Broken Arrow, Okla. driver led all 30 laps on Thursday night at the 4/10-mile in Mesquite, Texas, prevailing following a late-race duel with Robert Ballou to earn a milestone victory in the first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature held in the Lone Star State since 1985 – 38 years ago.

The triumph was the 52nd of Bacon’s USAC National Sprint Car career, tying him for second all-time with 1978 series champion Tom Bigelow. Now only Dave Darland stands ahead of Bacon with 62 career victories.

With Bacon sharing the spot with Bigelow, it’s also interesting to note that both currently reside in the same city even though both originally hail from other states – Wisconsin for Bigelow and Oklahoma for Bacon.

“It means a lot; Tom’s a friend of mine and lives in Winchester (Indiana) as well,” Bacon noted after piloting his Dynamics, Inc./Smiley’s Racing Products – Hobson Family – Tel-Star Technologies/Triple X/Rider Chevy to a sixth USAC National Sprint Car win of the season.

A win at Devil’s Bowl’s famed fast dirt oval is especially special to Bacon as well. More than a decade ago, Bacon competed regularly with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) and the Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless series, finishing second place on numerous occasions before his breakthrough all those years later.

“Winning at Devil’s Bowl is pretty big for me,” Bacon exclaimed. “This place was a little bit like Kokomo for me earlier in my career. I ran second a bunch to a lot of really good guys like Jason Johnson, Gary Wright, Shane Stewart and Brian Brown. We could never quite get the job done with the wing here, so I’m glad to finally get it done with the non-wing car. I actually ran second in a non-wing car here about 13 years ago too and I haven’t been back since. I’m glad to get it done.”

Bacon established the point early from his pole starting position, leading the opening lap before 18th starting Dalton Stevens slipped over the turn one banking and coasted to a stop on lap two to bring out the first yellow.

Once again establishing the lead on the restart using the bottom side of the racetrack, the race was halted again on lap four when eighth running Charles Davis Jr. flipped violently down the back straightaway in a wicked tumble after clipping a turn two infield tire. The veteran Arizonian was able to climb out and walk away.

Under yellow, sixth running C.J. Leary's car refused to refire for the lap four restart, making laps around the track connected to the front bumper of a push vehicle, but wasn’t able to power on its own, signaling an unexpected and disappointing conclusion to the race for the 2019 series champ.

On the restart, the major mover was Robert Ballou as he slid past Jake Swanson in turn one for the second position on lap five as Justin Grant also followed en route to third. Meanwhile, Bacon had opened up a 1.359 second gap over Ballou as the race leader before heat race winner and 12th running Justin Zimmerman experienced a flat left rear tire in the middle of the pack on lap 13 as the field scrambled high and low to successfully avoid contact.

The first driver to really make headway somewhere other than the bottom of the racetrack was USAC CRA Sprint Car point leader who took to the high side on the lap 13 restart and proceeded to drive all the way up to third. As Roa made a bid for second on the outside of Ballou between turns three and four on lap 17, Ballou caught wind of Roa’s notion and decided to move to the top as well.

The high side suited Ballou well over the next several laps as he seemingly slashed a tenth of a second from the bottom-rolling Bacon’s lead with each ensuing lap. Closing in on the stripe with two laps to go, Ballou pulled even on the outside of Bacon in turns three and four. Out of the corner of his eye, Bacon saw Ballou’s nose, and in a split-second, said sayonara to the bottom and slid to the top of the front straightaway to steal Ballou’s line away.

Moments later, entering turn one nose-to-tail, Ballou spun off the edge of turn one, ending his run his run at a first USAC National Sprint Car victory of the season. Ballou restarted at the tail thereafter and drove from 18th to 14th in the final two laps.

Bacon had an inkling somebody behind him was going to make a run toward him up top, and just as soon he spotted it, he was prepared to make his move.

“I knew the bottom was going to be tough to beat in turns one and two,” Bacon explained. “It was getting pretty slow, but we were getting close to the end of the race, so I thought, ‘well, somebody’s going to have to beat me on the top.’ He poked his nose out there and I saw it and I knew it was time to move up. I got a good enough run to get in front of him and he kind of gave me a little tap getting down the front straightaway. I don’t know if he wasn’t expecting me to go to the top in front of him – probably not. I was ready for that move if I needed to do it.”

The final two laps were a bit less hectic for Bacon as he cruised to a 1.151 second victory. Meanwhile, a hardscrabble scramble for second on back was sorting itself out with Jake Swanson and Kyle Cummins making valiant late race runs to position themselves second and third at the line, respectively. Jadon Rogers equaled his best finish of the USAC season with a fourth while Justin Grant rounded out the top-five with a solid fifth, but also saw his three-race winning streak with the series come to an end.

On paper, Jake Swanson started second and finished second in his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Stratis Construction – USW Cat Construction/DRC/1-Way Chevy. But it wasn't anywhere near that easy. No sir. The Anaheim, Calif. native fell back to seventh as late as with only seven laps to go but managed to charge back up through the pack to score a second-place result.

For much of the feature, Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) ran either just outside the top-10 or just inside the top-10. The last 10 laps were a different story, however, as he picked the field off one-by-one to break into the top-five late, then on the lap 28 restart, he went fifth to third to grab a podium finish in his Rock Steady Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

Mired back in the 21st starting spot, the only way to go was forward for Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), and he did that aplenty by advancing 13 spots to finish eighth and earn hard charger honors for the evening.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was the best of the bunch in a tumultuous Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session. His lap of 16.237 seconds broke the one-lap USAC track record at Devil’s Bowl of 16.626 held by Richard Summers since May of 1985. Qualifying, however, was marred by four separate ugly and violent incidents which sent drivers Anthony Nicholson, Kobe Simpson, Josh Hanna and J.J. Yeley flipping several times on their time trial runs. All four drivers’ nights were ended due to the crashes, but all four were able to walk away.

Thursday’s race at Devil’s Bowl was just the fifth USAC National Sprint Car event held in the state of Texas. A.J. Foyt (1959), Don Branson (1960) and Parnelli Jones (1960) all scored USAC Midwest Sprint Car victories at Meyer Speedway in Houston. Rick Hood (1985) captured a win at Devil’s Bowl. All four drivers are both USAC National Sprint Car champions and members of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, a club that Bacon is certainly on his way to belonging to as well.

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

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 7, 2023 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, Texas – 4/10-Mile Dirt Track – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car Series

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-16.237; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.289; 3. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-16.305; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.309; 5. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.314; 6. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.319; 7. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.372; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.385; 9. J.J. Yeley, 2, Yeley-16.414; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-16.420; 11. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel-16.468; 12. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.527; 13. Anthony Nicholson, 16, Nicholson-16.536; 14. Justin Zimmerman, #1, D-Up-16.549; 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2J, Yeley-16.565; 16. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-16.588; 17. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-16.632; 18. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-16.659; 19. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.686; 20. Kyle Jones, 11, Melton-16.752; 21. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-16.853; 22. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.866; 23. Paul White, 1, Wade-16.920; 24. Jack Hoyer, 5, Baldwin/Fox-16.922; 25. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-16.931; 26. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.957; 27. Jason Howell, 44, Sturgeon-17.324; 28. Josh Hanna, 82, Hanna-17.686; 29. Bryan Debrick, 10, Debrick-17.717; 30. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-NT; 31. Chase Parson, 57, Parson-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Paul White, 7. Jason Howell.

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Jones, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Jack Hoyer, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Bryan Debrick. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Chase Parson.

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Zimmerman, 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. A.J. Bender, 6. Dalton Stevens. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Dalton Stevens, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Jason Howell, 8. A.J. Bender, 9. Paul White, 10. Bryan Debrick, 11. Chase Parson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Jake Swanson (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (13), 4. Jadon Rogers (8), 5. Justin Grant (5), 6. Brody Roa (14), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 8. Emerson Axsom (21), 9. Mitchel Moles (11), 10. Kyle Jones (10), 11. Logan Seavey (4), 12. Chase Stockon (12), 13. Matt Westfall (15), 14. Robert Ballou (3), 15. Daison Pursley (17), 16. Jack Hoyer (20), 17. Brandon Mattox (19), 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (22), 19. Dalton Stevens (18), 20. Justin Zimmerman (7), 21. C.J. Leary (6), 22. Charles Davis Jr. (9). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Brady Bacon.

**Anthony Nicholson flipped during qualifying. Kobe Simpson flipped during qualifying. Josh Hanna flipped during qualifying. J.J. Yeley flipped during qualifying. Charles Davis Jr. flipped on lap 4 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1928, 2-Justin Grant-1910, 3-Emerson Axsom-1798, 4-Kyle Cummins-1795, 5-Jake Swanson-1771, 6-C.J. Leary-1673, 7-Robert Ballou-1595, 8-Chase Stockon-1479, 9-Mitchel Moles-1425, 10-Daison Pursley-1411.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-169, 2-Logan Seavey-105, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Emerson Axsom-95, 5-Justin Grant-92, 6-Matt Westfall-88, 7-Robert Ballou-87, 8-Brady Bacon-85, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-63.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 8-9, 2023 – Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, Arkansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Wingless Short Track Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Robert Ballou (16.285)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (16.237)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kyle Jones

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Zimmerman

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

ProSource Hard Work Award: Eddie Tafoya Jr.

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Brady Bacon

Hard Charger: Emerson Axsom (21st to 8th)


NATIONAL MIDGET AUTO RACING HALL OF FAME
CLASS OF 2023 REVEALED

Sun Prairie, Wis., Sept 6, 2023---Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Larry Howard, Gene Pastor, Stevie Reeves and Roy Richter have been announced today as the latest inductees into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made during the USAC National Midget Series event at Angell Park Speedway, the home of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Gurney was a two-time winner of the Copper World Classic Midget race at Phoenix International Raceway in 1992 and 1994 as well as a two-time winner of the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ascot Park in 1988-89 and a one-time victor of the Belleville Nationals in 1989.

Hettinger won championships with the Wide World of Auto Racing (WWAR) in 1984, the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) in 1984 and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) in 1990. His career spanned a little over four decades, winning over 126 features.

Howard was one of the premier car owners between the late 1970s and early 1990s. His cars won six times in the Turkey Night Grand Prix between 1979-89 with Ron Shuman taking four-straight in 1979-80-81-82 and Chuck Gurney winning two in 1988-89. Howard also won the Bellville Nationals in 1989 with Gurney at the wheel.

After Pastor retired from driving in 1979, he became a well-respected official with the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association (RMMRA) and the American Independent Midget Series (AIMS), serving as flagman, Director of Competition and was a member of their Board of Directors. He also worked with the Southwest Independent Midget Series (SWIMS) tour and the Belleville Nationals.

Reeves captured back-to-back USAC National Midget driving championships in 1992 and 1993. He won in his first ever USAC National Midget start in 1987 at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, and in 1991, he scored three major wins at Phoenix International Raceway’s Copper World Classic, Angell Park Speedway’s Pepsi Firemen’s Nationals and the Terre Haute Action Track’s Hut 100.

Richter was the founder of Bell Helmets, which was the first safety-certified head protection in midget racing. He was an excellent fabricator, building and designing midgets driven by Sam Hanks and Freddie Agabashian to many victories. Richter was also a founding member of SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association).

The 39th annual luncheon and induction ceremony for the six inductees will be held on Friday, January 12, 2024. 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.

 

 

USAC Western States Midget Series

VENTURA HOSTS USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023... After a break in the schedule, the USAC Western States Midgets will clash at Ventura Raceway this Saturday, September 9th. Promoted by Jim Naylor, the ninth championship point race will also showcase the VRA Sprint Cars, VRA Senior Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, and IMCA Sport Mods. Located at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California, the Pit Gates will open at Noon, the Front Gates open at 3:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 5:30pm at “The Best Little Dirt Track in America.” For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.

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

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

Since May 24, 1986, 157USAC Western States Midget events have been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and Sleepy Tripp claimed the inaugural victory. Tripp leads all drivers with eighteen Ventura wins and Brody Fuson has claimed both to this year’s shows at Ventura. Johnny Cofer set the 1-lap qualifying record of 11.675 on November 18, 1995 and a complete series Ventura win list is at the bottom of this release.

After mechanical issues caused an eighteenth place finish on August 5th at Antioch, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) leads the competition by 20 points. Driving Rusty Carlile’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, Fuson has three feature wins, five Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, three Ebbco Offroad / Wireless 101 Hard Charger Awards, seven top-10 finishes, and 53 feature laps led on the season. Brody has seven career wins and will be looking for his third consecutive triumph at Ventura.

Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, California) ranks second in the championship point standings. Racing Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5K Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Lewis charged from sixth to third at the Antioch debut. To date, the young driver has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, three Ebbco Offroad / Wireless 101 Hard Charger Awards, eight top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led on the year. Cade has two career wins and will have his sights on winning at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

Ben Worth (Coalinga, California) sits third in the USAC Western States Midget point chase. Making his first start in Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5V Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Worth placed fourth in the Antioch feature. At press time, the 2019 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, six top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led in the campaign. Ben has four career wins and will be looking to gain points with the Saturday night victory.

Veteran driver Ron Hazelton (Chatsworth, California) is fourth in the western point standings. The owner/driver of the #15 TRC Transmission / West Evans Motorsports Beast raced from seventeenth to twelfth at Antioch Speedway. To date, Hazelton has five top-10 finishes in the campaign and will be looking for his first career win at Ventura.

C.J. Sarna (Brea, California) ranks fifth in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #20 ZMax / Final Final Lifestyle Spike charged from tenth to sixth at the Antioch debut. As this writing goes to press, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has five top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights on winning Saturday’s return to Ventura.

Leading rookie contender, Ben Covich (Auckland, New Zealand) ranks seventh in the point standings. The owner/driver of the #65 Dean “Kiwi” Alexander / Matt Streeter Racing Spike raced from fourteenth to eleventh on August 5th. To date, Covich has three top-10 finishes on the season. The young driver will be looking the upset the field and claim the win at Ventura Raceway.

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

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Randi Pankratz, Caden Sarale, Blake Bower, Danika Jo Faccinto, Marvin Mitchell, Bryan Drollinger, Robby Josett, Mike Leach Jr., and more.

Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $22, General Admission Senior (60 and older), Active Military (ID Required), and Student tickets (with ID) are $18. Kids tickets (12 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.

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

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

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 3-Brody Fuson, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Cade Lewis, 1-Caden Sarale, 1-T.J. Smith, 1-Ben Worth.

VENTURA USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TRACK RECORD: Johnny Cofer – 11.675 (11/18/95)

VENTURA USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 18-Sleepy Tripp, 13-Billy Boat, 8-Page Jones, 7-Garrett Hansen, 6-Ronnie Gardner, 6-Jimmy Sills, 5-Johnny Cofer, 5-Robby Flock, 5-Cory Kruseman, 4-Robert Dolacki, 4- P.J. Jones, 4-Robby Josett, 3-Jay Drake, 3-Chris Rahe, 3-Tony Stewart, 2-Tommy Astone, 2-Christopher Bell, 2-Tyler Brown, 2-Josh Ford, 2-Brody Fuson, 2-Dennis Hart, 2-Johnathon Henry, 2-Chase Johnson, 2-Brad Kuhn, 2-Kyle Larson, 2-Frank Pedregon, 2-Jerome Rodela, 2-Chuck West, 2-Ben Worth, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Mike Appio, 1-Wayne Bennet, 1-Chad Boat, 1-Bobby Boone, 1-Mario Bringetto Jr., 1-Hank Butcher, 1-Keith Chrisco, 1-Robert Dalby, 1-Kevin Doty, 1-Tony Elliott, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Michael Faccinto, 1-Stan Fox, 1-Russ Gamester, 1-Chuck Gurney, 1-Daryl Haugh, 1-Rick Hendrix, 1-A.J. Johnson, 1-Ryan Kaplan, 1-Josh Lakatos, 1-Brad Loyet, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Lealand McSpadden, 1-Matt Mitchell, 1-Steve Paden, 1-Rusty Rasmussen, 1-Keith Rauch, 1-Troy Rutherford, 1-Shane Scully, 1-Ron Shuman, 1-Bryan Stanfill, 1-Jake Swanson, 1-Tommy White, 1-Hayden Williams.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Fuson-589, 2. Cade Lewis-569, 3. Ben Worth-434, 4. Ron Hazelton-397, 5. C.J. Sarna-384, 6. Randi Pankratz-352, 7. Ben Covich®-269, 8. Caden Sarale-263, 9. Blake Bower-255, 10. Samuel May®-247, 11. Steve Paden-220, 12. Danika Jo Faccinto-187, 13. David Gasper®-184, 14. Marvin Mitchell-170, 15. Bryan Drollinger-169, 16. Kevin Gray®-162, 17. Jake Andreotti-160, 18. Robby Josett-143, 19. Garrett Twitty®-142, 20. T.J. Smith-137, 21. A.J. Bender-113, 22. Brandon Wiley®-96, 23. Michael Faccinto-80, 24. Mitchel Moles®-78, --. Chase Johnson-78, 26. Mike Leach Jr.-76, 27. Ryan Bernal-73, 28. Floyd Alvis-61, 29. Nikko Panella®-50, 30. Terry Nichols-42, 31. Colby Johnson-41, 32. Jerry Kobza-38, 33. Steve Hix®-37.

2023 WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALFIER POINTS: 1. Brody Fuson-44, 2. Cade Lewis-27, 3. Caden Sarale-14, 4. Ben Worth-12, 5. C.J. Sarna-11, 6. Jake Andreotti-9, 7. Blake Bower-7, --. Randi Pankratz-7, 9. Robby Josett-6, ---. David Gasper®-6, 11. Michael Faccinto-5, 12. Danika Jo Faccinto-4, 13. A.J. Bender-3, ---. Mitchel Moles-3, ---. Chase Johnson-3, 16. T.J. Smith-2, ---. Brandon Wiley®-2, 18. Ryan Bernal-1, ---. Garrett Twitty®-1, ---. Ron Hazelton-1.

2023 SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1. Brody Fuson-493, 2. Cade Lewis-491, 3. Ben Worth-382, 4. Ron Hazelton-367, 5. C.J. Sarna-343, 6. Randi Pankratz-319, 7. Ben Covich®-257, 8. Blake Bower-223, -. Caden Sarale-223, 10. Samuel May®-216, 11. Steve Paden-199, 12. Danika Jo Faccinto-168, 13. David Gasper®-165, 14. Marvin Mitchell-163, 15. Bryan Drollinger-157, 16. Kevin Gray®-152, 17. Jake Andreotti-137, 18. Garrett Twitty®-130, 19. Robby Josett-125, 20. T.J. Smith-119, 21. A.J. Bender-99, 22. Brandon Wiley®-85, 23. Mitchel Moles-67, --. Chase Johnson-67, --. Michael Faccinto-67, 26. Mike Leach Jr.-64, --. Ryan Bernal-64, 28. Floyd Alvis-55, 29. Nikko Panella®-46, 30. Terry Nichols-39, 31. Jerry Kobza-35, 32. Steve Hix®-33, --. Colby Johnson-33.

2023 PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. Cade Lewis-33, 2. Brody Fuson-23, -. Ron Hazelton-23, 4. Ben Covich®-14, 5. Marvin Mitchell-10, 6. C.J. Sarna-8, 7. Steve Paden-7, -. David Gasper®-7, -. Robby Josett-7, --. Samuel May-7, 11. Jake Andreotti-6, --. Danika Jo Faccinto-6, 13. Bryan Drollinger-4, --. Garrett Twitty®-4, --. Randi Pankratz-4, 16. Brandon Wiley®-3, --. Michael Faccinto-3, --. Ben Worth-3, 19. Caden Sarale-2, 20. Chase Johnson-1, --. Blake Bower-1.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
March 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (RAINED OUT)
March 25: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (RAINED OUT)
April 15: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
May 6: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (RAINED OUT)
May 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
June 10: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
June 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Cade Lewis)
July 8: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
July 22: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Caden Sarale)
August 5: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (Winner: T.J. Smith)
August 26: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 9: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
September 30: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (Antioch Challenge #2 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises / $2,000-to-Win)
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (With USAC West Coast Sprint Cars / Championship Night / George Snider Classic / Awards Banquet)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.


 

BACON, C.J. & KTJ PUSH BC39 ENTRIES PAST 40!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (September 5, 2023)………Inaugural race winner Brady Bacon, C.J. Leary and Kevin Thomas Jr. are the latest additions to the Driven2SaveLives BC39 entry list, which now stands at 40 and growing for the fifth running of the event on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The BC39 regularly presents the highest USAC car counts of the year. The 2022 event produced 85 entries, fifth most in the 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing. The newest look at the 2023 entry list is at the bottom of this release.

** The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases to $150 on Friday, September 8. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25. **

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the 2018 BC39 winner, will drive one of two cars out of the TKH Motorsports stable during this year’s event alongside newcomer Kameron Key (Warrensburg, Mo.).

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), the 2019 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion, will make his return to the BC39 in an entry fielded by Legacy Autosport.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), who led the first laps in BC39 history during the 2018 event, is entered in a Mounce-Stout Motorsports entry alongside teammates Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) and Preston Lattomus (Lewes, Del.).

Previously entered for this year’s BC39 are current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader and 2018 series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and top USAC Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.).

USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) is entered for the four-night event as is three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), 2023 series winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), 2022 series Rookie of the Year Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), plus two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.).

CBI has also filed entries for 2023 USAC National Midget feature winner Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), who finished 11th in the 2022 BC39. Brent Crews (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a recent ARCA Stock Car winner at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, will make his BC39 debut with CBI.

DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases to $150 on Friday, September 8. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2023 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES
(40 cars as of September 5, 2023)
1 Justin Zimmerman
1D Landon Brooks
1G Connor Wolf
7c Josh Bilicki
7m Kyle Jones
7p Zach Daum
8 Randi Pankratz
11 Clinton Boyles
11L Aaron Leffel
14 C.J. Leary
18N Weston Gorham
19 Daison Pursley
19AZ Hayden Reinbold
19K Kevin Thomas Jr.
19T Mitchel Moles
21D Justin Dickerson
21H Brady Bacon
21J Kameron Key
21K Karter Sarff
22 John Heydenreich
22p Taylor Courtney
23 Preston Lattomus
25 Jacob Denney
25m Jake Andreotti
27 Keith Rauch
27B Jake Bubak
36 Ian Creager
40 Chase McDermand
40B Blake Brannon
40x Zach Wigal
41 Oliver Akard
44 Adam Andretti
46 Kenney Johnson
54 Matt Westfall
57 Logan Seavey
81 Bryant Wiedeman
85 Jerry Coons Jr.
86 Brent Crews
89 Kaylee Bryson
118 Scott Evans

 

SEAVEY STAYS HOT,
EXTINGUISHES FIREMEN’S NATIONALS FIELD
AT ANGELL PARK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 4, 2023)………One night after his run of nine consecutive podium finishes came to an abrupt halt, Logan Seavey decided to begin a new kind of streak on Monday night at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway.

The Sutter, Calif. native raced his way to the front after tirelessly working high and low to work his way by racelong leader Taylor Reimer. Seavey made the winning move just after the halfway point and proceeded to lead the final 14 laps en route to victory on night two of the 38th running of the Firemen’s Nationals.

With four series wins in the bank already this season and a whopper of a 171-point lead in the standings, Seavey’s fourth place result on Sunday night was practically a letdown to both the team and driver of the Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Indy Custom Stone – Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

Despite the rare “misstep,” relatively speaking, Seavey and Abacus’ winning streak now stands at one while their string of 11 consecutive top-five finishes remains unblemished since early June, a good three months ago.

“It feels good to redeem myself a little bit,” Seavey admitted. “I know we ran fourth yesterday, but I was disappointed that I didn’t run a good race. I feel like I should’ve been competing for the win yesterday, but I didn’t do that, so it’s cool to come back today and win.”

Seavey’s 12th career USAC National Midget feature triumph elevated him to 60th place on the all-time series win list, equaling the mark set by series champions Danny Caruthers, Russ Gamester and Jeff Gordon, plus Gene Force, Bobby Grim and Ron Shuman.

Additionally, it was Seavey’s second score during the Firemen’s Nationals following his first win in the event during the 2019 season. It’s an event that’s the third most tenured on the USAC National Midget schedule with 38 editions taking place, trailing only the Turkey Night Grand Prix (81 years) and 4-Crown Nationals (40 years) in terms of active longevity. For Seavey, it’s a special win at a special race at a special place.

“This is such a cool place to come to,” Seavey beamed. “The history of midget racing here in Sun Prairie is tough to beat. I just love this place and I’ve loved it since the first time I came here, and I always have a blast coming here.”

Seavey began his race from the second slot outside of the front row, yet it was pole sitter Taylor Reimer who set the tone at the outset, leading the first 16 laps as Seavey gave constant chase. Seavey sought the high line; he sought the low line; he sought the middle, but Reimer was unflappable through the first half as Seavey was only able to get to within a car length of her back bumper before regathering, resetting and trying again.

On lap 17, Seavey’s sticktoitiveness paid off at the exit of turn four as he raced around the outside of Reimer to take over the race lead. By the time the two hit the back straightaway, the yellow flag was displayed for the slowing car of Emerson Axsom (15th) who eventually stopped on the back straight. The leader, plus one, crossed the start/finish line, so with split scoring in play, the lap officially counted, and Seavey was scored as the race leader with 13 laps to go.

“I was just trying to be patient,” Seavey explained. “If I could pace there long enough, I knew that eventually I’d get my shot and the bottom would slow down a little bit and I’d be able to go by. I’m just that confident in my car.”

Approaching the halfway point of the 30-lap feature, Seavey decided he had to move soon, or it could be too late, which had been the case for him on occasion this season.

“I just kept looking at the board and watching the laps count down,” Seavey said. “I think I saw like 15 or 16 to go and there have been times this year when I waited a little too long and never got that shot. So, I went for it there, and luckily, we caught the yellow at the right time and we were able to get to the lead there.”

Seavey chopped through the middle of turn one on the ensuing restart, but soon after, Jade Avedisian arrived on the scene, splitting hairs between Zach Daum and Reimer to shoot from fourth to second in the blink of an eye in turn two before taking off after Seavey. Meanwhile, Reimer, who was strong early, suddenly fell to sixth as Daum, Cannon McIntosh and Bryant Wiedeman all freight trained on by.

Seavey had opened up his lead to a 1.306 second margin with five laps remaining when the final caution was signaled for the slowing car of fourth-running Cannon McIntosh who stopped in turn three on lap 26, putting him out of the race with a disheartening 17th place result following a fine run.

It was a late yellow that stifled Seavey’s charge through the field the night before, but the yellow didn’t rattle him off course on this night as he stepped away from Avedisian on the restart to the tune of a full second while the lap count ran slim.

In the end, Seavey was 1.209 second ahead of the competition as he crossed under the double checkered flags in front of Avedisian with Justin Grant sneaking around the outside of Daum to grab the third spot off the fourth and final turn. Daum collected fourth, while Reimer scored a fifth.

Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) made a late surge to finish second in her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – JBL Audio/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. The runner-up result equals her best career USAC National Midget finish, and once again, tied the best finish for a woman in USAC National competition alongside Sarah McCune at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 1999, Kaylee Bryson at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway in 2022, and Avedisian twice in 2023 at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track and Angell Park. Avedisian was also the only driver to finish on the podium during both nights at Angell Park this weekend following a third on Sunday night.

Approaching the final restart with five laps to go, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was running seventh. In those last five laps, he hustled up four more spots to score a third-place result and earned his second podium finish of the 2023 USAC National Midget season in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Grant’s’ advancement from his 10th starting spot to third in the running order also gave him hard charger bragging rights for the night.

During the evening’s Honest Abe Time Trial session, Avedisian posted her sixth career USAC National Midget fast qualifying time, tying her for 94th all-time with Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Buddy Kofoid, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom and Billy Wood.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 4, 2023 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Firemen’s Nationals

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.722; 2. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.726; 3. Chase McDermand, 19m, Bundy Built-14.792; 4. Zach Daum, 7u, Trifecta-14.796; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.839; 6. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.905; 7. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-14.945; 8. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.949; 9. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac Dalby-14.982; 10. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-14.988; 11. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-15.004; 12. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-15.158; 13. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-15.199; 14. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.263; 15. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.293; 16. Emerson Axsom, 19A, Petry/Hayward-15.446; 17. Jake Andreotti, 25, Malloy-15.448; 18. Dekota Gay, 81A, Gay-15.499; 19. Parker Jones, 57A, RAB-15.563; 20. Cameron Weishoff, 55, Weishoff-15.736; 21. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-15.775.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Bryant Wiedeman, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Jade Avedisian, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Kyle Beilman, 7. Parker Jones. 2:00.85

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Daniel Whitley, 4. Ryan Timms, 5. Gavin Miller, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Cameron Weishoff. 2:01.25

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Chase McDermand, 4. Taylor Reimer, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Bryan Stanfill, 7. Dekota Gay. 1:59.64 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Jade Avedisian (6), 3. Justin Grant (10), 4. Zach Daum (3), 5. Taylor Reimer (1), 6. Bryant Wiedeman (7), 7. Daison Pursley (8), 8. Chase McDermand (4), 9. Ryan Timms (11), 10. Gavin Miller (5), 11. Jake Andreotti (16), 12. Hayden Reinbold (18), 13. Thomas Meseraull (9), 14. Daniel Whitley (13), 15. Kyle Beilman (14), 16. Bryan Stanfill (19), 17. Cannon McIntosh (12), 18. Emerson Axsom (15), 19. Parker Jones (17), 20. Dekota Gay (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Taylor Reimer, Laps 17-30 Logan Seavey.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-1078, 2-Justin Grant-907, 3-Jade Avedisian-891, 4-Ryan Timms-884, 5-Bryant Wiedeman-878, 6-Daison Pursley-849, 7-Cannon McIntosh-816, 8-Jacob Denney-789, 9-Gavin Miller-787, 10-Taylor Reimer-717.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-167, 2-Logan Seavey-105, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Justin Grant-92, 5-Robert Ballou-87, 6-Matt Westfall-86, 7-Brady Bacon-85, 8-Emerson Axsom-82, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

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

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Jade Avedisian (14.653)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jade Avedisian (14.722)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Bryant Wiedeman

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Taylor Reimer

Hard Charger: Justin Grant (10th to 3rd)

 

ON FIRE!
TIMMS SWEEPS NIGHT ONE OF THE
FIREMEN’S NATIONALS AT ANGELL PARK

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 3, 2023)………It’d been more than a year since a driver last performed a complete sweep from start to finish throughout a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.

Meanwhile, it had been just a tick under a year since the last time a team recorded a complete podium sweep of the top-three finishing positions during a USAC National Midget feature race.

In both cases, the team and car number leading the field across the finish line first was the very same – the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 67.

On Sunday, during the opening night of the 38th running of the Firemen’s Nationals at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway, the picture-perfect driver was Ryan Timms.

The Oklahoma City, Okla. native chased down teammate Gavin Miller, then waged a duel that consisted of slider after slider until Timms ultimately emerged ahead for good with eight laps remaining to earn his third series victory of the year in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio – TRD – Mobil 1/Lynk/Speedway Toyota.

For Timms, it was his fifth career USAC National Midget feature triumph, which moved him to 119th on the all-time list alongside Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jerry Weeks.

Timms was superb from the start on Sunday night, earning his first career USAC Honest Abe Roofing fast qualifying time before capturing a heat race win from the sixth starting position, then again went sixth to first in the feature. His “sweep” of the event was the first such instance since Buddy Kofoid did the same in June of 2022 at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill.

Following Timms across the line at Angell Park’s 1/3-mile dirt oval were KKM teammates Gavin Miller and Jade Avedisian. The most recent occurrence in series history of the top-three finishers all hailing from the same team came in September of 2022 when KKM took the top-three spots at Gas City I-69 Speedway with Kofoid leading the field to victory with then teammates Kaylee Bryson and Brenham Crouch in tow.

Sunday night, it was Miller getting the initial jump on the field from the pole position, building an early full two second lead during the first 12 laps. However, in that same timeframe, Timms had picked his way through the field from sixth to second in a hurry past a collection of talent including Logan Seavey, Jade Avedisian, Bryant Wiedeman and Justin Grant.

Timms immediately began to chop Miller’s wide margin of a lead from two seconds to a half second by lap 19 when Wiedeman, running seventh at the time, slowed to a stop between turns three and four. Under yellow, ninth running Chase McDermand, the three-time Badger Midget champ who was making his debut with Bundy Built Motorsports, pulled in with mechanical trouble.

The ensuing restart meant “go-time” for Timms as he immediately aimed for the bottom of turn one to execute a slide job for the lead on Miller, pulling it off successfully to lead lap 20. Nonetheless, Miller dug in and fought back, slide-jobbing Timms four consecutive times on both ends of the racetrack, coming up inches short of the lead on lap 21 before retaking over the lead briefly by inches at the stripe on lap 22.

As soon as Timms officially fell to second in the running order, he dropped the hammer, so to speak, and went back to the well, sliding across the nose of Miller in turn one on the 23rd circuit, then successfully fended off a return shot by Miller as he slid himself into turn three, thus preventing a slider from Miller and began to steadily break away from the field with seven laps to go.

“I was catching Gavin before that last restart,” Timms recalled. “I knew that if I could get a good enough restart, I could just bomb him going into one, and that’s what I did but it almost didn’t work out. He kept getting underneath me and I didn’t know whether to slide myself again and I didn’t really know what to do there. After about two or three crossovers, I just started sliding myself. Then I made a couple mistakes there at the end, but I chilled myself out and managed to bring it home.”

At the finish line, Timms was 0.932 sec. ahead of Miller who finished second. Jade Avedisian made a late move to grab third away from Logan Seavey who finished fourth.

Seavey came up about a car length short of extending his streak of top-three finishes to 10, which would’ve tied him for the all-time series record set by Mel Kenyon in 1967 and Tony Stewart in 1995. With that said, Seavey still maintains the championship lead by a hefty 161-point margin. Seavey’s Abacus Racing teammate Daniel Whitley, meanwhile, finished a career-best fifth.

Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) has been on point of late. Tonight, the leading Rookie of the Year contender led a race-high 21 of 30 laps en route to a runner-up finish in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Eibach Springs – Mobil 1/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. In his last three USAC National Midget starts, Miller has now finished 5th, 2nd and 2nd.

“On the restart, I didn’t know what he was going to do,” Miller recalled. “He just threw big slide job, then I had to cross him back over and slide him back. I think I had him if it wasn’t for the yellow, but that’s just racing. We’ll be better next time.”

Jade Avedisian's first visit to Angell Park resulted in her best USAC National Midget finish in nearly three months in her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – JBL Audio/Lynk/Speedway Toyota. The Clovis, Calif. racer finished third, her first top-three result since June at Lawrenceburg Speedway during Indiana Midget Week.

“I feel like I had a really, really fast car and I feel like I could’ve been there if I had done my first 15 laps a lot different,” Avedisian admitted. “I wasted a lot of time down there off turn two on the bottom, and I just needed to move up and keep up my momentum. I got to racing with Ryan (Timms) and just slowed my pace down and I was racing him instead of the cars in front of me.”

Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) salvaged his night after an adventurous qualifying run, which involved biking majorly in turn one on both of his laps, which prevented him from recording an official time. Starting dead last in the feature from the 23rd spot, he advanced 14 positions to finish ninth, thus earning hard charger honors. Pursley maintains his yearlong advantage in the ProSource Passing Master standings with 166 positions advanced in features alone across USAC’s three national series, 62 more than his closest competition.

Timms’ time of 2:01.97 during his heat race victory on Sunday night broke the eight-lap track record that had stood for more than 16 years. Ryan Durst had held the USAC National Midget mark for the distance at Angell Park of 2:04.98 since August 26, 2007.

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

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 3, 2023 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Firemen’s Nationals

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.366; 2. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-14.480; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-14.495; 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-14.522; 5. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-14.559; 6. Zach Daum, 7u, Trifecta-14.578; 7. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.601; 8. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.657; 9. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.665; 10. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac Dalby-14.727; 11. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-14.757; 12. Chase McDermand, 19m, Bundy Built-14.819; 13. Tyler Baran, 11T, Baran-14.829; 14. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-14.841; 15. Emerson Axsom, 19A, Petry/Hayward-14.857; 16. Jake Andreotti, 25, Malloy-14.861; 17. Daniel Robinson, 57A, RAB-14.993; 18. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.018; 19. Dekota Gay, 81A, Gay-15.292; 20. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-15.338; 21. Nick Baran, 7E, Engstrom-15.630; 22. Zach Boden, 51, Boden-15.658; 23. Cameron Weishoff, 55, Weishoff-15.950; 24. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Jake Andreotti, 3. Gavin Miller, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Bryant Wiedeman, 6. Tyler Baran, 7. Zach Boden, 8. Dekota Gay. 2:01.97 (New Track Record)

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jade Avedisian, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Daniel Whitley, 5. Kyle Beilman, 6. Daniel Robinson, 7. Bryan Stanfill, 8. Cameron Weishoff. 2:03.66

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Taylor Reimer, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Emerson Axsom. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Timms (6), 2. Gavin Miller (1), 3. Jade Avedisian (7), 4. Logan Seavey (4), 5. Daniel Whitley (5), 6. Justin Grant (2), 7. Taylor Reimer (10), 8. Cannon McIntosh (11), 9. Daison Pursley (23), 10. Zach Daum (9), 11. Thomas Meseraull (12), 12. Jake Andreotti (16), 13. Hayden Reinbold (18), 14. Emerson Axsom (15), 15. Bryant Wiedeman (3), 16. Daniel Robinson (17), 17. Dekota Gay (19), 18. Tyler Baran (13), 19. Kyle Beilman (14), 20. Zach Boden (21), 21. Cameron Weishoff (22), 22. Chase McDermand (8), 23. Bryan Stanfill (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Gavin Miller, Laps 20-21 Ryan Timms, Lap 22 Gavin Miller, Laps 23-30 Ryan Timms.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-999, 2-Justin Grant-838, 3-Ryan Timms-833, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-815, 5-Jade Avedisian-812, 6-Jacob Denney-789, 7-Daison Pursley-789, 8-Cannon McIntosh-783, 9-Gavin Miller-735, 10-Taylor Reimer-653.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-166, 2-Logan Seavey-104, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Robert Ballou-87, 5-Matt Westfall-86, 6-Justin Grant-85, 7-Brady Bacon-85, 8-Emerson Axsom-82, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 4, 2023 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Firemen’s Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Daison Pursley (14.498)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Ryan Timms (14.366)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ryan Timms

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jade Avedisian

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Chase McDermand

Hard Charger: Daison Pursley (23rd to 9th)


 

 

THE BEAT GOES ON!
GRANT DEFEATS THE FIELD AT Du QUOIN’S 100-MILER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Du Quoin, Illinois (September 2, 2023)………If you thought Justin Grant had any inkling of missing a beat after three-straight USAC National Sprint Car wins last weekend, well, you’d be mistaken.

Absolutely nothing broke the Ione, Calif. native’s stride on Saturday afternoon during the 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois as he scored his first USAC Silver Crown National Championship win of the season at an event he’s longed to win throughout the past decade of trying.

The 2020 USAC Silver Crown driving champion had made seven previous Ted Horn 100 starts, finishing a best of second back in 2019. On this day, he was nearly perfect, leading all but the first lap in the 100-miler as he controlled the final 99 trips around the legendary Magic Mile in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Nick Bohanon LLC/DRC/Foxco Chevy.

Grant also broke his 18-race string without a USAC Silver Crown win – which dated back to the 2022 season opener at the Terre Haute Action track – with his fifth career series win, tying him with Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Shane Cockrum, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser and Larry Rice for 26th on the all-time list.

After winning his first career Ted Horn 100 pole position, Grant proceeded to become the first driver to win the race from the first starting spot since Shane Cottle did the deed in 2007.

But more than anything, Grant is currently on one of the hottest streaks of his racing career after a down-and-out rough patch during the summer months. Last week, he reeled off three consecutive USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victories in a three-night span at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, and in his first race since, he notched a Silver Crown win at the Du Quoin Mile.

“I’m super fortunate here lately,” Grant stated. “Everything I get in is an absolute rocket ship and I’m just having a ton of fun. Things are awesome right now and I’m just super, super fortunate for everybody who’s behind me and the racecars that I get to sit in.”

Grant spent much of the first couple laps side-by-side with outside front row starter C.J. Leary, and it was Leary who got around Grant on the outside line to lead lap one by a car length at the line. Grant swiped the lead back away from Leary on lap two as he raced by on the inside to beat Leary to the bottom rail in in turn three, which was an imperative aspect for Grant to establish early in the going.

“It wasn’t easy to pass, I don’t think, just because the straightaways were so dirty and kind of narrow,” Grant said. “I felt like I pushed pretty hard the first couple of laps to get back around C.J. because I wanted to be on the point of this deal and make them try to get by me. It just didn’t lend itself to a lot of options and a guy was going to have to make a mistake, but when you’re racing with these guys, they’re so good, mistakes are pretty few and far between.”

Davey Ray was on the move early from his third starting position, moving to second on the entry to turn one on lap nine when he glanced his left front tire off the inside guardrail, which ricocheted him right into Leary. As the two bounced off each other while sliding up the track, Leary fought to regain control while Ray scooted off into the runner-up spot.

Ray made a bid for the lead on lap 32 but didn’t reap the rewards as he slid high in between turns two and three, opening the door for Leary to drive back under and reassume the second position. Kody Swanson tried a similar maneuver on lap 48 as he slid across the nose of Ray for third in turn three, but instead, drifted wide and opened up a gap for Shane Cockrum to zip by to take over fourth as Swanson fell back to fifth.

Ray ultimately got loose at the exit of turn four on lap 53 after sliding a bit too far sideways. In response, Cockrum capitalized on the situation by driving under Ray for third and brought Swanson in tow to fourth as Ray slipped back to fifth just past the halfway mark.

One of the positive comeback stories during the middle portion of the race was that of Casey Buckman who spun in turn two on the opening lap but restarted at the tail and drove from 29th spot up to ninth by lap 63 when he spun and collected the outside turn three wall, ending a valiant effort. Under the subsequent yellow, sixth running Ray pulled off as smoke began to surface from the Cornell Racing Stables No. 8.

In the following days after the Springfield round two weeks ago, Shane Cockrum didn’t know if he would even have a ride for Du Quoin after the engine blew on his BLS Motorsports No. 71. Stepping into Hans Lein’s No. 97 as a substitute wheelman for the recovering Mitchel Moles, Cockrum shot up to second as he flew around the outside of Leary on the front straight on lap 68 and steadily closed right to the rear bumper of race leader Grant.

Grant staved off the pressure from Cockrum for the time being until ninth running Chase Stockon slowed dramatically on lap 82 with a flat right rear tire to bring out the caution. Leary took advantage of the ensuing restart and slipped back to second under Cockrum in turn one while Swanson followed him to third.

On the other end, Grant nearly met an unkind fate as he slid high, kicking up a cloud of dust as he fought to regain control in between turns three and four. However, he calmly pointed the nose back to the bottom rail to get back in the groove without harm and without foul back in the lead ahead of Leary.

“There on the restarts, when you get running and the tires are hot, the track would get hot and cleaned up. You can kind of move around a little bit,” Grant explained. “On the restarts, if you weren’t right on the rail, it was really slick, and I went smoking down in there and I thought was okay. When I went through one and two, I felt pretty stuck, and I hustled down into three and four, and I was like, ‘oh, way too soon for that, sliding across there.’”

With three laps remaining, Leary was able to slightly cut into Grant's lead, knocking off a couple tenths from the margin down to 0.6 sec. Nevertheless, he was unable to get any closer than that as Grant remained steady and in complete control as he finished off his second win on a dirt mile in the state of Illinois, but his first on the Du Quoin Mile.

Grant’s margin of victory was 0.999 sec. over Leary with Swanson third, Cockrum fourth and Seavey fifth.

Like Grant, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was keen on winning his first one at the Du Quoin mile aboard his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Lucas Oil Center– Brown & Miller Racing Solutions/Beast/Ford. But for Leary, on the line was a first dirt mile victory of any kind. Leary estimated he had a couple shots, but in the end, had to settle for second which not only was his best run of the USAC Silver Crown season, but it was also his best career Ted Horn 100 finish, besting his fourth place performance in 2017.

“We’ve had some bad luck and we’ve had some things that were probably a little bit of our own fault,” Leary said of the team’s struggles this season. “Overall, we’ve had a really good car. I feel like we’ve been in contention to win a bunch of them, but just haven’t been able to win any of them. It’s frustrating, but I knew we had a good car and Justin had a good car also and he might’ve been a little bit better than us. I had maybe one or two shots at him in three and four, but he just might’ve overdriven it a little bit. The last 15 to 20 laps are like qualifying runs and I was running for all we had, and I know Justin was too. I was pushing him and trying to force a mistake out of him but there was no mistake out of Justin. Hats off to him and his team. I know they’ve been on a rough road like we have, but I’m super happy and it’s going to make for a good drive home.”

Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) battled a vibration issue early on and started back in eighth before driving his Doran-Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Glenn Farms/Maxim/Lanci Ford up to a solid third place result at Du Quoin. With Logan Seavey's fifth place run, that put Swanson just one point out of the USAC Silver Crown point lead with only two races remaining on the season. But that’s not what he’s here for.

“I’m not here to race for points,” Swanson revealed. “We’re here to try and win races and these guys prepare to try and win them. I just didn’t get it done today, but as far as weighing risk vs. reward, it’s all reward and it’s all upside to go for it and try to win the race. I made a mistake when I got inside of Davey (Ray) and couldn’t stick the bottom. He got back by, and Shane got there with him. I felt like I was just one mistake behind. Luckily, we were able to race our way back through, but we were just not fast enough to chase down Justin and C.J. there. They did a great job, and you never want to be happy with third but I’m thankful for the effort and the run we had.”

Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) posted the biggest charge of the USAC Silver Crown season in his first ever start at Du Quoin. Following a broken rocker arm in practice, the Two C Racing team swapped out the engine and missed qualifying entirely, which put the Silver Crown “Rookie” near the tail of the field where he promptly and officially advanced 18 positions, starting 26th on the grid and finishing 8th.

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

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 2, 2023 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Ted Horn 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza

HONEST ABE ROOFING/SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SPORTS PRODUCTIONS QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-31.870; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-32.437; 3. Davey Ray, 8, Cornell-32.446; 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 24, Haggenbottom-32.640; 5. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-32.641; 6. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-32.802; 7. Shane Cottle, 9, Dyson-32.822; 8. Kody Swanson, 177, Doran/Binks-32.892; 9. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-32.909; 10. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-32.950; 11. Shane Cockrum, 97, Lein-33.001; 12. Emerson Axsom, 20, Nolen-33.035; 13. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-33.146; 14. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-33.162; 15. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-33.181; 16. Patrick Bruns, 95, Full Throttle-33.181; 17. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-33.476; 18. Casey Buckman, 25, C-Buck/Sachs-33.654; 19. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-33.896; 20. Ryan Thomas, 118, Wingo-33.909; 21. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-33.994; 22. A.J. Fike, 53, FTM-34.039; 23. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-34.206; 24. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-34.348; 25. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-35.277; 26. Danny Long, 44, Long-36.307; 27. John Tosti, 07, Tosti-37.418; 28. Tim Simmons, 3, Simmons-37.908; 29. Cary Oliver, 110, Oliver-NT; 30. Dave Peperak, 777, Peperak-NT; 31. Matt Westfall, 81, BCR-NT; 32. Wayne Johnson, 12, Two C-NT; 33. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-NT; 34. Trey Osborne, 88, Fetter-NT; 35. Jacob Wilson, 107, WBR-NT.

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). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 C.J. Leary, Laps 2-100 Justin Grant.

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

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

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

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Shane Cottle (30.287)

Honest Abe Roofing / Southern Illinois Sports Productions Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant (31.870)

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: C.J. Leary

Hard Charger: Wayne Johnson (26th to 8th)


 


TED HORN TALK:
6 STORYLINES FOR SATURDAY’S USAC RACE 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-voyage 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 69th running this Saturday, September 2, during the daylight hours of the early morning and afternoon, which is nice.

Let’s celebrate with six of the key champ car storylines you should be watching this Saturday at Du Quoin.

LOGAN LEADING, KODY CHASING

With three races remaining in the USAC Silver Crown season, the championship race is tight between Logan Seavey and Kody Swanson.

If you think you’ve seen this before, you have. It’s this generation’s version of The Gary & Larry Show featuring Gary Bettenhausen and Larry Dickson as they both swapped feature wins and championships back-and-forth, to-and-fro between 1968-71.

However, Seavey has yet to kick down the door with Swanson scoring the 2021-22 titles in a fashion that came down to the final event. In fact, over the past three seasons between 2021-23, Seavey and Swanson have run 1-2 in the point standings for 22 out of the 29 events held in that time frame.

Entering Du Quoin, Seavey holds the upper hand by just seven points as he moves right into his wheelhouse on the dirt where he has finished second and first over the past two seasons in 2021-22 at Du Quoin while Swanson is a two-time winner of the event in 2010 and 2017.

SEAVEY – A MONSTER ON THE DIRT

Logan Seavey seemingly holds the key to the dirt tracks of late on the USAC Silver Crown trail. He’s now won five of the last seven in that stretch, including the last two, and hasn’t finished outside the top-five in his last 12 appearances dating back to 2021.

He already won on the other Illinois dirt mile in Springfield just a couple weeks ago and now aims to become one of the very few to sweep both Springfield and Du Quoin champ car races in the same year.

That’s a list of drivers that includes 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).

Showing his versatility, Seavey is one of only three drivers to win both a stock car and champ car race at Du Quoin, scoring an ARCA stock car victory in 2018 and a USAC Silver Crown triumph in 2022. Jimmy Bryan and A.J. Foyt are the only others. Pretty good company to keep.

SEVEN HORN WINNERS ON HAND

Seven 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 Logan Seavey leads the cast of 36 USAC Silver Crown entries this weekend at the one-mile dirt oval. Seavey’s main nemesis in the championship fight is Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), a two-time winner of the event in 2010 and 2017, the first of which was his first career USAC Silver Crown victory.

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 22 Ted Horn 100 starts dating back to 1989.

Kansas, Illinois’ Shane Cottle (2007), Elkhart, Illinois’ Chris Urish (2013) and Crawfordsville, Indiana’s Jacob Wilson (2019) have all scored on the Du Quoin Mile as well.

Interestingly, for six of the seven past winners in Saturday’s field (all but Seavey), their Du Quoin win also marked their first career USAC Silver Crown victory. That includes Swanson, Cockrum, Gamester, Cottle, Urish and Wilson who all hold The Magic Mile near and dear to their hearts.

A LEIN MACHINE FOR COCKRUM

It was just a short while ago that Shane Cockrum thought he might not even have a ride for the Du Quoin race this year after the engine blew on his BLS Motorsports No. 71 during practice a couple weeks ago at the Springfield Mile.

Due to a recent racing accident, Mitchel Moles is sidelined for a bit from the Hans Lein-owned No. 97. The first call the team made to fill in for Moles was to Cockrum, who is undoubtedly one of the most popular winners ever at Du Quoin.

Hailing from nearby Benton, Ill., about 15 minutes away, Cockrum received a raucous response following back-to-back Ted Horn 100 wins in front of the home crowd in 2014-15.

Entering Saturday, Cockrum owns an incredible run of consistency, having finished inside the top-five in all eight of his Du Quoin Silver Crown starts since 2013 with wins in 2014-15, a 2nd in 2017 & 2022, a 3rd in 2018, a 4th in 2013 and a 5th in 2016 and 2021.

His 2022 Du Quoin run included his first career Silver Crown pole award, and ended in a heartbreaking manner, running out of fuel while leading on lap 86. After fueling up, he recovered to finish as the runner-up. Not only is he fortunate to have a ride for Saturday’s race, he also has a bit of a score to settle after last year’s sorrowful ending.

COTTLE (AND PEPPERIDGE FARMS) REMEMBERS

Like Cockrum, the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds are a bit of a happy place for Shane Cottle.

Cottle and his family regularly made the trip down to southern Illinois when he was a kid to catch both the USAC Silver Crown and ARCA Stock Car races. In fact, one of his earliest racing memories involves watching Jack Hewitt charge from 18th to win the champ car race at Du Quoin back in 1987.

In 2007, Du Quoin became even more special to Cottle when he captured the pole and raced to his first career USAC Silver Crown victory on the same night aboard Larry Contos’ Hat World machine.

Two weeks ago at Springfield, Cottle nearly picked up his second career dirt mile Silver Crown victory when he stepped into Chris Dyson Racing’s No. 9 for the first time and promptly led 47 laps with a spectacular drive.

The lead and the race win slipped through Cottle’s fingers on a restart with 13 laps remaining as Seavey drove around the outside of him in turn one, relegating Cottle back to second. All in all it was a great day, but it was also one that could’ve been way sweeter for the veteran driver who was visibly stung by the result.

But here lies another opportunity for Cottle to find not only redemption, but also another special win in his home state.

THE YEAR OF THE ROOKIE AT Du QUOIN?

Interestingly, 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, among them being Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), all of whom are USAC National winners.

Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) earned the first ever top-five finish by a woman in USAC Silver Crown history at Du Quoin in 2013. This will be her first series start at the track since that day.

Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), fourth in USAC Silver Crown points, is on-board for his Du Quoin debut as is top Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), USAC National Sprint Car and Midget winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and 360 Sprint Car legend Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.), all of whom are highly capable of becoming number 15.

RACE DETAILS:

The 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 29th 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.

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

2023 TED HORN 100 ENTRY LIST:

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

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

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

3 ®TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)

9 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing)

11 ®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

12 ®WAYNE JOHNSON/Tuttle, OK (Two C Racing)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

20 ®EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)

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

24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)

25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports-Eddie Sachs Jr.)

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

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports)

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

77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)

81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)

88 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)

97 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

107 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)

110 ®CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

118 ®RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing)

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

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

777 ®DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

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

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

2023 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:
Most Wins: 3-Kody Swanson
Driver Point Leader: Logan Seavey
Entrant Point Leader: Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22
Leading Rookie Driver in Points: Kaylee Bryson (5th)
Most Laps Led: 410-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Fives: 7-Logan Seavey
Most Top-Tens: 7-Logan Seavey
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Kody Swanson
Best Finish By A Rookie: Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Chase Dietz (2nd)
Most Feature Starts: 8-Kaylee Bryson, Trey Burke, Mario Clouser, Taylor Ferns, Logan Seavey, Kody Swanson, Travis Welpott & Matt Westfall
Most Positions Advanced in a Race: May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bryan Gossel (27th to 11th)

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2023 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
May 20: (D) Belleville High Banks - Belleville, KS
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
May 26: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - Brownsburg, IN
WINNER: Bobby Santos (DJ Racing #98)
Jun 17: (D) Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22)
Jun 23: (P) Madison International Speedway - Oregon, WI
WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran-Binks Racing #77)
Jul 20: (P) Winchester Speedway - Winchester, IN
WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran-Binks Racing #77)
Aug 5: (P) Toledo Speedway - Toledo, OH
WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran-Binks Racing #77)
Aug 19: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds - Springfield, IL
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing #22)
Aug 27: (P#) World Wide Technology Raceway - Madison, IL
WINNER: Davey Hamilton Jr. (Legacy Autosport #19)
Sep 2: (D#) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds - Du Quoin, IL
Sep 22-23: (D) Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH
Oct 14: (P) Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - Brownsburg, IN
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(D) represents a dirt event
(P) represents a pavement event
# represents a daytime event

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

2023 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 490 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
2 483 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
3 363 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
4 353 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.
5 344 (R) Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.
6 320 Taylor Ferns, Shelby Township, Mich.
7 315 Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass.
8 305 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio
9 291 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
10 270 Derek Bischak, Angola, Ind.
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

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

2023 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 490 Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#22)
2 483 Doran-Binks Racing, Lebanon, Ohio (#77)
3 363 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91)
4 353 Kazmark Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#92)
5 344 Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#26)
6 343 Legacy Autosport, Pittsboro, Ind. (#19)
7 320 Taylor Ferns Racing, Shelby Township, Mich. (#555)
8 315 DJ Racing, Boca Raton, Fla. (#98)
9 305 BCR Group, South Vienna, Ohio (#81)
10 291 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#6)

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2023 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 344 Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.
2 247 Trey Burke, Alvin, Texas
3 159 Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, Okla.
4 155 Tyler Roahrig, Plymouth, Ind.
5 129 Dakoda Armstrong, New Castle, Ind.
6 113 Chase Dietz, York, Pa.
7 83 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.
8 73 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
9 37 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.
10 37 Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas

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RACE WINS:
3-Kody Swanson (Jun 23 at Madison International Speedway, Jul 20 at Winchester Speedway & Aug 5 at Toledo Speedway)
2-Logan Seavey (Jun 17 at Port Royal Speedway & Aug 19 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds)
1-Brady Bacon (May 20 at the Belleville High Banks)
1-Davey Hamilton Jr. (Aug 27 at World Wide Technology Raceway)
1-Bobby Santos (May 26 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park)

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

LAPS LED:
410-Kody Swanson
84-Logan Seavey
83-C.J. Leary
48-Davey Hamilton Jr.
46-Shane Cottle
31-Bobby Santos
15-Justin Grant
8-Brady Bacon
1-Emerson Axsom

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

TOP-FIVE FINISHES:
7-Logan Seavey
6-Kody Swanson
4-Derek Bischak & Bobby Santos
3-Justin Grant
2-Brady Bacon, Shane Cottle, Davey Hamilton Jr., C.J. Leary & Tyler Roahrig
1-Emerson Axsom, Mario Clouser, Chase Dietz, Taylor Ferns, Carmen Perigo & Chase Stockon

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

TOP-TEN FINISHES:
7-Logan Seavey
6-Mario Clouser & Kody Swanson
5-Kaylee Bryson & Justin Grant
4-Derek Bischak & Bobby Santos
3-Dakoda Armstrong, Shane Cottle, Taylor Ferns, C.J. Leary & Kyle O’Gara
2-Brady Bacon, Trey Burke, Chase Dietz, Russ Gamester, Davey Hamilton Jr., Tyler Roahrig & Matt Westfall
1-Caleb Armstrong, Emerson Axsom, Nathan Byrd, Shane Cockrum, Jerry Coons Jr., Wayne Johnson, Mike McVetta, Carmen Perigo, Davey Ray, Chase Stockon, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Billy Wease & Jacob Wilson

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

FEATURE STARTS:
8-Kaylee Bryson, Trey Burke, Mario Clouser, Taylor Ferns, Logan Seavey, Kody Swanson, Travis Welpott & Matt Westfall
7-Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
6-Dave Berkheimer
5-Derek Bischak, Gregg Cory, Russ Gamester & Wayne Johnson Mike McVetta, Kyle O'Gara & Bobby Santos
4-Nathan Byrd, Bryan Gossel, Davey Hamilton Jr., Tom Paterson & Billy Wease
3-Dakoda Armstrong, Shane Cottle, Mitchel Moles, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Robbins, Kyle Steffens & Chase Stockon
2-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Patrick Bruns, Casey Buckman, Shane Cockrum, Jerry Coons Jr., Chase Dietz, Chris Fetter, Patrick Lawson, Carmen Perigo, Aaron Pierce, Jake Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Caleb Armstrong, Mark Bitner, Alex Bright, Steve Buckwalter, Matt Goodnight, Danny Long, Nathan Moore, Davey Ray, Steven Russell, Mark Smith, Tanner Swanson, Ryan Thomas, Chris Urish, Korey Weyant, Jacob Wilson & Brent Yarnal

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

HONEST ABE ROOFING FAST QUALIFIERS BY RACE:
May 20: Belleville High Banks – Kody Swanson
May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bobby Santos
Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Mitchel Moles
Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kody Swanson
Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kody Swanson
Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kody Swanson
Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey
Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Kody Swanson

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

HONEST ABE ROOFING FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
5-Kody Swanson
1-Mitchel Moles, Bobby Santos & Logan Seavey

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TOP ROOKIE FINISHER OF THE RACE:
May 20: Belleville High Banks – Kaylee Bryson (8th)
May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Tyler Roahrig (3rd)
Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Chase Dietz (2nd)
Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Tyler Roahrig (3rd)
Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (7th)
Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (6th)
Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Emerson Axsom (5th)
Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Trey Burke (6th)

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HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE:
May 20: Belleville High Banks – Chase Stockon (13th to 3rd)
May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bryan Gossel (27th to 11th)
Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Steve Buckwalter (20th to 14th)
Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (15th to 8th)
Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kaylee Bryson (13th to 7th)
Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Taylor Ferns (17th to 8th)
Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Taylor Ferns (26th to 12th)
Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Justin Grant (9th to 3rd)

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DIRT DRAFT FASTEST PRACTICE DRIVER
May 20: Belleville High Banks – Brady Bacon
May 26: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park – Bobby Santos
Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Kody Swanson
Jun 23: Madison International Speedway – Kody Swanson
Jul 20: Winchester Speedway – Kody Swanson
Aug 5: Toledo Speedway – Kody Swanson
Aug 19: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Justin Grant
Aug 27: World Wide Technology Raceway – Kody Swanson

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

ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STATS

ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:
1. [40 wins] Kody Swanson
2. [23 wins] Jack Hewitt
3. [18 wins] Brian Tyler
4. [16 wins] Dave Steele
5. [15 wins] J.J. Yeley
6. [14 wins] Dave Darland & Chuck Gurney
8. [12 wins] Bobby Santos & Jimmy Sills
10. [11 wins] Bobby East
11. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Mike Bliss
13. [9 wins] Tracy Hines & Tanner Swanson
15. [8 wins] Chris Windom
16. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood, Logan Seavey & George Snider
20. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader & Al Unser
26. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Shane Cockrum, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser & Larry Rice
35. [4 wins] Justin Grant, Kyle Larson, Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler
39. [3 wins] Brady Bacon, Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, C.J. Leary, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker & Paul White
56. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Larry Dickson, Billy Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Whitt, Josh Wise & Doug Wolfgang
70. [1 win] Teddy Beach, Christopher Bell, Jeff Bloom, David Byrne, Marvin Carman, Shane Carson, Bob Cicconi, Herb Copeland, Bruce Field, Aaron Fike, Chet Fillip, Bob Frey, Eric Gordon, Davey Hamilton Jr., Kyle Hamilton, John Heydenreich, Gary Hieber, Shane Hmiel, Shane Hollingsworth, Jimmy Horton, Jackie Howerton, Kevin Huntley, Kenny Jacobs, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Jimmy Kite, Chuck Leary, Eddie Leavitt, Jason McCord, Jim McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Mat Neely, Brad Noffsinger, Stevie Reeves, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Danny Smith, Kevin Thomas, Rich Tobias Jr., Chris Urish, Billy Vukovich & Jacob Wilson

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

ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
46-Kody Swanson
21-Jimmy Sills
19-Dave Steele
17-Tracy Hines
14-Jerry Coons Jr.
13-J.J. Yeley
10-Bobby East & Rich Vogler
9-Chuck Gurney & Jason Leffler
8-Dave Darland, Russ Gamester, Levi Jones, Johnny Parsons & Tanner Swanson
7-Tom Bigelow, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary & Josh Wise
6-Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Chassey, Jack Hewitt & Larry Rice
5-Kenny Irwin Jr., Aaron Pierce, Bobby Santos, Jeff Swindell & Al Unser
4-Donnie Beechler, Bryan Clauson, Tyler Courtney, Larry Dickson, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Rick Hood, Jim Keeker, Sheldon Kinser, Kyle Larson, Brad Noffsinger, Joe Saldana, George Snider, Brian Tyler & Greg Weld
3-Mario Andretti, Mike Bliss, Steve Butler, Pancho Carter, Shane Cottle, Robby Flock, Shane Hmiel, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader & Ron Shuman
2-Dave Blaney, Ed Carpenter, Dane Carter, A.J. Fike, Shane Hollingsworth, Bud Kaeding, Steve Kinser, Lee Kunzman, Chuck Leary, Jon Stanbrough, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tyler Walker, Jacob Wilson & Chris Windom
1-Mark Alderson, Brady Bacon, Teddy Beach, Christopher Bell, Bob Cicconi, Shane Cockrum, Derek Davidson, Cameron Dodson, Pablo Donoso, Thad Dosher, Paul Durant, Bob Ewell, Chet Fillip, Stan Fox, Damion Gardner, Gene Lee Gibson, Eric Gordon, Jeff Gordon, Davey Hamilton, Jac Haudenschild, John Heydenreich, Gary Hieber, Tray House, Jackie Howerton, Kenny Jacobs, Jon Johnson, Bubby Jones, P.J. Jones, Kasey Kahne, Keith Kauffman, Steve Kent, Arnie Knepper, Michael Lewis, Jason McDougal, Lealand McSpadden, Warren Mockler, Mitchel Moles, Mat Neely, Roger Rager, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Bill Rose, Logan Seavey, Randy Tolsma, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Doug Wolfgang

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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT RACE WINS:
1. [3 wins] Jack Hewitt
2. [2 wins] Rick Hood
3. [1 win] George Snider, Kody Swanson, Rich Vogler & Billy Vukovich

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

ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
1971: George Snider, 1972: A.J. Foyt, 1973: Al Unser, 1974: Mario Andretti, 1975: Jimmy Caruthers, 1976: Billy Cassella, 1977: Larry Rice, 1978: Pancho Carter, 1979: Bobby Olivero, 1980: Gary Bettenhausen, 1981: Larry Rice, 1982: Ken Schrader, 1983: Gary Bettenhausen, 1984: Dave Blaney, 1985: Rick Hood, 1986: Jack Hewitt, 1987: Jack Hewitt, 1988: Steve Butler, 1989: Chuck Gurney, 1990: Jimmy Sills, 1991: Jeff Gordon, 1992: Steve Butler, 1993: Mike Bliss, 1994: Jimmy Sills, 1995: Tony Stewart, 1996: Jimmy Sills, 1997: Dave Darland, 1998: Jason Leffler, 1999: Ryan Newman, 2000: Tracy Hines, 2001: Paul White, 2002: J.J. Yeley, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Dave Steele, 2005: Dave Steele, 2006: Bud Kaeding, 2007: Bud Kaeding, 2008: Jerry Coons Jr., 2009: Bud Kaeding, 2010: Levi Jones, 2011: Levi Jones, 2012: Bobby East, 2013: Bobby East, 2014: Kody Swanson, 2015: Kody Swanson, 2016: Chris Windom, 2017: Kody Swanson, 2018: Kody Swanson, 2019: Kody Swanson, 2020: Justin Grant, 2021: Kody Swanson, 2022: Kody Swanson

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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:
1971: Leader Card Racers, 1972: A.J. Foyt Enterprises, 1973: Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, 1974: Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, 1975: George Middleton, 1976: Louie Seymour & Sons, 1977: Dave LeFevre, 1978: Johnny Capels, 1979: Leader Card Racers, 1980: Delrose-Holt Racing, 1981: Johnny Vance, 1982: Steve Enslow, 1983: Delrose-Holt Racing, 1984: Ralph & Jim DePalma, 1985: Damon Fortune, 1986: Bob Hampshire, 1987: Bob Hampshire, 1988: Kenneth Jarrett Farms, 1989: Junior Kurtz, 1990: Bob Consani, 1991: Fred Ede, 1992: Kenneth Jarrett Farms, 1993: Del McClure, 1994: Gary Stanton, 1995: Glen Niebel, 1996: Stanton Racing, 1997: Foxco, Inc., 1998: Goetz Racing, 1999: Snider-Foyt Racing, 2000: Terry Riggs, 2001: Paul Cook Racing, 2002: East-Stewart Racing, 2003: East-Stewart Racing, 2004: East-Stewart Racing, 2005: East-Stewart Racing, 2006: Leffler-BK Racing, 2007: BK Racing, 2008: RW Motorsports, 2009: BK Motorsports, 2010: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2011: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2012: RW Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2013: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, 2014: DePalma Motorsports, 2015: DePalma Motorsports, 2016: DePalma Motorsports, 2017: DePalma Motorsports, 2018: DePalma Motorsports, 2019: Klatt Enterprises, 2020: Hemelgarn Racing, 2021: Rice Motorsports, 2022: Doran-Dyson Racing

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

ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:
1981: Jack Hewitt, 1982: Keith Kauffman, 1983: Rick Hood, 1984: Dave Blaney, 1985: Steve Butler, 1986: Kenny Jacobs, 1987: Jeff Swindell, 1988: Gene Lee Gibson, 1989: Jimmy Sills, 1990: Eric Gordon, 1991: Stevie Reeves, 1992: Jim Keeker, 1993: Randy Tolsma, 1994: Kenny Irwin Jr., 1995: Chuck Leary: 1996: Ryan Newman, 1997: Jimmy Kite, 1998: Todd Kane, 1999: Paul White, 2000: Kasey Kahne, 2001: Aaron Fike, 2002: Matt Westfall, 2003: Ron Gregory, 2004: Aaron Pierce, 2005: Josh Wise, 2006: Mat Neely, 2007: Cameron Dodson, 2008: Steve Arpin, 2009: Kody Swanson, 2010: Bryan Clauson, 2011: Kyle Larson, 2012: Kyle Hamilton, 2013: Chris Windom, 2014: Caleb Armstrong, 2015: C.J. Leary, 2016: Casey Shuman, 2017: Joss Moffatt, 2018: Kyle Robbins, 2019: Derek Bischak, 2020: Bryan Gossel, 2021: Logan Seavey, 2022: Gregg Cory

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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:
212-Brian Tyler
210-Russ Gamester
201-Dave Darland
182-Jerry Coons Jr.
172-Tracy Hines
163-Jack Hewitt
153-Eric Gordon
151-Johnny Parsons
147-Tony Elliott
136-Kody Swanson
129-George Snider
125-Gary Hieber
115-Chuck Gurney
113-Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills
111-Dave Steele
110-John Heydenreich
106-Aaron Pierce
104-A.J. Fike
100-Larry Rice
94-Jay Drake & Paul White
91-J.J. Yeley
90-Tom Bigelow
88-Mark Alderson
84-Jason McCord
83-Gary Bettenhausen
81-Justin Grant
79-Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones
78-Chris Windom
77-Rich Vogler
76-Larry Dickson
75-Ryan Newman
74-Steve Chassey & Shane Cottle
73-Rich Tobias Jr.
72-Bobby East & Bobby Santos
71-David Byrne, Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser
70-Steve Butler
68-Billy Engelhart
67-Joe Saldana
66-Brad Noffsinger
65-Jerry Nemire
62-Ron Shuman
60-Randy Bateman, Austin Nemire, Wally Pankratz & Bill Rose
58-Rick Hood
56-C.J. Leary
55-Gary Irvin & Jacob Wilson
54-Tom Capie & Shane Hollingsworth
53-Shane Cockrum, Chet Fillip & Jason Leffler
52-Patrick Lawson & Wayne Reutimann Jr.
49-Tony Stewart & Matt Westfall
48-Mike Bliss, Kyle Robbins & Ken Schrader
47-Bob Cicconi
46-Jim Keeker, Tanner Swanson, Billy Vukovich, Bentley Warren & Travis Welpott
45-Derek Davidson & Jeff Swindell
43-Kenny Irwin Jr. & Tyler Walker
42-Dane Carter, Matt Goodnight & Jon Stanbrough
41-Danny Milburn
40-Aaron Fike, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler & Chip Thomas
39-Tray House, Jim McElreath & Chris Urish
38-Dave Berkheimer, Chuck Leary & Bobby Olivero
37-Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh Jr. & Roger Rager
36-Brady Bacon, Ed Carpenter & Ron Dunstan
35-Mike Haggenbottom
34-Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas
33-Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite & Josh Wise
32-Brent Kaeding & Logan Seavey
31-Terry Babb, Steve Cannon, Ron Gregory, Arnie Knepper, Jim Mahoney, Mat Neely & Stevie Reeves
30-Tim Barber, Teddy Beach, Jeff Bloom, Zach Daum, Stan Fox, Manny Rockhold & Jerry Russell
29-Rocky Hodges & Michael Lewis
28-Dave Blaney & Bill Puterbaugh
27-Brad Armstrong, Steve Buckwalter, Bryan Clauson & Taylor Ferns
26-Dan Drinan, Joe Liguori & Davey Ray
25-Kasey Kahne, Nick Lundgreen & Jerry Miller
24-Pat Abold, Derek Hagar & Kenny Jacobs
23-Cameron Dodson
22-Derek Bischak, Billy Cassella, Kevin Doty & Bob Frey
21-Kyle Hamilton & Walt Kennedy
20-Bill Baue, Dave Feese, Chris Fetter, John Starks & Randy Tolsma
19-Bruce Field, Brian Gerster, Gene Lee Gibson, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden, Casey Shuman & Kevin Thomas Jr.
18-Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Tyler Courtney, Bryan Gossel, Mike Murgoitio, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard
17-Patrick Bruns, Jimmy Caruthers, A.J. Foyt, Sammy Sessions, Kyle Steffens, Billy Wease & Kramer Williamson
16-Robert Ballou, Pablo Donoso & Kyle O’Gara
15-Paul Clark, Gregg Cory, P.J. Jones, Jake Swanson & Bruce Walkup
14-Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Casey Buckman, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Davey Hamilton Jr., Dallas Hewitt, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Carmen Perigo, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
13-Nathan Byrd, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Mario Clouser, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Danny Long, Mike McVetta, Andy Michner, Brian Paulus, Rodney Weesner & Bud Wilmot
12-Kaylee Bryson, Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, Jason McDougal, Billy Pauch, Ricky Shelton & Bill Tyler
11-Mario Andretti, J.C. Bland, Justin Carver, Hud Cone, Craig Dori, Dickie Gaines, David Gough, Terry James, Steve Kinser, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, Kyle Larson, James McElreath, Bobby McMahan, Joey Moughan, Rex Norris III, Tom Paterson, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Chase Stockon, Greg Weld & Greg Wilson
10-Caleb Armstrong, Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Mark Smith, Robert Smith & Robbie Stanley
9-Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Toni Breidinger, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Wayne Hammond, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson Jr., Chappy Knaack, Eddie Leavitt, Larry Martin, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle & Johnny Rutherford
8-Jim Anderson, Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Trey Burke, Cole Carter, Mel Cornett, Chris Cumberworth, Doug Didero, Paul Durant, Ray Joe Fager, Larry Gates, Ken Hamilton, Darl Harrison, Roy Hicks, Rod Holshouser, Dakota Jackson, Mike Johnson, Frankie Kerr, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steven Russell, Steve Siegel, Ryan Smith, Sammy Swindell, Rick Treadway, Lennie Waldo, Korey Weyant, Carl Williams & Doug Wolfgang
7-John Andretti, Eric Butze, Rob Chaney, Lou Cicconi Jr., Chris Dyson, Bob East, Perry Ferrell, Nick Fornoro Jr., Joe Gaerte, Cody Gallogly, Damion Gardner, Cody Gerhardt, Brian Hayden, Jesse Hockett, Blake Hollingsworth, Tony Hunt, Paul Huntington, Chad Kemenah, Paul Koch, Jimmy Light, Joe McCarthy, Thiago Medeiros, Austin Mundie, Michael Roselli Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Alex Shanks, Pete Shepherd III, Mike Thomas, Billy Whitaker & Mitch Wissmiller
6-Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Annie Breidinger, Mike Brooks, Bill Burks Jr., Kellen Conover, Palmer Crowell, Jake Day, Ryan Durst, Bob Ewell, Spike Gehlhausen, Kenny Gentry, Darren Hagen, Tom Hessert III, Larry Hoppes, John Hubbard, Marc Jessup, Doug Kalitta, Kevin Koch, Bill Kojis, Mike Lichty, Jeff Mitrisin, Don Nordhorn, Tyler Roahrig, Brian Seidel, Jake Simmons, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad
5-Sport Allen, Todd Beach, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Shane Carson, Mark Cassella, Kyle Cummins, John Hunt, Wayne Johnson, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Kevin Olson, Chris Phillips, Brian Ruhlman, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Red Stauffer, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams
4-Dakoda Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, Emerson Axsom, John Batts Jr., Mike Brecht, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Herb Copeland, Casey Diemert, Lee Dunn, Danny Ebberts, Murray Erickson, Ray Evans, Scott Hansen, Don Hawley, Steve Kent, Dereck King, Steve Knepper, Mike Larrison, Mike Ling, Bobby Marcum, Von McGee, Wes Miller, David Mirk, Nathan Moore, Dave Peperak, Rodney Ritter Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Tim Siner, Billy Vukovich III, Clark Templeman, Kevin Whitesides, Leon Thickstun, Miranda Throckmorton & Ronnie Wuerdeman
3-Steve Adams, Johnny Anderson, Ed Angle, Robin Bank, Justin Barger, John Barrick, Kipp Beard, Doug Berryman, Merle Bettenhausen, Art Bisch Jr., Kevin Bloomstran, Lee Brewer Jr., Rick Brown, Dave Burns, Gary Cameron II, Keith Campbell, Marvin Carman, Roy Caruthers, Wayne Chinn, Bill Compton, Tim Cox, Erin Crocker, Troy DeCaire, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, Nick Hamilton, Darryl Haugh, Kelly Kinser, Lance Kobusch, Red Kunstbeck, Ricky Logan, Steve Long, Jim Malloy, Mike Martin, Zach Martini, Bob Meli, Mitchel Moles, Larry Moore, Ryan Moore, Mike Mosley Jr., Mike Ordway, Gary Patterson, Gary Ponzini, Rusty Rasmussen, Wayne Reutimann, Robbie Rice, Travis Rilat, A.J. Russell, Zach Schiff, Frankie Schneider, Ryan Scott, Terry Shepherd, Ron Smoker, Kevin Studley, Brad Sweet, Buz Tapply, Cale Thomas, Dick Tobias, Rick Ungar, Tony Weyant, George White, Jim Whiteside, Greg Wooley & Brent Yarnal
2-Mike Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Nick Bilbee, Dean Billings, Mark Bitner, Austin Blair, Dan Boorse, Ken Brewer, Shane Butler, Steve Carithers, Tim Clark, Jason Conn, Stan Constant, Johnny Coogan, Frank D’Alonso, Daryl Daugherty, Tom Davies, Charles Davis Jr., James Davison, Greg DeCaires, Duke DeRosa, Chase Dietz, Scott Edmiston, Dean Erfurth, Jay Ervine, Mike Fedorcak, Billy Felts, A.J. Foyt IV, Stewart Friesen, Greg Furlong, Leon Gentry, Mike Gigot, Joe Gosek, Rick Goudy, Chuck Gurney Jr., Randy Hannagan, Scott Hatton, Jon Herb, Jordan Hermansader, Sparky Howard, Bill Hudson, Bruce Jennings, Jerry Karl, Kevin Kierce, Mike Lauterborn, Steve Lotshaw, Ed Lynch, Garry Lee Maier, Troy Matchen, Jay Maupin, Randy Mausteller, Van May, Roger McCluskey, Mike McCreary, Frank McDaniel, Lyn McIntosh, Dustin Morgan, Aaron Mosley, Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, Cary Oliver, Lynn Paxton, Scott Pierovich, Troy Regier, Rick Salem, Joey Schmidt, Howie Sewell, David Shain, Rick Sipes, Jigger Sirois, Mark Sokola, Randy Standridge, Nelson Stewart, Rodney Stone, Rob Summers, Kevin Swindell, Al Thomas, Troy Thompson, Troy Vaccaro, Butch Wilkerson, Charlie Workman, Salt Walther & Jack Ziegler
1-Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, Alex Bright, Jerry Bruce, Bob Brutto, Will Cagle, Daryl Campbell, Don Carr, Kent Christian, Drew Church, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Kevin Conway, Donnie Crawford, Wally Dallenbach, Bobby Davis Jr., Brad Davis, Bob Davison, Brian DeFord, Terry Doss, Brad Doty, Rodney Duncan, Jesse Dunham, Sondi Eden, Andrew Felker, Elvin Felty, Dan Ford, Michael Ford, Andy Forsberg, Jeff Forshee, Ronnie Franklin, Pete Frazier, Danny Frye Jr., Jeff Galas, Ronnie Gardner, Rickie Gaunt, Cheryl Glass, David Gravel, Gary Griffith, Brett Hearn, Jojo Helberg, Jim Hettinger, Nathan High, Larry Hillerud, Ted Hines, Jimmy Horton, Brian Hosford, Rick Howerton, Steve Irwin, Jim Jackson, Earnest Jennings, Rickey Jennings, Matt Jewell, Chase Johnson, Erik Karlsen, Kraig Kinser, Buddy Kofoid, Dana LaLiberte, Harold Leep, Jeff Leka, Ryan Litt, Ed Lynch Jr., Pepi Marchese, David McCreary, Dave McGough, Paul McMahan, Joe Melnick, Thomas Meseraull, Curt Michael, Tye Mihocko, Jim Mills, Mark Monico, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, Tommy Nichols, Don O’Keefe, Jimmy Parsons, Billy Pauch Jr., Stan Ploski, Art Pollard, Jerry Potter, Richard Powell, Pat Quinn, Ron Rae, Fred Rahmer, Robbie Ray, Byron Reed, David Reutimann, Jim Reynard, Randy Roberts, Joe Roush, John Ryals, Eddie Sachs Jr., Doug Saunier, Bill Schemonia, Shane Scully, Jon Sciscoe, Ron Semelka, Steve Sheppard Jr., Danny Shouse, Grant Simpson, Anthony Simone, Carl Smith, Steve Smith, Mike Spencer, Darren Spiers, Greg Stephens, Robert Stout, Charlie Swartz, Fred Tegarden Jr., Ryan Thomas, Todd Thomas, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad, Eric Todd, Rick Tomasik, Eric Trousdale, LeRoy Van Conett, Kaylene Verville, Todd Wanless, Curt Waters, Jeff West, Brent Whited, Bryan Whited, Eddie Wirth, Kyle Wissmiller, Kent Wolters, Mike Woodring, Ken Woolley & Tiffany Wyzard


HOME SWEET Du QUOIN:
MAGIC MILE MEANS THE WORLD TO COCKRUM

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Du Quoin, Illinois (August 31, 2023)………Following the expiration of his engine two weeks ago during practice at the Springfield Mile, Shane Cockrum felt his chances at even competing in this Saturday’s, September 2, USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds were slim to nil.

But by happenstance due to the misfortune of Mitchel Moles, the Hans Lein ride became available for Cockrum, of nearby Benton, Ill., to drive the car in this Saturday’s 100-mile event at The Magic Mile as he chases a third career Ted Horn 100 victory.

Moles’ recent accident during a sprint car event at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway opened the door for Cockrum to substitute while Moles recovers. Cockrum went from down and out to being dejected to not sure what direction to go to feeling like he now has an opportunity to win that is just as good than it’s been with a team of people and a fast racecar that has been a victor with the series before on a one-mile dirt oval.

“It’s a great opportunity that kind of fell in place at the last minute,” Cockrum acknowledged. “I think the Hans Lein team did a good thing, and I’m glad they care that much about their driver. It’s the right thing for (Moles) to get healthy and it’s cool that his sprint car and Silver Crown owners care enough about him to make sure he’s getting a little bit of rest.”

For Cockrum, missing out on racing at Du Quoin would’ve been just as much, if not more painful, than any loss he’s suffered in a race. After all, the 41-year-old racer was born, raised and still resides about 15 minutes down the road from Du Quoin.

Cockrum’s earliest memories of Du Quoin involved watching Ricky Nix’s No. 43 champ car with the likes of Dave Feese, Bill Rose and Cary Faas behind the wheel. Shane’s father, Cliff, annually presented the trophy to the Ted Horn 100 winner each year in victory lane, and when Johnny Parsons won at Du Quoin in 1992, a 10-year-old Cockrum was standing in the victory lane photos with a big grin on his face.

In fact, the foundation of the Cockrum family and its Du Quoin root dates back way further than that. Cliff Cockrum, a sprint car driving master in his own right, competed with the division on the Du Quoin Mile several times throughout the early 1970s. In fact, as a kid, Cliff and his friend, Ricky Nix, couldn’t afford a ticket to watch the champ car races. So, they did the next best thing. They climbed a tree up in turn four where they stayed for hours and watched the events unfold. Decades later with Shane, the apple didn’t fall far from that turn four tree.

“I’ve been going to Du Quoin since I was just a baby,” Shane noted. “Those were my fondest memories as a child with my parents. There was never even a thought that I’d even have a chance at ever racing at Du Quoin, let alone competing at a high level with the best of USAC there, and certainly not winning.”

Those hard-to-fathom aspirations came true for young Shane when, as a 14-year-old, he began racing UMP Modifieds, and took his first shot at the Du Quoin Mile that same year.

Ultimately, a USAC Silver Crown car was purchased by Hardy Boys Motorsports, and Shane made his Du Quoin Mile debut in a champ car in 2011. He took to it like a duck to water for the most part, and soon after, he was accomplishing something beyond any realm of possibility he could’ve imagined in 2014 by not only winning his first career Silver Crown race, but also winning in front of his home crowd at Du Quoin. The endless celebration was punctuated by an impromptu jump into the infield lake by him and his crew, which as it turned out, was a little bit more than they had bargained for.

“When I jumped in, I fully expected to have to swim,” Shane remembered. “What I didn’t realize was that I was going to come to a stop at about knee deep immediately due to it being that shallow. I also didn’t take into account the sludge and everything else. We all sunk into the mud up to our waist. Then it became, ‘oh crap, are we going to be able to get out of this?’ It suctioned us in there, and I can’t say there wasn’t a moment that I panicked and thought, ‘oh, this was a bad idea.’”

Even more, Cockrum repeated the feat in 2015, and to date, is the most recent driver to win the Ted Horn 100 in back-to-back years. Owning an incredible run of consistency, Cockrum has finished inside the top-five in all eight of his Du Quoin Silver Crown starts since 2013 with wins in 2014-15, a 2nd in 2017 & 2022, a 3rd in 2018, a 4th in 2013 and a 5th in 2016 and 2021.

His 2022 Du Quoin run included his first career Silver Crown pole award, and ended in heartbreaking manner, running out of fuel while leading on lap 86. After fueling up, he recovered to finish as the runner-up.

With the 2022 ordeal behind him, Cockrum is poised to join the ranks of drivers to win in a champ car at Du Quoin at least three times: six-time winner A.J. Foyt, five-time winner Gary Bettenhausen and three-time victors Mario Andretti, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Chuck Gurney and Jack Hewitt. For Cockrum, he feels there’s just a bit of magic when it comes to him and Du Quoin.

“I’ve watched drivers go places with a certain something that they had in them that is beyond just the norm,” Cockrum explained. “It’s where they bring something extra to the table that essentially wills them to the front. And that’s how I feel about Du Quoin. My greatest heroes have accomplished great things there, and certainly, I want to be in that same category. When I roll into those gates, I feel like there’s an extra push and I feel pretty unstoppable. I usually cross my fingers, knowing that I’ll do my job. It’s just a matter of a lot of luck and a good racecar to bring it all together.”

The connection between Shane Cockrum and the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds runs deep – deeper than the connection between practically any racer and any particular track. To paraphrase Al Unser Jr.’s quote after winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1992, you just might hear Shane Cockrum utter similar words this Saturday, “You just don’t know what Du Quoin means.”

“For me, to have that track be the one that’s 15 minutes from home and be one of the most prestigious tracks in America, it’s a story book and I don’t know that I could ask for anymore,” Cockrum beamed. “I’m pretty sure there’ll be one day when the Du Quoin racetrack will have something to do with my ashes being spread or something of that nature because it’s meant that much to me and my life.”

RACE DETAILS:

The 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 29th 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.

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2023 TED HORN 100 ENTRY LIST:
07 ®JOHN TOSTI/High Ridge, MO (John Tosti)
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
3 ®TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)
9 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing)
11 ®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)
12 ®WAYNE JOHNSON/Tuttle, OK (Two C Racing)
15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 ®EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)
24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)
25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports-Eddie Sachs Jr.)
26 ®KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports)
69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)
88 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)
97 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hans Lein)
99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
107 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)
110 ®CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)
111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)
118 ®RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing)
177 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
777 ®DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

 

USAC MIDGETS RETURN TO ANGELL PARK!
6 STORYLINES FOR THE FIREMEN’S NATIONALS SEPT. 3-4

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (August 31, 2023)………The Firemen’s Nationals at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway can boast a list of past winners that includes seven inductees of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

On that same list, you’ll find 11 USAC National champions, and all those individuals happily rank a Firemen’s Nationals victory right near the top of their list of achievements.

A win at the Firemen’s Nationals is also something that this weekend’s winners will certainly put at the top of their list as well when all is said and done on Sunday-Monday, September 3-4.

It’s a Labor Day weekend midget racing tradition dating back to 1982. It’s a legendary race. It’s a legendary place, and now we get to take you through six of the biggest storylines heading into the national holiday weekend.

SEAVEY CHASING AN ALL-TIME USAC RECORD

When has Logan Seavey not been one to watch? The Sutter, Calif. native enters Angell Park on a run of nine consecutive podium (top-three) finishes in USAC National Midget competition.

You’re currently witnessing something that occurs just about once every generation as only two drivers have previously earned 10 straight top-three finishes with the series. The first to do it was Mel Kenyon in 1967. Twenty-eight years later in 1995, Tony Stewart accomplished the same. Now, 28 years later once again, Seavey has an opportunity to tie and surpass the record this weekend at Angell Park.

Since a victory on June 7 at Gas City, Seavey has been remarkably consistent with successive finishes of 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd and 1st, which have pushed him into the point lead by a healthy 136-point margin entering September.

Seavey’s podium streak and following in the footsteps of Kenyon and Stewart in general would certainly pay dividends. After all, both Kenyon and Stewart went on to capture their second career championship in those respective seasons. Seavey, the 2018 titlist, looks to do exactly the same.

RINGIN’ THE ALARM ONCE MORE AT THE FIREMEN’S NATIONALS

Seavey is also among the two past Firemen’s Nationals winners attempting to repeat their past successes at Angell Park this weekend. Seavey scored the 2019 edition of the event under POWRi sanction as he charged from his fifth starting position to win it.

Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) is among the select few multi-time winners of the Firemen’s Nationals, having scored in both 2013 and 2017. He remains one of only six drivers to win the event at least two times: Kevin Olson (1983-86-87-97-98), Dan Boorse (1984 & 1999), Kevin Doty (1988-89-90-94-95), Tracy Hines (2001-02-10) and Scott Hatton (2004-05).

With another victory this weekend at Angell Park, Daum would become only the fourth driver with three Firemen’s Nationals wins to his credit alongside Olson, Doty and Hines.

THE RETURN OF HOLLY

After a nearly five-year absence, Holly Jones will return to USAC National Midget racing this weekend at Angell Park.

Jones, whom you might remember by her maiden name of Holly Shelton, will pilot the Bundy Built Motorsports No. 4 with a Spike Chassis and a Bundy Built Honda engine under the hood.

In Shelton’s three full-time seasons (2016-17-18) of midget racing, she drove for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, finishing a best of third during the USAC Indiana Midget Week round at Lawrenceburg Speedway in 2017 and finished a best of seventh in the point standings for 2016.

In recent years, on occasion, she has wheeled a winged 360 sprint car, a micro sprint and an outlaw kart, but her most recent USAC National Midget start came during a top-10 performance at California’s Bakersfield Speedway in 2018.

DOUBLE-DIPPING AT THE PRAIRIE

The last two times the USAC National Midgets have raced on back-to-back evenings at Angell Park Speedway, the same driver won the feature both nights. Bryan Clauson achieved the feat in 2010 as did Christopher Bell in 2014.

Only one driver in this weekend’s Angell Park field has captured consecutive USAC National Midget victories at the same track on two-straight nights. That’s Justin Grant who swept to victories at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park in February of 2022.

In fact, throughout the 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing, a driver has accomplished it 23 previous times: Johnny Parsons (Winchester 1977), Mel Kenyon (IRP 1979), Rich Vogler (Colorado National 1979) and Jason Leffler (Belleville 1997).

In the 21st century it’s been Kasey Kahne (Belleville 2000), Bobby East (Belleville 2004), Josh Wise (Belleville 2006), Jerry Coons Jr. (Belleville 2007), Brad Sweet (Knoxville 2008), Bryan Clauson (Angell Park 2010), Darren Hagen (Tri-City 2010), Bryan Clauson (Dodge City 2011), Rico Abreu (Kokomo 2014), Christopher Bell (Angell Park 2014), Tanner Thorson (Tri-City 2015), Chad Boat (Belleville 2016), Tanner Thorson (Tri-City 2016), Brady Bacon (2017 Kokomo), Tyler Courtney (Ocala 2019), Chris Windom (Huset’s 2021), Justin Grant (Ocala 2022), Buddy Kofoid (Huset’s 2022) and Buddy Kofoid (Placerville 2022).

LONGING FOR A “W”

The list of drivers who’ve yet to win a USAC National Midget feature this year is particularly staggering. However, there’s still plenty of racing left to do and plenty of time to catch up in the win column.

Among them are past series feature winners Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), who between them, own 31 USAC National Midget victories. All drivers have also either won, set fast time or led laps at one point in their career at Angell Park.

On the list of contenders seeking a first USAC National Midget victory not only this year, but in his career, is three-time Badger Midget champion Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) who is also a two-time Angell Park winner with BMARA.

Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) and Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) are in the group of drivers aiming for a first career USAC National triumph this weekend as is Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.), all of whom have earned top-five finishes with USAC this season. Both Avedisian and Andreotti have led laps and finished as the runner-up in a feature in 2023.

FIREMEN’S HISTORY

Few events have the cache of the Firemen’s Nationals with it being one of the longest-running and famed midget racing events still going strong today in the USA.

With the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame literally in the backyard of Angell Park’s 1/3-mile oval, winning the Firemen’s Nationals is one in which drivers will immediately put near the top of their resume in the section of accomplishments.

In terms of longevity, the Firemen’s Nationals 38th running in 2023 trails only the Turkey Night Grand Prix (81 years) and the 4-Crown Nationals (40 years).

The Firemen’s Nationals can boast a list of past winners that includes seven inductees of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame: Billy Engelhart, Kevin Olson, Dan Boorse, Rich Vogler, Kevin Doty, Page Jones and Jay Drake.

In addition, there’s 11 past USAC National champions who’ve won the race, including Olson, Vogler, Stevie Reeves, Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons Jr., Brady Bacon, Josh Wise, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, Logan Seavey and Tanner Thorson, just to name a few.

EVENT DETAILS:

This Sunday and Monday night’s 38th running of the Firemen’s Nationals features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship with both nights paying $5,000-to-win. The Badger Midget Racing Association is also on the card both nights.

Pits open at 1:30pm Central, stands open at 4pm and cars on track at 5pm followed by qualifying and racing.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.angelpark.racing. Advance ticket prices are $22 for adults, $18 for seniors, $12 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under. Race day ticket prices are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, $12 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under. Pit passes are $25 for members & $30 for non-members.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-927, 2-Jacob Denney-789, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-775, 4-Justin Grant-774, 5-Ryan Timms-749, 6-Jade Avedisian-740, 7-Daison Pursley-739, 8-Cannon McIntosh-729, 9-Gavin Miller-662, 10-Chase McDermand-607.

PAST FIREMEN’S NATIONALS WINNERS:

1982: Billy Engelhart

1983: Kevin Olson

1984: Dan Boorse

1985: Rich Vogler

1986: Kevin Olson

1987: Kevin Olson

1988: Kevin Doty

1989: Kevin Doty

1990: Kevin Doty

1991: Stevie Reeves

1992: Marty Davis

1993: Page Jones

1994: Kevin Doty

1995: Kevin Doty

1996: Randy Koch

1997: Kevin Olson

1998: Kevin Olson

1999: Dan Boorse

2000: Jay Drake

2001: Tracy Hines

2002: Tracy Hines

2003: Davey Ray

2004: Scott Hatton

2005: Scott Hatton

2006: Rained Out

2007: Jerry Coons Jr.

2008: Brady Bacon

2009: Josh Wise

2010: Tracy Hines

2011: Rained Out

2012: Caleb Armstrong

2013: Zach Daum

2014: Christopher Bell

2015: Rico Abreu

2016: Carson Macedo

2017: Zach Daum

2018: Tanner Carrick

2019: Logan Seavey

2020: Not Held

2021: Tanner Thorson

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY:

6-Bryan Clauson

5-Kevin Olson

3-Christopher Bell, Kevin Doty & Brad Kuhn

2-Rico Abreu, Billy Engelhart & Larry Rice

1-Tommy Astone, Tom Bigelow, Dan Boorse, Steve Cannon, Pancho Carter, Danny Caruthers, Jerry Coons Jr., Ryan Durst, Jeff Gordon, Scott Hatton, Tracy Hines, Levi Jones, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero, Michael Pickens, Stevie Reeves, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Rich Vogler, Roger West & Josh Wise

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY:

1970: Larry Rice (8/30)

1971: Lee Kunzman (6/27), Billy Engelhart (8/29) & Danny Caruthers (9/5)

1972: Roger West (6/4), Pancho Carter (7/9), Tom Bigelow (7/16) & Rich Vogler (8/13)

1973: Billy Engelhart (6/21), Bobby Olivero (7/8) & Steve Cannon (8/12)

1974: Larry Rice (6/13) & Tommy Astone (7/7)

1986: Kevin Olson (8/31)

1987: Dan Boorse (5/24), Kevin Doty (7/18) & Kevin Olson (9/6)

1988: Kevin Olson (5/29), Kevin Olson (6/18), Kevin Olson (7/17) & Kevin Doty (9/4)

1990: Jeff Gordon (7/14) & Kevin Doty (9/2)

1991: Stevie Reeves (9/1)

2005: Scott Hatton (8/27)

2006: Ryan Durst (8/26)

2007: Jerry Coons Jr. (8/25) & Michael Pickens (8/26)

2008: Brad Kuhn (8/23) & Levi Jones (8/24)

2009: Bryan Clauson (8/30) & Josh Wise (9/5)

2010: Brad Kuhn (7/3), Brad Sweet (7/4), Bryan Clauson (8/28), Bryan Clauson (8/29) & Tracy Hines (9/4)

2011: Bryan Clauson (8/21)

2012: Bryan Clauson (7/8) & Brad Kuhn (8/19)

2013: Rico Abreu (6/23) & Bryan Clauson (8/18)

2014: Christopher Bell (7/5), Christopher Bell (7/6) & Christopher Bell (8/17)

2015: Rico Abreu (7/5)

2021: Tanner Thorson (9/5)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/5/2015 - Bryan Clauson - 14.316

6 Laps - 8/26/2007 - Chris Windom - 1:34.07

8 Laps - 8/26/2007 - Ryan Durst - 2:04.98

10 Laps - 8/19/2012 - Rico Abreu - 2:26.60

12 Laps - 7/6/2014 - Rico Abreu - 3:00.28

30 Laps - 8/30/1970 - Larry Rice - 9:11.56

RECENT FIREMEN’S NATIONALS RESULTS:

2009 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Josh Wise, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Brad Kuhn, 5. Cole Whitt, 6. Bobby East, 7. Brad Loyet, 8. Brandon Waelti, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Matt Smith, 12. Davey Ray, 13. Kevin Olson, 14. Dakoda Armstrong, 15. Aaron FIscus, 16. Scott Hatton, 17. Mike Hess, 18. Travis Berryhill, 19. Andrew Felker, 20. Bryan Clauson, 21. Jake Slotten, 22. Chad Boat, 23. Zach Daum, 24. Henry Clarke, 25. Caleb Armstrong. NT

2010 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Brad Loyet, 4. Davey Ray, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Cody Weisensel, 7. Kurt Mayhew, 8. Brad Kuhn, 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Robbie Ray, 11. Bryan Clauson, 12. Jason Dull, 13. David Budres, 14. Henry Clarke, 15. Brady Bacon, 16. Mario Clouser. NT

2011: RAINED OUT

2012 FEATURE: 1. Caleb Armstrong; 2. Thomas Meseraull; 3. Jerry Coons Jr.; 4. Bubba Altig; 5. Davey Ray; 6. Scott Hatton; 7. Danny Stratton; 8. Robbie Ray; 9. Mike Hess; 10. Travis Berryhill; 11. Cody Weisensel; 12. Taylor Ferns; 13. Riley Emmel; 14. Kurt Mayhew; 15. Kevin Olson; 16. Chad Bogar; 17. Rick Kelsey; 18. Brandon Waelti; 19. Bryon Walters; 20. Dalton Armstrong; 21. Bob Schreffler; 22. Darren Hagen; 23. Jason Treault.

2013 FEATURE (50 laps): 1. Zach Daum, 2. Brad Kuhn, 3. Billy Balog, 4. Jake Blackhurst, 5. Andrew Felker, 6. Danny Stratton, 7. Parker Price-Miller, 8. Davey Ray, 9. Seth Motsinger, 10. Brandon Waelti, 11. Kurt Mayhew, 12, Cody Weisensel, 13. Bryon Walters, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Darren Hagen, 16. Caleb Armstrong, 17. Dalton Armstrong,18. Garrett Aitken, 19. Daniel Robinson.

2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Michael Pickens, 9. Jake Blackhurst, 10. Bill Balog, 11. Jerry Coons, Jr., 12. Tyler Courtney, 13. Bryan Clauson, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Andrew Felker, 16. Austin Brown, 17. Garrett Aitken, 18. Parker Price-Miller, 19. Seth Motsinger, 20. Terry Babb, 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 22. Spencer Bayston. NT

2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Andrew Felker, 7. Spencer Bayston, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Kyle Schuett, 11. Isaac Chapple, 12. Kurt Mayhew, 13. Austin Brown, 14. Tracy Hines, 15. Katlynn Leer, 16. Eric Johnson, 17. Jimi Quinn, 18. Bill Balog, 19. David Budres, 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 21. Cody Weisensel NT

2016 FEATURE: 1. 71K-Carson Macedo; 2. 67-Tanner Thorson; 3. 5D-Zach Daum; 4. 3-Andrew Felker; 5. 67K-Holly Shelton; 6. 71-Ryan Robinson; 7. 3N-Jake Neuman; 8. 1-Scott Hatton; 9. 53-Aaron Schuck; 10. 41-Austin Prock; 11. 7-Austin Brown; 12. 77-Katlynn Leer; 13. 1K-Brayton Lynch; 14. 5x-Justin Peck; 15. 97-Spencer Bayston; 16. 57-Chad Boespflug; 17. 32-Garrett Aitken; 18. 31-David Budres; 19. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer; 20. 9K-Kyle Schuett; 21. 20-Cody Weisensel; 22. 0-Andy Baugh

2017 FEATURE: 1. 5D-Zach Daum (1), 2. 71-Ryan Robinson (10), 3. 67-Tanner Thorson (4), 4. 97-Spencer Bayston (9), 5. 37-Andrew Felker (3), 6. 4A-Logan Seavey (5), 7. 67K-Holly Shelton (14), 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett (6), 9. 7-Austin Brown (11), 10. 3N-Jake Neuman (20), 11. 57-Gage Walker (12), 12. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (18), 13. 37x-Terry Babb (13), 14. 6A-Aidan Roosevans (19), 15. 53-Aaron Schuck (16), 16. 57x-Casey Shuman (8), 17. 3-Robbie Ray (7), 18. 2B-Zach Boden (23), 19. 1-Scott Hatton (2), 20. 20-Cody Weisensel (24), 21. 53z-Jeff Zelinski (22), 22. 05-Brad Loyet (17), 23. 3B-Shelby Bosie (15), 24. 71K-Tanner Carrick (21). NT

2018 FEATURE: 1. 71K-Tanner Carrick (6), 2. 67-Logan Seavey (5), 3. 5D-Zach Daum (3), 4. 3N-Jake Neuman (23), 5. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (7), 6. 67K-Holly Shelton (8), 7. 21KS-Karter Sarff (9), 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett (4), 9. 3-Bill Balog (11), 10. 82-Mike Hess (17), 11. 72-Sam Johnson (16), 12. 71-Ryan Robinson (2), 13. 31-Ray Seach (1), 14. 57-Andrew Felker (21), 15. 7-Austin Brown (12), 16. 2-Zach Boden (18), 17. 9KL-Kevin Olson (19), 18. 11-Tyler Baran (15), 19. 14JR-Holley Hollan (14), 20. 99-Ryan Probst (22), 21. 21-Kurt Mayhew (13), 22. 20-Cody Weisensel (20), 23. 51-Joe B. Miller (10). NT

2019 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. 67-Logan Seavey (5), 2. 08-Cannon McIntosh (1), 3. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (2), 4. 71K-Tanner Carrick (7), 5. 57-Chase Jones (14), 6. 5D-Zach Daum (4), 7. 71-Jesse Colwell (6), 8. 98-Tanner Thorson (10), 9. 3-Davey Ray (15), 10. 9-Daison Pursley (16), 11. 28-Ace McCarthy (8), 12. 97K-Jesse Love (18), 13. 3N-Jake Neuman (13), 14. 67K-Holley Hollan (3), 15. 31-David Budres (21), 16. 21KS-Tracy Hines (9), 17. 3w-Brandon Waelti (17), 18. 11-Tyler Baran (22), 19. 82-Mike Hess (20), 20. 7x-Thomas Meseraull (11), 21. 3B-Shelby Bosie (12), 22. 20-Cody Weisensel (19). NT

2020: NOT HELD

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (4), 2. Thomas Meseraull (2), 3. Justin Grant (1), 4. Chris Windom (3), 5. Logan Seavey (11), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 7. Emerson Axsom (5), 8. Daison Pursley (6), 9. Buddy Kofoid (13), 10. Chase Randall (9), 11. Brandon Waelti (22), 12. Hayden Reinbold (18), 13. Jack Routson (17), 14. Chase McDermand (12), 15. Jeff Zelinski (20), 16. Matt Rechek (21), 17. Glenn Waterland (19), 18. Ethan Mitchell (14), 19. Cannon McIntosh (8), 20. Zach Daum (10), 21. Trey Gropp (15), 22. Daniel Robinson (16). NT


 


FIELD OF 36 SET FOR
SATURDAY’S USAC TED HORN 100 AT Du QUOIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Du Quoin, Illinois (August 30, 2023)………Seven past Ted Horn 100 winners are represented in this Saturday’s 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois on September 2.

Defending Ted Horn 100 winner Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) leads the cast of 36 USAC Silver Crown entries this weekend at the one-mile dirt oval. Seavey, who won just two weeks ago at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, leads the series point standings entering the event as he pursues his first series title.

Seavey’s main nemesis in the championship fight is Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), a two-time winner of the event in 2010 and 2017, the first of which was his first career USAC Silver Crown victory. Swanson, a seven-time Silver Crown champion, trails Seavey by a mere seven points in the 2023 title race.

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. Further Ted Horn 100 winners in Saturday’s lineup include Peru, Indiana’s Russ Gamester (1997); Kansas, Illinois’ Shane Cottle (2007); Elkhart, Illinois’ Chris Urish (2013) and Crawfordsville, Indiana’s Jacob Wilson (2019).

Cockrum won the pole for last year’s Du Quoin event at a time of 30.417 seconds, translating to 118.355 mph. Swanson captured the pole position in 2015-16-21 while Cottle earned the top qualifying spot in 2007-08. Wilson scored top qualifying honors in 2018 while Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) aims for his first win in the event after winning the pole four previous times in his career at Du Quoin in 2001-10-13-17.

USAC national champions Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) will be seeking their first Du Quoin victories this Saturday as will USAC national winners Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa), A.J. Fike (Galesburg, Ill.), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

Two women will be in Saturday’s USAC lineup with Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) making her return to Du Quoin for the first time in a decade when she finished 5th in 2013. Meanwhile, Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) will make her Du Quoin debut.

Bryson is one of 10 USAC Silver Crown Rookies in the field along with USAC National Sprint Car and Midget star Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), 360 Sprint Car legend Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) plus longtime sprint car veteran and USAC winner Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.).

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) takes his first try at a Silver Crown car this weekend, and he’s joined by series newcomers John Tosti (High Ridge, Mo.), Tim Simmons (Cabot, Ark.), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Ryan Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Cary Oliver (Buncombe, Ill.) who made his first Du Quoin start in 2022.

USAC Silver Crown vets all across the field, including Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), Du Quoin modified winner Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville, Ill.), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.), Casey Buckman (Chandler, Ariz.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.), Patrick Bruns (Champaign, Ill.), Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.) and Tom Paterson (Argos, Ind.).

RACE DETAILS:

The 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 29th 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.

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

2023 TED HORN 100 ENTRY LIST:

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

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

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

3 ®TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)

9 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing)

11 ®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

12 ®WAYNE JOHNSON/Tuttle, OK (Two C Racing)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

20 ®EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)

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

24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)

25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports-Eddie Sachs Jr.)

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

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports)

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

77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)

81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)

88 ®TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)

97 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

107 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)

110 ®CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

118 ®RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing)

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

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

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-Logan Seavey-490, 2-Kody Swanson-483, 3-Justin Grant-363, 4-Mario Clouser-353, 5-Kaylee Bryson-344, 6-Taylor Ferns-320, 7-Bobby Santos-315, 8-Matt Westfall-305, 9-C.J. Leary-291, 10-Derek Bischak-270.

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

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

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

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, 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, 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

 

BC39 ENTRY LIST HITS 30;
ENTRIES CONTINUE TO ROLL IN A MONTH AWAY FROM RACEDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 30, 2023)………Current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader Logan Seavey and top USAC Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson headline the latest batch of entries for the 2023 Driven2SaveLives BC39.

A steadily rising total of 30 cars and drivers are now set to compete in the fifth running of the event which features an extended four days of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The BC39 regularly presents the highest USAC car counts of the year. The 2022 event produced 85 entries, fifth most in the 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing. The newest look at the 2023 entry list is at the bottom of this release.

The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases to $150 on Friday, September 8. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), who finished a best of fifth in his 2019 BC39, will wheel a car for Abacus Racing. Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) scored a seventh-place result during the 2022 race, and this year will pilot a ride for CB Industries.

CBI has also filed entries for 2023 USAC National Midget feature winner Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), who finished 11th in the 2022 BC39. Brent Crews (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a recent ARCA Stock Car winner at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, will make his BC39 debut with CBI.

Of the latest entries, Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.), who stands top-10 in USAC Midget points, is entered following an 18th place run a year ago. Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.) also makes his return behind the wheel of the family-owned ride after scoring 20th in the latest edition of the BC39 in 2022.

Already entered for this year’s running of the BC39 are USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons (Tucson, Ariz.), three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), 2023 series winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), 2022 series Rookie of the Year Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), plus two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.).

DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

The price for a team filing an entry for the BC39 increases to $150 on Friday, September 8. The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.

There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track.
Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BC39 ENTRIES
(30 cars as of August 30, 2023)
1D Landon Brooks
1G Connor Wolf
7c Josh Bilicki
7m Kyle Jones
7p Zach Daum
11 Clinton Boyles
11L Aaron Leffel
18N Weston Gorham
19 Daison Pursley
19AZ Hayden Reinbold
19T Mitchel Moles
21D Justin Dickerson
21K Karter Sarff
22p Taylor Courtney
25 Jacob Denney
25m Jake Andreotti
36 Ian Creager
40 Chase McDermand
40B Blake Brannon
40x Zach Wigal
41 Oliver Akard
44 Adam Andretti
46 Kenney Johnson
54 Matt Westfall
57 Logan Seavey
81 Bryant Wiedeman
85 Jerry Coons Jr.
86 Brent Crews
89 Kaylee Bryson
118 Scott Evans


 


METEORIC RISE:
"TALL" OSBORNE LANDS USAC SILVER CROWN
RIDE FOR Du QUOIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 29, 2023)………During last weekend’s Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, perhaps no other driver gained a larger legion of fans, admirers and curious onlookers than 20-year-old Trey Osborne.

Osborne, of Columbus, Ohio, and his newfound renown in addition to the respect among his fellow competitors, have helped land him a USAC Silver Crown ride in Sammy Fetter’s No. 88 for this Saturday’s 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.

Standing a towering 6’8” in height and regularly sporting a sun visor on his sprint car that simply states “Tall,” Osborne has won three times in Indiana Sprint Car circles this season, twice at Paragon Speedway and once at Gas City I-69 Speedway, then won his first heat race in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition this past weekend at Kokomo.

It’s been a meteoric rise for Osborne who turned his first laps in a dirt sprint car only one year ago. Although a relative unknown commodity on the local Indiana racing scene entering the 2023 season, Osborne is certainly hard to ignore when meeting him and while watching him on the track.

“It’s been pretty humbling,” Osborne admitted. “I went from not anyone really knowing me to where it seemed like everyone was standing around my pit after the feature. I didn’t get out of Kokomo until 3am.”

The love affair with Osborne regularly begins as soon as he pulls into the pit area. He rolls in on an open trailer, then proceeds to compete alongside and regularly exceed his peers with just a fraction of the budget of those around him. Osborne contends that the essential pieces he owns are very nice but has proven the old adage of “trailers don’t win races” to be true, even though the trailer isn’t his own.

“I bought the truck for $1200 three years ago and I start it with a screwdriver,” Osborne explained. “The windows don’t go up or down unless you do it with pliers. The speedometer doesn’t work; the odometer doesn’t work; the gas gauge doesn’t work. It’s pretty low buck in some ways to be able to make it happen, but the stuff that matters is all right. Plus, I don’t mind having an open trailer because I don’t hit my forehead on the trailer door every single time I run in and out.”

Osborne came of age in his racing career at the wheel of a USSA Kenyon Midget for none other than USAC Hall of Famers Mel and Don Kenyon. The winningest duo in the history of USAC National Midget racing fielded an entry for Osborne as a teenager as he racked up several feature wins and a series championship in 2018.

However, by mid-2022, Osborne sold his own Kenyon Cars and decided to set forth on a path toward sprint car racing. In February of 2023, he made the move to Indianapolis, and with the help of friend and fellow racer Oz Ozborne (no relation), he was provided a place to live and landed a job at McCallister Caterpillar, located a stone’s throw away from Circle City Raceway.

Naturally confident, this is what Osborne expected of himself. And if it hadn’t, he’d most likely would’ve found another line of work.

“Honestly, it’s kind of what I expected out of myself,” Osborne stated. “If I wasn’t winning at this point or if I was still running 10th at local shows, I think I probably would’ve sold out and been done. I was pretty serious that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it as right as I could do it.”

On the big stage of Sprint Car Smackdown, financial prizes are aplenty, and bonuses are in abundance, and many common race folks become even more charitable than customary. His success thus far hasn’t taken him by surprise one bit, but the amount of support he’s gained from the racing crowd has been a welcome addition to his program.

“My goal was to win three races, and I really thought I could do that,” Osborne said. “Winning three races didn’t surprise me but the amount of support I’ve gotten just from people congratulating me to helping me out, whether it’s money or parts or tires or whatever it is, it’s been pretty crazy how much help I’ve gotten from the racing community. I didn’t expect that going into the week.”

With success, those invested in the sport want to know your name and your phone number, and suddenly, you might find yourself as a hired gun. Osborne felt the reality of that this week just as he was sitting down for lunch at his day job when he received a call from Fetter asking him if he was available to wheel his car at Du Quoin. Without hesitation, the answer was a resounding “yes,” although it was definitely not something he was expecting at that moment.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” Osborne acknowledged. “I’m excited to do this as I’ve always wanted to run a crown car, especially on a dirt mile. It’s going to be pretty awesome and it’s really different from anything I’ve ever done.”

Despite this Saturday’s 100-miler being different from any other task he’s faced, he is no stranger to long-distance races. He competed in the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway for car owner Mike Blake in 2019 and has captured victory in a 75-lap midget race. But there are some stark contrasts he’ll be facing no doubt.

“Just the speed from it is going to be really cool,” Osborne pined. “You run the car really straight, and I’ve always been one to hang it really far out. It’s a whole different driving style is needed to be successful in it.”

Even before getting behind the wheel of a champ car for the first time, Osborne has been and is a fan of the series, first and foremost.

“I always make a point to – even if I can watch them live – to watch the replay of the Silver Crown races just because they’re so cool. They’re different and there’s not a lot of them, especially the miles. It’s super cool to me personally.”

Now, Osborne gets to take a ride in one of those very USAC Silver Crown machines himself. A dream come true and another step up on the trajectory of his burgeoning racing career.

RACE DETAILS:

The 69th running of the Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 29th 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.

 

2023 USAC HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS
SET FOR SEPT. 29, TICKETS ON SALE NOW

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 28, 2023)………The United States Auto Club’s newest class of Hall of Fame inductees for 2023 will be honored during a ceremony at USAC headquarters on Friday afternoon, September 29.

The USAC Hall of Fame luncheon will start at Noon Eastern with the official induction ceremony slated to begin at 1:30pm at USAC’s main offices located at 4910 W. 16th Street in Speedway, Indiana.

The USAC Hall of Fame luncheon and induction ceremony is open to the public and tickets are now on sale for $30 apiece at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/hof-award-ceremony. The ticket includes a catered meal and drinks.

USAC’s 11th hall of fame class includes champion driver Bobby East; safety innovator Ted Halibrand; champion driver Tracy Hines; television producer Terry Lingner; vice president/general manager/editor/media man Bill Marvel; and team owners and contributors, The Wilke Family.

The event will be held just down the street from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the start of Friday night’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event, an event which runs for four straight nights on September 27-28-29-30.

Additionally, the USAC Hall of Fame ceremony will be shown live on FloRacing.

USAC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:

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

2013: Earl Baltes, Henry Banks, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Jack Hewitt, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, A.J. Watson, Don White & Bob Wilke

2014: Rollie Beale, George Bignotti, Don Branson, Larry Dickson, Gus Hoffman, Jud Larson, Norm Nelson, Eddie Sachs, Don Smith, Bob Stroud, Rodger Ward & Bob Wente

2015: Clint Brawner, Jimmy Caruthers, Butch Hartman, Lindsey Hopkins, Jim Hurtubise, Don Kenyon, Sheldon Kinser, Fred Lorenzen, Roger Penske, Larry Rice, Shorty Templeman & Sleepy Tripp

2016: Steve Butler, Russ Clendenen, Jimmy Davies, Willie Davis, Bob Higman, Tommy Hinnershitz, Dick King, Rick Mears, Pat O’Connor, Kevin Olson, Tony Stewart & Bob Tattersall

2017: Donald Davidson, Frankie DelRoy, Bob East, Chuck Gurney, Gene Hartley, Steve Lewis, Howard Linne, Lloyd Ruby, Ken Schrader, Robbie Stanley, Steve Stapp & Johnny Thomson

2018: Mike Devin, Tony Elliott, Paul Goldsmith, Jason Leffler, Bill Lipkey, Troy Ruttman, Bob/Gene Shannon & Jimmy Sills

2019: Bryan Clauson, Johnny Capels, Dick Jordan & Dave Steele

2020: None

2021: None

2022: Doug Caruthers, Jay Drake, Galen Fox, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, Ray Nichels, Johnny Vance & Joe Shaheen

2023: Bobby East, Ted Halibrand, Tracy Hines, Terry Lingner, Bill Marvel & The Wilke Family


 


GATEWAY GEM:
HAMILTON & LEGACY AUTOSPORT
SCORE FIRST USAC SILVER CROWN WIN AT WWT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Madison, Illinois (August 27, 2023)………Sunday’s running of the OutFront 100 at World Wide Technology Raceway presented a series of firsts from the driver to the team and even the car itself.

Davey Hamilton Jr. led the final 47 laps of Sunday’s matinee on the Madison, Ill. 1.25-mile paved oval while fending off late-race pressure from both Justin Grant and Bobby Santos to win his first career USAC Silver Crown race.

The Legacy Autosport team, which fielded Hamilton Jr. for the first time earlier this month, also captured its first series win in just the team’s sixth start. The Pittsboro, Ind. based team is owned by Louis Michael Meyer, the great grandson of Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the first to celebrate an Indy win with a swig of milk in victory lane back in 1936.

On top of that, the team’s own in-house Legacy Chassis won its first ever race with the series, becoming the first chassis other than a Beast to win a pavement USAC Silver Crown race in 15 years. Chet Fillip’s own Tex-Mex creation had been the most recent non-Beast winner when he scored at Virginia’s Richmond International Raceway in 2008.

Furthermore, for the first time since 1993, an Idaho native is a USAC national feature winner as Hamilton (Boise, Idaho) became the first driver from “The Gem State” to earn a victory since Randy Tolsma was a midget winner at Indianapolis Raceway Park 30 years ago.

One year ago, Hamilton led his first career laps in Silver Crown competition at WWT before going on to a then career best result of second behind Kody Swanson. This time around, Hamilton took advantage when Swanson lost his brakes just before the midway point, and from there on out, Hamilton kept his Legacy Autosport/Metalloid – Penske Shocks/Legacy/Stanton Chevy up front despite a bit of smoke emanating from his car during the final laps.

“It’s a dream come true,” Hamilton stated. “They gave me a call right before Toledo and offered me the ride. They gave me a chance and it has been a solid piece everywhere we’ve gone.”

Even before the race, Hamilton Jr. was running short of breath. After providing pace car rides to the race day patrons, he ran about a mile to his Silver Crown car on pit lane, just making it in time to get strapped in and ready himself for 80 laps of competition.

While Hamilton started from the sixth position, Swanson captured the pole position for the 46th time in his Silver Crown career during Honest Abe Roofing with a time of 30.745 seconds, translating to a blistering 146.365 mph average speed.

At first, third-starting Mario Clouser slipped past the entire front row to lead three-quarters of the first lap. However, outside front row starter Logan Seavey found traction up top to race around Clouser to lead the first two laps – his first on the pavement.

Using the vaunted draft, Swanson regathered himself and drag raced past Seavey on the back straight to claim the lead on lap three. However, Swanson’s time up front was short-lived as C.J. Leary dove to the bottom of turn one to take over the top spot on the fifth lap.

Not only did Leary’s lead become short-lived, but it was the same story for his day as he slowed while leading on the 11th lap with a broken fuel pump, necessitating a caution as he coasted to a stop on the back straight, prematurely ending his day.

Thereafter, Hamilton was on the move, taking second on the lap 15 restart as he powered underneath Clouser in turn two, then began to close in on Swanson for the lead, even showing his front bumper at the entry to turn three before backing out moments later.

Following a Taylor Ferns turn two spin on lap 24, Hamilton, as had been the case all day, showed his prowess on restarts. On the lap 28 edition, he edged ahead of Swanson coming to the green flag to officially lead the lap. Swanson wound it up and was able to wrestle the lead back away from Hamilton in turns one and two to reposition himself at the forefront of the pack.

Ironically, at essentially the same moment in the race Swanson took the lead from Hamilton in last year’s race, the reverse came to be true this time around on lap 34. Hamilton drove to the inside of Swanson and stuck the pass in turns three and four, taking some of the knowledge he learned in the 2022 race and applying it to his Sunday drive.

“It seemed like my car was getting a really good draft behind Kody,” Hamilton revealed. “I had to pull out a couple times just to avoid hitting him. Last year, I learned that this place could hurt you on restarts. So, I did the best I could on getting a good jump. Having these guys behind you is not fun, I’ll tell you that.”

On lap 36, Swanson came right back at Hamilton on the outside of turn one. Just after moving ahead, Swanson dirt-tracked it through turns one and two, getting completely sideways while remaining on the gas in a spectacular save to avoid contact with the wall. Despite the lack of a meeting with the wall, the moment signaled the end of Swanson’s day as he dropped like a rock, falling all the way to 11th before making the first of several pit stops due to a lack of brakes. Swanson ultimately soldiered on but finished a distant 15th, seven laps behind the leader.

With Hamilton now up front, he broke away to a 1.429 second lead with 30 to go when Nathan Byrd’s car went up in smoke along the front straightaway after charging from his 22nd starting spot to fifth. Byrd qualified his normal No. 88, which experienced mechanical trouble in qualifying, but for the race, jumped into the No. 11 regularly piloted by Trey Burke. However, that car spun a spud of the fuel pump early on, forcing Burke into the No. 14, which was originally entered for Davey Hamilton Sr. to drive. It was a true game of race day musical chairs unlike any other in recent memory.

With 13 to go, it became a top-two breakaway up front with Hamilton holding the lead by a few car lengths over Justin Grant. Third running Bobby Santos, however, suddenly became a player with the benefit of the draft as he rapidly closed in on the top-two, shaving nearly 1.5 second off his deficit in a single lap before taking the spot away from Grant on lap 71.

Quickly, Santos was able to get right to Hamilton's back bumper with seven to go as the front runners began to discard lapped traffic, putting Travis Welpott a lap down. Moments later, it was Welpott (12th) spinning in turn two which caused a late yellow and stifled Santos’ momentous charge, thus creating a green-white-checkered scenario to finish the contest.

Under yellow, Hamilton’s car began to show a little bit of smoke. However, it seemed to be of no deterrence when the race resumed on lap 79. Santos got as close as a car length to Hamilton’s tail in turns one and two on the final lap, but Hamilton was able to peel away and finish off a $10,000 victory by a 0.169 second margin over Santos, Grant and Seavey while Derek Bischak rounded out the top-five with his fourth top-five finish in five starts this season.

Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) remains the only two-time USAC Silver Crown race winner at WWT Raceway, but he sure did want to become the first three-time victor as well. In the end, Santos came home a close second on Sunday in his DJ Racing/Classic Corvettes – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson/Beast/Speedway Chevy. In five USAC Silver Crown starts this season, Santos has now finished inside the top-two on four different occasions.

It’s been a whirlwind weekend for Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.). Roughly 16 hours after winning his third straight USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature in as many nights at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, he was on the move again where a middle-of-the-night drive to WWT Raceway followed his $44,500 evening at Kokomo on Saturday. Grant capped his weekend as the biggest mover of the Silver Crown feature, charging from ninth to third in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/Beast/Speedway Ford.

Meanwhile, by virtue of his fourth-place result and Kody Swanson’s misfortune, Logan Seavey has reassumed his position at the top of the USAC Silver Crown National Championship standings by a seven-point margin with just three events remaining.

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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 27, 2023 – World Wide Technology Raceway – Madison, Illinois – 1.25-Mile Paved Oval – OutFront 100

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-30.745; 2. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-30.843; 3. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-30.865; 4. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-30.899; 5. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-31.043; 6. Davey Hamilton Jr., 19, Legacy-31.072; 7. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-31.345; 8. Kyle O'Gara, 67, SFHR-31.381; 9. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-31.400; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-31.595; 11. Trey Burke, 14, Hamilton/SRG-31.633; 12. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-31.774; 13. Nathan Byrd, 88, Byrd-31.788; 14. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-31.921; 15. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-32.026; 16. Matt Westfall, 81, BCR-32.044; 17. Aaron Pierce, 126, Pierce-32.098; 18. Mike McVetta, 94, RAM-32.504; 19. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-33.379; 20. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-33.442; 21. Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas-34.620; 22. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-35.500; 23. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-39.044; 24. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-39.645; 25. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-NT.

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).

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Logan Seavey, Laps 3-4 Kody Swanson, Laps 5-10 C.J. Leary, Laps 11-27 Kody Swanson, Lap 28 Davey Hamilton Jr., Laps 29-33 Kody Swanson, Laps 34-80 Davey Hamilton Jr.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-490, 2-Kody Swanson-483, 3-Justin Grant-363, 4-Mario Clouser-353, 5-Kaylee Bryson-344, 6-Taylor Ferns-320, 7-Bobby Santos-315, 8-Matt Westfall-305, 9-C.J. Leary-291, 10-Derek Bischak-270.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-152, 2-Logan Seavey-104, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Robert Ballou-87, 5-Matt Westfall-86, 6-Justin Grant-85, 7-Brady Bacon-85, 8-Emerson Axsom-76, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 2, 2023 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Ted Horn 100

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Kody Swanson (30.745)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (30.745)

Hard Charger: Justin Grant (9th to 3rd)


SMACKDOWN SWEEP!
GRANT GRABS $44,500 WEEKEND FINALE AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 26, 2023)………”This weekend’s been a dream. I feel like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it’s going to be Wednesday.”

The dream was most certainly a reality for Justin Grant during Saturday night’s Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII finale at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway.

But for every other driver who faced off against him during the past three nights at the quarter-mile dirt oval, the Ione, Calif. native was a nightmare.

Grant’s prowess over during the Thursday-Friday-Saturday stretch at Kokomo was no illusion as he reeled off three consecutive victories in as many nights to become the first driver in the 12-year history of Smackdown to sweep to three successive feature triumphs in a single weekend.

The take home pay for Grant after leading the final 29 laps on Saturday night totaled $44,500, pocketing the base pay of $30,000 while also adding a cool $500 per each lap led in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

When Grant migrated from his native California to take up residence in Indiana more than a decade ago, Kokomo Speedway became one of his adopted homes. Now, all these years later, he’s tied with the great Dave Darland as the winningest driver in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo with Saturday night’s run being the ninth of his career.

In total, seven of his nine career Kokomo USAC Sprint Car victories have come during Smackdown weekend, three of which have occurred on championship night in 2018, 2021 and 2023, making him just the third three-time Smackdown champion following Dave Darland (2013-14-15) and Tyler Courtney (2017-19-20). But few have been sweeter than his latest and none more lucrative.

“It feels amazing,” Grant exclaimed. “Kokomo Speedway is where I got my start and it’s where I cut my teeth. This event has always meant the world to me. The success I’ve been able to have here is just incredible and it feels incredible to be standing in victory lane here anytime.”

In the entire 68-year history of USAC National Sprint Car racing, few have captured three-straight USAC National Sprint Car features in a three-day-or-less span. In 1979, Steve Chassey won three in two days, all at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway. In 2002, Cory Kruseman reeled off three consecutive at Gas City, Lincoln Park and Tri-State Speedways during Indiana Sprint Week. Levi Jones had been the most recent to achieve the feat during Eastern Storm in 2010 Grandview, Lincoln and New Egypt Speedways.

Furthermore, Grant’s latest win was his 43rd in USAC National Sprint Car competition, moving him past 1974 and 1976 series champion Pancho Carter and into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time list.

After Thursday and Friday night’s back-to-back Kokomo triumphs, Grant was the odds-on favorite to do it again on Saturday night. He kicked things off right by gliding through the Bill & Sandy Wever & The Grandkids King of the Hill two-car, three-lap duels, which earned him the pole position for the 40-lap grand finale.

Despite that fact, it was outside front row starter C.J. Leary who broke out front and grasped the initial lead, beating Grant to the line by a wheel at the completion of lap one. In fact, throughout the first 10 circuits, Grant remained completely draped over Leary while applying consistent pressure. Grant stayed true to the top while Leary dabbled on the bottom in turns three and four for much of the first quarter of the main event.

But on lap 12, and with traffic looming ahead of him just a single lap away, Grant felt the time was now as he got his momentum wound up on the high side and dove to the bottom of turn one, taking Leary for the top spot.

Grant immediately worked traffic like he was on the autobahn and all others were in a school zone as he constructed his lead to one, then to two and then three full seconds by the time the race reached the halfway mark on lap 20. But without any spotters or rearview mirrors, in sprint car racing, the ambition is to remain pushing and to keep pushing until the lap counter runs out.

“I felt like I really hadn’t had any pressure,” Grant revealed. “I got caught up behind lapped cars and I never heard anybody or felt pressure. I knew we had a really good racecar and I felt like we had a good lead. I didn’t want to get lulled into contentment because we had been so good all weekend. I was still pushing pretty hard.”

Meanwhile, Bacon, who had finished second on each of the two preliminary nights, grabbed second when he raced past Leary in turn four for the runner-up spot on lap 23. Cummins tagged along and ripped third from Leary in the thick of lapped traffic on lap 30. By lap 32, Cummins had flashed into second as he drove topside around Bacon to slot into the “place” spot with just eight laps remaining.

Leary’s troubles mounted and he began to drop through the field, running fifth before slowing to a halt on lap 37 with just three laps remaining. By that point in time, Grant had lapped all but the first eight drivers in the 22-car field and held a staggering 8.415 second lead. Leary ultimately returned to finish the feature, restarting on the tail end of the lead lap and finishing eighth.

For Grant, the stoppage was a gamechanger. When all seemed locked up and the ink on the headlines was nearly completely dry, Cummins and the rest of the field received a reprieve and a new lease on life. For Grant, however, it was much to his chagrin.

“I was bummed to see that yellow,” Grant said. “I was like, ‘dang, three to go, come on!’ I wasn’t too worried about it, but then I went in on the restart and just completely botched one and two, oh boy!”

Grant skittered straight up atop the cushion between turns one and two on the lap 38 restart, allowing Cummins to get himself within striking distance of Grant at the exit of turn two. Grant took an entry into three somewhat through the middle in order to avoid a slider attempt from Cummins. However, Cummins saw a possible opportunity and went after Grant, sliding side-by-side in turn four wheel-to-wheel without giving an inch, or a single lift, in the pursuit of Smackdown glory.

“I was driving down into three and four and Kyle was sliding across after I all but gave this race away in one and two, so I knew I had better get it back over here (in three and four),” Grant explained. “I snuck right around him, and I thought my left rear (tire) was going to get over his right rear there. There’s $30,000 on the line; it’s worth it to take a chance here and there.”

Just as that “was the meal” Kenny Bania had on an episode of Seinfeld, that “was the move” for both Grant and Cummins alike. Grant staved off the final effort from Cummins to score the biggest payday of his racing career by a 0.886 second margin over Cummins, Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon and Robert Ballou.

“I can’t say enough about my guys,” Grant praised. “This racecar is incredible. We spent some time on Dan Pace’s dyno last week getting ready to come here and make sure our motors were top notch. There are so many people who played a part in getting me here and allowing me to be successful.”

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) took his shot at the win on the final restart but came up just short of winning his second straight Smackdown aboard his Rock Steady Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy. In his past five Saturday night Smackdown starts since 2019, Cummins has now finished inside the top-two in four of them.

“It’s a lot of money to win, but I’m not going to take him out,” Cummins said of his late-race duel with Grant. “He was there, and I was trying, trying, and I was like, ‘nope, he’s got it.’ I was hoping he was going to make a mistake and he kind of did, but I was just a little too far back. It was hard to make a move when he had enough momentum coming off both corners. I was good on momentum getting through, but I couldn’t get down the straightaways as quickly as he could. We were kind of mired back in fourth or fifth there just trying, but as the race went on, my car definitely got better. Before the yellow, I kept looking and trying to find him. I didn’t know where he was at, but I felt like if we got a yellow, we had a chance. I was clicking off some pretty good laps there.”

It was hands down the best Smackdown of Logan Seavey’s career as far as Saturday night finales go. That's the story for the Sutter, Calif. racer who finished third in the feature after starting eighth. That earned him his best career Smackdown Saturday night finish in what was his sixth start in the event behind the wheel of his 2B Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Benic Enterprises – Goodnight Racing/DRC/Claxton Chevy.

“When you’re racing with guys like that, you’ve got to jump at the first opportunity you see to make passes,” Seavey explained. “I had to capitalize really quick there early when a few guys were kind of searching and I knew where I was going. I got to fourth or fifth there pretty quickly and was happy with my car. I made a few passes there toward the end to get to third, which is really good. I felt like I could race with Kyle there a little bit, but Justin was in another league tonight.”

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) performed terrifically all weekend in his first career Smackdown appearance. The best run of them all for the reigning USAC East Coast Sprint Car champ and current point leader, however, came on Saturday night as he finished sixth. In doing so, he was named the 2023 Smackdown Rookie of the Year, which rewarded him with a $1,000 bonus.

Smackdown XII also served as the kickoff for the inaugural 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.

Up next in the three-race series is the $20,000-to-win Haubstadt Hustler at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, September 16. Another $20,000 winner’s share is posted for the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway, set to go on Saturday, October 7.

Winning all three Trifecta events in 2023 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-plus prize when all is said and done.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 26, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett (#15 BGE Dougherty), 2. Max Adams (#5x Adams), 3. Emerson Axsom (#47BC Clauson Marshall Newman), 4. Trey Osborne (#6T Osborne), 5. Colten Cottle (#57 Hazen), 6. Dustin Ingle (#2DI Ingle), 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (#51T Tafoya), 8. Tyler Miller (#67 Miller). 2:13.96

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers (#17GP Dutcher), 2. Matt Westfall (#33m Marshall), 3. Stevie Sussex (#77s Sturgeon), 4. Cole Bodine (#57B Bodine), 5. Dave Darland (#36D Darland/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Kobe Simpson (#21K Simpson), 7. Nate Schank (#1 Schank), 8. Larry Kingseed Jr. (#21 Kingseed). 2:12.67

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Lewis (#41 Brown), 2. Chase Stockon (#5s KO), 3. Sterling Cling (#34 SCR), 4. Korbyn Hayslett (#1H Hayslett), 5. Geoff Ensign (#17 On The Gass), 6. Devan Myers (#75 Myers), 7. Bryar Schroeter (#21s Schroeter), 8. Jack Hoyer (#5 Baldwin-Fox). 2:13.65

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson (#21AZ Team AZ), 2. Joey Amantea (#88J JPA), 3. Daison Pursley (#5p KO), 4. Rylan Gray (#81G Gray), 5. Riley Kreisel (#2J Yeley), 6. Brayden Clark (#42G Jackson-Clark), 7. Brandon Mattox (#28 Mattox), 8. Jack James (#99 James). NT

FIRST BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #1 Justin Grant (#4 TOPP) defeats #8 Logan Seavey (#2B 2B Racing)

SECOND BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #5 Kyle Cummins (#3R Rock Steady) defeats #4 Robert Ballou (#12 Ballou)

THIRD BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #3 C.J. Leary defeats #6 Shane Cottle (#2E Epperson)

FOURTH BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #7 Briggs Danner (#39 Hogue) defeats #2 Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics)

FIRST BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL SEMIFINAL: (3 laps) #1 Justin Grant defeats #5 Kyle Cummins

SECOND BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL SEMIFINAL: (3 laps) #3 C.J. Leary defeats #7 Briggs Danner

BILL & SANDY WEVER & THE GRANDKIDS KING OF THE HILL FINAL: (3 laps) #1 Justin Grant defeats #3 C.J. Leary

LUGS LAWN CARE SERVICE C-MAIN: (8 laps, top-2 transfer to the semi) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Nate Schank, 3. Larry Kingseed Jr., 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Bryar Schroeter, 6. Jack James, 7. Tyler Miller. 1:52.15

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Trey Osborne, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Cole Bodine, 6. Geoff Ensign, 7. Korbyn Hayslett, 8. Colten Cottle, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Brayden Clark, 12. Dustin Ingle, 13. Brandon Mattox, 14. Devan Myers, 15. Nate Schank, 16. Sterling Cling, 17. Kobe Simpson. NT

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Kyle Cummins (3), 3. Logan Seavey (8), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Robert Ballou (6), 6. Briggs Danner (4), 7. Jadon Rogers (10), 8. C.J. Leary (2), 9. Shane Cottle (7), 10. Jake Swanson (12), 11. Ricky Lewis (11), 12. Emerson Axsom (17), 13. Daison Pursley (20), 14. Carson Garrett (9), 15. Joey Amantea (16), 16. Geoff Ensign (22), 17. Matt Westfall (14), 18. Trey Osborne (18), 19. Cole Bodine (21), 20. Stevie Sussex (19), 21. Max Adams (13), 22. Chase Stockon (15). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 C.J. Leary, Laps 12-40 Justin Grant.

**Kobe Simpson flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1851, 2-Justin Grant-1842, 3-Emerson Axsom-1743, 4-Kyle Cummins-1724, 5-Jake Swanson-1697, 6-C.J. Leary-1638, 7-Robert Ballou-1552, 8-Chase Stockon-1434, 9-Daison Pursley-1377, 10-Mitchel Moles-1374.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-152, 2-Logan Seavey-104, 3-Shane Cottle-102, 4-Robert Ballou-87, 5-Matt Westfall-86, 6-Brady Bacon-85, 7-Justin Grant-79, 8-Emerson Axsom-76, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 7, 2023 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, Texas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – Co-Sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprints

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Clinton Boyles/Carbon Safety Technologies Most Wheel Pack Laps: Colten Cottle (38)

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Brady Bacon (12.807)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Jadon Rogers

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Ricky Lewis

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Swanson

Bill & Sandy Wever & The Grandkids King of the Hill Champion: Justin Grant

Lugs Lawn Care Service C-Main Winner: Brandon Mattox

Hoosier Tire First C-Main Non-Transfer: Larry Kingseed Jr.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Emerson Axsom

Hoosier Tire First Semi Non-Transfer: Korbyn Hayslett

ProSource Hard Work Award: Geoff Ensign

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: C.J. Leary

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Daison Pursley (20th to 13th)

Clinton Boyles Top Local Driver: Ricky Lewis (11th)

Collin Grissom Smackdown Rookie Move of the Night: Briggs Danner

Smackdown ProSource Passing Master: Shane Cottle

Smackdown Rookie of the Year: Briggs Danner

 

SMACKDOWN ON REPEAT!
GRANT GOES BACK-TO-BACK AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 25, 2023)………Justin Grant. Justin Grant.

No, you’re not seeing double. In fact, what you’re actually seeing is a repeat.

The recurring theme thus far throughout Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown XII has been the success of the Ione, Calif. native who captured his second USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory in as many nights on Friday at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

Grant advanced from his fourth starting position to take over the lead from racelong leader Jadon Rogers just before the midway point following an exchange of slide jobs at each end of the 1/4-mile dirt oval between the pair. Grant then led the final 17 circuits to pick up yet another monumental triumph behind the wheel of his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

The sixth career Smackdown win (prelims & final nights combined) of Grant’s career made him the winningest driver in the event’s 12-year history. Additionally, the win was Grant’s eighth overall in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo, tying him for second all-time with Tony Elliott and now trails only Dave Darland (9) for the most ever.

In becoming only the second driver to score wins on the opening two nights of Smackdown (Kyle Cummins in 2020), Grant also set a new career high in terms of single-season USAC National Sprint Car victories with eight, surpassing his former highwater mark of seven in 2021.

Grant’s 42nd career USAC National Sprint Car main event win moved him up another notch on the all-time series win list to seventh all-time. In doing so, he moved past Bryan Clauson (41) and into a tie with 1974 and 1976 series champion Pancho Carter. Grant now stands just three victories behind 1968-70-75 series titlist Larry Dickson’s mark of 45, which currently ranks sixth all-time.

Since teaming up with car chief Jeff Walker in early July, Grant has won five of 11 USAC National Sprint Car starts this season. Confidence in himself and with his ride is at an all-time high for Grant who feels as if he can go anywhere at any time in any place on the track in order to complete the task despite the physical nature of the 30-lap journey.

“This car has been a rocket,” Grant exclaimed. “No matter where I go, it’s just really, really good. Jeff Walker and I are working really well together. But I’m going to have to get some AC and maybe some more food tomorrow if we’re going to do 40 laps. I’m in pretty good shape, but I was starting to fall out of the seat at the end there. It was pretty physical tonight, and it was hot.”

With a much better view from the front on this night in comparison to Thursday’s program, Jadon Rogers took off from the pole position to assume the point in the early going. Twenty-four hours earlier, Rogers made a spectacular high side charge in the feature from 23rd to 5th.

The first and only yellow flag of the feature was displayed on lap five when Smackdown Rookie Trey Osborne slowed to a stop on the front straightaway. Earlier in the evening, Osborne scored his first career heat race victory in USAC competition. However, after starting eighth in the feature, he’d have to settle for a 23rd place result.

When action resumed, Rogers’ race lead was under attack from Briggs Danner and C.J. Leary who took the battle three-wide through turn four. Rogers thwarted the challenge by maintaining his high side momentum. However, doing much the same behind the trio was another driver doing much the same – Justin Grant.

Using the opposite approach, Brady Bacon had the bottom line working to his liking, and on lap 12, he took two-for-one as he slipped under both Leary and Danner in turn one to slot into third.
Just before the halfway point, the race for the lead officially became a free-for-all. Grant took his initial stab on the 13th lap when he slid by Rogers in turn three. However, Rogers countered off the turn four banking to lead the lap, but immediately, Grant reloaded by sliding Rogers into turn one.

Rogers mashed stood on the pedal and slid across the nose of Grant at the entry to turn three only to have Grant cross over to beat Rogers to the line by a car length on lap 14. Rogers fired one more shot from the musket, briefly retaking the lead in turn one, but by the back straight, Grant had re-cleared and re-taken the top spot, and for good, in a scenario and moment when both himself and his car shine on like crazy diamonds.

“Typically, when a racetrack has a really fast cushion, I’m not necessarily that great at it,” Grant admitted. “I’m okay at it, but as it starts to slow up, and it gets technical and tricky and gets some spots where you’ve got to start picking and choosing, that’s when I feel like I can shine, and I’ve got a racecar that shines when it’s like that. I wait for it to get technical, then I go to work.”

Bottom feeding Bacon ultimately corralled second from Rogers on lap 17 and set forth toward Grant. At the same time, Shane Cottle was putting on a passing clinic of epic proportions as the 21st place starting driver got by Rogers for third on lap 18 – the 18th driver he’d passed in a mere 18 laps.

Cottle ascended as far as second place with eight laps remaining but soon became stifled by a continuous row of lapped cars which aligned themselves on the bottom. Bacon moved up to the middle groove and reclaimed second a lap later, which also forced Cottle to leave the comfort zone of the bottom as well.

The race to the top of the pylon was in total control under the reign of Grant who finished off the night with a 2.197 second margin of victory over Brady Bacon, Shane Cottle, Jadon Rogers and Kyle Cummins.

Grant is a showman by nature; therefore, he wholeheartedly confesses to enjoying the thrill of being both fast and spectacular, a cocktail that he fully endorses.

“I’m a racecar driver and I like to think that I’m the guy to beat every time, no matter what,” Grant stated. “But I certainly have an extra boost of confidence when it’s like that and I love doing it. I love doing it for all the fans. Watching a guy lead a race is really cool when he might crash for no reason. So, I think it’s cool when it’s like that. I love putting on a show and doing what I can.”

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) collected a runner-up finish for the second night in a row in his Dynamics, Inc./Alumitech Products – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/Triple X/Rider Chevy. For the 10th time in his USAC National Sprint Car career at Kokomo Speedway, Bacon finished as the runner-up, and to this day, remains on the hunt for his own first USAC Sprint Car win at the track as well as the Dynamics/Hoffman Auto Racing team as well.

“We were definitely faster on the bottom,” Bacon noted. “But when we got to lapped traffic, they were all on the bottom. So, I pretty much had to get in line at the top, follow them around and try not to crash up there. It was pretty gnarly in turn three and the cushion got so big and so low, you couldn’t really get a good approach to it getting into turn one. We got tight a couple times but kept a decent speed up there.”

Some individuals equate running the bottom to having a job. Not so for Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) who makes it a way of life. Cottle advanced from his 21st starting spot to finish third, earning J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors and a $300 bonus in his Epperson Racing/Epperson Painting – PPG Paints/DRC/Claxton Chevy. Amazingly, for Cottle, it’s his sixth hard charger award in the past nine series races.

“They went out and worked the bottom, which fit right into my wheelhouse,” Cottle said of the quick track prep work session prior to the feature. “The Epperson crew did an awesome job tonight. Tony Jarrett and Logan, they put up the money for this, and like I said during Indiana Sprint Week, I like that Jarrett money.”

Eight drivers locked themselves into Saturday night’s $30,000-to-win Smackdown feature as well as the King of the Hill duels at Kokomo by virtue of accumulating the most combined points during Thursday and Friday’s programs: Justin Grant, Brady Bacon, C.J. Leary, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner and Logan Seavey.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 25, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Ricky Lewis, 41, Brown-12.774; 2. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.800; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.889; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.935; 5. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-12.953; 6. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.978; 7. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-12.996; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.007; 9. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-13.035; 10. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.052; 11. Dave Darland, 36D, Darland/Curb-Agajanian-13.092; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.094; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.106; 14. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-13.131; 15. Jack Hoyer, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.174; 16. Riley Kreisel, 2, Yeley-13.181; 17. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-13.200; 18. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-13.204; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.219; 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-13.247; 21. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-13.250; 22. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.278; 23. Cole Bodine, 57B, Bodine-13.290; 24. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.295; 25. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.317; 26. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.345; 27. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.345; 28. Rylan Gray, 81G, Gray-13.364; 29. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-13.420; 30. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-13.425; 31. Colten Cottle, 57, Hazen-13.438; 32. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.460; 33. Wyatt Burks, 11w, WBR-13.533; 34. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-13.660; 35. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.669; 36. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-13.690; 37. Larry Kingseed Jr., 21, Kingseed-13.704; 38. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.712; 39. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-13.733; 40. Devan Myers, 75, Myers-13.854; 41. Brayden Clark, 42G, Jackson/Clark-13.890; 42. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.986; 43. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.109; 44. Jack James, 99, James-14.205; 45. Bryar Schroeter, 21s, Schroeter-14.267.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Ricky Lewis, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Korbyn Hayslett, 5. Max Adams, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Wyatt Burks, 9. Brayden Clark, 10. Larry Kingseed Jr., 11. Bryar Schroeter, 12. Carson Garrett. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Trey Osborne, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Geoff Ensign, 9. Nate Schank, 10. Kayla Roell, 11. Troy Carey. 2:15.04

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Jack Hoyer, 8. Colten Cottle, 9. Brandon Mattox, 10. Zack Pretorius, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. 2:16.58

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Dustin Ingle, 7. Rylan Gray, 8. Devan Myers, 9. Riley Kreisel, 10. Jack James, 11. Kobe Simpson. NT

THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Colten Cottle, 2. Wyatt Burks, 3. Brandon Mattox, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Kayla Roell, 7. Kobe Simpson, 8. Dustin Ingle, 9. Brayden Clark, 10. Jack James, 11. Bryar Schroeter, 12. Devan Myers, 13. Troy Carey, 14. Nate Schank, 15. Larry Kingseed Jr. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Stevie Sussex, 5. Sterling Cling, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Jack Hoyer, 8. Geoff Ensign, 9. Carson Garrett, 10. Joey Amantea, 11. Brandon Mattox, 12. Riley Kreisel, 13. Wyatt Burks, 14. Colten Cottle, 15. Zack Pretorius, 16. Rylan Gray, 17. Max Adams, 18. Chance Crum. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Brady Bacon (7), 3. Shane Cottle (21), 4. Jadon Rogers (2), 5. Kyle Cummins (5), 6. Logan Seavey (10), 7. C.J. Leary (1), 8. Jake Swanson (9), 9. Briggs Danner (3), 10. Ricky Lewis (6), 11. Robert Ballou (14), 12. Chase Stockon (12), 13. Matt Westfall (16), 14. Emerson Axsom (19), 15. Daison Pursley (15), 16. Sterling Cling (11), 17. Cole Bodine (20), 18. Dave Darland (13), 19. Carson Garrett (23-P), 20. Stevie Sussex (22), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (17), 22. Korbyn Hayslett (18), 23. Trey Osborne (8). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Jadon Rogers, Laps 14-30 Justin Grant.

**Troy Carey flipped during the C-Main. Chance Crum flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1790, 2-Justin Grant-1772, 3-Emerson Axsom-1704, 4-Kyle Cummins-1657, 5-Jake Swanson-1654, 6-C.J. Leary-1589, 7-Robert Ballou-1494, 8-Chase Stockon-1411, 9-Mitchel Moles-1374, 10-Daison Pursley-1340.

SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XII PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-22, 2-Shane Cottle-19, 3-Joey Amantea-17, 4-Carson Garrett-14, 5-Brady Bacon-11, 6-Justin Grant-10, 7-Briggs Danner-10, 8-Robert Ballou-8, 9-Emerson Axsom-8, 10-Cole Bodine-8.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Shane Cottle-102, 3-Logan Seavey-99, 4-Robert Ballou-86, 5-Matt Westfall-86, 6-Brady Bacon-84, 7-Justin Grant-79, 8-Emerson Axsom-71, 9-Chase Stockon-69, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 26, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Clinton Boyles/Carbon Safety Technologies Most Wheel Pack Laps: Chase Stockon

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Logan Seavey (12.817)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Ricky Lewis (12.774)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Trey Osborne

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Grant

The Frolic Bar & Grill C-Main Winner: Colten Cottle

Hoosier Tire First C-Main Non-Transfer: Eddie Tafoya Jr.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Swanson

Hoosier Tire First Semi Non-Transfer: Jack Hoyer

ProSource Hard Work Award: Stevie Sussex

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Jadon Rogers

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (21st to 3rd)

Clinton Boyles Top Local Driver: Ricky Lewis (10th)

Collin Grissom Smackdown Rookie Move of the Night: Trey Osborne


 

 

GRANT OPENING!
JG WINS 3RD STRAIGHT
SMACKDOWN OPENER AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 24, 2023)………When Smackdown begins, Justin Grant wins.

Over the past three seasons, that just seems to be the order of business on the opening night of the three-night event annually held during the month of August at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

After notching back-to-back Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown opening night victories in 2021 and 2022, the Ione, Calif. driver once again found victory lane on Thursday night, becoming the first driver win three-straight Smackdown openers.

This time around, Grant was the force from start to finish in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MVP Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy, leading all 30 laps to earn his season-leading seventh USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature win of the year.

Grant’s fifth overall Smackdown victory (prelims & final nights combined) places him in a three-way tie for the most all-time alongside Dave Darland and Tyler Courtney. Furthermore, the win was Grant’s seventh in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo, which now trails only the two undisputed Kokomo Speedway kings – Dave Darland (9) and Tony Elliott (8).

Additionally, Grant’s victory at Kokomo was the 41st of his USAC National Sprint Car career, which moved him past 1969 and 1971 series championship Gary Bettenhausen on the all-time list. Grant now stands tied with 2012-13 series champ Bryan Clauson for eighth all-time and just one behind Pancho Carter, the 1974 and 1976 titlist, for seventh on the list.

Grant started on the pole for the main event alongside Kyle Cummins. It was a row of Smackdown mastery as, between the two, the pair had won each of the past two Smackdown finales and the past three Smackdown openers. As a matter of fact, a year ago, the opening night Smackdown feature came down to the wire between the same two individuals.

Things quickly came to a halt on lap one as a stack-up occurred in turn two, entangling Logan Seavey, Matt Westfall, Trey Osborne, Dave Darland and Colten Cottle, all of whom stopped. Osborne and Cottle incurred the most misfortune as both did not return.

When the race finally did resume with a complete restart, Grant was like a Concorde among hang gliders as he shot ahead to lead the opening lap several car lengths ahead of Cummins while Brady Bacon slid into third ahead of C.J. Leary on the bottom of turn one on lap two.

Halfway through, Grant reached the tail end of the field while carrying a solid 0.766 second lead. At that point, Bacon was hovering over Cummins’ shoulder for second. Grant played offense in traffic as he took to the top of turn four to fly by Korbyn Hayslett, Westfall and Rylan Gray in one fell swoop as he escaped the approaching duo of Cummins and Bacon to reconstruct his lead from a few car lengths to a half-straightaway with only 10 laps to go.

With the competition running high, middle and low out in front of him, Grant had to be on high alert, looking left, right and down the middle as if playing a game of Whack-a-Mole. Making decisions quickly and pouncing rapidly is the name of the game, and fortunately for Grant, his car was hooked up and he was able to make all the right moves at all the right times in all the right places.

“I had to run a bunch of different lanes but (car chief) Jeff Walker and I had this car so good,” Grant stated. “I could run above the cushion; I could run through the slick; I could run the bottom; I could run the top; I could just do anything. The only concern I had was how high the car was going to wheelie on the straightaways.”

When everything’s clicking, as it did in the case for Grant, it opens up options instead of leaving a driver with a one-track mind when making split-second decisions at a place in which laps are clicked off at a rate of every 13 seconds.

“With traffic being the way it was and with the track being the way it was, it allowed me to have so many options where it looked like a lot of guys maybe didn’t have those options,” Grant explained. “We were able to cut through those lapped cars at a really good pace. I didn’t feel like I had to be super aggressive, but I had a car that was good to enough to allow me to jump into every hole I needed to and clear guys when I needed to. It was a whole lot of fun.”

With seven to go on lap 24, Bacon scooched on the bottom of turn three, dead even with Cummins before taking the second position. However, with just a handful of trips around the 1/4-mile remaining, Bacon found himself still a full two seconds behind the leader.

Grant never relented down the stretch, lapping all but the first nine finishers at closing time as he crossed under the checkered flag 2.007 seconds ahead of Brady Bacon, who finished as the runner-up. Robert Ballou grabbed third with Carson Garrett fourth and Jadon Rogers rounded out the top-five with a miraculous high-side run from 23rd to 5th after taking a provisional starting position.

Cummins had been running third with just two laps remaining when he began to slow dramatically, dropping through the field before finishing 10th in the final rundown, the victim of a nozzle line that came off.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) made a late race move to grab a second-place result in his Dynamics, Inc./Alumitech Products – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/Triple X/Rider Chevy. In doing so, he padded his overall USAC National Sprint Car point lead while earning his ninth career second place finish with the series at Kokomo, where he came one spot away from winning his and his team’s first at the track.

“I thought we had a good car in open track,” Bacon said. “While I was racing Kyle, he got past a gaggle of lapped cars, and that kind of held us up after that. So, he got a little breathing room. We could move around on the top or the bottom and wherever we needed to go. It just wasn’t meant to be once again."

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) endured a night in which he kicked off as the fastest qualifier, then got caught up in a heat race accident only to recover by driving from the tail to a transfer spot. Then, he was forced to change the engine just before the feature, yet still managed to persevere and finish on the podium in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Berks Western Telecom/Triple X/Ott Chevy.

“We were in the back changing motors,” Ballou revealed. “We had a motor that dropped oil pressure pretty severely, but it was still running well. It was quick time and ran through that heat race, so it did what it needed to do. (Engine builder) Don Ott recommended we change it, so we put another motor in. This is actually the Farney’s motor we used just to get us through. I was a knucklehead as we just had one delivered today but I didn’t bring it. So, we put this thing in and obviously it got us to where we needed to be. I wasn’t sure where to go on gear because we haven’t run that thing in so long and we missed it a little bit.”

It was a successful Smackdown debut for reigning USAC East Coast Sprint Car champ and current point leader Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) as his first career start in the event netted a $300 bonus as the feature's J & J Trucking Hard Charger after advancing from 16th to 8th. To clarify, although Jadon Rogers passed 18 cars in his move from 23rd to 5th, he was ineligible for official hard charger honors due to taking a provisional.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 24, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.900; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.918; 3. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-12.942; 4. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.944; 5. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.960; 6. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.963; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.969; 8. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-12.976; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.987; 10. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.996; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.013; 12. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.031; 13. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-13.036; 14. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-13.038; 15. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-13.071; 16. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-13.102; 17. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-13.102; 18. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-13.145; 19. Ricky Lewis, 41, Brown-13.163; 20. Colten Cottle, 57, Hazen-13.178; 21. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-13.179; 22. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.179; 23. Rylan Gray, 81G, Gray-13.185; 24. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.198; 25. Cole Bodine, 57B, Bodine-13.218; 26. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.272; 27. Nate Schank, 1, Schank-13.282; 28. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.301; 29. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-13.316; 30. Jadon Rogers, 17GP, Dutcher-13.326; 31. Sterling Cling, 34, SCR-13.348; 32. Dave Darland, 36D, Darland/Curb-Agajanian-13.362; 33. Wyatt Burks, 11w, WBR-13.407; 34. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-13.456; 35. Riley Kreisel, 2, Yeley-13.478; 36. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.531; 37. Larry Kingseed Jr., 21, Kingseed-13.593; 38. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.620; 39. Brayden Clark, 42G, Jackson/Clark-13.705; 40. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-13.722; 41. Devan Myers, 75, Myers-13.785; 42. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.987; 43. Jack James, 99, James-13.995; 44. Bryar Schroeter, 21s, Schroeter-14.509; 45. Jack Hoyer, 5, Baldwin/Fox-18.748; 46. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-NT (Time of 12.909 disallowed after his car weighed light at the scales).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Kayla Roell, 6. Wyatt Burks, 7. Geoff Ensign, 8. Devan Myers, 9. Jack Hoyer, 10. Cole Bodine, 11. Larry Kingseed Jr., 12. Emerson Axsom. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. Korbyn Hayslett, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Jake Swanson, 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Jadon Rogers, 10. Kobe Simpson, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 12. Troy Carey. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Rylan Gray, 2. Trey Osborne, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Nate Schank, 9. Brayden Clark, 10. Jack James, 11. Riley Kreisel. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Colten Cottle, 3. Max Adams, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Dustin Ingle, 8. Bryar Schroeter, 9. Stevie Sussex, 10. Mitchel Moles, 11. Chase Stockon. NT

THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Sterling Cling, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Wyatt Burks, 5. Riley Kreisel, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Devan Myers, 10. Troy Carey, 11. Jack Hoyer, 12. Dustin Ingle, 13. Brayden Clark, 14. Jack James, 15. Bryar Schroeter, 16. Larry Kingseed Jr. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Sterling Cling, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. Nate Schank, 13. Chance Crum, 14. Emerson Axsom, 15. Geoff Ensign, 16. Wyatt Burks, 17. Zack Pretorius, 18. Mitchel Moles. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Robert Ballou (5), 4. Carson Garrett (6), 5. Jadon Rogers (23-P), 6. C.J. Leary (3), 7. Shane Cottle (8), 8. Briggs Danner (16), 9. Joey Amantea (9), 10. Kyle Cummins (1), 11. Emerson Axsom (24-P), 12. Chase Stockon (12), 13. Logan Seavey (11), 14. Jake Swanson (14) 15. Ricky Lewis (18), 16. Max Adams (7), 17. Cole Bodine (20), 18. Matt Westfall (13), 19. Rylan Gray (10), 20. Korbyn Hayslett (22), 21. Dave Darland (21), 22. Daison Pursley (15), 23. Trey Osborne (17), 24. Colten Cottle (19). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Justin Grant.

**Emerson Axsom flipped during the first heat. Mitchel Moles flipped during the fourth heat.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1715, 2-Justin Grant-1691, 3-Emerson Axsom-1662, 4-Jake Swanson-1596, 5-Kyle Cummins-1587, 6-C.J. Leary-1531, 7-Robert Ballou-1447, 8-Mitchel Moles-1374, 9-Chase Stockon-1371, 10-Daison Pursley-1305.

SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XII PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-22, 2-Briggs Danner-9, 3-Jack Hoyer-7, 4-Jadon Rogers-6, 5-Carson Garrett-5, 6-Cole Bodine-5, 7-Sterling Cling-5, 8-Devan Myers-5, 9-Brady Bacon-4, 10-Robert Ballou-4.

OVERALL USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Logan Seavey-95, 3-Shane Cottle-84, 4-Robert Ballou-83, 5-Matt Westfall-83, 6-Brady Bacon-79, 7-Justin Grant-76, 8-Chase Stockon-69, 9-Emerson Axsom-66, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-54.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 25-26, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Clinton Boyles/Carbon Safety Technologies Most Wheel Pack Laps: Chase Stockon

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Justin Grant (12.942)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Robert Ballou (12.900)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Shane Cottle

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Joey Amantea

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Rylan Gray

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

The Frolic Bar & Grill C-Main Winner: Jadon Rogers

Hoosier Tire First C-Main Non-Transfer: Riley Kreisel

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase Stockon

Hoosier Tire First Semi Non-Transfer: Jadon Rogers

ProSource Hard Work Award: Dave Darland

Green APU Green Flag Challenge First Lap Leader: Justin Grant

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Briggs Danner (16th to 8th)

Clinton Boyles Top Local Driver: Ricky Lewis (15th)

Collin Grissom Smackdown Rookie Move of the Night: Joey Amantea


 


BIG, FAST & BOLD:
7 STORYLINES FOR USAC SILVER CROWN’S
RETURN TO THE ARCH

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Madison, Illinois (August 23, 2023)………To the Arch we go as 26 USAC Silver Crown National Championship drivers and cars show the way to Saint Louis this Sunday, August 27, at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Technically, the address belongs to Madison, Ill., just east of the Mississippi River. There lies the biggest, fastest and boldest track on the 2023 USAC Silver Crown schedule.

At 1.25-mile, the venue holds the USAC Silver Crown speed record where the speedometer regularly hits 180 miles per hour on the straightaways. And drafting, yes drafting, will be among the keys to success in the 100 mile, 80-lap OutFront 100.

Here’s seven storylines that have our interest piqued for round eight of the champ car season.

HOW FAST CAN THEY GO?

World Wide Technology is the biggest and fastest circuit on the USAC Silver Crown trail. Last year’s early practice speeds showed drivers hitting above 180 mph on the straightaway.

When Kody Swanson came out to qualify, his attempt was downright historic. Swanson set a new world speed record for a traditional USAC Silver Crown car during the session with a time of 30.675 seconds, which translates to 146.699 mph, eclipsing the former speed record for a traditional Silver Crown car set by himself at Iowa Speedway with a 146.212 mph in 2012.

The term “traditional” is used in this manner due to the utilization of a “New Generation” “Super Speedway” car that was used in competition solely during the years of 2006-07. Aaron Pierce turned a qualifying lap of 175.012 mph during the brief era in USAC history at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006.

Swanson’s time trial run was monumental in a multitude of manners. It also broke Chris Windom’s nine-year-old series track record at WWT of 31.082 seconds and 144.778 mph, set back in 2013.

The pole position has been a comfy place for Swanson. All three times he’s won the pole for a pavement USAC Silver Crown race in 2023, he’s gone on to win the race at Madison, Winchester and Toledo. In 2022 at WWT, he started on the pole before falling back, but ultimately returned to the forefront and to victory lane.


FATHER & SON REUNION

A rare occurrence of a father racing against his son in USAC Silver Crown competition will take place on Sunday at WWT Raceway.

Idahoans Davey Hamilton and Davey Hamilton Jr. have both competed with the series at WWT, but never together. Davey Sr. finished a solid eighth in 1998 while Davey Jr. led 15 laps and finished as the runner-up in 2022.

Unique is that Davey has raced against both his father and son in the USAC Silver Crown series. Ken Hamilton competed with Davey at the Pikes Peak International Raceway round in 1998. A Davey versus Davey Jr. battle has commenced twice before, both in 2017, at Phoenix and Salem.

Only five previous fathers and son duels have occurred in a USAC Silver Crown feature event. Jim McElreath and his son, James, were the first to do so in 1975 at Du Quoin and went head-to-head on a total of seven occasions with the series. Twice, they ran together in the top-10: (Jim 3rd and James 7th at Du Quoin in 1976) and (James 4th & Jim 6th at Springfield in 1977).

Mike McCreary and son David McCreary competed against one another at the Cal Expo State Fairgrounds in 1994. Wayne Reutimann Sr. and Jr. faced off in 2007 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Chuck and C.J. Leary attempted to become the most recent father-son duo to attempt the feat during the 2019 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, but Chuck did not make it into a transfer spot during the semi-feature to qualify for the feature.


KODY VS. LOGAN: CHAPTER 863

One year ago, Kody Swanson entered the WWT round with an 18-point lead on Logan Seavey in the USAC Silver Crown championship race.

Swanson subsequently won the pole and the race while Seavey suffered a mechanical issue and dropped out early. From that point forward, Seavey played catch up to Swanson before ultimately finishing second in the standings for the second consecutive year behind Swanson.

This time, the gap is much the same – 16 points. Between the two drivers, they’ve won the last four Silver Crown events. Swanson has captured the last three on pavement while Seavey has scored two-straight on the dirt.

Four events remain starting Sunday at WWT, then it’s on to Du Quoin on September 2, at Eldora on September 22-23 and at IRP on October 14. Two pavement and two dirt races are left, and both drivers have the shown the ability to run inside the top-five with great regularity when they do not win. Avoiding DNFs is going to be the key moving forward and could very well tell the tale between the two at season’s end.


THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF USAC RACERS

A double-duty weekend awaits for four individuals with a busy stretch ahead, especially between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey and Matt Westfall will be playing in the dirt for three consecutive nights at Kokomo Speedway on Thursday, Friday and Saturday during Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII.

Once Saturday night’s feature at Kokomo is finished, those four will be making the 4.5-hour middle of the night drive to WWT in order to make it to the track in time for the first Silver Crown practice session at 8am.

Last week, Seavey became just the third driver to win two USAC National features on different tracks in the same calendar day. Although all the races are on different days this weekend, the timeframe is relatively the same and the task will be just as tasking for these four. Rest up and hydrate, guys!

DOES ANYBODY ELSE FEEL A DRAFT IN HERE?

Unique to the WWT Raceway is the experience of the draft in a USAC Silver Crown car. In a soon-to-be-released article by Pat Sullivan, Justin Grant and Kody Swanson revealed the benefits of this phenomenon.

Grant explained how he could be 10 or 12 car lengths back from the cars in front of him. As soon as they went side-by-side, it punched a big hole in the air and Grant was able to drive right to their back bumpers with ease.

Swanson spoke of his ability to get a run on another car event at three-quarters throttle but cautioned that if you get your timing wrong and pull out of line at the wrong time, it feels like you have a big parachute coming out of the back of your car.


A GROWTH SPURT ON THE ENTRY LIST

It was just a handful of years ago in which the Silver Crown car count at WWT Raceway was a major struggle. In 2013, just 16 cars took the green flag, and in both 2014 and 2016, the number dropped to 13 apiece in each year.

The number rose back to 22 for the series return in 2022, and now for this Sunday’s race, 26 cars and drivers have announced their intentions of competing in the event.

That’s double the count from just seven years ago and comes on the heels of the first Silver Crown race to have a car count of more than 40 just last Saturday on the dirt at Springfield.

BISCHAK RISING

Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) is currently on the biggest roll of his USAC Silver Crown career entering this Sunday’s OutFront 100.

Bischak collected his best career USAC Silver Crown finish of fourth this past May during the Hoosier Hundred at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He then upped his best career result to third at Winchester in July, then equaled it again during the first week of August with another third at Toledo.

The 2019 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year had been plagued by unlucky mechanical issues after similar great runs in recent years, but now, their program is hitting on all cylinders and the team has become a prime contender to become the series’ next first-time winner.

RACE DETAILS

This Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, the USAC Silver Crown National Championship races in conjunction with the NTT IndyCar Series.

Team load-in is 5:30am-7am Central on Sunday morning. Teams may also load-in on Saturday night from 8-9pm. Spectator gates open at 7:30. USAC Silver Crown Series practice is set for 8am with Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying slated for 10:15am, pre-race ceremonies at noon and the 100-mile feature event at 12:15.

Tickets range in price from $50 to $108 for adults. Tickets for ages 12 & under are $10. Advance tickets are on sale now at: https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/indycar

Coverage of Sunday’s USAC Silver Crown event will be live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.

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

2023 OUTFRONT 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (26)

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

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

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

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

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

11 ®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

14 DAVEY HAMILTON/Nampa, ID (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

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

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

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

48 ®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Joe Moore)

60 BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Robert Wilson Racing)

67 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)

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

81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)

88 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Byrd Racing)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

94 MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (RAM Engineering)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

126 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

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

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


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT 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 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)


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). 56:47.64 (NOTE: Car #30, Chuck Leary (7), disqualified after finishing fifth for failing to pass post-race technical inspection.)

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

 

BC39 ENTRIES SURPASS 20
AS USAC TRIPLE CROWN CHAMP ENTERS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 23, 2023)………USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. is among the latest entries for the 2023 Driven2SaveLives BC39.

A total of 21 cars and drivers are now set to compete in the fifth running of the event which features an extended four days of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The BC39 regularly presents the highest USAC car counts of the year. The 2022 event produced 85 entries, fifth most in the 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing. The newest look at the 2023 entry list is at the bottom of this release.

Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) has captured all three of USAC’s national championships in his career in Midgets, Silver Crown and Sprint Cars. Also new to the BC39 entry list are three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) who currently sits second in series points.

Denney’s Tom Malloy teammate, Rookie Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) will make his BC39 debut this year, and he’s joined by USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

The first class of BC39 entries arrived last week and featured 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), plus three entries from Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports consisting of two-time series winner and 2022 series Rookie of the Year Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), plus two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and teammate Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.).

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

DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2023 DRIVEN2SAVE BC39 ENTRIES:

(21 cars as of August 23, 2023)

1D Landon Brooks

1G Connor Wolf

7c Josh Bilicki

7m Kyle Jones

7p Zach Daum

11L Aaron Leffel

18N Weston Gorham

19 Daison Pursley

19AZ Hayden Reinbold

19T Mitchel Moles

21D Justin Dickerson

22p Taylor Courtney

25 Jacob Denney

25m Jake Andreotti

36 Ian Creager

41 Oliver Akard

44 Adam Andretti

46 Kenney Johnson

54 Matt Westfall

85 Jerry Coons Jr.

118 Scott Evans

 

 

8 SMACKDOWN STORYLINES: USAC SPRINTS INVADE KOKOMO FOR 30-GRAND 8 SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AS USAC SPRINTS INVADE KOKOMO FOR 30-GRAND

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (August 22, 2023)………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 XII at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway this Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, August 24-25-26.

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 12th installment of Sprint Car Smackdown 2023 right now.

IT’S A NEW RECORD PAYOUT

The prestige of winning Sprint Car Smackdown alone is worth its weight in gold. However, this year’s $30,000 prize provides an extra financial incentive that has both drivers and teams as eager as ever before.

This Saturday’s finale is not only the richest Smackdown on record, it’s the richest sprint car race ever held 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.

Additionally, as part of the Super Smackdown draw, a driver will earn $500 for every lap led during Saturday night’s 40-lap feature. That leaves the possibility of a driver walking out of Kokomo this weekend with $50,000 in total prizes when all is said and done.

Just three 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 XII 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 2023 season.

CUMMINS – A TRUE MEANING OF THE WORD “SMACKDOWN”

Throughout the first decade of Sprint Car Smackdown between 2012-2021, the term “Smackdown” served as a noun that was utilized to simply refer to the name of the annual August time event at Kokomo.

In 2022, Kyle Cummins fully demonstrated “Smackdown” as a verb, crushing the field in a 40-lap romp. Starting from the outside of the front row, the Princeton, Ind. native punched out to a substantial lead that continuously grew throughout the duration, ultimately cruising underneath flagman Tom Hansing’s checkered more than four seconds ahead of the competition in his Rock Steady Racing owned machine.

After multiple runner-up finishes on the final night of Smackdown in 2019-20 and a pair of preliminary night victories in his career, at long last, Cummins had finally grabbed the brass ring and the victory belt as a first-time Smackdown champion.

“This is by far the biggest win of my career,” Cummins exclaimed at the time. “We finally got one of these. I didn’t know if I ever would. Now I can strike that off the list and I won’t have to endure that pressure again.”

Only two drivers have won consecutive Smackdown final night features: Dave Darland (2013-14-15) and Tyler Courtney (2019-20). Cummins takes his shot this Saturday night.

SPRINT WEEK SUCCESS = SMACKDOWN WEEKEND SUCCESS?

C.J. Leary aims to reprise what Dave Darland (2014) and Justin Grant (2021) accomplished in recent years by following up a USAC Indiana Sprint Week victory at Kokomo with a win later that same season on the final night of Smackdown.

After enduring a vicious flip during 24 hours earlier that wiped out their primary ride, Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and BGE Dougherty Motorsports turned to a car that had been sitting on jackstands for the past three years and had never seen a racetrack, let alone even touched the ground.

With body panels adorned in the look Leary sported during the 2020 season when he drove the family-owned No. 30, Leary and his Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete - Highsmith Guns - Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/DRC/1-Way Chevy hit the ground running to win the July 22 round of ISW this season at Kokomo.

Leary is among a group of drivers to have won a Smackdown prelim feature but have yet to break through on the final night. Leary won preliminaries in both 2016 and 2017 and finished a career best 2nd on Saturday night a year ago.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) captured the opening night of Smackdown in 2015. His best finish on the final night was a close second in 2014. Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.), the only driver to start all 22 prelims and all 11 final nights of Smackdown in his career, corralled a prelim victory in 2015 and raced to a runner-up result a night later in the finale.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) made it to victory lane for the first time in his USAC National Sprint Car career during a Friday prelim in 2019. He’s been 5th twice on the last night in 2019 and 2021.

KOKOMO – THE TIME IS NOW FOR A BREAKTHROUGH

Finishing second to Leary this summer was Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) who, amazingly, has yet to win a USAC National Sprint Car race at Kokomo despite eight career second place finishes.

The four-time USAC National Sprint Car champ owns three USAC National Midget wins at Kokomo and even collected a track championship in 2020. His Dynamics, Inc. / Hoffman Auto Racing team is in the same boat, having competed in 72 straight USAC National Sprint Car events at Kokomo since 1989 without a single victory. Perhaps this is finally the weekend.

Bacon enters Smackdown with the hot hand, coming in off a USAC Indiana Sprint Week title in July and is the current USAC National Sprint Car point leader by 19 points over Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), the winner of the most recent USAC National Sprint Car event at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway in July. Reigning USAC National Sprint Car champ and two-time Smackdown king Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) finds himself just a tick back out of the lead, trailing Bacon by 23.

Within the top-10 of the USAC National Sprint Car standings, half are vying for a first career Kokomo USAC Sprint Car victory: Bacon, Axsom, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Pursley.

BREAKDOWN ON THE SMACKDOWN ROOKIES

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 15 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 2023 are top USAC National Sprint Car Rookie Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.). Pursley, a past micro sprint champion under the USAC banner is one of several regional champions making their first Smackdown foray.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) has been spectacular on the USAC East Coast Sprint Car trail, having captured the 2022 series title and is the current point leader. Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Kan.) has been the master of the USAC Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Cars as a two-time champ in 2020 and 2022 and is currently leading the standings once more.

Geoff Ensign (Sebastopol, Calif.) is the reigning Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway track champ and a titlist with the USAC Western Classic Sprint Cars in 2010. Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.), a newcomer to the Indiana sprint car wars, won a USAC Regional Midget feature at Kokomo on Smackdown weekend in 2021.

Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) has been outstanding in the sprint car ranks on the local Indiana scene this year, already picking up a win at Gas City I-69 Speedway and twice at Paragon Speedway. Osborne, who stands 6’8” and is a disciple of seven-time USAC National Midget champ Mel Kenyon, will be joined in the Rookie class by Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, Calif.) who, as an 11-time winner this year, is the winningest sprint car driver without a wing in America this season.

USAC East Coast frontrunner Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.), a top-10 finisher with the USAC National Sprint Cars this past July at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, debuts at Smackdown along with Rylan Gray (Greenfield, Ind.), Kobe Simpson (Bonham, Texas), Bryar Schroeter (Kokomo, Ind.), Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, Calif.), Troy Carey (Tullamore, NSW Australia), Tyler Miller (Kokomo, Ind.) and Devan Myers (Delphi, Ind.).

The top finishing Rookie during this year’s Smackdown Saturday program will receive a $1,000 bonus, the funds of which were driven primarily by fan donations.

FIRST OF THE TRIFECTA

Smackdown XII is also the kickoff for the inaugural 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 16. Another $20,000 winner’s share is posted for the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway, set to go on Saturday, October 7.

Winning all three Trifecta events in 2023 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.

A SMATTERING OF SMACKDOWN STORIES

Former winners of the final night of Sprint Car Smackdown include Bryan Clauson (2012), Dave Darland (2013-14-15), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2016), Tyler Courtney (2017-19-20), Justin Grant (2018 & 2021) and Kyle Cummins (2022).

Darland, Thomas, Grant and Cummins are among the group in this year’s field. Darland picked up his only feature win of the year thus far in July at Kokomo and is the winningest driver of all-time at Kokomo as well in USAC competition with nine wins spanning between 1993-2015.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) celebrated a Smackdown final night victory in 2016, the same year he captured the track championship. In all, he owns five career USAC National Sprint Car wins at Kokomo, two of which came on the second night of Smackdown in 2021-22.

Grant is among the winningest USAC Sprint drivers at Kokomo with six victories, third all-time. In the past 10 USAC National Sprint Car races held at Kokomo since 2021, Grant has won five of them, including the Smackdown opener in each of the last two seasons in 2021-22.

Cummins scored his first career USAC National Sprint Car triumph at Kokomo in 2016 and is the latest Smackdown champion. A five-time winner with USAC at Kokomo, Cummins is also the track’s defending champion.

IT’S WORTH THE PAIN TO BE KING OF THE HILL

Smackdown preliminary events on Thursday, August 24 and Friday, August 25 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 26, 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), 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. Hot laps begin 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.

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CONFIRMED 2023 SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN XII ENTRIES:

06 Rylan Gray (R) 1H Korbyn Hayslett 2 Riley Kreisel 2B Logan Seavey 2E Shane Cottle 3R Kyle Cummins 4 Justin Grant 5 Jack Hoyer 5p Daison Pursley (R) 5s Chase Stockon 5x Max Adams 6T Trey Osborne (R) 9z Zack Pretorius 11w Wyatt Burks (R) 12 Robert Ballou 15 Carson Garrett 15x C.J. Leary 17 Geoff Ensign (R) 17GP Jadon Rogers 19AZ Mitchel Moles 21 Larry Kingseed Jr. 21AZ Jake Swanson 21K Kobe Simpson (R) 21s Bryar Schroeter (R) 26 Chance Crum (R) 28 Brandon Mattox 33m Matt Westfall 34 Sterling Cling 36D Dave Darland 39 Briggs Danner (R) 39E Kyle Edwards (R) 41 Ricky Lewis (R) 42c Brayden Clark 42 Kevin Thomas Jr. 45 Troy Carey (R) 47 Charles Davis Jr. 47BC Emerson Axsom 51T Eddie Tafoya, Jr. 57 Colten Cottle 57B Cole Bodine 67 Tyler Miller (R) 69 Brady Bacon 75 Devan Myers (R) 77s Stevie Sussex 88J Joey Amantea (R) 99 Jack James (R) represents a Sprint Car Smackdown Rookie

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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)

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KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:

9-Dave Darland

8-Tony Elliott

6-Tyler Courtney & Justin Grant

5-Kyle Cummins & 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

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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)

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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

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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

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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)

 


 

BILLY VUKOVICH, 79

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 21, 2023)………Billy Vukovich, an inductee of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame and a runner-up finisher at the 1973 Indianapolis 500, passed away on Sunday, August 20, 2023. He was 79 years old.

Hailing from Riverside, Calif., young Vuky, who also went by Bill Vukovich II, grew up idolizing his famed father, Bill Vukovich, winner of consecutive Indianapolis 500-mile races in 1953-54. In 1955, tragedy struck when Bill was killed while leading at Indianapolis.

In the years to come, Billy launched his own racing career and quickly made a name of his own. By 1965, at the age of 21, Billy had advanced to “Indy Cars,” making his debut late in the year with a 19th to 9th run at Phoenix International Raceway for Fred Gerhardt, who Billy’s father drove for when he captured consecutive United Racing Association Red Circuit Midget titles in 1945-46.

In 1966, Billy became the titlist of the Bay Cities Racing Association midget series before setting off to get a foothold with the United States Auto Club. That same season, Billy earned his first of his 23 career USAC National Midget feature triumphs at Vallejo (Calif.) Speedway for car owner Harry Stryker.

The following season, in 1967, Billy hit his stride, winning a grand total of 10 USAC National Midget features. He made headlines on June 24, 1967, when he became the first driver to win two USAC national events on the same day. In the afternoon, he took care of business at Denver, Colorado’s Lakeside Speedway and, at night, he was a winner once again at Colorado Springs, Colorado’s Sportsman Raceway Park.

Incredibly, Billy’s name was back in the spotlight just this past weekend when Logan Seavey became the third driver what Billy had done 56 years earlier. J.J. Yeley also achieved the same feat during the 2004 season.

Vukovich was a stalwart at the Indianapolis 500 beginning a year later in 1968 when he made the first of 12 Memorial Day weekend starts, advancing from 23rd to 7th at the wheel of a J.C. Agajanian entry in his first Indy try, which earned him Rookie of the Year honors.

Billy’s Indy record includes three top-five results with a best finish of second behind Gordon Johncock in the rain-shortened 1973 race aboard Jerry O’Connell’s Sugaripe Prune machine. Later in 1973, Billy won his lone Indy Car race in the first Twin 125 at Michigan International Speedway.

During the 1960s-70s-80s, Billy was never too far away from a racetrack and remained a semi-regular competitor with USAC’s National Midget, Sprint Car and Dirt Champ (Silver Crown) divisions.

In the midgets, he won for car owners Harry Stryker, Myron Caves, Bob Consani, Doug Caruthers, J.C. Agajanian, Leonard Faas, Howard Linne, Stan Lee and Dan Pool, with major victories coming on the dirt mile of the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds as well as the 1.5-mile kidney bean-shaped course at New Jersey’s Trenton International Speedway in 1976, his final USAC Midget victory.

Additionally, Billy picked up two career USAC National Sprint Car victories, first in 1967 in the J.J. Smith owned No. 17 at Ohio’s New Bremen Speedway. In 1968, he gave USAC Hall of Famer Doug Caruthers his only win as a USAC Sprint Car owner in the season opener at Irwindale, California’s Rivergrade Speedway.

The 1979 Ted Horn 100 at Du Quoin served as Billy’s lone USAC Silver Crown victory in a race that was aired to a nationwide audience on NBC. Billy remained an active participant with the Silver Crown series until 1986 when his son, Billy Vukovich III, began moving up the ladder in his racing career. Tragically, 35 years after losing his father in a racing accident, Billy lost his son in a sprint car crash at California’s Mesa Marin Raceway in 1990.

Billy was beloved in the racing community and was a regular fixture at luncheons and autograph sessions until recent years. USAC extends its condolences to Vukovich’s family and friends during this time.

 

USAC HITS KOKOMO’S SMACKDOWN
FOR RICHEST SPRINT CAR RACE IN INDIANA HISTORY

Kokomo, Indiana (August 21, 2023)………Kokomo Speedway is set to host the richest sprint car race ever held in the state of Indiana this coming weekend as part of the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII festivities on August 24-25-26.

Competitors from the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will take on the 1/4-mile dirt oval for a pair of $6,000-to-win preliminaries on Thursday and Friday night followed by the $30,000-to-win finale on Saturday night.

Additionally, as part of the Super Smackdown draw, a driver will earn $500 for every lap led during Saturday night’s 40-lap feature. That leaves the possibility of a driver walking out of Kokomo this weekend with $50,000 in total prizes when all is said and done.

“We are thrilled to host the richest sprint car race ever held in the state of Indiana,” Kokomo Speedway promoter Reece O’Connor stated. “The potential of a driver leaving Kokomo Speedway with $50,000 is incredible and will be truly exciting for race fans to watch. Not only has the final night payout been increased, but so have the prelim nights as well, making this premier event even more premier in 2023.”

Additionally, Smackdown XII Saturday night will pay $1,500 to start, which is the largest payout for start money on the USAC National Sprint Car calendar during the 2023 season.

The richest sprint car event held in the Hoosier State prior to this year’s Smackdown was the $26,000-to-win Rayce Rudeen Foundation event for the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2021.
Kyle Cummins is the defending Smackdown winner at Kokomo, collecting $35,000 in total prizes, starting with a $15,000 base pay and a $20,000 bonus in lap money alone.

Smackdown XII is also the kickoff for the inaugural 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 16. Another $20,000 winner’s share is posted for the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway, set to go on Saturday, October 7.

Winning all three Trifecta events in 2023 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.

Smackdown preliminary events on Thursday, August 24 and Friday, August 25 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 points will be locked into Saturday night’s main event.

On the third and final night, Saturday, August 26, 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, followed by the popular “King of the Hill” two-car duels for locked-in drivers. The semi-feature will provide the final chance for drivers to lock themselves into a coveted spot for the A-Main.

Former winners of the final night of Sprint Car Smackdown include Bryan Clauson (2012), Dave Darland (2013-14-15), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2016), Tyler Courtney (2017-19-20), Justin Grant (2018 & 2021) and Kyle Cummins (2022).

THURSDAY & FRIDAY SMACKDOWN XII PAYOUT:

1) $6,000, 2) $3,000, 3) $2,000, 4) $1,500, 5) $1,200, 6) $1,100, 7) $1,000, 8) $900, 9) $850, 10) $800, 11) $775, 12) $750, 13) $725, 14) $700, 15) $675, 16) $650, 17) $625, 18) $600, 19) $600, 20) $600, 21) $600, 22) $600

SATURDAY SMACKDOWN XII PAYOUT:

1) $30,000, 2) $10,000, 3) $6,000, 4) $5,000, 5) $4,000, 6) $3,000, 7) $2,500, 8) $2,250, 9) $2,100, 10) $2,000, 11) $1,900, 12) $1,800, 13) $1,700, 14) $1,600, 15) $1,575, 16) $1,550, 17) $1,525, 18) $1,500, 19) $1,500, 20) $1,500, 21) $1,500, 22) $1,500.

RACE DETAILS

This weekend at Kokomo Speedway, gates open at 3pm Eastern on Thursday and at 4pm on Friday/Saturday. Hot laps begin 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.


 


SEAVEY SPRINGS FORWARD LATE TO WIN
THE BETTENHAUSEN 100 AT SPRINGFIELD

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 19, 2023)………You can’t win all day if you don’t start in the morning.

Logan Seavey made that his mantra on Saturday as he kicked off his day by winning the 60th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt mile.

Later that same night, the Sutter, Calif. native capped the evening with a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory 44 miles down the road at Macon Speedway to become just the third driver to win multiple USAC National feature events in a single day at two different tracks: Billy Vukovich (1967) and J.J. Yeley (2004).

However, throughout much of the Bettenhausen 100, Seavey stared directly at the tail tank of the No. 9 driven by Shane Cottle. Nonetheless, a late caution and subsequent restart with 13 laps to go, completely changed the ballgame for Seavey.

That’s when Seavey took advantage of the late caution, using a reverse slide job entering turn one that saw Seavey race around the outside of Cottle before diving to the inside guardrail with pinpoint precision at the forefront of the field.

The maneuver was painfully costly for Cottle, but perfectly cromulent for Seavey who finished off the afternoon with his first career victory on the Springfield Mile in his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing/STIDA.com – CG CPAs – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Felker Chevy.

Seavey now becomes the 27th driver to win champ car races on both Illinois dirt miles in his career after previously notching the round at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds just less than a year ago in September of 2022.

All in all, Seavey’s performances on the dirt tracks in USAC Silver Crown competition have been superb. He’s now won five of the past seven dating back to June of 2022, and has captured each of the last two events on dirt tracks this season after also winning in June at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

To start the day, Seavey set the tone by recording his first career fast qualifying time with the USAC Silver Crown series. His lap of 31.317 seconds in time trials translated to an average speed of 114.954 mph, which placed him squarely on the pole position for the 100-miler.

That said, it was outside front row starter Emerson Axsom who gained the initial upper hand by leading the first lap. On the second go-around, Seavey powered past Axsom on the outside with a deep drive into turn three that secured him the lead for the next 40 miles.

The first stoppage of the day came on lap 16 when Shane Cockrum’s valiant early race charge from 20th to 12th was thwarted by a broken throttle pedal. Cockrum, the defending Bettenhausen 100 winner, was wheeling a second car owned by Sam Pierce. His original ride, the BLS Motorsports No. 71, suffered a blown engine during practice.

Cottle, eying his first career win at the Springfield Mile, was surging just prior to the midway point. On lap 42, Seavey and Cottle were negotiating with the soon-to-be lapped car of Chris Fetter. Cottle found an opening on the bottom rail, then poked his nose to the inside of Seavey entering turn one. Still even by the time they reached turn two, Cottle throttled past Seavey moments later to take over up front, and his lead was pronounced even more so when Seavey momentarily slid high, kicking up copious amounts of Illinois State Fairgrounds soil as he slipped and slid through turn three.

By lap 65, Cottle’s advantage of more than a second had dwindled to zilch as Seavey closed in right to the back bumper of Cottle in the tuns as lapped traffic remained in close proximity. Cottle worked by Patrick Bruns in turn four, putting him a lap down, giving him a wave and a gesture as he zipped by. In the process, Cottle opened the can on his lead to 2.195 seconds with a clear track ahead of him and nary another potential lapped car in his immediate sight.

However, when ninth running C.J. Leary coasted to a stop with a blown engine on lap 82, Cottle’s commanding two second lead was deleted. The first shot at an ensuing restart on lap 86 was called back due to Cottle’s early jumping of the gun. The second shot at the same restart on lap 88, as it turned out, became the deciding factor of the race.

Cottle, it appeared initially, got exactly the restart he needed with a five-car length gap between he and Seavey just before the entry to turn one. The complexion immediately changed as Seavey steered deep into turn one to overtake Cottle, then spontaneously took his ride to the inner rail to swipe the bottom line and the race lead with just 13 laps remaining.

“I knew I could get into one faster than he could,” Seavey explained. “I could see on the restarts that he was being a little extra cautious. You lose a lot of grip when your tires cool off and it takes a few laps to get it back. I knew I could fire it in there and I didn’t know if it was going to stick or not, but I knew I could at least get next to him. I got it backed in right across his nose and I was able to stay in front of him.”

Seavey methodically inched away lap-after-lap down the stretch until his lead of 1.6 seconds vanished with two laps remaining when 22nd running Travis Welpott tagged the turn three outside wall, presenting a green-white-checkered solution to decide the race between Seavey and Cottle.

The situation presented an even match between the two frontrunners and just two laps to decide their racing fates, all of which came along with a little strategy rolled up in Seavey’s sleeve.

“I feel like we were so even,” Seavey stated in comparison to Cottle. “He could run a little bit harder and get away, then I could run hard and get back to him. When you’re leading, you can kind of drag around the rail and dirty the track up and it makes it so hard to close that last couple car lengths. It’s just how this racing is.”

Despite the tightening up of the field, Seavey wasn’t about to give an inch or a yard to Cottle during the final two-lap run. When all was said and down, Seavey became a first-time Bettenhausen 100 winner by a 1.094 second margin over Cottle with 2017 race winner Justin Grant third, 2014-15-21 winner Kody Swanson fourth and race Rookie Emerson Axsom fifth.

As far as Seavey, he has now clicked off dirt mile wins at both Illinois facilities. Just as it was at Du Quoin on a sunny afternoon last September, priority number one is to be there at the end of the race and in a position to make a move when it counts. Seavey found himself right in that sweet spot once again on Saturday at the Springfield Mile.

“I feel like a lot of it is just feeling good in the rubber and having a balanced car in the rubber and not burning your right front off, and not burning your right rear off,” Seavey laid out. “For as hard as I felt like I ran for 50 or 60 laps, our tires looked pretty good. That just shows how good Ronnie (Gardner) has this car balanced. A.J. Felker’s got this engine running just perfectly. We made a few changes right before the race and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I could do whatever I needed to. I could drag around the rail and I could drive around guys on the outside. I’m feeling really confident driving this thing and that’s half the battle.”

For Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), it was a bitter pill to swallow after leading 46 laps in his first ride aboard the Chris Dyson Racing/Concord American Flagpole – Macri Concrete – Racer Magazine/Maxim/Ott Chevy. For Cottle, it was his second consecutive second place result at the Bettenhausen 100, narrowly missing out on his first Springfield win.

“(On the final restart) I was just hoping I could make up for my screw up that I did getting into turn one there when I let him pass me,” Cottle reflected. “I let the crew down and we had a really good car. I’m just really pissed off right now.”

For Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), the third-place result was his best finish of the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Nick Bohanon LLC/DRC/Foxco Chevy.

Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) made the biggest move of the day, racing from her 26th starting position to a 12th place finish in her Taylor Ferns Racing/Bradford Allen – Mobil 1 – Motorsports Safety Group/Beast/Stanton Mopar. This day marked her first USAC Silver Crown start at the Illinois State Fairgrounds since a decade ago in 2013 as a 16-year-old.

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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 19, 2023 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – 60th Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-31.317; 2. Emerson Axsom, 20, Nolen-31.341; 3. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-31.462; 4. Shane Cottle, 9, Dyson-31.487; 5. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-31.531; 6. Chase Dietz, 86, Lee-31.539; 7. Wayne Johnson, 12, Two C-31.727; 8. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-31.769; 9. Davey Ray, 8, Cornell-31.796; 10. Kody Swanson, 177, Doran/Binks-31.797; 11. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-31.863; 12. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-31.873; 13. Mitchel Moles, 97, Lein-31.911; 14. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-31.992; 15. Matt Westfall, 81, BCR-32.010; 16. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-32.116; 17. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-32.226; 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 24, Haggenbottom-32.239; 19. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-32.268; 20. Shane Cockrum, 126, Pierce-32.294; 21. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-32.299; 22. Steven Russell, 14, McQuinn-32.308; 23. Patrick Bruns, 95, Full Throttle-32.345; 24. Casey Buckman, 25, C-Buck/Sachs-32.499; 25. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-32.500; 26. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-32.673; 27. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-32.712; 28. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-32.739; 29. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-32.758; 30. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.828; 31. Matt Mitchell, 5, DMW-33.302; 32. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-33.347; 33. Danny Long, 44, Long-34.102; 34. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-34.963; 35. Tim Simmons, 3, Simmons-35.426; 36. John Tosti, 07, Tosti-37.301; 37. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-41.378; 38. A.J. Fike, 53, FTM-NT; 39. Ryan Thomas, 118, Wingo-NT; 40. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-NT.

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Kaylee Bryson, 2. Taylor Ferns, 3. Korey Weyant, 4. Russ Gamester, 5. Travis Welpott, 6. Chris Fetter, 7. Matt Mitchell, 8. Dave Berkheimer, 9. Tim Simmons, 10. Danny Long, 11. John Tosti, 12. Patrick Lawson. NT

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Shane Cottle (4), 3. Justin Grant (8), 4. Kody Swanson (10), 5. Emerson Axsom (2), 6. Jacob Wilson (5), 7. Davey Ray (9), 8. Mario Clouser (3), 9. Chase Dietz (6), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 11. Matt Westfall (15), 12. Taylor Ferns (26), 13. Chase Stockon (19), 14. Russ Gamester (28), 15. Casey Buckman (24), 16. Steven Russell (22), 17. Chris Urish (11), 18. Kaylee Bryson (25), 19. Patrick Bruns (23), 20. Dave Berkheimer (31-P), 21. Mitchel Moles (13), 22. Chris Fetter (30), 23. Travis Welpott (29), 24. C.J. Leary (12), 25. Kyle Steffens (16), 26. Carmen Perigo (21), 27. Wayne Johnson (7), 28. Jake Swanson (17), 29. Korey Weyant (27), 30. Trey Burke (14), 31. Shane Cockrum (20). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Emerson Axsom, Laps 2-41 Logan Seavey, Laps 42-87 Shane Cottle, Laps 88-100 Logan Seavey.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-445, 2-Logan Seavey-429, 3-Mario Clouser-307, 4-Justin Grant-299, 5-Kaylee Bryson-292, 6-Taylor Ferns-279, 7-Matt Westfall-274, 8-C.J. Leary-266, 9-Bobby Santos-248, 10-Travis Welpott-214.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Logan Seavey-94, 3-Shane Cottle-83, 4-Matt Westfall-83, 5-Robert Ballou-81, 6-Brady Bacon-77, 7-Justin Grant-75, 8-Chase Stockon-69, 9-Emerson Axsom-66, 10-C.J. Leary-51.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 27, 2023 – World Wide Technology Raceway – Madison, Illinois – 1.25-Mile Paved Oval – OutFront 100

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (30.090)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey (31.317)

Hard Charger: Taylor Ferns (26th to 12th)

 

DAILY DOUBLE!
SEAVEY MAKES USAC HISTORY
WITH MACON MIDGET WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Macon, Illinois (August 18, 2023)………Only three individuals have ever won USAC National feature events at two different racetracks on the same day.

For many years, the exclusive list of members in this club included only Billy Vukovich and J.J. Yeley.

Now one of the rarest feats in the history books of the United States Auto Club has a new name to add to the group: Logan Seavey.

After scoring a USAC Silver Crown victory at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon, Seavey headed east to Illinois’ Macon Speedway to earn his second victory of the day, this time in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition.

While his Springfield champ car run required some heroic maneuvers late in the game to get the job done, the Sutter, California native left no doubt from start to finish at Macon as he led all 30 laps en route to his third USAC National Midget win of the season in his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Indy Custom Stone – Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

From the Springfield Mile to Mighty Macon, Seavey’s feat couldn’t have come at two more vastly different venues. Not to mention, he achieved the first leg of the day in a big and bold champ car, then capped the night behind the wheel of a diminutive and twitchy midget. It’s a feat both big and small when you look at it in that capacity.

“The mile is a completely different ballgame,” Seavey noted. “(Macon) is where I cut my teeth midget racing with POWRi in 2017-18-19 with Flea (Ruzic) and Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports and all those guys. I’ve won a handful of POWRi races here, but this is obviously a different field and it’s really hard to win.”

“You can’t win any races without a good car,” Seavey continued. “But to win two in one day, it just says how good of racecars I’m driving and I’m just fortunate to be here.”

Abacus Racing, meanwhile, joins 2022 USAC Hall of Fame inductee Doug Caruthers as the only team/entrant to capture multiple USAC National event wins on the same day at different tracks. Abacus is a co-entrant on Seavey’s Silver Crown ride alongside Rice Motorsports.

Caruthers and his driver, Billy Vukovich, won a pair of USAC National Midget features on June 24, 1967, at Denver, Colorado’s Lakeside Speedway and Colorado Springs, Colorado’s Sportsman Raceway Park, becoming the first to achieve the feat.

Thirty-seven years later, on July 24, 2004, J.J. Yeley captured a USAC National Midget main event at the Milwaukee Mile for car owner Steve Lewis. A chartered plane then carried Yeley, other drivers and USAC officials to Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track for the Indiana Sprint Week finale. There, Yeley’s incredible run saw him charge from 10th to 1st around the outside on the very first lap to complete a dominant day in Gary Stanton’s No. 75.

A day of racing simply can’t get much better than the one Seavey had on Saturday, even if he was out of breath by the end of it all.

“This is pretty close to the top,” Seavey reflected. “This is so cool to come to two different tracks with two different cars, and to come to a place I love is awesome. I felt a lot better after leaving Springfield that I could win here. My car has just been unbelievable. I don’t have to keep saying it; it pretty much speaks for itself.”

If he’s not going to keep saying it, we can reiterate the fact. For Seavey, it’s his ninth straight podium finish this season with the USAC National Midgets. The only other drivers in the past decade to earn nine consecutive top-three results with the series are Rico Abreu (9 in 2014) and Tyler Courtney (9 in 2020).

Seavey, the 2018 series champion, has made a run since the June round of USAC Indiana Midget Week at Gas City I-69 Speedway that includes a successive list of finishes that looks like this: 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd and 1st. Now, his championship point lead has ballooned to a whopping 138 points.

Owning a prime starting spot to launch his 30-lap feature run – from the outside of the front row – Seavey was instantaneously en route to his third win of the season and the 11th of his USAC National Midget career, tying him with Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos and Brad Sweet for 66th all-time.

Seavey’s major challenges at Macon were few and far between as he quickly jumped out to a full second advantage just a few laps into the contest. On the tight confines of the 1/5-mile at Macon, the traffic and the curb are those unsavory shadowy figures that are always lurking around the corner, and Seavey found that to be the case just 10 laps into it.

“I could see the back of the field and it was treacherous,” Seavey remarked. “The curb was right up against the wall, and it was big. You could get into the wall really easily on both ends getting off. I was just trying to keep my eyes peeled for anything happening in front of me.”

As many drivers will tell you, it’s difficult being the leader despite the status. Knowing where you need to be on the racetrack is always a mighty task when the entire field is behind you, watching, testing and altering different paths on the fly. Seavey found himself in that envious – but sometimes not as envious as it seems at times – throughout.

“I really didn’t know where to be,” Seavey revealed. “I felt like I was okay on the top. I was only gaining a little bit on the lappers, and I didn’t know how great I was. I was really kind of happy once we got to traffic and I felt like I could put a few behind me, and hopefully, put a few in between me and second place. We were able to hold on after all those yellows. I didn’t even know if we were good or if they were right behind us or what was going on, but I was doing my best to keep this thing out front.”

The final caution, on lap 25, reset the field after Thomas Meseraull and Gavin Miller nearly tangled in their battle for second, causing Miller to drop back multiple positions after the turn two encounter. However, at the very same moment, Jake Andreotti (12th) spun in turn one, granting a reprieve for Miller to return to second for the ensuing restart. Meanwhile, under yellow, Meseraull pulled off to pits and did not return, dropping him all the way back to 20th in the final running order.

Just like he was all day, Seavey was undenied down the stretch during the final six lap run, defeating the field by a 1.110 second margin. Gavin Miller collected a fine second place result with Tanner Thorson third, Zach Daum fourth and Karter Sarff scoring a career best USAC run of fifth.

Gavin Miller put together his most successful weekend thus far during his USAC National Midget Rookie season. The Allentown, Pa. racer finished fifth on Friday at Illinois’ Wayne County Speedway and finished the weekend with a runner-up result at Macon in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Eibach Springs – Mobil 1/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.

Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) admittedly missed the setup initially for the 30-lap feature, still running as far back as ninth with less than 20 laps remaining. But after adjusting his shocks and readjusting his approach by sticking to the bottom line, he found his groove and drove to a third-place result at Macon in his Tanner Thorson Racing/James Hodge Auto Group – Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

It was quite a return to USAC National Midget racing for Daniel Adler. The Saint Louis, Missouri racer made his first USAC National Midget start since 2017, and in his first series start in six years, he made a hard-charging effort, advancing from his 22nd starting spot to finish eighth aboard his Mike Adler/Hormann Innovative Door Systems – BP Fab/Ripper/Stanton SR-11.

Thorson also hit a milestone at Macon, becoming just the 36th driver to reach 200 career USAC National Midget feature starts.

Two of the oldest track records in the USAC National Midget history books were surpassed at Macon on Saturday. Daison Pursley broke Page Jones’ 10-lap heat race record from 1992. During the semi, Chase McDermand reset the 12-lap semi-feature mark, which was set on that same night 31 years ago by Fred Tegarden Jr.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 19, 2023 – Macon Speedway – Macon, Illinois – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 88, Thorson-10.462; 2. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-10.590; 3. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-10.610; 4. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-10.611; 5. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.631; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-10.640; 7. Karter Sarff, 21K, Sarff-10.651; 8. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-10.652; 9. Zach Daum, 7u, Trifecta-10.653; 10. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.662; 11. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-10.678; 12. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-10.685; 13. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.699; 14. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-10.708; 15. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-10.712; 16. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac Dalby-10.717; 17. Chase McDermand, 40, Mounce/Stout-10.792; 18. Mitchell Davis, 3N, O'Dell-10.793; 19. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.809; 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 19T, Mounce/Stout-10.819; 21. Jake Andreotti, 25m, Malloy-10.911; 22. Dalton Camfield, 86c, Camfield-10.950; 23. Daniel Adler, 50, Adler-10.963; 24. David Camfield, 16c, Camfield-10.979; 25. Tyler Baran, 11T, Baran-11.035; 26. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.037; 27. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-11.105; 28. Bradley Fezard, 28p, Rosa-11.270; 29. Devin Camfield, 17c, Camfield-11.526; 30. Nick Baran, 7E, Engstrom-11.545.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Jade Avedisian, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Jacob Denney, 5. Karter Sarff, 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Ryan Timms, 8. Tyler Baran, 9. Dalton Camfield, 10. Bradley Fezard. 1:48.07

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Gavin Miller, 6. Chase McDermand, 7. Ethan Mitchell, 8. Daniel Adler, 9. Mariah Ede, 10. Devin Camfield. NT

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Mitchell Davis, 4. Daniel Whitley, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Bryant Wiedeman, 7. Jake Andreotti, 8. David Camfield, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Nick Baran. 1:48.06 (New Track Record)

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase McDermand, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Taylor Reimer, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Ryan Timms, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Daniel Adler, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Dalton Camfield, 11. Tyler Baran, 12. Bradley Fezard, 13. David Camfield, 14. Nick Baran, 15. Devin Camfield. 2:11.98 (New Track Record)

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Gavin Miller (3), 3. Tanner Thorson (6), 4. Zach Daum (12), 5. Karter Sarff (1), 6. Ethan Mitchell (14), 7. Cannon McIntosh (9), 8. Daniel Adler (22), 9. Chase McDermand (17), 10. Jacob Denney (4), 11. Ryan Timms (19), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (10), 13. Jade Avedisian (16), 14. Daison Pursley (8), 15. Kevin Thomas Jr. (20), 16. Justin Grant (11), 17. Jake Andreotti (21), 18. Taylor Reimer (13), 19. Mitchell Davis (18), 20. Thomas Meseraull (7), 21. Daniel Whitley (15), 22. Hayden Reinbold (5). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Logan Seavey.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-927, 2-Jacob Denney-789, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-775, 4-Justin Grant-774, 5-Ryan Timms-749, 6-Jade Avedisian-740, 7-Daison Pursley-739, 8-Cannon McIntosh-729, 9-Gavin Miller-662, 10-Chase McDermand-607.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Logan Seavey-94, 3-Robert Ballou-81, 4-Shane Cottle-81, 5-Matt Westfall-79, 6-Brady Bacon-77, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Emerson Axsom-66, 9-Chase Stockon-63, 10-C.J. Leary-51.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 3-4, 2023 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Firemen’s Nationals

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Tanner Thorson (10.568)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson (10.462)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase McDermand

Hard Charger: Daniel Adler (22nd to 8th)


 


FIRST TO TWO:
THORSON BECOMES FIRST MULTI-TIME
LEFFLER MEMORIAL WINNER AT WAYNE CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Wayne City, Illinois (August 18, 2023)………In the decade-long history of the Jason Leffler Memorial, no driver had ever achieved what Tanner Thorson accomplished on Friday night at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill.

The Minden, Nev. driver became the first repeat victor of the event which honors the memory of the late four-time USAC National champion during the decade of the 1990s.

Three years after capturing his first Leffler Memorial triumph in 2020, Thorson once again etched his name into the race’s history book, assuming the lead just before the halfway mark of the 40-lap main event presented by Peoples National Bank.

After enduring a steady challenge from the only other past Leffler Memorial winner in Friday night’s field, Zach Daum, Thorson found a new line and newfound freedom at the front of the field as he collected his second consecutive USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature after scoring the most recent round of the series at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway in mid-July.

Thorson led 24 of the final 25 laps to earn the $5,000 payday in what was his 199th career series start aboard his Tanner Thorson Racing/James Hodge Auto Group – Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

It was also the 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion’s 29th career USAC National Midget feature win, moving him to within one of 11th place all-time alongside 30-time series winners Dave Darland, Mike McGreevy and Johnny Parsons.

In terms of feature victories with the series, Thorson finds himself in the upper echelon and he stands just two victories outside of the top-10 all-time in that category. Along the way, he’s certainly earned his fair share of satisfying wins – the Jason Leffler Memorial chiefly being among them, a fellow USAC National champion like himself.

“Jason Leffler was definitely one of the best in the business to ever do it,” Thorson said. “I never got the pleasure of meeting him, but I definitely got to watch him a lot. One of my good buddies, Rico Abreu, got to hang out with him a lot and said he was great. To be able to add my name as a winner of this race twice is really special.”

Starting second in the feature, Thorson initially found himself stifled, dropping all the way to sixth in the early going before steadily moving his way forward. Understanding it was a 40-lapper and knowing that the 1/8-mile of Wayne City has always been a place that’s suited his driving style adequately, Thorson wasn’t a bit rattled.

Furthermore, in the entire 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing, no driver has won more often on dirt tracks shorter than a quarter mile in size than Tanner Thorson, picking up his ninth on Friday night.

Pole sitter and top series Rookie Gavin Miller led the opening eight laps, withstanding attack after attack from Ryan Timms throughout the duration. Miller was able to thwart off the relentless Timms who pulled in front of Miller on five different occasions during the first seven laps but was unable to make the move stick.

That was the case until lap nine when Timms dove under Miller in turn three to swipe the spot from his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate. The two were vying to become KKM’s first Wayne City USAC winner, one of only two tracks on this year’s National Midget schedule that the series’ all-time winningest team has not conquered along with Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway.

Meanwhile, Thorson began to close in on the top-two as all three bounced their right rear tires off the outside ARMCO barrier in turns three and four. In the meantime, Thorson chased down Miller to grab second in turn three on lap four and brought along Daum in tow to third.

Immediately after, Thorson took three successive shots at Timms for the top spot but was unable to clamp down the position on the first two tries. However, the third attempt was the charm as the two drifted up to the outside turn two wall with Timms banging his tail tank smack dab against the guardrail with a force.

While it was relatively no harm, no foul for Timms, the red flag was displayed on the 20th lap for Chase McDermand who flipped on the back straightaway. He was running 16th at the time and had been involved in a tussle for position with Daison Pursley. Following the incident, under the red flag, McDermand walked across the infield to speak with Pursley, taking umbrage with the circumstances that had just transpired.

When racing resumed, Daum utilized the bottom on the lap 21 restart to cruise by Timms for second. Leader Thorson sensed the presence of the nose of Daum’s car and made a beeline to the bottom to take away Daum’s line. Daum stuck his left side wheels as low as they could go in turns three and four, which led him into the lead on lap 24.

The next time around, in a somewhat unexpected tactic, Thorson became the first to discover a unique line getting into turn three. Thorson threw his car to the bottom of turn three and let it glide from the bottom to the top of turn four. The move paid off and Thorson immediately found himself back in front of Daum on the 25th go-around. Thorson repeated the “sweep” lap after lap, which guided him in expanding his lead from a single car length to more than two seconds in the span of a few laps.

Lapped traffic remained high and low in Thorson’s path, but he ably slipped through the thick of it, splitting the two Tom Malloy teammate cars of Jacob Denney and Jake Andreotti in turn one to put them a lap down while also burying Daum in a deeper hole more than three seconds behind. Ultimately, series point leader Logan Seavey caught and surpassed Daum for the runner-up spot on lap 34.

In the end, Thorson was a full 2.931 seconds better than the field at the finish line to become a multi-time winner of the event which was celebrating its 10th running this year. Seavey corralled second with Zach Daum third, Ryan Timms fourth and Gavin Miller rounding out the top-five.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) collected his eighth straight top-three finish in USAC National Midget competition behind the wheel of his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Indy Custom Stone – Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. Seavey also was the biggest mover in the feature, advancing 10th to 2nd to earn his best career Jason Leffler Memorial result.

Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) led a lap en route to a third-place finish in his Trifecta Motorsports/Southern Transport – Flurry Racing Stables/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. In doing so, he became the first driver in Leffler Memorial history to finish on the podium four times: 1st (2013), 2nd (2022) and 3rd (2015 & 2023).

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 18, 2023 – Wayne County Speedway – Wayne City, Illinois – 10th Jason Leffler Memorial Presented By Peoples National Bank – 1/8-Mile Dirt Track

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Jade Avedisian, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.072 (New Track Record); 2. Zach Daum, 7u, Trifecta-10.085; 3. Ryan Timms, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.173; 4. Emerson Axsom, 19A, Petry/Hayward-10.236; 5. Jacob Denney, 25, Malloy-10.240; 6. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-10.249; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 19T, Mounce/Stout-10.251; 8. Tanner Thorson, 88, Thorson-10.265; 9. Gavin Miller, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.269; 10. Karter Sarff, 21K, Sarff-10.278; 11. Justin Grant, 2, RMS-10.309; 12. Daniel Whitley, 58, Abacus-10.311; 13. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.323; 14. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac Dalby-10.338; 15. Chase McDermand, 40, Mounce/Stout-10.344; 16. Bryant Wiedeman, 81, CBI-10.443; 17. Daison Pursley, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-10.511; 18. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-10.569; 19. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-10.569; 20. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-10.579; 21. Jake Andreotti, 25m, Malloy-10.657; 22. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.664; 23. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-10.743; 24. Daniel Robinson, 57A, RAB-10.786; 25. Sean Robbins, 53, Robbins-10.963; 26. Bradley Fezard, 28p, Rosa-10.987; 27. Zach Boden, 51, Boden-11.117; 28. Cody Beard, 7, Beard-11.147; 29. Tyler Robbins, 35, Robbins-11.259; 30. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Jade Avedisian, 4. Taylor Reimer, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Emerson Axsom, 7. Mariah Ede, 8. Sean Robbins, 9. Cody Beard, 10. Karter Sarff. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Jacob Denney, 7. Bryan Stanfill, 8. Bradley Fezard, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Tyler Robbins. 1:49.12

T.J. FORGED/CAR IQ THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Gavin Miller, 2. Chase McDermand, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Daniel Whitley, 5. Ryan Timms, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Daniel Robinson, 8. Hayden Reinbold, 9. Jake Andreotti, 10. Zach Boden. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Karter Sarff, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Daniel Robinson, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Bradley Fezard, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Tyler Robbins, 11. Cody Beard, 12. Sean Robbins, 13. Zach Boden, 14. Kyle Beilman, 15. Bryan Stanfill. 2:20.88

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (2), 2. Logan Seavey (10), 3. Zach Daum (5), 4. Ryan Timms (4), 5. Gavin Miller (1), 6. Emerson Axsom (8), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 8. Karter Sarff (11), 9. Bryant Wiedeman (16), 10. Cannon McIntosh (15), 11. Daison Pursley (7), 12. Justin Grant (12), 13. Jade Avedisian (6), 14. Daniel Robinson (21), 15. Taylor Reimer (14), 16. Jake Andreotti (19), 17. Jacob Denney (9), 18. Thomas Meseraull (18), 19. Bradley Fezard (22), 20. Daniel Whitley (13), 21. Chase McDermand (20), 22. Ethan Mitchell (17). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Gavin Miller, Laps 9-15 Ryan Timms, Laps 16-23 Tanner Thorson, Lap 24 Zach Daum, Laps 25-40 Tanner Thorson.

**Taylor Reimer flipped during hot laps. Thomas Meseraull tipped over during the first heat. Chase McDermand flipped on lap 20 of the feature.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-852, 2-Jacob Denney-738, 3-Justin Grant-736, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-729, 5-Ryan Timms-707, 6-Jade Avedisian-696, 7-Daison Pursley-696, 8-Cannon McIntosh-669, 9-Gavin Miller-589, 10-Taylor Reimer-567.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Logan Seavey-94, 3-Robert Ballou-81, 4-Shane Cottle-81, 5-Matt Westfall-79, 6-Brady Bacon-77, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Emerson Axsom-66, 9-Chase Stockon-63, 10-C.J. Leary-51.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 19, 2023 – Macon Speedway – Macon, Illinois – 1/5-Mile Dirt Track

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Thomas Meseraull (10.094)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Jade Avedisian (10.072)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

T.J. Forged / Car IQ Third Heat Winner: Gavin Miller

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Logan Seavey

Hard Charger: Logan Seavey (10th to 2nd)

 

 

6 SPRINGFIELD STORYLINES: 60TH USAC BETTENHAUSEN 100 ARRIVES SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 17, 2023)………There’s nothing much better than dirt mile season on the racing calendar.

It’s a rare treat of high-speed racing courtesy of the USAC Silver Crown National Championship in front of the covered grandstands while the smell of deep fried Oreos and the sound of the Tea Cup ride fills the central Illinois air.

This Saturday’s 60th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza truly will have it all when 44 of the bravest drivers and fastest dirt machinery graces the Springfield Mile under the daylight on August 19.

Here’s six storylines to whet your appetite as we prepare for state fair time at one of the most majestic settings in all of motorsports – champ car racing at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

BIGGEST FIELD AT SPRINGFIELD IN 22 YEARS

The monstrous 44-car entry list is the largest of any kind for the USAC Silver Crown series in 18 years!

The last time the field reached this level came in 2005 at Indianapolis Raceway Park when 46 arrived at the .686-mile paved oval. That same season, 45 cars were on hand for the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds dirt mile.

As for Springfield, you’ll have to go all the way back to 2001 to see a car count of this size when 48 signed in on that day 22 years ago.

Not only does this field of quality and quantity present a show that will produce a plethora of race-winning contenders. The race to make the race will be just as crucial and competitive.

The top-24 qualifiers on time will be locked into the 100-lap main event. The remaining 20 will be slotted into a 12-lap last chance qualifying race which will transfer only the top-six into the feature.

KODY GOING FOR FOUR

Kody Swanson enters the Bettenhausen 100 as the winner of the past three consecutive USAC Silver Crown races, all of which have come on pavement at Madison, Winchester and Toledo.

Swanson is one of only three drivers to have ever won at least four-in-a-row in series competition. Tom Bigelow was the first to achieve the feat over a span of overlapping seasons in 1975-76. Jack Hewitt did the same a decade later during his first championship season. Furthermore, Bigelow and Hewitt’s winning streaks included a victory at Springfield.

In 2018, Swanson captured a series record five-in-a-row. However, his streak came to an end that year when a steering issue knocked him out of the Springfield race while running near the front with just 30 laps to go.

Swanson has won three previous times at Springfield, in 2014, 2015 and 2021. Now he aims to join an exclusive list of drivers to win at least four editions of the Bettenhausen 100: Chuck Gurney (7), A.J. Foyt (4), Brian Tyler (4) and Jack Hewitt (4).

COCKRUM – CHIEF OF THE ILLINOIS MILES

Illinois native Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) made the move late in last year’s race to win at his home state track and become a first-time Bettenhausen 100 winner after leading the final 26 laps.

This year, he tries to become the 10th back-to-back winner in race history, following in the shoes of Jim Hurtubise (1961-62), A.J. Foyt (1964-65), Mario Andretti (1973-74), Chuck Gurney (1984-85), Jack Hewitt (1986-87), Chuck Gurney (1989-90-91), Brian Tyler (2004-05), A.J. Fike (2012-13) and Kody Swanson (2014-15).

Furthermore, Cockrum is just one of 26 drivers to win a AAA/USAC Champ Car race at both the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in his career.

Already a back-to-back winner at Du Quoin in 2014-15, this weekend, Cockrum will also attempt to become the sixth driver to win consecutively at both tracks in his career. The lone five individuals to do so previously are among the heavyweights in the history of the sport: Mario Andretti, Tony Bettenhausen, Jimmy Bryan, A.J. Foyt and Jack Hewitt.

KAYLEE OUT TO FINISH WHAT SHE STARTED

Although she was passed late in the race by Shane Cockrum a year ago, it was Kaylee Bryson who stole the show early on during the running of the 2022 Bettenhausen 100.

After qualifying for the outside of the front row, the Muskogee, Okla. native proceeded to lead 72 of the first 74 laps while using the daunting high line despite an engine that was down a cylinder.

After bringing the crowd to a frenzied roar throughout, she went on to finish fifth, setting two records in the process as the first woman to lead a lap with the series and the first woman to finish inside the top-five of a dirt Silver Crown race.

Despite the run coming in just her third career series start, she is still considered a Rookie of the Year contender in 2023 with the series, and currently leads all Rookie drivers with a third place standing in the points behind only Kody Swanson and Logan Seavey.

On Saturday, she looks to become not only a first-time series winner but also the first woman to ever capture a USAC National feature victory.

FROM WAY DEEP IN THE SPRING-FIELD

Dating back to 2008, all drivers who have been credited as the hard charger of the Bettenhausen 100 have finished inside the top-10.

The dirt miles seemingly see a major advancement by a driver from the back of the pack on a regular basis. These are the drivers who have managed to play their cards right and picked their spots correctly when making their move forward.

The last five runnings of the race have seen the following: Jeff Swindell (28th to 3rd in 2017), David Byrne (25th to 10th in 2018), David Gravel (26th to 2nd in 2020), Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st in 2021) and Brian Tyler (22nd to 6th in 2022).

Six drivers have been both the hard charger and the race winner of a champ car race at Springfield over the years: Johnnie Parsons (17th to 1st in 1949), Tony Bettenhausen (14th to 1st in 1951), A.J. Foyt (16th to 1st in 1964), Kenny Irwin Jr. (28th to 1st in 1995), Brian Tyler (21st to 1st in 2004) and Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st in 2021).

In fact, Irwin’s advancement from 28th is the largest in USAC Silver Crown history. Additionally, Chuck Gurney’s move from 31st to 2nd back in the 1986 Bettenhausen 100 is the biggest charge in series history by a non-race-winner.

FIRST TIME SPRINGFIELDERS

An intriguing Rookie class will be on hand to take their first crack at the Springfield Mile. Of note, only one driver to date has won in his first Bettenhausen 100 try, that being Cole Whitt in 2009.

This year’s crop taking on the dirt mile for the first time ever includes the likes of central Pennsylvania winged sprint car racer Chase Dietz (York, Pa.) who nearly won in his first career USAC Silver Crown start, finishing second at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway in June.

USAC National Sprint Car and National Midget winner Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) is also part of this group after setting quick time and a new track record in his most recent series outing at Port Royal.

Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), likewise a USAC National Sprint and Midget frontrunner, will be riding with the Nolen Racing team, which captured a 2018 Bettenhausen 100 victory with driver Chris Windom.

Silver Crown Rookie Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas) will make his dirt mile debut, and his family has a long lineage at Springfield. Trey’s grandfather, Ronnie Burke made seven Bettenhausen 100 starts between 1972-1997, finishing a best of seventh in 1976. Trey’s great uncle, Jackie Burke, made four Springfield starts between 1998-2015, taking 18th in 2014.

Wayne Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) is on board for his first mile run in a champ car during his star-studded career, which has been almost exclusively in winged sprint cars. USAC CRA Sprint Car standout Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, Calif.) will experience Springfield for the first time as will Indiana sprint car shoe Ryan Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.).

RACE DETAILS

On Saturday in Springfield, 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-11:10am, Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by the qualifying race, pre-race ceremonies 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 and $5 for children 11 and 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.

Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3AMU46z.

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2023 BETTENHAUSEN 100 ENTRY LIST: (44 CARS)

07 (R) JOHN TOSTI/High Ridge, MO (John Tosti)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

3 (R) TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)

5 (R) MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (DMW Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)

9 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)

11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing/SRG)

12 (R) WAYNE JOHNSON/Tuttle, OK (Two C Racing)

14 STEVEN RUSSELL/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)

15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

20 (R) EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)

24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)

25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports)

26 (R) KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)

34 (R) GARY DUNKLE/Lincoln, NE (Gary Dunkle)

44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)

53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports)

69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)

71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)

77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)

81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)

86 (R) CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)

97 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Hans Lein)

99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)

107 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)

110 (R) CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

118 (R) RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing)

126 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)

177 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

 

 

COTTLE REGROUPS, SECURES RIDES WITH DYSON & FTM TO FINISH USAC SILVER CROWN SLATE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 17, 2023)………For the past few years, Shane Cottle was all set with dirt Sprint Car and Silver Crown rides with Hodges Motorsports on the USAC National circuit.

But after a run at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway this past June, Cottle was blindsided with the news that the New Mexico based team was stepping away from the sport.

Left without a ride, the Kansas, Ill. native briefly thought about hanging up the helmet, but still felt he had a few more wins in him. The 51-year-old gathered himself and forged ahead to the next step in locking down new rides.

“That’s part of racing, I guess,” Cottle said. “You pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go find something else to do. Don’t pout about it.”

Soon, Cottle landed a sprint car ride with Epperson Racing, and then with Five Three Motorsports to finish out the half-mile dirt track portion of the USAC Silver Crown schedule.

Most recently, Cottle was tabbed as the new driver of the Chris Dyson Racing No. 9 for the dirt miles starting this Saturday, August 19, with the 60th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Dyson’s ride was the winner of the 2021 Bettenhausen 100 with driver Kody Swanson. Crew chief Sean Michael turned the wrenches for Swanson that day and was also the winning crew chief at Springfield in 2020 with Kyle Larson. It’s a deal that all came together via social media.

“I saw (Sean Michael) posted on Facebook that he was looking for a mile driver,” Cottle recalled. “I gave them a little jingle and put a name in his ear. He went around asking Justin Peck and Steve Peck, who’s my (sprint car) crew chief now. He gave me good words, and I guess he asked Kyle Larson, and he said I’d be a good choice too. I had a lot of people on my side.”

Cottle, who was raised two hours east of the Springfield Mile and about 2.5 hours north of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, grew up going to the miles. One particular memory, in fact, that Cottle vividly recalls is Jack Hewitt’s charge from 18th to 1st at Du Quoin back in 1987 when Shane was just 15 years old.

Cottle is no stranger to winning on a dirt mile in his home state of Illinois. His first career Silver Crown win came at Du Quoin in 2007. A win at Springfield would be just as massive for the veteran racer who finished a career best second at Springfield just last season in October of 2022.

A win on a dirt mile of any kind is special. A triumph at Springfield would put him in rarified air as one of the very few to capture champ car wins at both Illinois miles. He can still recall the night 16 years ago when he won his first, one which remains near and dear to his heart.

“(Du Quoin) was definitely one of the biggest wins for me,” Cottle reminisced. “Hopefully we can put another one in the book. We don’t have very many dirt miles left and a win there is hard to get it, that’s for sure. With this hot rod, I think we’ve got a pretty good chance. A win at Springfield would definitely be cool and we’ve got a lot of people from my hometown who’ll be there.”

After Springfield this Saturday and Du Quoin’s Ted Horn 100 on Saturday, September 2, Cottle will turn his attention to the half-mile dirt Silver Crown races, starting with Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway for the 41st running of the 4-Crown Nationals on September 22-23. It’s there that Cottle will make his debut for Joliet, Illinois based Five Three Motorsports, forming an all-Illini team.

“It’s pretty cool. I haven’t met the guys yet, and I’ve just talked to them on the phone. Probably, if I walked up to them right now, I wouldn’t know who they are,” Cottle said with a laugh. “But I’ll have to meet them this weekend to know who I’m talking to. They seem like really nice people, and they’ve got good equipment and I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be a fun deal.”

Cottle’s 73 career USAC Silver Crown starts ranks 36th all-time. He owns two career series victories at Du Quoin in 2007 and as Pennsylvania’s Selinsgrove Speedway in 2020.

RACE DETAILS

Shane Cottle is one of 44 entries for this Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 field at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 19, which is the largest assemblage of USAC Silver Crown cars for a series event since 2005.

On Saturday in Springfield, 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-11:10am, Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by the qualifying race, pre-race ceremonies 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 and $5 for children 11 and 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.

Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3AMU46z.

 

 

AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series

USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO PERRIS SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings

AUGUST 15, 2023... After a short break in the schedule, the chase for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship heads to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday, August 19th. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the fourteenth point race is presented by Heimark Distributors / Anheuser Busch and will feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, Southwest Lightning Sprints, and WRA Vintage Cars plus “Power of Purple Night” benefiting the American Cancer Society Relay For Life Riverside County East. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 5:00pm and racing at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will start at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. (If racers have a membership question, contact Julie Tanaka at julietanaka@aol.com.)
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535; SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78; FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101; COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S; B&B: FRAC-0375S; SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK, P1 AUSTRALIA: SSM5C.
*Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- 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.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 247 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-three different drivers have claimed victory. “The Demon” Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 51 “home track” wins and this year’s races have been claimed by Justin Grant, Matt Mitchell, “Thunder” Tommy Malcolm, and Brody Roa (twice). Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012 and the complete Perris USAC/CRA win list is at the end of this release.

After scoring his eighth win of the season at Perris on July 15th, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) leads the USAC/CRA standings with a stout 151 point lead. Driving the Tom & Christy Dunkel / BR Performance owned #17R Inland Rigging / Dunkel Farms DRC, Roa has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 177 feature laps led to his credit. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion ranks fourth with 21 career USAC/CRA triumphs and will be looking to get closer to his first CRA title with another win at Perris Auto Speedway.

Having a career year, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Corona, California) ranks second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored a thirteenth place finish on July 15th. To date, the veteran driver has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 77 feature laps led on the year. Tommy “Thunder” will have his sights on earning another “home track” victory this Saturday night.

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, California) sits third in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Piloting the family owned #2 Digalert / Ramona Duck Club DRC, Williams had mechanical problems in the outing at Perris. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 32 feature laps led to his credit. With eleven career triumphs, Austin will be looking to earn his first win of the season at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds.

“The Cadillac” Cody Williams (Corona, California) is fourth in the chase for the championship. The owner/driver of the #44 WC Friend Company / Trench Shoring DRC raced to a third place finish in the July 15 main event. To date, the former National Non-Wing Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, and eighth top-10 finishes on the season. “The Cadillac” has three career wins and will have his sights on his victory of 2023 at Perris.

A.J. Bender (San Diego, California) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA championship points. Racing the family owned #21 Bender Pool & Spa / GAS Chassis entry, Bender finished second to Brody Roa on July 15th after starting ninth. At press time, last season’s USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year has six heat race victories, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, and ten top-10 finishes to his credit. This Saturday night, Bender will be looking to claim the first USAC/CRA victory of his career.

Grant Sexton (Lakeside, California) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors and ranks seventh in the point standings. The driver of the family owned #22 Sexton Fire Protection / East County Electric Works Triple X is followed by James Turnbull II (Indio, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California), Dawson Faria (Tipton, California), Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Arizona), and Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Logan Calderwood, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, Logan Williams, Chris Gansen, Brent Owens, James Herrera, Jeff Dyer, Matt McCarthy, Andrew Sweeney, “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski, Chris Bonneau, Kyle Edwards, Gary Marshall Jr., Don Gansen, Tyler Hatzikian, Mark Henry, 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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, WC Friend Company, Woodland Auto Display, BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, contact Tony Jones at tonyjonesracing@gmail.com or PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the AMSOIL 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.
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AMSOIL 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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 8-Brody Roa, 2-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Justin Grant, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Matt Mitchell.

PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Nic Faas – 15.833 (02/25/12)

PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 51-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Matt Mitchell, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Brody Roa, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Justin Grant, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Brady Bacon, 5-Robert Ballou, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 3-Charles Davis Jr., 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Jake Swanson, 2-Chris Windom, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Josh Ford, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-C.J. Leary, 1-Tommy Malcolm, 1-Adam Mitchell, 1-Johnny Rodriguez, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Cody Williams, 1-Jason York.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1-Brody Roa-991, 2-Tommy Malcolm-840, 3-Austin Williams-745, 4-Cody Williams-723, 5-A.J. Bender-717, 6-Logan Calderwood-609, 7-Grant Sexton-506, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-500, 9-Verne Sweeney-417, 10-R.J. Johnson-377.

2023 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
January 27: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
January 28: Cocopah Speedway – Yuma, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
March 3: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 4: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (RAIN)
March 18: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Justin Grant)
March 24: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (RAIN)
March 25: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (RAIN)
April 1: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Matt Mitchell)
April 22: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 6: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 20: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
May 27: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Tommy Malcolm)
June 10: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 24: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
July 15: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
August 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 9: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA
September 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 14: Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, AZ
November 3: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 4: Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 11: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (40 Laps)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
This schedule is subject to change.


 

 

DIETZ READY FOR SECOND ACT AT SPRINGFIELD
AFTER SPECTCULAR USAC SILVER CROWN DEBUT

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 16, 2023)………It was among the finest debuts in USAC Silver Crown history.

In his first ever series appearance, Chase Dietz wheeled car owner Bruce Lee’s DRC to a runner-up finish in June at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

Now comes the follow-up act as the Pennsylvanian duo teams up once more for their second USAC Silver Crown ride this Saturday, August 19, during the 60th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The Springfield Mile is admittedly a different animal for both Dietz and Lee with it being a twice as big, twice as fast and will feature twice as many laps as Port Royal. Furthermore, the team has never before contested a mile dirt track and Dietz mainly possesses a plethora of laps around tracks no larger than a half-mile in length.

However, all that is just paper talk. After his stirring performance at Port Royal, the 26-year-old York, Pa. native openly admitted, “I’ll be damn honest; we had no clue what was going on.” However, you would never know it. The same prospects lie ahead as the team takes on a new adventure this weekend on the Springfield mile.

Dietz is a regular in the rough and rugged winged sprint car scene of central Pennsylvania and possesses a share of feature victories at speedways such as Lincoln, Williams Grove and Selinsgrove in the 410 c.i. ranks. Some aspects translate seamlessly from one discipline to the other such as keeping the car straight and keeping tire wear to a minimum.

But the differences between a Silver Crown car and a sprint car are stark regarding when and where to get in and out of the throttle, not to mention the closing speeds, plus the lack of downforce without a wing and just how hard he needed to run in a long-distance race with a heavy tank of fuel sitting behind him.

The same contrast applies to the venues as well with him not wholly expecting what to find at Port Royal and now facing another new challenge, albeit with a little more seat time on this occasion, heading into Springfield.

“I guess you could say we’re going into it a little blind,” Chase admitted. “But I think it comes down to watching and studying the race and how to race (the track), and not necessarily what we need to do the car or things like that. A lot of it is going to come down to tire wear or fuel mileage. If you watch the guys who’ve won a lot of them, specifically Kody Swanson, he’s definitely learned to drive these races the best way. Instead of forcing his way at times, he picks the right time to make his moves.”

Just getting to this point to be involved in USAC Silver Crown competition is a story in itself. Chase’s father, Tim Dietz, was a longtime competitor with the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) Midget series, picking up Rookie of the Year honors in 1994 and ultimately went on to win eight races with the division over the years.

Chase’s car owner, Bruce Lee, just so happened to be Tim’s shop teacher in high school. Tim was just beginning to embark on his racing career when he was a student in Mr. Lee’s class. Upon discovering Tim’s racing ambitions, Lee stepped in and decided to help out Tim’s racing career. Since then, it’s been a Lee/Dietz partnership that continues all these decades later and even spans multiple generations.

“Bruce and my dad would always have conversations about getting into something different when he retired from teaching,” Chase explained. “Two of the divisions he always talked about were midgets and Silver Crown cars. Now that he’s retired, he decided to go the Silver Crown route and this is his first time having an entire car and team. He’s more so just looking to have some fun; he didn’t want to be running full-time for 40, 60, 70 races a year like we would with our 410 stuff. The Silver Crown division is definitely beneficial to him and what he wanted to do. We can do a little bit of traveling and race at places we haven’t been to before and experience some of the dirt miles and things like that.”

To say expectations were exceeded at Port Royal is not exceeding the truth by any stretch. They qualified third, then Chase remained at the forefront throughout the distance, reading the track as he gained more laps. On their first swing, they nearly pulled off one of the major shockers in series history.

“The run at Port Royal made him very happy,” Chase said of Bruce. “It’s not something we really expected to do, but it was pretty cool to do that right off the bat. We didn’t really know what to expect, but I felt I could do well as long as I did my job. I felt comfortable right from the beginning, and while we were up there, I felt like I could’ve pushed harder and done more. I just needed to get more of an idea who we were racing with and also how hard I could push with the car, especially early in the event with a full load of fuel.”

In fact, it was so good of a run, Chase became just the 14th driver in the 53-year history of USAC Silver Crown racing to finish inside the top-two during his debut race. He’s just the second individual to start inside the top-three and finish top-two in his first race. P.J. Jones at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1994 is the other.

The only drivers thus far to win in their USAC Silver Crown debut are Jim McElreath (Nazareth 1971), A.J. Foyt (Springfield 1971), Danny Smith (Eldora 1982), Rick Hood (Indiana State Fairgrounds 1982), Jimmy Horton (Nazareth 1983), Herb Copeland (Oklahoma City Fairgrounds 1983) and Marvin Carman (Minnesota State Fairgrounds 1984).

The lone drivers to finish as the runner-up in their first USAC Silver Crown run are Arnie Knepper (Nazareth 1971), Barry Camp (Williams Grove 1981), Jac Haudenschild (Indiana State Fairgrounds 1985), P.J. Jones (IRP 1994), David Gravel (Springfield 2020), Tyler Roahrig (IRP 2021) and now Chase Dietz (Port Royal 2023).

It’s pretty elite company to find oneself in, but Chase keeps the expectations tempered for now going into Springfield. After all, he’s still new to the discipline and he’s visiting a type of track he’s never before turned a wheel on. However, there is that thought that sticks in his mind of ‘you never know,’ just as Port Royal played out.

“Going into the mile, we still don’t necessarily have those expectations,” Chase admitted. “But the second-place finish kind of puts it in your mind that, ‘man, we know we can do well.’ But we also haven’t had time at the mile and we don’t know what the track is going to be like, so we’re going to take it like we did the first race and try to find out what we can and attack as fast as possible and go from there. It’s a whole new experience and a lot to learn, but I’m confident that we can do well, and we’ll see what we can do from here on out.”

RACE DETAILS

Chase Dietz is one of 44 entries for this Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 field at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 19, which is the largest assemblage of USAC Silver Crown cars for a series event since 2005.

On Saturday in Springfield, 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-11:10am, Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by the qualifying race, pre-race ceremonies 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 and $5 for children 11 and 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.

Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3AMU46z.

 

 

FLYIN’ ILLINI: 6 STORYLINES FOR ILLINOIS USAC MIDGET WEEKEND AT WAYNE CITY & MACON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 15, 2023)………From southern Illinois to central Illinois, the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship truly becomes the Flyin’ Illini this weekend, August 18-19.

Two dates await drivers and teams starting with Friday’s 10th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial Presented By Peoples National Bank at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. followed by the series’ first visit to Macon Speedway in six seasons on Saturday night.

“Unpredictability” is the word on these two dirt bullrings. Wayne City’s 1/8-mile and Macon’s 1/5-mile may be short of stature but are most definitely big on excitement. In 19 combined USAC National Midget events at these two venues dating back to 1959, never has there been a repeat winner. That’s all you need to know.

However, after a monthlong layoff for the series, there’s so much more to talk about. We dig in right here with these six storylines for an Illinois doubleheader weekend for the USAC National Midgets.

DAUMINATING IN ILLINOIS

There have been nine previous runnings of the Jason Leffler Memorial since 2013. There have been 12 appearances of USAC National Midgets at Macon since 1959. Neither has seen a repeat winner.

Zach Daum and Tanner Thorson, however, will try to change that narrative this weekend at Wayne City. Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) was the inaugural Jason Leffler Memorial winner in 2013 and the runner-up a year ago in 2022. Thorson, meanwhile, was first in 2020 and second in 2016.

Macon will likely see a first-time USAC Midget winner unless Donnie Beechler or Brad Kuhn burst out of retirement to return to competition. But the magic eight ball says “Don’t count on it.”

Daum has won with the POWRi Midgets and MOWA Sprint Cars in recent years at Macon and also owns the track’s qualifying record with a time of 10.325 seconds. Thorson is also a winner in the POWRi Midget ranks at Macon, scoring one win in 2016.

Astonishingly, no driver has won twice in either event, although some have come close. Jason Leffler Memorial winners Zach Daum (2013), Tyler Thomas (2018), Tanner Thorson (2020) and Christopher Bell (2021) have also all finished second. Daum took runner-up honors just last year in 2022 as did Thorson in 2016, Thomas in 2019 and Bell in 2014.

Macon winners Leroy Warriner (1959), Jimmy Davies (1960) and Tony Elliott (1992) also came within a hair of becoming multi-time victors. Warriner and Davies grabbed second place results there in 1959 while Elliott nearly captured the 1991 race before winning the following year.

T.E.A.M. = TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE

While the high majority of drivers are chasing first career USAC National Midget wins at either Wayne County or Macon, there are several teams who’ve enjoyed the spoils of victory.

CB Industries, RMS Racing and Tom Malloy have all seen their teams win the Jason Leffler Memorial during the decade of the 2020s.

CBI scored at Wayne City with Mitchel Moles in 2022, RMS in 2021 with Christopher Bell and Malloy with Tanner Thorson in 2020. While only Thorson is expected to repeat his triumphant performance, those teams are champing at the bit to see their car return with a new gun.

CBI will field Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), who recently captured his first career USAC victory in July in his home state of Kansas at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds.

RMS will have the talents of Justin Grant and Thomas Meseraull at the wheel of their machines. Grant (Ione, Calif.) and Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) share a best career Leffler Memorial finish of 4th. Grant achieved it in 2014 and 2018 while Meseraull did the same in 2022.

Malloy will have two-time 2023 series winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) in the seat as well as Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) who sits second in the Rookie of the Year standings at press time.

A STATISTICAL ODDITY FOR KKM

Oddly enough, Wayne County Speedway is literally the only track on this year’s schedule that a Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports car has never won a USAC National Midget feature event at.

KKM, the owner of an all-time record 142 USAC National Midget entrant wins, has finished second place on four occasions at the Jason Leffler Memorial: Christopher Bell (2014), Rico Abreu (2015) and Tanner Thorson (2016).

A victory in the Jason Leffler Memorial would be a major one for Kunz and KKM CEO Pete Willoughby. Leffler captured the first USAC National Midget championship for both Kunz and Willoughby in 1997. Willoughby was also the recipient of USAC’s Jason Leffler Award in 2014 in recognition of his intense appreciation of the sport’s history reflected in his professionalism and outstanding representation as an ambassador of the United States Auto Club, exhibiting the same standard of ideals upheld by the late Jason Leffler during his USAC racing career.

With all that said, the team does enter Macon’s round as the defending winner when Christopher Bell raced to victory back in 2017. KKM will have in its stable the likes of Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Rookie point leader Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) throughout the weekend.

LOGAN STREAKY

By all estimates, Logan Seavey is officially on a roll. He carries a streak of seven straight USAC National Midget podium finishes into the weekend.

That makes him only the fourth driver in the last 10 years to have seven or more consecutive top-three feature results with the series.

The only other drivers in that timeframe to accomplish the feat are Rico Abreu (9 straight in 2014 and 8 straight in 2015); Tyler Courtney (9 straight in 2020); and Buddy Kofoid (7 straight in 2022 and 8 in 2022).

With two more top-three results this weekend, Seavey would tie the best run of its sort in this decade. The 2018 series champion’s latest finishes of 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st and 2nd have pushed him into the point lead by a healthy 76-point margin.

THE SHORTEST SHORT TRACK CHALLENGE

In the entire 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing, no driver has won more often on dirt tracks shorter than a quarter mile in size than Tanner Thorson with eight.

Thorson (Minden, Nev.) is not only the victor of the most recent round of the 2023 USAC National Midget season in July, it also just so happened to occur at the 1/5-mile Jefferson County Speedway in Nebraska. Thorson will attempt to repeat his 2020 Jason Leffler Memorial victory on Wayne City’s 1/8-mile.

Justin Grant is second all-time in that category with six victories in his career. However, three such events on the shortest short tracks this season have hosted victories by Thorson as well as Jacob Denney at the 1/6-mile Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Missouri and Logan Seavey at Jefferson County.

PICKING THE LOCK TO THE KEY OF ILLINOIS SUCCESS

Is experience the key? Well, it’s not a lock, but it sure does help. A handful of drivers at least have some fresh perspective and a successful baseline to run with this weekend.

Zach Daum swept both nights of Xtreme Outlaw Midget racing earlier this season at Wayne City. There, Gavin Miller ran 2nd and 3rd across both nights. Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) took a 3rd and a 6th while Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) scored a 5th. Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) ran inside the top-10 with a 7th as did Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) with a 9th and Jade Avedisian with a 10th, all of whom will be in Friday night’s field.

In POWRi action at Macon during June’s Illinois Midget Week a couple months ago, Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) captured a dramatic victory over McIntosh which brought about its share of dramatic on-track fireworks and a few post-race barbs from the two as they crossed the stripe first and second, respectively. Avedisian, meanwhile, pocketed a solid fourth that same night.

Furthermore, Macon hosted a pair of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car events in the early part of July. Of the drivers on this Saturday’s midget roster, Logan Seavey was the best with a fast qualifying time on night one and a 5th place finish on night two. Daison Pursley advanced from 12th to 8th while Zach Daum jetted from 18th to 10th.

RACE DETAILS

The 10th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship along with Non-Wing Outlaw Micros, Restrictors & Junior Sprints takes place on Friday night, August 18, at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Illinois. Adult general admission tickets are $25. Kids 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40. Pits open at 3pm Central, grandstands open at 5pm with the drivers meeting at 6:00pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

On Saturday night, August 19, at Macon Speedway in Macon, Illinois, the pits open at 4pm Central, the front gates open at 5pm with the drivers meeting at 5:30 and cars on track at 6. Adult tickets are $25 with children age 11 and under free. Pit passes and tickets will be sold at the gate on race day. Red's Place Modifieds and Hornets are also on the event card.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-780, 2-Jacob Denney-704, 3-Justin Grant-692, 4-Bryant Wiedeman-676, 5-Jade Avedisian-647, 6-Daison Pursley-647, 7-Ryan Timms-638, 8-Cannon McIntosh-622, 9-Taylor Reimer-529, 10-Chase McDermand-527.

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JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL WINNERS:

2013: Zach Daum (8/28)

2014: Daryn Pittman (8/26)

2015: Bryan Clauson (10/23)

2016: Brady Bacon (10/20)

2018: Tyler Thomas (10/21)

2019: Tyler Courtney (10/17)

2020: Tanner Thorson (10/9)

2021: Christopher Bell (12/18)

2022: Mitchel Moles (10/7)

MACON SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

1959: Don Branson (7/9), Don Boorse (7/30) & Leroy Warriner (9/15)

1960: Jimmy Davies (7/21)

1962: Chuck Rodee (6/1)

1964: Danny Frye (6/25)

1965: Bob Tattersall (7/11)

1991: Donnie Beechler (8/16)

1992: Tony Elliott (8/21)

1996: Randy Koch (8/16)

2007: Brad Kuhn (8/17)

2017: Christopher Bell (7/1)

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PAST JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL RESULTS:

2013 FEATURE: 1. Zach Daum, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Shane Cockrum, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Chett Gehrke, 7. Dereck King, 8, Andrew Felker, 9. Hud Cone, 10. Daniel Robinson, 11. Bobby East, 12. Parker Price-Miller, 13. Tyler Robbins, 14. Justin Grant, 15. Jake Blackhurst, 16. Austin Brown, 17. Chris Bell, 18. Darren Hagen, 19. Tim Siner, 20. Colten Cottle, 21.Tyler Robbins, 22. Seth Motsinger.

2014 FEATURE: 1. Daryn Pittman, 2. Christopher Bell. 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. Andrew Felker, 8. Darren Hagen, 9. Rico Abreu, 10. Tanner Thorson, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Tyler Thomas, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Daniel Robinson, 15. Garrett Aitken, 16. Nick Knepper, 17. Shane Cockrum, 18. Colten Cottle, 19. Chett Gehrke, 20. Austin Brown, 21. Brady Bacon, 22. Parker Price-Miller, 23. Seth Motsinger.

2015 FEATURE: 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Daryn Pittman, 5. Payton Pierce, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Jonathan Beason, 8. Danny Stratton, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Andrew Felker, 12. Tracy Hines, 13. Kyle Schuett, 14. Anton Hernandez, 15. Ryan Robinson, 16. Tanner Thorson, 17. Isaac Chapple, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Dereck King, 20. Tyler Thomas, 21. Darren Hagen, 22. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 23. Austin Brown, 24. Spencer Bayston, 25. Justin Peck, 26. Tyler Courtney.

2016 FEATURE: 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Andrew Felker, 6. Alex Bright, 7. Chett Gehrke, 8. Spencer Bayston, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Shane Cottle, 12. Justin Peck, 13. Grady Chandler, 14. Jonathan Beason, 15. Chad Boat, 16. Riley Kreisel, 17. Ryan Robinson, 18. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 19. Andy Malpocker, 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 21. Jake Neuman, 22. Brayton Lynch, 23. Damion Gardner, 24. Colten Cottle, 25. Holly Shelton, 26. Jason McDougal, 27. Rico Abreu, 28. Gage Walker. NT

2017 FEATURE: Rained Out

2018 FEATURE: (starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Thomas (2), 2. Chad Boat (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (3), 4. Justin Grant (16), 5. Jonathan Beason (18), 6. Christopher Bell (7), 7. Spencer Bayston (8), 8. Zeb Wise (12), 9. Logan Seavey (9), 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (17), 11. Ryan Robinson (21), 12. Cole Bodine (11), 13. Sam Johnson (23), 14. Alex Bright (14), 15. Jerry Coons, Jr. (10), 16. Brady Bacon (6), 17. Tanner Carrick (15), 18. Dave Darland (13), 19. Jake Neuman (5), 20. Holly Shelton (20), 21. Tucker Klaasmeyer (22), 22. Jason McDougal (1), 23. Zach Daum (19).

2019 FEATURE: (starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (3), 2. Tyler Thomas (1), 3. Jason McDougal (2), 4. Logan Seavey (19), 5. Justin Grant (6), 6. Chris Windom (10), 7. Brady Bacon (16), 8. Daryn Pittman (15), 9. Sam Johnson (13), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (18), 11. Jesse Colwell (4), 12. Russ Gamester (21), 13. Gio Scelzi (11), 14. Daniel Robinson (8), 15. Zeb Wise (17), 16. Thomas Meseraull (12), 17. Tanner Carrick (7), 18. Jake Neuman (14), 19. Cannon McIntosh (22), 20. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 21. Andrew Layser (20), 22. Holley Hollan (23), 23. Jerry Coons, Jr. (9).

2020 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (6), 2. Chris Windom (2), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 4. Cannon McIntosh (1), 5. Daison Pursley (3), 6. Tyler Courtney (10), 7. Kyle Cummins (11), 8. Chase Randall (5), 9. Emerson Axsom (7), 10. Justin Grant (9), 11. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 12. Cole Bodine (20), 13. Cody Brewer (18), 14. Robert Dalby (19), 15. Tyler Thomas (14), 16. Chase Johnson (12), 17. Buddy Kofoid (17), 18. Kaylee Bryson (22), 19. Sam Johnson (21), 20. Hayden Reinbold (23*), 21. Brady Bacon (13), 22. Logan Seavey (8), 23. Jason McDougal (16). NT

2021 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Christopher Bell (3), 2. Cannon McIntosh (2), 3. Chance Crum (5), 4. Sam Johnson (9), 5. Mitchel Moles (4), 6. Jordan Kinser (13), 7. Chad Boespflug (8), 8. Zach Daum (10), 9. Chett Gehrke (14), 10. Chase Briscoe (1), 11. Terry Babb (12), 12. Greg Mitchell (15), 13. Chase Howard (20), 14. Rylan Gray (7), 15. Jake Neuman (18), 16. Cory Eliason (6), 17. Max Adams (11), 18. Zach Boden (19), 19. Dillon Silverman (17), 20. Daniel Robinson (16). NT

2022 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mitchel Moles (3), 2. Zach Daum (4), 3. Buddy Kofoid (5), 4. Thomas Meseraull (1), 5. Bryant Wiedeman (2), 6. Ethan Mitchell (7), 7. Sam Johnson (9), 8. Chase McDermand (15), 9. Jacob Denney (14), 10. Cannon McIntosh (18), 11. Dominic Gorden (19), 12. Daison Pursley (6), 13. Daniel Robinson (13), 14. Chance Crum (10), 15. Kyle Cummins (21), 16. Karter Sarff (8), 17. Brenham Crouch (17), 18. Kaylee Bryson (11), 19. Hayden Reinbold (22), 20. Justin Grant (16), 21. Taylor Reimer (12), 22. Maria Cofer (20). NT

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MACON SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS

JULY 9, 1959 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Don Branson, 2. Leroy Warriner, 3. Gene Force, 4. Buddy Cagle, 5. Jim Packard, 6. Gene Hartley, 7. Bob Wente, 8. Danny Oakes, 9. Gene Weyant, 10. Johnny White, 11. Chuck Rodee, 12. Johnnie Parsons, 13. Bill Homeier, 14. David Lee, 15. Dwight Brown, 16. Willie Hunziker, 17. Arnie Knepper, 18. Russ Congdon.

JULY 30, 1959 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Don Boorse, 2. Jimmy Davies, 3. Bill Homeier, 4. A.J. Foyt, 5. Leroy Warriner, 6. Gene Hartley, 7. Bob Tattersall, 8. Gene Force, 9. Don Branson, 10. Bob Wente, 11. Bob McLean, 12. Bobby Grim.

SEPTEMBER 15, 1959 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Leroy Warriner, 2. John Slowiak, 3. Gene Weyant, 4. Jimmy Davies, 5. Bill Eubank, 6. Bill Homeier, 7. Red Hamilton, 8. Gene Hartley, 9. Johnny Riva, 10. Russ Congdon, 11. Allen Crowe, 12. Tommy Copp.

1960 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Jimmy Davies, 2. Billy Wood, 3. Allen Crowe, 4. Gene Force, 5. Tommy Copp, 6. Russ Congdon, 7. Bob Tattersall, 8. Leroy Warriner, 9. Gene Hartley, 10. Bob Wente, 11. George Benson, 12. Johnny Roberts, 13. Bobby Grim, 14. Bob Ellingham, 15. Les Scott, 16. Keith Thomas, 17. S. Arms, 18. Jim Neff.

1962 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Chuck Rodee, 2. Russ Congdon, 3. Jimmy Davies, 4. Johnny Riva, 5. Allen Crowe, 6. Tommy Copp, 7. Chuck Marshall, 8. Porky Rachwitz, 9. Dwight Brown, 10. Danny Frye, 11. Dick Kincaid, 12. Ray Elliott, 13. Bob Mathouser, 14. Chuck Weyant, 15. Bill Sarles, 16. Ralph Parkinson, 17. Jim Neff, 18. Gary Congdon.

1964 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Danny Frye, 2. Bob Wente, 3. Mel Kenyon, 4. Dwight Brown, 5. Chuck Weyant, 6. Arnie Knepper, 7. Don Meacham, 8. Tommy Copp, 9. Chuck Rodee, 10. Mike McGreevy, 11. Jimmy Knight, 12. Tom Sellberg, 13. Bob Tattersall, 14. Jimmy Davies, 15. Bill Mehner, 16. John Batts, 17. Leroy Stolle.

1965 FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Bob Tattersall, 2. Bill Puterbaugh, 3. Mike McGreevy, 4. Tommy Copp, 5. Bob Wente, 6. Danny Frye, 7. Chuck Rodee, 8. Bobby Grim, 9. Sonny Ates, 10. Bill Mehner, 11. Warren Schiebe, 12. Bob Lithgow, 13. Walt Kennedy, 14. John Taylor, 15. Larry Majeski, 16. Jimmy Davies, 17. Joe Lane.

1991 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Donnie Beechler, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Mike Streicher, 4. Donnie Lehmann, 5. Curtis Evans, 6. Phil Heavelow, 7. Doug Kalitta, 8. Roy Caruthers, 9. Gary Baugh, 10. John McEntire, 11. Jim Davies, 12. Tim Siner, 13. Aaron Truax, 14. Duke DeRosa, 15. Greg Lueckert, 16. Tyce Carlson, 17. Stevie Reeves, 18. Stan Fox, 19. P.J. Jones, 20. Steve Knepper. NT

1992 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Steve Knepper, 3. Donnie Lehmann, 4. Stevie Reeves, 5. Kevin Doty, 6. Kenny Irwin Jr., 7. Dean Billings, 8. Donnie Beechler, 9. Mike Streicher, 10. Ray Morgan, 11. Bruce Donaldson Jr., 12. Fred Tegarden Jr., 13. Tyce Carlson, 14. Bryon Walters, 15. Scott Hatton, 16. Page Jones, 17. Dan Drinan, 18. Danny Frye Jr., 19. Johnny Crawford, 20. Phil Heavelow. NT

1996 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Randy Koch, 2. Brian Gerster, 3. Andy Michner, 4. Dean Billings, 5. Scott Hatton, 6. Steve Knepper, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Russ Gamester, 9. Andy Pierce, 10. David Bridges, 11. Carl Olsen, 12. Nick Lundgreen, 13. Scott Weyant, 14. Jim Davies, 15. Bruce Donaldson Jr., 16. Danny Frye Jr., 17. Kenneth Nichols, 18. Ryan Newman, 19. Kenny Irwin Jr., 20. Donnie Lehmann, 21. Kevin Newton, 22. Scott Hansen. NT

2007 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Kuhn, 2. Brad Loyet, 3. Shane Hollingsworth, 4. Dereck King, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Chuck Gurney Jr., 8. Nick Knepper, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Justin Allgaier, 11. Brad Sweet, 12. Danny Stratton, 13. Dave Camfield Jr., 14. Derrick Myers, 15. Brady Bacon, 16. Kevin Swindell, 17. Mike Hess, 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 19. Brad Mosen, 20. Davey Ray, 21. Tim Siner, 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 23. Bryce Townsend, 24. Tom Hessert III. NT

2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Shane Golobic, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Daniel Robinson, 11. Holly Shelton, 12. Ryan Robinson, 13. Jerry Coons Jr., 14. Gage Walker, 15. Jake Neuman, 16. Brayton Lynch, 17. Tyler Nelson, 18. Kyle Schuett, 19. Colten Cottle, 20. Tyler Thomas, 21. Nick Knepper, 22. David Budres, 23. Tanner Thorson. NT

=============

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT WAYNE COUNTY SPEEDWAY:

10 Laps - 10/7/2022 - Justin Grant - 1:43.92

12 Laps - 10/21/2016 - Ryan Robinson - 2:19.19

=============

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT MACON SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 7/1/2017 - Zach Daum - 10.325

4 Laps - 6/25/1964 - Jimmy Davies - 51.10

10 Laps - 8/21/1992 - Page Jones - 1:54.88

12 Laps - 8/21/1992 - Fred Tegarden Jr. - 2:20.84

50 Laps - 7/30/1959 - Don Boorse - 11:00.26


A 3-YEAR WAIT:
JACOB WILSON RETURNS TO
USAC SILVER CROWN RACING AT SPRINGFIELD

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 15, 2023)………The last time Jacob Wilson sat in a USAC Silver Crown car was on the Springfield Mile nearly three years ago when he finished with a solid top-five result.

Now the Crawfordsville, Ind. native and past dirt mile Silver Crown winner will make his return to the series for the first time since that day in 2020 at the very same spot for this Saturday’s 60th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 19.

Wilson, a veteran of 54 career Silver Crown starts, hasn’t exactly been sitting idle for the past handful of years. During his hiatus from racing, he’s been busy building up and expanding the family business, Wilson’s 24-Hour Towing. His brother and crew chief, Clint Wilson, recently got married and Jacob will tie the knot with his fiancée this September.

The busy off-track schedule may have taken him away from racing for a bit and made it a bit, but the drive is still there for the 33-year-old wheelman who also owns a pair of Little 500 Sprint Car victories at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in 2013-14.

In May of this year, he made his first start in a racecar of any kind in several years, starting 17th and finishing 4th in the Little 500, but only after receiving a call to drive the car as a last-minute replacement the night before the first practice.

The fire never waned within Wilson, but that performance got the ball rolling, and just a few months later, he announced his return to the Silver Crown series.

“We’ve had the desire, but things just didn’t work out,” Wilson revealed. “When things calmed down a little bit for us at work, we were able to get things put back together.”

The dirt miles are special, and they hold a special place in Wilson’s racing career. Prior to his most recent Silver Crown start at Springfield in 2020, his last start before that was a victory on the Magic Mile at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.

Known for a long time for his prowess on pavement tracks, the victory was a pleasant surprise for Wilson who soon discovered that the dirt miles fit him like a glove.

“It’s hard to believe that after all the Silver Crown races we’ve run and with all the pavement success we’ve had, that our first win would be on a dirt track,” Wilson remarked. “The dirt miles seem to fit my driving style as you’re playing the patience game with strategy. Hopefully we can replicate some of that and keep the fire going as far as our race team goes. Being out of it for a little bit, it’s going to be getting out there and knocking 10 laps out and then go from there.”

Wilson feels that rust won’t be a factor, but getting back into the swing of things as he did while racing regularly with USAC between 2008-2020 will be a change from what he’s been accustomed to over the past three years.

“Knocking the rust off is not really a huge issue but it’s one of those deals in which I’d rather be doing it every weekend instead of once every three years,” Wilson said with a laugh.

Saturday’s race at Springfield is the plan for a resumption of his USAC Silver Crown career, which will also include a stop in the Ted Horn 100 at Du Quoin on Saturday, September 2, plus even more to come in the future.

“We’re going to hit the stuff we know,” Wilson revealed. “We sold our dirt wing sprint cars. It’s something we tried, but really didn’t fit me at all. We’re trying to get back into stuff we know and love. The crown cars have always held a special place in our heart – the miles, the big pavement tracks – it fits our style, and it seems like the events themselves, there’s just more prestige and more hype around them. We’re looking to get back into some more and build into next year after having the winter to ramp up everything and take it from there.”

Wilson will take on Springfield with the same team, car and operation he left off with in 2020 during his last Silver Crown start aboard his Wilson Brothers Racing/RGT Sales – Lucas Oil – Wix Filters – FK Indy – JetStar/Maxim/Claxton Chevy. He’ll have his brother, Clint, on the wrenches as well as USAC’s National Chief Mechanic of the Year, Matt Hummel, by his side once again as well.

“We’re excited,” Wilson exclaimed. “Expectations are high, but we’re also realists about it. A top-five would be a win after being out for so long. But you’re never going to win with that as your goal, so we’ll see what we got.”

RACE DETAILS:

Jacob Wilson becomes the 44th entry for Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 field at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, which is the largest assemblage of USAC Silver Crown cars for a series event since 2005.

On Saturday in Springfield, 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-11:10am, Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by the qualifying race, pre-race ceremonies 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 and $5 for children 11 and 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.

Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3AMU46z.

==================

2023 BETTENHAUSEN 100 ENTRY LIST: (44 CARS & DRIVERS)
07 (R) JOHN TOSTI/High Ridge, MO (John Tosti)
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
3 (R) TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)
5 (R) MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (DMW Motorsports)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)
9 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing/SRG)
12 (R) WAYNE JOHNSON/Oklahoma City, OK (Two C Racing)
14 STEVEN RUSSELL/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 (R) EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)
25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports)
26 (R) KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
34 (R) GARY DUNKLE/Lincoln, NE (Gary Dunkle)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports)
69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)
86 (R) CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)
97 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Hans Lein)
99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
107 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)
110 (R) CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)
111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)
118 (R) RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing)
126 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
177 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

 

44 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRIES
FOR SATURDAY’S BETTENHAUSEN 100

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (August 14, 2023)………One of the largest fields in recent USAC Silver Crown history is set for battle during the 60th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza this Saturday, August 19, at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The entry list of 45 entries for Saturday’s race on the Springfield Mile are tied for the most cars to appear in any USAC Silver Crown event since 2005.

Among this year’s crop are five past Bettenhausen 100 winners: reigning race champion Shane Cockrum of Benton, Ill. (2022), three-time victor Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif. (2014-15-21), two-time winner A.J. Fike of Galesburg, Ill. (2012-13), plus single time winners Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. (1998) and Justin Grant of Ione, Calif. (2017).

Current point leader Kody Swanson is a seven-time USAC Silver Crown champion, one of three past series titlists in the field along with Grant and Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.).

A total of 12 past USAC Silver Crown main event winners are in Saturday’s field. Six of those individuals are seeking their first triumph at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Among those in that category are series runner-up Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), Chris Urish (Elkhart, Ill.) and Aaron Pierce (Muncie, Ind.), Jacob Wilson (Crawfordsville, Ind.) along with Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) who’ll make his debut for the Chris Dyson Racing team, which captured the 2021 Bettenhausen 100 with Kody Swanson at the wheel.

Two women are in Saturday’s field with Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) making her return to the Bettenhausen 100 lineup after a 10-year absence. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) put on a show a year ago at Springfield, leading a race-high 72 laps before finishing 5th.
Although not a Bettenhausen 100 Rookie, Bryson is the leading USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender in 2023, entering Saturday’s race third overall in the series standings. She’s one of 14 Silver Crown Rookies in 2023 who are in this weekend’s field along with USAC National feature winners Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.).

Chase Dietz (York, Pa.) will make his first dirt mile appearance at Springfield with the USAC Silver Crown series following a runner-up finish in his series debut at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway in June along with fellow series newcomers Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Gary Dunkle (Lincoln, Neb.), Cary Oliver (Buncombe, Ill.), Ryan Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.), Mitchell Davis (Auburn, Ill.), John Tosti (High Ridge, Mo.) and Tim Simmons (Cabot, Ark.).

Returning to the Springfield starting field are Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville, Ill.), Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa), Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.), Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.), Casey Buckman (Chandler, Ariz.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.), Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pa.), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.), Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), Mario Clouser (Auburn, IL), Patrick Bruns (Champaign, Ill.), Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.), Tom Paterson (Argos, Ind.) and Steven Russell (Rochester, Ill.).

RACE DETAILS:

On Saturday in Springfield, 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-11:10am, Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by the qualifying race, pre-race ceremonies 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 and $5 for children 11 and 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.

Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3AMU46z.

==================

2023 BETTENHAUSEN 100 ENTRY LIST: (44 CARS)
07 (R) JOHN TOSTI/High Ridge, MO (John Tosti)
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
3 (R) TIM SIMMONS/Cabot, AR (Tim Simmons)
5 (R) MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (DMW Motorsports)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)
9 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing/SRG)
12 (R) WAYNE JOHNSON/Oklahoma City, OK (Two C Racing)
14 STEVEN RUSSELL/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 (R) EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)
25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports)
26 (R) KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
34 (R) GARY DUNKLE/Lincoln, NE (Gary Dunkle)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Five Three Motorsports)
69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)
86 (R) CHASE DIETZ/York, PA (Bruce Lee)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)
97 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Hans Lein)
99 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
107 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)
110 (R) CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)
111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)
118 (R) RYAN THOMAS/Indianapolis, IN (Wingo Brothers Racing)
126 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
156 (R) MITCHELL DAVIS/Auburn, IL (Pat O’Dell)
177 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
777 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

BETTENHAUSEN 100 WINS:

7-Chuck Gurney

4-A.J. Foyt, Jack Hewitt & Brian Tyler

3-Mario Andretti, Dave Darland, Kody Swanson & Al Unser

2-Gary Bettenhausen, A.J. Fike, Jim Hurtubise & Bobby Olivero

1-Tom Bigelow, Don Branson, Pancho Carter, Steve Chassey, Shane Cockrum, Russ Gamester, Justin Grant, Tracy Hines, Kenny Irwin Jr., Kyle Larson, Roger McCluskey, Larry Rice, Jimmy Sills, George Snider, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Rodger Ward, Paul White, Cole Whitt, Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley

AAA / USAC CHAMP CAR WINNERS AT THE ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS:
1934: Billy Winn
1935: Billy Winn
1936: Wilbur Shaw
1937: Mauri Rose
1938: Tony Willman
1939: Emil Andres
1940: Rex Mays
1947: Tony Bettenhausen
1948: Ted Horn & Myron Fohr
1949: Mel Hansen & Johnnie Parsons
1950: Paul Russo & Tony Bettenhausen
1951: Tony Bettenhausen
1952: Bill Schindler
1953: Rodger Ward & Sam Hanks
1954: Jimmy Davies
1955: Jimmy Bryan
1956: Jimmy Bryan
1957: Rodger Ward
1958: Johnny Thomson
1959: Len Sutton
1960: Jim Packard
1961: Jim Hurtubise
1962: Jim Hurtubise
1963: Rodger Ward
1964: A.J. Foyt
1965: A.J. Foyt
1966: Don Branson
1967: A.J. Foyt
1968: Roger McCluskey
1969: Mario Andretti
1970: Al Unser
1971: A.J. Foyt
1972: Al Unser
1973: Mario Andretti
1974: Mario Andretti
1975: Al Unser
1976: Tom Bigelow
1977: Larry Rice
1978: Gary Bettenhausen
1979: Bobby Olivero
1980: Pancho Carter
1981: George Snider
1982: Larry Dickson & Bobby Olivero
1983: Gary Bettenhausen
1984: Chuck Gurney
1985: Chuck Gurney
1986: Jack Hewitt
1987: Jack Hewitt
1988: Steve Chassey
1989: Chuck Gurney
1990: Chuck Gurney
1991: Chuck Gurney
1992: Jimmy Sills
1993: Jack Hewitt
1994: Chuck Gurney
1995: Kenny Irwin Jr.
1996: Chuck Gurney
1997: Dave Darland
1998: Russ Gamester
1999: Dave Darland
2000: Jack Hewitt
2001: Paul White
2002: J.J. Yeley
2003: Dave Darland
2004: Brian Tyler
2005: Brian Tyler
2006: Tracy Hines
2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2008: Brian Tyler
2009: Cole Whitt
2011: Brian Tyler
2012: A.J. Fike
2013: A.J. Fike
2014: Kody Swanson
2015: Kody Swanson
2017: Justin Grant
2018: Chris Windom
2020: Kyle Larson
2021: Kody Swanson
2022: Shane Cockrum

 

 

T.J. SMITH TAKES ANTIOCH USAC DEBUT

ANTIOCH, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 6, 2023… For the second time in as many races, a new driver has celebrated a victory with the USAC Western States Midget Series. Leading all 30-laps, T.J. Smith of Fresno, California topped the $2,000 debut presented by Graunstadt Enterprises at Antioch Speedway. Making his second start of the campaign in the Six8 Motorsports #68 Competition Suspension Incorporated / Extreme Mufflers Stewart, Smith became the 192nd winning driver with the series over Jake Andreotti, Cade Lewis, Ben Worth, and David Gasper.

Before winning the first round of the “Antioch Challenge Mini Series,” Smith qualified eighth overall and claimed the 10-lap Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters Second Heat Race victory. Starting on the pole position, T.J. outpaced David Gasper for the top spot and faced constant pressure from the young driver. As Smith set a torrid pace on the Antioch clay, there was a fierce battle for position behind the leader with Gasper, Jake Andreotti, Ben Worth, and Cade Lewis. As the laps counted down, Andreotti managed to break free and moved into striking distance for the lead. However, the night belonged to Smith and he took the checkered flag in front of a packed grandstands. Despite running a limited schedule, T.J. has climbed to twentieth in the point standings after joining the winner’s list at Antioch.

For the fifth time this season, Bakersfield, California’s Brody Fuson topped the Woodland Auto Display qualifying charts. Driving Rusty Carlile’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, Fuson established the track record with a time of 13.882 seconds over the eighteen car roster. Later, the point leader suffered mechanical issues that resulted in a ninth place finish in his heat race and eighteenth in the main event. Heading to the next race at Ventura on September 9th, Fuson’s big lead has shrunk to a 20-point advantage.

Colby Johnson of Penngrove, California raced to victory in the 10-lap Jordan Hanni Well Drilling First Heat Race. Piloting Keith Ford’s #73 Naturipe / Surecan LLC Triple X, Johnson was ninth fast in time trials and placed fifteenth in the feature after an early exit. Following his first start of the season, Colby ranks thirty-first in the point standings.

Two “lucky pill draw awards” were available at Antioch that were claimed by Randi Pankratz and Danika Jo Faccinto. Pankratz earned the Extreme Mufflers Award, was twelfth quick in time trials, ran fifth in her heat race, and scored tenth in the feature aboard the #8 HASA Pool Products / Sta-Rite Triple X. Faccinto won the Competition Suspension Incorporated / Saldana Racing Products Award, qualified eleventh, ran seventh in her heat race, and scored seventh in the main event in the #13 Roza Motorsports / Sala Racing Spike after starting eleventh. Pankratz left Antioch ranked sixth in points, while Faccinto sits twelfth.

Starting fifteenth, Oxnard, California’s Samuel May earned the night’s Ebbco Offroad Hard Charger Award after finishing eighth in the main event. Racing the Dave Lambert owned #55 Employee Benefit Systems Incorporated / Surecan LLC Triple X, May was fifteenth fast in time trials and scored fourth in his heat race. With three point races remaining, the rookie contender is tenth in the point standings.

By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, veteran driver Marvin Mitchell of Madera, California earned the night’s Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Piloting his #78 TRC Transmissions Elite, Mitchell qualified eighteenth overall and ran seventh in his heat race. Marvin left the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds ranked fourteenth in the point chase.

On Saturday, September 9th, the USAC Western States Midget Series will return to Ventura Raceway. For more event information, visit venturaraceway.com.

The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Ebbco Offroad, Esslinger Engineering, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Graunstadt Enterprises, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters, Jordan Hanni Well Drilling, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.

For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 5, 2023 – Antioch Speedway - Antioch, California – “Antioch Challenge #1 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.882 (New Track Record); 2. Cade Lewis, 5K, Alexander-14.116; 3. Ben Worth, 5V, Alexander-14.124; 4. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-14.170; 5. Caden Sarale, 14J, Graunstadt-14.186; 6. David Gasper, 73X, Ford-14.259; 7. Nikko Panella, 32, Sarale-14.279; 8. T.J. Smith, 68, Six8-14.362; 9. Colby Johnson, 73, Ford-14.402; 10. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-14.513; 11. Danika Jo Faccinto, 13, Parker-14.560; 12. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-14.616; 13. Jerry Kobza, 35, Felkins-14.626; 14. Ben Covich, 65, Covich-14.803; 15. Samuel May, 55, Lambert-14.886; 16. Kevin Gray, 7L, Gray-15.876; 17. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-15.885; 18. Marvin Mitchell, 78, Mitchell-NT.

JORDAN HANNI WELL DRILLING FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Sarale, 3. Worth, 4. May, 5. Panella, 6. Kobza, 7. Faccinto, 8. Hazleton, 9. Fuson. NT.

HOT HEAD COMPETITION ENGINE HEATERS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Smith, 2. Lewis, 3. Andreotti, 4. Gasper, 5. Pankratz, 6. Covich, 7. Mitchell, 8. Gray, 9. Sarna. NT.

SAMMY BAHR FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. T.J. Smith (1), 2. Jake Andreotti (4), 3. Cade Lewis (6), 4. Ben Worth (5), 5. David Gasper (2), 6. C.J. Sarna (10), 7. Danika Jo Faccinto (11), 8. Samuel May (15), 9. Nikko Panella (9), 10. Randi Pankratz (12), 11. Ben Covich (14), 12. Ron Hazelton (17), 13. Marvin Mitchell (18), 14. Jerry Kobza (13), 15. Colby Johnson (7), 16. Caden Sarale (3), 17. Kevin Gray (16), 18. Brody Fuson (8). NT.
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** Sarale flipped on lap 12 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Smith.
EBBCO OFFROAD HARD CHARGER: Samuel May (15 to 8)
EXTREME MUFFLERS LUCKY PILL DRAW: Randi Pankratz
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS LUCKY PILL DRAW: Danika Jo Faccinto
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13: Marvin Mitchell

NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-589, 2-Cade Lewis-569, 3-Ben Worth-434, 4-Ron Hazelton-397, 5-C.J. Sarna-384, 6-Randi Pankratz-352, 7-Ben Covich-269, 8-Caden Sarale-263, 9-Blake Bower-255, 10-Samuel May-247.

NEW ANTIOCH CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GRAUNSTADT ENTERPRISES POINTS: 1-T.J. Smith-78, 2-Cade Lewis-76, --Jake Andreotti-76, 4-Ben Worth-71, 5-David Gasper-64, 6-C.J. Sarna-56, 7-Samuel May-54, --Danika Jo Faccinto-54, 9-Nicco Panella-50, 10-Randi Pankratz-47.

NEW WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-44, 2-Cade Lewis-27, 3-Caden Sarale-14, 4-Ben Worth-12, 5-C.J. Sarna-11, 6-Jake Andreotti-9, 7-Blake Bower-7, --Randi Pankratz-7, 9-Robby Josett-6, --David Gasper-6.

NEW SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1-Brody Fuson-493, 2-Cade Lewis-491, 3-Ben Worth-382, 4-Ron Hazelton-367, 5-C.J. Sarna-343, 6-Randi Pankratz-319, 7-Ben Covich-257, 8-Blake Bower-223, --Caden Sarale-223, 10-Samuel May-216.

NEW PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Cade Lewis-33, 2-Brody Fuson-23, --Ron Hazelton-23, 4-Ben Covich-14, 5-Marvin Mitchell-10, 6-C.J. Sarna-8, 7-Steve Paden-7, --David Gasper-7, --Robby Josett-7, --Samuel May-7.

NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: September 9 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California


 


FIRST TO 40 AT TOLEDO!
SWANSON WINS 40TH CAREER USAC SILVER CROWN RACE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (August 5, 2023)………During his first six USAC Silver Crown victories at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway in 2012-15-18-19-21-22, Kody Swanson had led 611 out of a possible 650 laps (94%) in an absolutely dominant stretch at the half-mile paved oval.

Saturday’s running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled By Marco’s Pizza was a quite different story, and was, undoubtedly, the most challenging he’d faced yet.

Nonetheless, when seemingly backed against the wall for the majority of the distance, the Kingsburg, Calif. native still managed to pull through and prevail in the 100-lapper, leading a total of 23 laps to score an astounding seventh career Rollie Beale Classic victory, and his fifth-in-a-row at Toledo with the champ cars dating back to 2018.

Toledo Speedway’s all-time winningest USAC driver also equaled a series record set by another series dominator, the late, great Dave Steele. Swanson’s performance marked just the third time in which a driver captured five consecutive USAC Silver Crown race wins at one track. Steele grabbed five-straight at Phoenix International Raceway between 2002-06 while Kody himself scored five-in-a-row at Indiana’s Salem Speedway between 2016-20.

Swanson’s third win of the season on Saturday was Swanson’s third series victory in a row, making it the fourth occasion in which he won at least three consecutive main events with the series. No other driver has more than one such streak.

Furthermore, Swanson’s 40th career USAC Silver Crown triumph came after gaining his 45th career pole award with the series during Honest Abe Qualifying where he joined Tanner Swanson as just the second driver to win seven career USAC Silver Crown poles at a single track, which his younger brother has achieved at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Aboard the Doran-Binks Racing/Mission Foods – Glenn Farms/Beast/Lanci Ford, Swanson endured a hellacious side-by-side battle for the lead with outside front row starter C.J. Leary during the first three laps.

Swanson edged Leary by a car length at the stripe to lead lap one before the duo swapped lanes when Leary wedged underneath Swanson exiting turn two on lap two then surged into the lead as they crossed the line separated by a half car length. Leary escaped the throes of Swanson on the third lap to gain a little bit of breathing room, which he’d enjoy for quite a while.
However, on lap four, the race’s only caution flag was displayed when fourth running Davey Hamilton Jr., making his debut for the Legacy Autosport team, saw his ride go up in smoke on the back straight. The Idahoan quickly stopped and hopped out, ending his day prematurely.

Leary continued to be a force up front throughout the first third of the event while, further back, 2017 Rollie Beale Classic USAC Silver Crown winner Bobby Santos had gained eight spots by lap 28 to advance from his 20th starting position to 12th. Santos was relegated to the tail for the start due to a driveline issue suffered during practice, and later, raced his way into the top-10 on lap 57, but dropped to 11th in the final running order during the waning laps.

Simultaneously, Leary began to work lapped traffic, but managed to extend his lead to more than four seconds over Swanson as the race neared the midway point. Mired in traffic on lap 48, 2020 series champion Justin Grant found himself lodged in-between the lapped machines of Nathan Byrd and Matt Westfall. Spotting a lane all to his own, Derek Bischak moved up a groove and drove around the outside of all three to move into second but remained a full five seconds out of the lead.

By lap 56, Leary had his hands full with a huge throng of cars in his path, including Santos, Billy Wease, Kyle O'Gara, Trey Burke, Mike McVetta and Taylor Ferns who earned hard charger honors by advancing from 17th to 8th. All the traffic managed to slash Leary’s lead from four seconds down to a mere 1.8 with just 40 circuits to go.

On lap 75, the gap was zilch as Leary and Swanson raced around the joint nose-to-tail. By that point, Leary was hanging on by a thread as his right rear tire grew, which increased his stagger, making the car very loose in the corners. All Leary could do to keep Swanson at bay was to just make it as hard as possible for him to get by.

However, off the fourth turn on lap 77, Swanson was able to get a nose under Leary, yet Leary managed to maintain his lead for a full lap longer. However, at the exits of turns two and four, the rearend kicked out just a bit on Leary, pushing him off the bottom and allowing Swanson to get a nose in edgewise.

Ultimately, lap 79 told the tale as Swanson pulled even with Leary on entry into turn one for the first time. Swanson hugged the bottom and cleared Leary by turn two to take over the lead, a position he’d never surrender.

Swanson immediately opened up his lead to a full second in the ensuing laps, but soon found himself amidst a gaggle of nine lapped cars running high, low and middle in front of him with 10 laps to go. Yet, Swanson played it smart and those in front of him kept it clean while also racing for position inside the top-10 as Swanson completed the 100-lap distance in a blistering time of 28:35.61, which was slowed by just one caution with the final 91 laps going clean and green.

At the checkered, Swanson had lapped all but the top-10 and was 1.158 seconds ahead of runner-up C.J. Leary with Derek Bischak in third and Justin Grant in fourth while Logan Seavey rounded out the top-five in a completely rebuilt racecar which had been crashed 16 days earlier at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and had just a handful of pieces that didn’t need replacing before the Toledo round.

For the second consecutive race, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) earned his best finish of the USAC Silver Crown season. He scored a fourth at Winchester and followed it up with a second on Saturday at Toledo after leading a race-high 77 laps in his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Lucas Oil Center– Brown & Miller Racing Solutions/Beast/Ford.

The story was much the same for Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) who collected his best career USAC Silver Crown finish of third in the most recent round at Winchester, then equaled it again on Saturday at Toledo in his Derek Bischak/Allstar Performance – Klotz Synthetic Lubricants – Complete Collision/Beast/J & D Chevy.

===============

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 5, 2023 – Toledo Speedway – Toledo, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Presented By Marco’s Pizza

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-15.129; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-15.179; 3. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-15.265; 4. Davey Hamilton Jr., 19, Legacy-15.292; 5. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-15.294; 6. Dakoda Armstrong, 5, C & A-15.368; 7. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-15.374; 8. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-15.390; 9. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-15.416; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-15.475; 11. Billy Wease, 60, Wilson-15.488; 12. Kyle O'Gara, 67, SFHR-15.537; 13. Nathan Byrd, 88, Byrd-15.544; 14. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-15.615; 15. Matt Westfall, 81, BCR-15.660; 16. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-15.702; 17. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-15.852; 18. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton/SRG-15.879; 19. Mike McVetta, 94, RAM-16.312; 20. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-17.385; 21. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 22. Bobby Santos, 98, DJ-NT; 23. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams-NT.

FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Derek Bischak (5), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Kaylee Bryson (10), 7. Mario Clouser (9), 8. Taylor Ferns (17), 9. Russ Gamester (8), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (6), 11. Bobby Santos (20), 12. Billy Wease (11), 13. Kyle Robbins (14), 14. Kyle O'Gara (12), 15. Matt Westfall (15), 16. Nathan Byrd (13), 17. Trey Burke (18), 18. Mike McVetta (19), 19. Travis Welpott (16), 20. Davey Hamilton Jr. (4), 21. Tom Paterson (22), 22. Dave Berkheimer (21). 28:35.61

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Kody Swanson, Laps 2-78 C.J. Leary, Laps 79-100 Kody Swanson.

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-384, 2-Logan Seavey-353, 3-Kaylee Bryson-265, 4-Mario Clouser-258, 5-Bobby Santos-248, 6-C.J. Leary-247, 7-Taylor Ferns-240, 8-Justin Grant-235, 9-Matt Westfall-233, 10-Derek Bischak-212.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Logan Seavey-86, 3-Robert Ballou-81, 4-Shane Cottle-81, 5-Matt Westfall-79, 6-Brady Bacon-77, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Emerson Axsom-64, 9-Chase Stockon-63, 10-C.J. Leary-51.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 19, 2023 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – 60th Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Practice Fastest Driver: Justin Grant (15.232)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson (15.129)

Hard Charger: Taylor Ferns (17th to 8th)


 

 

 

USAC Western States Midget Series

USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGETS DEBUT AT ANTIOCH SPEEDWAY
By Lance Jennings

AUGUST 2, 2023... For the first time in series history, the battle for the USAC Western States Midget Championship heads to Antioch Speedway, this Saturday, August 5th. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Ken Graunstadt and Turn Fun, the “Fan Appreciation Night” and first round of the Antioch Challenge Mini Series will pay $2,000-to-win. The eighth point race will also feature IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, IMCA Stock Cars, Wingless Sprints, and Mini Stocks. Located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds at 1201 West 10th Street in Antioch, California, the Pit Gates will open at 2:00pm, the Front Gates open at 4:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 6:00pm. For more event information “Where Action is The Attraction,” visit the track’s website at antiochspeedway.com or call 925.779.9220. The event will be broadcast on FloRacing.com.

Graunstadt Enterprises has increased the night’s purse and has added a bonus of five (5) gallons of fuel to the first ten (10) drivers that check in. Second place in the 30-lap feature will pay $1,000, third will earn $800, fourth will claim $600, and fifth will take home $500.

The Antioch Challenge Mini-Series Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises will consist of the August 5th and September 30th races at Antioch Speedway. Points will be kept and the champion will earn $500. $500 will also be awarded to fifth (5th) and tenth (10th) place. The September 30th race will have a normal paying purse at this time. Officials are looking for more sponsorship and drivers must attend both events to be eligible for bonus pay.

Grandstand tickets for “Fan Appreciation Night” is $5 and there will be live music. The spectator gates will open at 4:00PM and parking is priced at $10 by the fair board.

NOTICE TO RACERS:
- MEMBERSHIPS / TEMPORARY PERMITS: All racers MUST PURCHASE their USAC license / membership or temporary permit (TP) online PRIOR TO THE EVENT at usaclicense.com. Season memberships come with extra insurance.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: B&B: FRAC-0375-S w/side outlet, COAST FABRICATION: 300x625x17-2s, 350x625x17-2s, 400x625x17-2s, EXTREME: 3515-3030 (15” Long 5” round shell with 3”inlet & 3” outlet), 3615-3030 (15” Long 6” round shell with 3” inlet & 3” outlet), 3515-3030-8 (15” Long 5” round shell with 3”inlet & 3” outlet with turnout), 3615-3030-8 (15” Long 6” round shell with 3” inlet & 3” outlet with turnout), FLOWMASTER: (BCRA Approved) 13009130, 13509130, 13509135, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272730-78, RODELA FAB: 2557-01 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- RULE BOOK: The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
- California state protocol calls for competitors, crews, officials, and anyone on the grounds to practice safe social distancing, proper sanitizing, and follow local regulations regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

In addition to championship points, every event will award points for the season-long Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Standings and the unsponsored Passing Master Standings. Drivers that finish in the top-3 in Woodland points will take home $500-for-1st, $300-for-2nd, and $200-for-3rd. Last season, Michael Faccinto earned Top Qualifier honors and veteran driver Randi Pankratz passed the most cars in the main events.

Heading to the Antioch debut, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) has a 62-point lead over the competition. Driving Rusty Carlile’s #51 RacePa Motorsports / Van Meter Motorsports Spike, Fuson finished second to Caden Sarale at Petaluma on July 22nd. To date, the point leader has three feature wins, four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, three Ebbco Offroad / Wireless 101 Hard Charger Awards, seven top-10 finishes, and 53 feature laps led on the season. Brody has seven career wins and will be looking to add Antioch to his resume.

Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, California) ranks second in the chase for the championship. Racing Dean “Kiwi” Alexander’s #5K Wireless 101 / Mobil 1 Spike, Lewis finished third at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds oval. At press time, the young driver has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, three Ebbco Offroad / Wireless 101 Hard Charger Awards, seven top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led on the year. Cade has two career wins and will have his sights on winning this Saturday night.

Ben Worth (Coalinga, California) sits third in the USAC Western States Midget point standings. The 2019 Rookie of the Year did not compete at Petaluma but has one feature win, five top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led in the campaign. Ben has four career wins and is looking for a ride to race at Antioch Speedway.

Veteran driver Ron Hazelton (Chatsworth, California) is fourth in the championship standings. The owner/driver of the #15 TRC Transmission / West Evans Motorsports Beast scored an eighth place finish at Petaluma Speedway. At press time, Hazelton has five top-10 finishes in the campaign and will be looking for his first career win at Antioch.

C.J. Sarna (Brea, California) ranks fifth in the Western States point chase. The owner/driver of the #20 ZMax / Final Final Lifestyle Spike scored fourth in the July 22nd feature at Petaluma. As this writing goes to press, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year had four top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights on winning the $2,000 victory at Antioch Speedway.

Leading rookie contender, Samuel May (Oxnard, California) ranks eighth in the point standings. Racing Steve Lambert’s #55 Employee Benefit Systems Incorporated / Josh Ford Motorsports Triple X, May has one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award and two top-10 finishes on the year. The young driver will be looking the upset the field and claim the Saturday night win.

While Samuel May leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors, he is followed by Ben Covich (Auckland, New Zealand), Garrett Twitty (Bakersfield, California), David Gasper (Goleta, California), Brandon Wiley (Santa Maria, California), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, California), Kevin Gray (Yuba City, California), and Steve Hix (Ventura, California).

Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Blake Bower, Caden Sarale, Danika Jo Faccinto, Marvin Mitchell, Floyd Alvis, and more.

Antioch Speedway is located on the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds at 1201 West 10th Street in Antioch, California. General Admission tickets are $5 and parking is priced at $10 by the fair board. For more event information, visit the track’s website at antiochspeedway.com or call 925.779.9220.

The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Ebbco Offroad, Esslinger Engineering, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Graunstadt Enterprises, Hoosier Racing Tire, Hot Head Competition Engine Heaters, Jordan Hanni Well Drilling, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Turn Fun, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.

For more information on the USAC Western States Midget Series, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CHAMPIONS: 1982-Jeff Heywood, 1983-Sleepy Tripp, 1984-Tommy White, 1985-Sleepy Tripp, 1986-Robby Flock, 1987-Sleepy Tripp, 1988-Sleepy Tripp, 1989-Robby Flock, 1990-Sleepy Tripp, 1991-Sleepy Tripp, 1992-Sleepy Tripp, 1993-Robby Flock, 1994-Johnny Cofer, 1995-Billy Boat, 1996-Jay Drake, 1997-Ricky Shelton, 1998-Rick Hendrix, 1999-Marc DeBeaumont, 2000-Wally Pankratz, 2001-Danny Ebberts, 2002-Robby Flock, 2003-Steve Paden, 2004-Johnny Rodriguez, 2005-Jerome Rodela, 2006-Jerome Rodela, 2007-Johnny Rodriguez, 2008-Nic Faas, 2009-Garrett Hansen, 2010-Alex Schutte, 2011-Cory Kruseman, 2012-Shannon McQueen, 2013-Ronnie Gardner, 2014- Ronnie Gardner, 2015-Ronnie Gardner, 2016-Ronnie Gardner, 2017-Ronnie Gardner, 2018-Michael Faccinto, 2019-Robert Dalby, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-Blake Bower, 2022-Michael Faccinto.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 3-Brody Fuson, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Cade Lewis, 1-Caden Sarale, 1-Ben Worth.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Fuson-555, 2. Cade Lewis-493, 3. Ben Worth-363, 4. Ron Hazelton-357, 5. C.J. Sarna-328, 6. Randi Pankratz-305, 7. Blake Bower-255, 8. Ben Covich®-225, 9. Caden Sarale-223, 10. Steve Paden-220, 11. Samuel May®-193, 12. Bryan Drollinger-168, 13. Robby Josett-143, 14. Garrett Twitty®-142, 15. Danika Jo Faccinto-133, 16. Kevin Gray®-132, 17. Marvin Mitchell-131, 18. David Gasper®-120, 19. A.J. Bender-113, 20. Brandon Wiley®-96, 21. Jake Andreotti-84, 22. Michael Faccinto-80, 23. Mitchel Moles®-78, ... Chase Johnson-78, 25. Mike Leach Jr.-76, 26. Ryan Bernal-73, 27. Floyd Alvis-61, 28. T.J. Smith-59, 29. Terry Nichols-42, 30. Steve Hix®-37.

2023 WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALFIER POINTS: 1. Brody Fuson-38, 2. Cade Lewis-22, 3. Caden Sarale-12, 4. C.J. Sarna-11, 5. Ben Worth-8, 6. Blake Bower-7, -. Randi Pankratz-7, 8. Jake Andreotti-6, -. Robby Josett-6, 10. David Gasper®-5, --. Michael Faccinto-5, 12. Danika Jo Faccinto-4, 13. A.J. Bender-3, --. Mitchel Moles®-3, --. Chase Johnson-3, 16. T.J. Smith-2, --. Brandon Wiley®-2, 18. Ryan Bernal-1, --. Garrett Twitty®-1, --. Ron Hazelton-1.

2023 SAMMY BAHR FEATURE POINTS: 1. Brody Fuson-466, 2. Cade Lewis-427, 3. Ron Hazelton-328, 4. Ben Worth-321, 5. C.J. Sarna-288, 6. Randi Pankratz-276, 7. Blake Bower-223, 8. Ben Covich®-216, 9. Steve Paden-199, 10. Caden Sarale-192, 11. Samuel May®-167, 12. Bryan Drollinger-157, 13. Garrett Twitty®-130, 14. Marvin Mitchell-126, 15. Robby Josett-125, 16. Kevin Gray®-123, 17. Danika Jo Faccinto-116, 18. David Gasper®-107, 19. A.J. Bender-99, 20. Brandon Wiley®-85, 21. Jake Andreotti-70, 22. Mitchel Moles®-67, --. Chase Johnson-67, --. Michael Faccinto-67, 25. Mike Leach Jr.-64, --. Ryan Bernal-64, 27. Floyd Alvis-55, 28. T.J. Smith-49, 29. Terry Nichols-39, 30. Steve Hix®-33.

2023 PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. Cade Lewis-29, 2. Brody Fuson-20, 3. Ron Hazelton-18, 4. Ben Covich®-10, 5. Steve Paden-7, -. David Gasper®-7, -. Robby Josett-7, 8. Jake Andreotti-4, -. Bryan Drollinger-4, --. Garrett Twitty®-4, --. C.J. Sarna-4, --. Marvin Mitchell-4, 13. Brandon Wiley®-3, --. Michael Faccinto-3, 15. Danika Faccinto-2, --. Ben Worth-2, 17. Chase Johnson-1, --. Blake Bower-1.

2023 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
March 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (RAINED OUT)
March 25: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (RAINED OUT)
April 15: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
April 29: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
May 6: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (RAINED OUT)
May 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
June 10: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
June 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Cade Lewis)
July 8: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
July 22: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Caden Sarale)
August 5: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (Antioch Challenge #1 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises / $2,000-to-Win)
August 26: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 9: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
September 30: Antioch Speedway – Antioch, CA (Antioch Challenge #2 Presented by Graunstadt Enterprises)
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (With USAC West Coast Sprint Cars / Championship Night / George Snider Classic / Awards Banquet)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.

 

HITTING HIS STRIDE:
MARIO CLOUSER TAKES ON TOLEDO
5TH IN USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS

By: Pat Sullivan – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (August 2, 2023)………No one disputes that Kody Swanson is the prohibitive favorite to take the win during this Saturday’s Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled By Marco’s Pizza at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway on August 5.

Swanson is always tough on the hardtop, and here, the seven-time champion has been nearly unbeatable. Kody is riding a two-race winning streak heading into Glass City, and if one were to consider possible threats to his supremacy, few would look beyond his perennial rival Bobby Santos III.

Yet, Gene Kazmark’s team, anchored by Illinois driver Mario Clouser, is hitting its stride. Heading into the sixth round of the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season, Clouser occupies the fifth position in the standings, placing him above championship hopefuls Justin Grant and C.J. Leary. Mario feels his team is on the rise and sees no reason why he can’t pull off the upset in Toledo.

Clouser’s previous experience makes him a perfect fit for the Silver Crown series, and then there is the all-important mindset he carries into the fray. When asked if he can beat his main rivals, Mario’s response is quick and to the point, “Yes,” he says, “I’m a race car driver, so I think I am better than those guys. Give me a good car and I will outdrive them.”

This isn’t a matter of being recklessly brash or cocky, instead, this is the attitude Clouser feels a winner must have. When thinking about the drivers he must beat to get to victory lane, he says, “I don’t know any racecar driver who says oh, those guys are just better than me. I always feel I can contend with those guys.”

While some of his closest rivals can focus their total attention on racing, Clouser must squeeze time to race around a busy work schedule. His father owns an auto repair business in Auburn, Illinois, and right now, Mario says, “they are covered up.”

Yet, it was his father who got him into the racing game, although Clouser admits with a laugh, “I don’t think my dad envisioned us doing anything beyond quarter midgets, but once you get bitten by the racing bug, it is hard to quit.”

His father had stumbled on the old Sangamon Quarter Midget Racing Association track in nearby Springfield, and it piqued his curiosity. While Mario can’t remember his first trips to the track, he does know that he showed immediate interest. From there, he found a quarter midget under the tree at Christmas, and by the time he was five, he was giving it a whirl.

“We weren’t in it with both feet at first,” Clouser says, “but by the time I turned nine or ten, we got more serious.”

They took trips to Lincoln, Illinois, and sometimes ventured to Terre Haute. When they felt the competition was lagging, they focused more on the Indiana and Ohio region and spent more time racing on pavement.

Moving up the ladder, Mario began racing a Ford Focus Midget and was the 2007 USAC-UMARA champion. By 2011, he was a regular on the USAC National Midget scene, and in 2012, competed on the pavement for Rotondo-Weirich Motorsports.

Then a funny thing happened. He realized he was burned out. He ran the 2013 Chili Bowl and never turned a wheel the rest of the season. His rationale was sound. “I felt like I had spent a fortune and wasn’t running well,” he says, “so I was pretty much tired of it.”

In 2014, two important events altered his racing future. First, he had a chance to race a pavement midget for Bill Guess at Grundy County Speedway. Also significant was the time he spent with driver Chad Boespflug, who was driving a sprint car for legendary owner Paul Hazen. It opened his eyes.

“I knew local sprint car racing was big,” he says, “but it also seemed more laid back and affordable. I realized if I got back into racing again, it made sense to go dirt sprint car racing.”

Once back in the saddle, he caught on quickly, and in 2021, he captured the POWRi WAR Sprint Car League title. At that point, the series raced extensively in Illinois, which reduced his travel costs significantly.

As satisfying as it was to win a championship, in his heart, he knew he wanted more. He turned his attention to the Silver Crown series. It was here that he drew upon his relationship with Bill Guess.

“I had bothered Bill about running his car,” he admits, “but it wasn’t 100% his call. When an opportunity opened, it helped that I had a good relationship with Bill and his dad, Bob. I think Bob really leaned on Gene Kazmark to give me an opportunity. Fortunately, I have been able to run decently and keep Gene happy. Hopefully I can stay in the car.”

Mario knew he would be comfortable on the pavement and feels that his dirt program is progressing nicely behind the wheel of the Response Management Services – Remin Kart-A-Bag/Ed Pink Toyota-powered No. 92.

“In the last few years, I have gotten pretty comfortable on the dirt as well,” he says. “For a long time, even when I ran the dirt midget, I didn’t feel like I had a grasp on it. We would run well here and there, but I constantly doubted myself on how I was doing. Now I have had a lot more seat time and I feel better, and I really liked the combined deal. I think that it is the true way to win a championship. For a guy to be considered good, you have to be able to run both dirt and pavement.”

There have been some disappointments this year. A tire problem in the season opener at Belleville, Kan. and engine woes at Port Royal, Pa. thwarted promising starts. On the flip side, he finished just outside the podium at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway and was pleased with his run at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway given his inexperience at the imposing track. Best of all, he knows the needle is pointed in the right direction.

“You take guys like Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos, and they have been racing Silver Crown cars for years,” he says, “and their teams have a lot of experience. We aren’t a new team, but Billy (Guess) and I have only worked together for a few years, and I think he is learning too as he takes a much bigger role with the team as a crew chief.”

Sure, he would love to race for a living, but short of that, he has found a real home.

“I am having a blast running Silver Crown stuff,” he says, “I love it. The nights seem less stressful, and the events are super fun. It is a longer race, and you don’t have to drive like a maniac. I say that, but it seems like it is always chaos at the drop of the green flag. Nobody is really holding back anymore, that has changed.”

Several years ago, Clouser had an epiphany. He realized that being out of shape may have cost him a chance to win. He was adamant that would never happen again. Now he would love races to go green to checkered and be as demanding as possible because he feels dialed in mentally and physically.

Does he believe he can win at Toledo? Yes, he does. He also knows where his quest for victory must start.

“I know I have to qualify well,” he says, “because it is super hard to pass there even if you are faster. You aren’t going to go from 15th to fifth, and when you get to the front, you just aren't going to roll past those guys.”

In his dream scenario, the entire field will be searching for a way to get around him.

SATURDAY’S RACE DETAILS:

The event will feature the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus Late Model Sportsman and Factory Stocks. Vintage Race Cars will also be on display.

The USAC pit gate opens/rig parking begins at 2pm Eastern on race day Saturday. The track ticket office opens, and spectator gates open at 4:30pm. USAC Silver Crown practice runs from 4:30-5:15pm. USAC Silver Crown Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying begins at 5:45pm. Parade laps for the vintage cars are slated for 6:35pm. USAC Silver Crown cars and drivers will be called to front stretch at 6:50pm.

Getting closer to showtime, there will be a Beale family introduction, a brief racer reunion, the national anthems starting at 6:50 followed by driver introductions and the Rollie Beale Classic main event just a bit after 7pm.

Tickets are $25, kids 6-12 are $5, while ages 5 and under are free. Add $1 per ticket for online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/. Online ticket sales end at 9pm Eastern on Friday, August 4.


 

2023 BC39 DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN
Speedway, Indiana (August 3, 2023)………Driver registration is now officially open for the fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39, featuring an extended four nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on-track action September 27-30, 2023, at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Teams can file their entry for the event at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2023-bc39, where they may also purchase grandstand tickets as well as pit and parking passes for the event.

There are three options for viewing the racing action while also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track. Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands. You may also purchase a grandstand seat with a pit pass upgrade. Competitors must enter IMS via the 16th Street tunnel.

Each entry filed will come with two VIP parking passes for inside parking at IMS, intended for driver and entrant. All others must either purchase inside parking or park outside of turns three and four of 2.5-mile paved oval track.

Spectator tickets are also available www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.

The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside turn three at IMS will continue to honor late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increase awareness of and participation in the Indiana Donor Network and Driven2SaveLives.

Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39.

The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 26 with team parking at 3pm Eastern followed by a BC39 Welcome Party at 6pm at USAC Headquarters.

On track action begins Wednesday, September 27, with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 3pm Eastern. Public gates open at 4pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 7pm, followed by the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature which will conclude the night’s racing action at 9pm. In this event, 25 cars will start and compete in five, five-lap segments. If a driver gets passed in any segment, they are eliminated.

For Thursday and Friday, September 28-29, the field will be split with one half of the field competing on night one and the other half competing on night two. On both nights, public gates open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps at 6pm, followed by qualifying, opening ceremonies, heat races, the C-Main, the Semi-Feature and the Feature event.

The finale, on Saturday, September 30, will have the public gates opening at 4pm and cars on track for hot laps 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.

 

HALF-MILE ROCKETS!
TOLEDO HOSTS USAC SILVER CROWN
100-LAPPER ON SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (August 3, 2023)………It’s admittedly hard to stop a train. And about the closest thing to a train of late is Kody Swanson in a USAC Silver Crown car at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

While we watch in awe at the Kingsburg, Calif. native’s historic run at the half-mile paved oval, the hunger continues to build and the desire within burns hotter than ever for those in the field to dethrone the champ at his personal ATM this Saturday night, August 5.

Equaling the biggest field ever for a USAC Silver Crown event at Toledo, these 24 men and women are up to the challenge of making Saturday night’s 10th running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled By Marco’s Pizza one of their finest moments.

Here’s six storylines to watch coming up this weekend at Toledo!

SWANSON’S FLOW

Since 1976, there had been one individual who stood head and shoulders above all others in terms of USAC national feature victories at Toledo Speedway. That was Rollie Beale.

In 2022, Kody Swanson moved atop the list, topping Beale’s long-standing record at his hometown track, and he did in the race named after the legend he passed who had earned five USAC National Sprint Car feature triumphs between 1971 and 1976 at the track.

Swanson now owns six career USAC Silver Crown victories at Toledo to go along with six poles. To boot, Swanson’s 2022 win was ahis fourth consecutive win in the event, checking the “W” column with top-flight performances in 2011-15-18-19-21-22. Swanson is also the only driver to have started all nine USAC Silver Crown events ever run at Toledo dating back to 2010 and has now led 655 of the 1,000 total laps ever run in Silver Crown competition at Toledo for a percentage of 65.5%.

Only three drivers have won six career USAC Silver Crown poles at a single track. Swanson became the first to have at least six poles at two different tracks (Indianapolis Raceway Park & Toledo). His younger brother, Tanner Swanson (IRP) and Dave Steele (Phoenix International Raceway) are the others.

In addition to winning each of his past two Silver Crown starts this season at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway and Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, Swanson is also eying a share of another Silver Crown record by winning five consecutive series races at one track. Dave Steele won five-straight at Phoenix International Raceway between 2002-06 while Kody himself scored five-in-a-row at Indiana’s Salem Speedway between 2016-20.

SANTOS A DUAL THREAT

Back in 2017, Bobby Santos raced around Kody Swanson just before the midway point to score one in the win column for himself and the DJ Racing team.

This year alone, the Franklin, Mass. native has finished inside the top-two in all three of his USAC Silver Crown starts, which is the current longest string of top-two results by any driver in the series. He grabbed a victory in the opener at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, then reeled off consecutive runner-up results at Madison and Winchester.

Santos is the only driver to win at Toledo Speedway in a USAC Sprint Car, Midget and Silver Crown car in his career in addition to collecting a King of the Wing Sprint Car victory there in 2017.

He enters this Saturday's race with five-straight top-two finishes at Toledo’s Rollie Beale Classic dating back to his 2017 victory. Since then, he’s been the runner-up on four consecutive occasions at Toledo, which interestingly enough, have all come from starting positions behind the front row. On Saturday, he aims to break the Swanson stranglehold.

A NEW LEGACY

Davey Hamilton Jr. has been a prime performer in USAC Silver Crown competition at Toledo, finishing 6th in 2017 and 5th in his 2021 return. He enters Saturday coming off a 5th place result in his most recent start at Winchester.

On Saturday, the Boise, Idaho native will take over the reins of the highly competitive No. 19 out of the Legacy Autosport stable. The car has made four starts since debuting with the series last fall, finishing a stout 3rd, 3rd, 3rd and 8th on the pavement with a combination of Tyler Roahrig and Caleb Armstrong at the wheel.

The new combination hopes to bring a first ever USAC Silver Crown victory to both driver and team.

SEAVEY KEEPING TABS

Throughout the first four rounds of the USAC Silver Crown season, Logan Seavey had kept Kody Swanson at bay.

The Sutter, Calif. native supplemented his win on the dirt at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway with a 5th at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks and coupled a pair of spectacular showings on the pavement with a 2nd at IRP and a 5th at Madison.

After which, he led Swanson in the championship pursuit after finishing as the runner-up in the title race during each of the past two seasons.

However, Winchester spelled a different story for Seavey and his Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing team, as they lost their brakes early, then replaced them during a red flag only to have the right front wheel center break later on, sending Seavey and his machine straight into the turn two wall.

The accident proved detrimental in more ways than one as the 12th place finish relegated Seavey back to second in the standings, 16 out, while Seavey finds himself in the position of having to chase Swanson once again starting at Toledo.


KILLER B’S

A pair of drivers whose last names just so happen to start with the letter “B” have been on a surge of late with the USAC Silver Crown series.

In May, Derek Bischak, in his fifth year with the series, earned a best career finish of fourth at IRP. Most recently in July at Winchester, he upped his performance to a career-best 3rd on the high banks of Winchester. If Bischak was a stock, you should probably be in. The Angola, Ind. racer has been a hard-charging performer in his only two previous starts at Toledo, going 12th to 8th in 2019 and 19th to 6th in 2022.

While Bischak was the 2019 series’ top Rookie, Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) is currently in pursuit of achieving the same. She leads the 2023 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year standings entering Toledo and has been quite proficient at regularly advancing through the field.

In each of her past two series starts, both on pavement, she moved from 15th to 8th at Madison and 13th to 7th at Winchester, both of which earned her hard charger honors. On the pavement of IRP in May, she charged from 30th to 15th. All of which has helped her to third place in the overall series standings at press time.

This Saturday’s race is also a homecoming of sorts for Bryson who made her first career USAC Silver Crown start at Toledo in August of 2022, finishing 13th.

BEALE STREET IN TOLEDO

Saturday’s event marks the 50th USAC National racing event held in the city of Toledo, Ohio since the Stock Cars made their debut at the nearby Toledo Raceway Park in 1956, won by the aptly named Bud Moneymaker. USAC made its first visit to the new Toledo Speedway with the sprint cars in 1969, won by Bruce Walkup.

The event also honors legendary Toledo native, 1973 USAC Sprint Car champion driver and longtime USAC official Rollie Beale. Beale scored 32 race victories during his illustrious career and was one of the most respected drivers in USAC history. He retired in 1977 and joined the USAC officiating crew, eventually becoming chief steward for both the Silver Crown and National Sprint Car series for many years.

In 1991, Beale was awarded USAC’s Ross Hadley award for dedication to the sport. He was also enshrined in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996 and captured a monumental victory in the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in 1966. He passed away at the age of 84 in February of 2014.

SATURDAY’S RACE DETAILS:

The event will feature the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus Late Model Sportsman and Factory Stocks. Vintage Race Cars will also be on display.

The USAC pit gate opens/rig parking begins at 2pm Eastern on race day Saturday. The track ticket office opens, and spectator gates open at 4:30pm. USAC Silver Crown practice runs from 4:30-5:15pm. USAC Silver Crown Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying begins at 5:45pm. Parade laps for the vintage cars are slated for 6:35pm. USAC Silver Crown cars and drivers will be called to front stretch at 6:50pm.

Getting closer to showtime, there will be a Beale family introduction, a brief racer reunion, the national anthems starting at 6:50 followed by driver introductions and the Rollie Beale Classic main event just a bit after 7pm.

Tickets are $25, kids 6-12 are $5, while ages 5 and under are free. Add $1 per ticket for online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/. Online ticket sales end at 9pm Eastern on Friday, August 4.

==================

USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-311, 2-Logan Seavey-295, 3-Kaylee Bryson-210, 4-Bobby Santos-207, 5-Mario Clouser-206, 6-Matt Westfall-200, 7-Taylor Ferns-191, 8-C.J. Leary-177, 9-Justin Grant-174, 10-Travis Welpott-169.

2023 ROLLIE BEALE CLASSIC ENTRY LIST:

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)

5 ®DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

11 ®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

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 Racing)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

60 BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Robert Wilson Racing)

67 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)

88 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Byrd Racing)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

94 MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (RAM Engineering)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender


TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 10/15/2011 - Kody Swanson - 14.809 - 121.548 mph

100 Laps - 6/29/2012 - Jerry Coons Jr. - 27:07.40 - 110.606 mph

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN WINS:

6-Kody Swanson

2-Jerry Coons Jr.

1-Bobby Santos

TOLEDO USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS:

2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (10/16)

2011: Kody Swanson (10/15)

2012: Jerry Coons Jr. (6/29)

2015: Kody Swanson (5/1)

2017: Bobby Santos (7/28)

2018: Kody Swanson (5/4)

2019: Kody Swanson (4/28)

2021: Kody Swanson (10/10)

2022: Kody Swanson (8/5)

PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:

2010 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 2. Kody Swanson (5), 3. Bobby East (6), 4. Bryan Clauson (10), 5. A.J. Fike (8), 6. Brian Tyler (11), 7. Levi Jones (4), 8. Bud Kaeding (3), 9. Justin Carver (15), 10. Zach Daum (14), 11. Dave Darland (19), 12. Russ Gamester (12), 13. Derek Hagar (18), 14. Zach Martini (20), 15. Tanner Swanson (9), 16. Tracy Hines (7), 17. Shane Hollingsworth (13), 18. Jeff Swindell (16), 19. Troy DeCaire (17), 20. Jacob Wilson (2). NT

2011 FEATURE: (150 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bryan Clauson (6), 3. Bobby East (3), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 5. Darren Hagen (7), 6. Brian Tyler (10), 7. Levi Jones (11), 8. Kyle Hamilton (12), 9. Shane Hollingsworth (13), 10. Eric Gordon (4), 11. Tracy Hines (9), 12. David Byrne (14), 13. Kyle Larson (15), 14. Derek Hagar (16), 15. A.J. Fike (18), 16. Russ Gamester (8), 17. Jimmy Kite (19), 18. Tanner Swanson (5), 19. Doug Berryman (17). 45:54.90

2012 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 2. Bobby East (1), 3. Bobby Santos (3), 4. Kody Swanson (2), 5. Tracy Hines (4), 6. Kyle Hamilton (5), 7. Tanner Swanson (6), 8. A.J. Fike (10), 9. Levi Jones (14), 10. Jacob Wilson (11), 11. Bud Kaeding (9), 12. Eric Gordon (13), 13. Brian Tyler (12), 14. Doug Berryman (15), 15. Taylor Ferns (7). 27:07.40

2015 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Jacob Wilson (3), 3. A.J. Fike (17), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Aaron Pierce (5), 6. David Byrne (16), 7. Austin Nemire (15), 8. Dave Baumgartner (11), 9. Tracy Hines (4), 10. Rex Norris III (10), 11. C.J. Leary (13), 12. Tim Barber (14), 13. Jarett Andretti (9), 14. Jimmy McCune (12), 15. Tanner Swanson (2), 16. Bobby Santos (8), 17. Kyle Hamilton (6), 18. Patrick Lawson (18). NT

2017 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (2), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 5. Joe Liguori (8), 6. Davey Hamilton (9), 7. Joe Axsom (11), 8. David Byrne (5), 9. Annie Breidinger (12), 10. Justin Grant (7), 11. Troy Thompson (14), 12. Aaron Pierce (3), 13. Joss Moffatt (15), 14. Damion Gardner (10), 15. Matt Goodnight (13). 28:48.17

2018 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Kody Swanson (9), 2. Bobby Santos (4), 3. David Byrne (7), 4. Eric Gordon (16), 5. Aaron Pierce (6), 6. Austin Nemire (8), 7. Cody Gerhardt (15), 8. Matt Goodnight (10), 9. Travis Welpott (11), 10. Justin Grant (1), 11. Kyle Robbins (12, 12. Toni Breidinger (14), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 14. Kyle Hamilton (3), 15. Chris Windom (5), 16. Dave Darland (13). NT

2019 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (11), 3. Aaron Pierce (3), 4. Justin Grant (6), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Kyle Hamilton (2), 7. Austin Nemire (20), 8. Derek Bischak (12), 9. Joey Schmidt (13), 10. Brian Gerster (19), 11. Russ Gamester (16), 12. Mike Haggenbottom (22), 13. Cody Gerhardt (21), 14. Kyle Robbins (17), 15. Cody Gallogly (18), 16. Chris Dyson (14), 17. Matt Goodnight (15), 18. Eric Gordon (4), 19. David Byrne (7), 20. Jason Conn (9), 21. C.J. Leary (5), 22. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (8). NT

2021 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (4), 3. Brian Tyler (7), 4. David Byrne (3), 5. Davey Hamilton Jr. (14), 6. Nathan Byrd (10), 7. Kyle O'Gara (6), 8. Austin Nemire (15), 9. Taylor Ferns (5), 10. Logan Seavey (12), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (19), 12. Jake Day (21), 13. Tyler Roahrig (8), 14. Annie Breidinger (20), 15. Russ Gamester (11), 16. Mike McVetta (17), 17. Justin Grant (2), 18. Jim Anderson (13), 19. Travis Welpott (18), 20. Aaron Pierce (16), 21. Kyle Robbins (9), 22. Dave Berkheimer (22). NT

2022 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (4), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Russ Gamester (7), 6. Derek Bischak (19), 7. Kyle Robbins (6), 8. Brian Tyler (10), 9. Mario Clouser (9), 10. Nick Hamilton (8), 11. C.J. Leary (20), 12. Mike McVetta (11), 13. Kaylee Bryson (15), 14. Kyle O’Gara (12), 15. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 16. Gregg Cory (16), 17. Taylor Ferns (2), 18. Travis Welpott (14), 19. Jake Day (21), 20. Austin Nemire (13), 21. Tom Paterson (18), 22. Dave Berkheimer (22). 1:05:57.617


A NEW CHALLENGE:
KAYLEE BRYSON SUCCEEDING
IN ROOKIE USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (August 1, 2023)………“Everyone’s goal for me this year is to win Rookie of the Year,” Kaylee Bryson stated of her Sam Pierce Racing/AP Driver Development team’s ambitions for the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season.

Thus far at the midway point of the year, Bryson has, perhaps exceeded those goals, as she returns to the very same venue she made her first career USAC Silver Crown series start at a year ago in August of 2022 – Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

The Muskogee, Okla. native enters this Saturday’s, August 5th Hemelgarn Racing-Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled By Marco’s Pizza at Toledo not only as the leading series Rookie driver, but as third overall ranking driver in the USAC Silver Crown standings.

Bryson is very goal oriented, and laid out a groundwork of realistic, but straightforward benchmarks in 2023 after getting her feet wet with the series in the latter half of 2022.

“Obviously, there are a lot of races left to go, but that is the primary goal,” Bryson said of capturing USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year honors. “The second goal was to do as good as we could do. We didn’t think we’d come into the season and win the championship or anything, but we were going to give it our best shot to be the best we could in points.”

Thus far in five series starts during her 2023 campaign, Bryson has finished inside the top-eight in three of her starts with a best of 7th in the most recent round on the high banks of Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in July where she advanced from her 13th starting spot to finish 7th.

In doing so, she was the recipient of hard charger honors that evening, the second time she’s earned the award this season after also marching 15th to 8th at Wisconsin’s Madison International Raceway the race prior. A steady pace and continuous movement forward has paid dividends as she’s passed a total of 29 cars in five outings thus far at many tracks she’s visiting for the first time, a pace that’s a far cry from her days as a full-timer on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in recent years.

“I think the biggest difference from what I’m used to with the midgets is the pace,” Bryson explained. “Midget racing is a really fast pace, just 30 laps most times. Stepping into the Silver Crown car, they’re big cars and you’re running mile long tracks, 100-lappers and longer races. Managing your equipment and saving it to the end is really important in these bigger cars.

So far, Bryson has successfully completed all but four of the 446 laps run this season. The bottom line is that she takes care of her equipment first and foremost. In doing so, she guarantees that she’ll be there at the end of each race, and at each subsequent race on the calendar, and also leaves plenty of goodwill toward the crew of her Logical Systems, Inc. – RE Technologies/McGunegill Chevy.

“My team told me the most important part is keeping your car for the next race,” Bryson said. “Finishing races is a big part of winning Rookie of the Year. Something they’ve tried to preach to me a lot is to make sure I save my car and make it last until the end. That’s definitely something I never heard in midget racing, but it’s completely the opposite in Silver Crown racing.”

Prior to 2022, Bryson had virtually zero pavement experience behind the wheel of a racecar, but two of her best performances this year have just so happened to have occurred on the pavement with an 8th at Madison and a 7th at Winchester. It’s a challenge she’s faced head on and embraced, just as she has with so many other disciplines in 2023.

“The biggest challenge this year has been learning the pavement and learning to manage tires,” Bryson acknowledged. “In a midget, you are basically giving 110 percent every lap from the drop of the green. When I first jumped into a Silver Crown car, one of my first long races was at Springfield, and other drivers and everybody else warned me that you don’t go 110 percent every lap. You can go about 50 at the beginning, then you just manage your pace and save your tires because it’s not the first 80 laps that counts, it’s the last. The biggest learning curve of all has been just being able to slow myself down, keep a good pace and keep the tires underneath me.”

Owning, perhaps, the most diverse racing schedule in the world, you name it, Kaylee Bryson has probably driven it in 2023. This year alone, she’s competed with the Trans Am series on a road course, plus dirt late models, in sprint cars with and without a wing on both dirt and pavement, Kenyon Midgets and full-sized midgets. All varieties of racing have their own flavor, but all the forms she’s competed in have been amalgamated into her racecraft and those elements have crossed over and translated to the other series she’s running.

“We’ve done a lot of testing on (the road courses),” Bryson noted. “There, you have 18 corners in a lap instead of two, so it’s important to hit your marks and save your tires, and a lot of those races are 75 minutes. It’s not something I’m necessarily used to, but it’s definitely a route I want to go toward in my racing career.”

Running a diverse schedule has also had other benefits too.

“You really get to find out what you enjoy the most,” Bryson said. “I grew up racing dirt my whole life and I didn’t really know there were going to be any other options. Whenever a ride opens up in a car and I can go jump in a road racing car, you find more things that you really enjoy. Every car I jump in helps me learn. Seat time is the biggest thing.”

Already, just nine starts into her Silver Crown career, Bryson already chalks up this form of racing as number one.

“I think Silver Crown is my favorite series,” Bryson praised. “I just love the longer races, and endurance racing is sort of my thing. I like to be able to save my stuff for the end, and whoever does that the best is normally the best in the end. It’s been really exciting for me to learn that challenge.”

SATURDAY’S RACE DETAILS:

The event will feature the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus Late Model Sportsman and Factory Stocks. Vintage Race Cars will also be on display.

The USAC pit gate opens/rig parking begins at 2pm Eastern on race day Saturday. The track ticket office opens, and spectator gates open at 4:30pm. USAC Silver Crown practice runs from 4:30-5:15pm. USAC Silver Crown Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying begins at 5:45pm. Parade laps for the vintage cars are slated for 6:35pm. USAC Silver Crown cars and drivers will be called to front stretch at 6:50pm.

Getting closer to showtime, there will be a Beale family introduction, a brief racer reunion, the national anthems starting at 6:50 followed by driver introductions and the Rollie Beale Classic main event just a bit after 7pm.

Tickets are $25, kids 6-12 are $5, while ages 5 and under are free. Add $1 per ticket for online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/. Online ticket sales end at 9pm Eastern on Friday, August 4.

 

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK REVIEW:
BACON BRINGS IT HOME IN 2023

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (July 30, 2023)………If there’s one thing that this past week of racing reminded us, it’s that when the chips are down, Brady Bacon is on the rise.

The Broken Arrow, Okla. native’s second career USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing championship came without a win throughout the seven-race series, but instead, was rooted in consistency and thriving through circumstances that would’ve derailed many others in their quest.

In round three at Lawrenceburg, he was light at the scales in tech inspection after qualifying, which forced him to start from the tail in all proceeding events throughout the evening. In the feature, he managed to make the biggest charge of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season when he advanced from his 22nd starting position to finish third.

At Terre Haute, during round five of the series, with five laps remaining, his car had flipped just about 80 percent of the way over while running third, riding solely on his right front wheel for a brief moment before miraculously landing on all four wheels. Within the blink of an eye, he had fallen back to eighth, but quickly gathered himself and hustled back to a fourth-place finish.

In what turned out to be the series finale at Bloomington, Bacon raced to a seemingly smooth fourth place finish without any qualms and without a hitch – no pun intended. However, after the race when it was time to load up for the night, Bacon’s merchandise trailer dislodged from the hitch and rolled down the turn four hillside.

Just as all of Indiana Sprint Week seemed to go for Bacon, misfortune soon turned into good fortune. The trailer glided to a stop at the bottom of the hillside without touching anything, and pretty much nothing fell out of place on the inside with everything secure and still in its place.

What did fall into place was another championship run for Bacon, making him the 11th driver to achieve multiple Indiana Sprint Week titles after he corralled his first back in 2016. He joins a group which includes Chuck Amati, Kevin Thomas, J.J. Yeley, Dave Darland, Levi Jones, Cory Kruseman, Jon Stanbrough, Chris Windom, Bryan Clauson and Kevin Thomas Jr.

In all, Bacon totaled six top-five results in seven starts throughout Indiana Sprint Week, buoyed by a third in the Gas City opener, a second at Kokomo, another third at Lawrenceburg, a fourth at Terre Haute, a third at Lincoln Park and a fourth at Bloomington. Bacon’s only aberration of the week was a 16th at Circle City in which he clipped an infield tire while running second with eight laps to go.

Bacon assumed the top spot in the points just in time after Bloomington before rain forced cancellation of the scheduled finale the following night at Tri-State Speedway. In the end, Bacon was eight points better than Grant. While Grant attained four more points than Bacon in the seven feature events, it was the prelim points which pushed Bacon to the forefront, most notably a pair of fast qualifying efforts at Lincoln Park and Bloomington, which boosted him with six points apiece.

Bacon earned $10,000 as the 2023 Indiana Sprint Week champion, the third for the Dynamics, Inc. team who had previously won the title with driver Dave Darland in 1998 and with Bacon in 2016.

“It was a long and grueling week, as it always is, and it takes a huge number of people to make it possible for not only my team, but all of the teams and tracks involved,” Bacon stated. “I would first like to thank my wife, Xia Xianna, and my family for giving me the support I need to compete at this level and being there all the time.”

“My crew was amazing all week and worked their butts off,” Bacon continued. “Matt Hummel gave me a car that should have been on the podium every night. Kaleb did a great job all week and is getting better each night. Another addition I have to thank is Lacey Doyle, who jumped right in and stepped up huge.”

Unique in Bacon’s effort throughout ISW was his rotating series of sponsors, which was launched in a “sponsor raffle” for individuals, fans and businesses to purchase tickets to help sponsor Bacon’s Sprint Week effort along with Longworth Properties, Mays-Shedd and Apex Spa Services, which all adorned the side of Bacon’s Triple X/Rider Chevy during the week.

Bacon’s total earnings throughout Indiana Sprint Week equaled $25,350 with all his winnings combined, and also earned a new helmet wrap courtesy of Hurricane Designs.

Furthermore, the top-eight in the final Indiana Sprint Week standings received point fund money: Justin Grant ($4,000), Robert Ballou ($2,500), Kyle Cummins ($2,000), Emerson Axsom ($1,500), C.J. Leary ($1,250), Kevin Thomas Jr. ($1,000) and Shane Cottle ($750) in addition to their nightly feature finishing earnings and bonuses.

Outside of Bacon, several top-notch performances were turned in by a number of teams and drivers who reached new heights across the 36th annual event, which began in 1988.

In the opener at Gas City, Justin Grant earned a victory in the second closest finish in Indiana Sprint Week history when he passed Robert Ballou on the final lap to win by .005 of a second. In fact, Grant won three times throughout the week, coming up just short of becoming the first repeat ISW champion since Bryan Clauson in 2013-14.

Grant also was victorious in subsequent barnburners at Lawrenceburg and Terre Haute, which moved him into the top-five all-time in terms of Indiana Sprint Week feature victories with nine.

Two veteran racers returned to Indiana Sprint Week victory lane in 2023 with Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) taking round four to become the first multi-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Circle City, both of which have come this year.

After a crash at Gas City destroyed his primary ride, C.J. Leary went back to the shop and rolled out a three-year-old car that had never been run, and promptly put it in victory lane during its first outing in round two at Kokomo.

Meanwhile, two more drivers added their names as first-time Indiana Sprint Week victors. In what became a familiar story during the week, Jake Swanson totaled his ride in a flip at Terre Haute while running third. The very next night, with another car his Team AZ crew had put together, the Anaheim, Calif. racer posted a “W” at Lincoln Park.

That same night at Lincoln Park, Emerson Axsom missed out on transferring to the feature, requiring the use of a provisional. By rule, provisional starters do not receive Indiana Sprint Week points, effectively ending Axsom’s shot at an ISW title after entering the night 23 points out of the lead in third. One night later at Bloomington, he parked his Clauson Marshall Newman No. 47BC in the winner’s circle.

As far as other notes of interest, the 58-car entry list for the opener at Gas City was the largest field for an Indiana Sprint Week round since 2005, right at the same spot at Gas City.

Ninety-five drivers participated in Indiana Sprint Week, with drivers hailing from 12 different United States: Indiana (50), California (11), Ohio (9), Arizona (6), Texas (4), Illinois (3), Pennsylvania (3), Alabama (1), Colorado (1), Kentucky (1), Michigan (1) and Missouri (1), plus four more from Australia.

Fourteen drivers started all seven feature events. Only nine of those drivers started every feature without the aid of a provisional: Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles and Kevin Thomas Jr.

Several drivers earned their best career USAC National Sprint Car finishes during Indiana Sprint Week. Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) led 14 laps and finished second at Bloomington, tying his previous best series result while also becoming just the third Pennsylvanian to finish inside the top-five during ISW after Frankie Kerr (4th at Bloomington in 1991) and Steve Surniak (5th at Paragon in 1998).

Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) led six laps near the midway point at Kokomo en route to 3rd place result. Xavier Doney (Odessa, Mo.) led a race-high 17 laps and finished with his first career top-five at Circle City. Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pa.) charged up through the field to finish 7th at Lawrenceburg after starting 18th.

Charles Davis Jr.’s 8th place run at Lincoln Park was the Buckeye, Ariz. native’s first top-ten result during Indiana Sprint Week since 2004, 19 years earlier when he took sixth at Lawrenceburg.

Perhaps the most talked about achievement of the week was Shane Cottle’s passing prowess. In seven starts, the Kansas, Ill. driver passed a grand total of 82 cars combined in heat races, semi-feature and feature events. To put it all into perspective, Brady Bacon passed the second most cars throughout the week – 49. That achievement earned Cottle the Indiana Sprint Week ProSource Passing Master award for the second consecutive year.

Incredibly, Cottle was the J & J Trucking Hard Charger in five of his seven starts this week: 22nd to 11th at Gas City; 20th to 8th at Kokomo; 12th to 3rd at Circle City, 17th to 7th at Terre Haute; and 22nd to 13th at Bloomington.

======================

2023 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STAT LEADERS

Champion: Brady Bacon

Most Wins: 3-Justin Grant

Most Laps Led: 78-Justin Grant

Most Top-Fives: 6-Brady Bacon

Most Top-Tens: 6-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou & Justin Grant

Most Fast Qualifying Times: 2-Brady Bacon & C.J. Leary

Most Heat Race Wins: 3-Robert Ballou, Carson Garrett, Mitchel Moles & Kevin Thomas Jr.

Most Feature Starts: 7-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall

Biggest Charge: July 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)

=================

2023 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINT STANDINGS

POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1. 474 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.

2 466 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.

3 418 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.

4 403 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.

5 399 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.

6 371 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.

7 366 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.

8 346 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

9 342 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.

10 340 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.

11 327 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.

12 314 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.

13 306 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.

14 267 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.

15 254 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio

16 190 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.

17 182 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Ind.

18 166 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Ind.

19 165 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.

20 164 Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.

21 152 Braxton Cummings, Bedford, Ind.

22 145 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.

23 136 Geoff Ensign, Sebastopol, Calif.

24 135 Eddie Tafoya Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.

25 132 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.

26 113 Stevie Sussex, Tempe, Ariz.

27 101 Max Adams, Loomis, Calif.

28 99 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.

29 95 Travis Millar, Wandin North, Vic.

30 88 Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pa.

31 84 Justin Zimmerman, Athens, Texas

32 70 Troy Carey, Tullamore, N.S.W.

70 Dalton Stevens, Scurry, Texas

34 68 Tye Mihocko, Peoria, Ariz.

35 67 Colten Cottle, Kansas, Ill.

36 50 Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, Ariz.

50 Tayte Williamson, Rushylvania, Ohio

38 49 Hunter Maddox, Bloomington, Ind.

39 48 Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.

40 41 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, Calif.

41 41 Larry Kingseed Jr., Castalia, Ohio

42 40 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.

40 Kobe Simpson, Bonham, Texas

44 39 Jordan Kinser, Bloomington, Ind.

45 35 Brayden Fox, Avon, Ind.

46 34 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio

47 30 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.

48 30 Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio

30 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio

30 Tim Creech, Greenfield, Ind.

30 Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind.

52 20 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.

20 Brayden Clark, Tipton, Ind.

20 Tyler Hewitt, Marion, Ind.

20 Dustin Ingle, Lima, Ohio

20 Jack James, Harlan, Ind.

20 Evan Mosley, Lapel, Ind.

20 Devan Myers, Delphi, Ind.

20 Alec Sipes, Springville, Ind.

20 Travis Thompson, Brazil, Ind.

20 Noah Whitehouse, Greenfield, Ind.

62 10 Harley Burns, Brazil, Ind.

10 Nathan Carle, West Harrison, Ind.
10 Scott Evans, Rhome, Texas

10 Parker Frederickson, Kokomo, Ind.

10 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind.

10 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Ind.

10 Colin Grissom, Anderson, Ind.

10 Tony Helton, Cloverdale, Ind.

10 Todd Hobson, Clyde, Vic.

10 Johnny Ivers, Vincennes, Ind.

10 Kyle Johnson, Greencastle, Ind.

10 Tyler Kendall, Connersville, Ind.

10 Matt McDonald, Brownsburg, Ind.

10 Justin Meneely, Brazil, Ind.

10 Tyler Miller, Kokomo, Ind.

10 Todd Moule, Heathcote, Vic.

10 Brian Ruhlman, Clark Lake, Mich.

10 Bryar Schroeter, Kokomo, Ind.

10 Jake Scott, Morgantown, Ind.

10 Kyle Shipley, El Mirage, Ariz.

10 Brady Short, Bedford, Ind.

10 John Sluss, Indianapolis, Ind.

10 Marcus Smith, Tracy, Calif.

85. 0 Stan Beadles, Owensville, Ind.
0 Dustin Beck, Petersburg, Ind.

0 Donny Brackett, Fort Branch, Ind.

0 Aric Gentry, Robards, Ky.

0 J.J. Hughes, Jasper, Ind.

0 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.

0 Kendall Ruble, Vincennes, Ind.

0 Adyn Schmidt, Haubstadt, Ind.

0 Stephen Schnapf, Newburgh, Ind.

0 Sam Scott, Patoka, Ind.

0 Eddie Vancil, Olney, Ill.

=================

2023 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE & RESULTS

July 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

July 22: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)

July 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

July 24: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)

July 28: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)

July 29: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Rained Out

2023 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE WINS

3-Justin Grant (July 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, July 23 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & July 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track)

1-Emerson Axsom (July 28 at Bloomington Speedway)

1-Kyle Cummins (July 24 at Circle City Raceway)

1-C.J. Leary (July 22 at Kokomo Speedway)

1-Jake Swanson (July 27 at Lincoln Park Speedway)

=================

2023 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATISTICS

FEATURE LAPS LED

78-Justin Grant

40-Jake Swanson

17-Brady Bacon & Xavier Doney

16-Emerson Axsom

14-Briggs Danner

11-Kyle Cummins

8-Carson Garrett & C.J. Leary

1-Robert Ballou

=================

TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES

6-Brady Bacon

4-Emerson Axsom & Justin Grant

3-Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson

1-Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Xavier Doney, Carson Garrett, Mitchel Moles & Daison Pursley

=================

TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES

6-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou & Justin Grant

5-Kyle Cummins

4-C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Shane Cottle, Carson Garrett, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley & Chase Stockon

2-Charles Davis Jr. & Xavier Doney

1-Joey Amantea, Brent Beauchamp, Colten Cottle, Briggs Danner, Jadon Rogers & Matt Westfall

=================

FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Honest Abe Roofing)

2-Brady Bacon & C.J. Leary

1-Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins & Brayden Fox

=================

HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)

3-Robert Ballou, Carson Garrett, Mitchel Moles & Kevin Thomas Jr.

2-Emerson Axsom, Charles Davis Jr., C.J. Leary & Chase Stockon

1-Brady Bacon, Colten Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, Larry Kingseed Jr., Brandon Mattox, Logan Seavey & Matt Westfall

=================

SEMI WINS (Presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts)

1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, C.J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Jake Swanson & Matt Westfall

=================

D-MAIN WINS (Presented by The Frolic Bar & Grill)

1-Brayden Clark & Rylan Gray

=================

C-MAIN WINS (Presented by Steel-It)

1-Joey Amantea, Ivan Glotzbach & Dustin Ingle

=================

FEATURE STARTS

7-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Mitchel Moles, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall

6-Daison Pursley

5-Brandon Mattox

4-Brent Beauchamp, Braxton Cummings & Charles Davis Jr.

3-Joey Amantea, Sterling Cling, Briggs Danner, Xavier Doney, Geoff Ensign & Eddie Tafoya Jr.

2-Max Adams, Alex Bright, Tye Mihocko, Jadon Rogers & Stevie Sussex

1-Colten Cottle, Brayden Fox, Larry Kingseed Jr., Jordan Kinser, Ricky Lewis, Hunter Maddox, Thomas Meseraull, Travis Millar, Trey Osborne, Zack Pretorius & Justin Zimmerman

=================

HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE (Presented by J & J Trucking)

July 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Shane Cottle (22nd to 11th)

July 22: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (20th to 8th)

July 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)

July 24: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle (12th to 3rd)

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Shane Cottle (17th to 7th)

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brent Beauchamp (22nd to 10th)

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Shane Cottle (22nd to 13th)

=================

GREEN APU FIRST LAP LEADER

July 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Justin Grant

July 22: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson

July 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant

July 24: Circle City Raceway – Xavier Doney

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Jake Swanson

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Briggs Danner

=================

DIRT DRAFT HOT LAPS FASTEST DRIVER

July 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Max Adams (11.680)

July 22: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley (13.190)

July 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary (13.432)

July 24: Circle City Raceway – Brady Bacon (12.142)

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Robert Ballou (19.947)

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon (12.587)

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Shane Cottle (11.528)

=================

HARD WORK AWARD (Slowest qualifier to transfer to the feature)

July 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Shane Cottle

July 22: Kokomo Speedway – Braxton Cummings

July 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon

July 24: Circle City Raceway – Matt Westfall

July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Joey Amantea

July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brent Beauchamp

July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Justin Zimmerman

=================

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATS: (1988-2023)

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CHAMPIONS

1988: Randy Kinser/Bloomington, Ind.

1989: Chuck Amati/Freeman Spur, Ill.

1990: Chuck Amati/Freeman Spur, Ill. & Gary Trammell/Bloomington, Ind.

1991: Bob Kinser/Bloomington, Ind.

1992: Kevin Thomas/Danville, Ind.

1993: Kevin Thomas/Danville, Ind.

1994: Kelly Kinser/Bloomington, Ind.

1995: Kevin Thomas/Danville, Ind.

1996: Kevin Thomas/Danville, Ind.

1997: J.J. Yeley/Phoenix, Ariz.

1998: Dave Darland/Lincoln, Ind.

1999: Tony Elliott/Kokomo, Ind.

2000: Jay Drake/Val Verde, Calif.

2001: Dave Darland/Lincoln, Ind.

2002: Cory Kruseman/Ventura, Calif.

2003: J.J. Yeley/Phoenix, Ariz.

2004: Levi Jones/Olney, Ill.

2005: Cory Kruseman/Ventura, Calif.

2006: Jon Stanbrough/Avon, Ind.

2007: Dave Darland/Lincoln, Ind.

2008: Levi Jones/Olney, Ill.

2009: Levi Jones/Olney, Ill.

2010: Jon Stanbrough/Avon, Ind.

2011: Chris Windom/Canton, Ill.

2012: Levi Jones/Olney, Ill.

2013: Bryan Clauson/Noblesville, Ind.

2014: Bryan Clauson/Noblesville, Ind.

2015: Robert Ballou/Rocklin, Calif.

2016: Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, Okla.

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr./Cullman, Ala.

2018: Chris Windom/Canton, Ill.

2019: C.J. Leary/Greenfield, Ind.

2020: Chase Stockon/Fort Branch, Ind.

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr./Cullman, Ala.

2022: Justin Grant/Ione, Calif.

2023: Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, Okla.

===================

ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:

20-Dave Darland

16-Jon Stanbrough

12-Cory Kruseman

9-Justin Grant & J.J. Yeley

7-Bryan Clauson, Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary

6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Robert Ballou, Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas

4-Brady Bacon, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Kelly Kinser & Logan Seavey

3-Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines & Hunter Schuerenberg

2-Chuck Amati, Shane Cottle, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom

1-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mitchel Moles, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Jake Swanson, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt

===================

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK LAPS LED (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

431-Dave Darland

413-Jon Stanbrough

276-Cory Kruseman

217-Brady Bacon

216-Kevin Thomas Jr.

205-Robert Ballou & Justin Grant

187-J.J. Yeley

184-C.J. Leary

176-Jay Drake

173-Bryan Clauson

148-Chris Windom

124-Levi Jones

121-Tracy Hines

103-Kyle Cummins & Hunter Schuerenberg

101-Tyler Courtney

98-Kevin Briscoe

97-Brady Short

94-Jerry Coons Jr. & Logan Seavey

82-Jack Hewitt

80-Chase Stockon

76-Tony Elliott

68-Daron Clayton & Thomas Meseraull

63-Jake Swanson

57-Bud Kaeding

52-Brad Sweet

50-Shane Cottle & Derek Davidson

43-Cole Whitt

42-Chad Boespflug

38-Carson Short

36-Damion Gardner

35-Aaron Farney & Dickie Gaines

33-Josh Wise

30-Chad Boat & Brad Marvel

29-Mitchel Moles & Bill Rose

26-Robbie Rice, Stephen Schnapf & Scotty Weir

25-Brad Fox

24-John Memmer

23-Cary Faas & Brandon Petty

22-Darren Hagen, & Brian Tyler

21-A.J. Anderson, Brent Beauchamp, Briggs Danner & Eric Shively

20-Kevin Doty

18-Boston Reid

17-Xavier Doney

16-Emerson Axsom, Justin Marvel & Casey Riggs

14-Mike Mann & Wes McIntyre

13-Jeff Bland Jr.

12-Christopher Bell

11-Bobby Stines

10-Brian Hayden & Jason McDougal

9-Kevin Thomas

8-Carson Garrett, Mat Neely & Jimmy Sills

6-Jarett Andretti, Cole Bodine, Terry Pletch & Dustin Smith

5-John Wolfe

4-Kent Christian, Blake Fitzpatrick & Derek Scheffel

3-Keith Bloom Jr., Rickie Gaunt & Tanner Thorson

1-Jesse Hockett, Logan Jarrett, Rusty McClure, Dustin Morgan, Jadon Rogers, Jeremy Sherman & Jonathan Vennard

===================

ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-FIVE FINISHES (1988-2023)

66-Dave Darland

51-Jon Stanbrough

45-Levi Jones

42-Brady Bacon

33-Tony Elliott & Chris Windom

32-Justin Grant

31-J.J. Yeley

29-Bryan Clauson

28-Robert Ballou & Kevin Thomas Jr.

27-Kevin Thomas

25-Shane Cottle & Cory Kruseman

24-C.J. Leary & Chase Stockon

20-Jerry Coons Jr.

19-Jay Drake & Tracy Hines

18-Kyle Cummins

15-Brady Short

14-Kevin Briscoe, Bill Rose & Hunter Schuerenberg

13-Tyler Courtney & Bud Kaeding

10-Jack Hewitt & Randy Kinser

9-Derek Davidson & Danny Smith

8-Damion Gardner, Brian Hayden, Bob Kinser, Kelly Kinser, Thomas Meseraull & Logan Seavey

7-Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Darren Hagen, Tray House, Jason McDougal, Terry Pletch & Josh Wise

6-Chuck Amati, Chad Boespflug, Daron Clayton, Dickie Gaines, Mat Neely, Terry Shepherd, Brian Tyler, Scotty Weir & Cole Whitt

5-A.J. Anderson, Chad Boat & Joe Roush

4-Emerson Axsom, Mike Mann, Carson Short, Jake Swanson, Brad Sweet & Tanner Thorson

3-Jeff Bland Jr., Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, Rick Hood, Kevin Huntley, Tony Jarrett, Mitchel Moles, Dustin Morgan, Robbie Rice, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Gary Trammell & Jeff Walker

2-Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Larry Bland, Tom Chalk, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Jeff Gordon, Coleman Gulick, Kurt Hawkins, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Dave Peperak, Boston Reid, Casey Riggs, Jon Sciscoe, John Scott, Jeremy Sherman, Eric Shively, Casey Shuman & Mike Spencer

1-Garrett Aitken, Jarett Andretti, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Keith Bloom Jr., Mike Bowling, Kent Christian, Hud Cone, Troy Cline, Briggs Danner, Xavier Doney, Mike English, Cary Faas, Gary Fisher, Josh Ford, Russ Gamester, Carson Garrett, Dink Glidden, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jonathan Hendrick, Josh Hodges, Blake Hollingsworth, Shane Hollingsworth, Danny Holtsclaw, A.J. Hopkins, Kasey Kahne, Doug Kalitta, Todd Kane, Todd Kelley, Mike Kirby, Frankie Kerr, Chris LaFollette, Troy Link, Brad Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Wes McIntyre, Joe Miller, Brandon Petty, Daison Pursley, Jadon Rogers, Joey Saldana, Derek Scheffel, Stephen Schnapf, Todd Shields, Jimmy Sills, Mickey Smith, Greg Staab, Steve Surniak, Tyler Thomas, Lee Underwood, Rick Ungar, Jonathan Vennard, Mike Ward, Matt Westfall, Rip Williams & Greg Wilson

===================

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-10 FINISHES (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

98-Dave Darland

74-Jon Stanbrough

66-Levi Jones

64-Brady Bacon

59-Robert Ballou & Chris Windom

53-Shane Cottle & Justin Grant

48-Kevin Thomas Jr.

47-Chase Stockon

46-Jerry Coons Jr.

45-Bryan Clauson

43-Cory Kruseman & C.J. Leary

42-Tracy Hines

40-J.J. Yeley

39-Tony Elliott

34-Kyle Cummins

31-Jay Drake

30-Brady Short

24-Hunter Schuerenberg

21-Tyler Courtney, Damion Gardner, Bud Kaeding & Bill Rose

20-Kevin Thomas

19-Chad Boespflug

17-Kevin Briscoe & Scotty Weir

16-Derek Davidson, Darren Hagen & Brian Hayden

15-Thomas Meseraull & Logan Seavey

14-Dickie Gaines

13-Daron Clayton, Carson Short & Josh Wise

12-Kevin Doty & Jason McDougal

11-Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Brad Sweet & Cole Whitt

10-Jake Swanson

9-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Jack Hewitt, Josh Hodges & Jadon Rogers

8-Jarett Andretti & Jeff Bland Jr.

7-Brent Beauchamp, Chad Boat, Bobby East, Blake Fitzpatrick, Coleman Gulick, Todd Kane, Justin Marvel, Mitchel Moles, Boston Reid, Casey Shuman & Brian Tyler

6-Kent Christian, Troy Cline, Eric Shively, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Matt Westfall

5-Christopher Bell, Shane Hollingsworth, Tony Jarrett, Critter Malone, Dustin Morgan, Jeremy Sherman & Mike Spencer

4-Hud Cone, Charles Davis Jr., Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, Wes McIntyre, Brandon Petty, Robbie Rice, Brody Roa, Jimmy Sills, & John Wolfe

3-A.J. Anderson, Briggs Danner, Josh Ford, Brad Fox, Carson Garrett, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jonathan Hendrick, Dakota Jackson, Rusty McClure, Casey Riggs, Derek Scheffel, Jon Sciscoe, Neil Shepherd, Steve Surniak & Ryan Timms

2-Ryan Bernal, Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Henry Clarke, Xavier Doney, Mike English, Danny Holtsclaw, Kasey Kahne, Mike Kirby, Jason Knoke, Chris LaFollette, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Max McGhee, Tye Mihocko, Kevin Miller, Tim Montgomery, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Kendall Ruble, Stephen Schnapf, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kevin Swindell, Tyler Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd & Jeff Wilson

1-Max Adams, Garrett Aitken, Joey Amantea, Chris Beaver, Kevin Besecker, Keith Bloom Jr., Timmy Buckwalter, Brett Burdette, Mark Cassella, Mark Clark, Shane Cockrum, Chris Coers, Colten Cottle, Tim Cox, Zach Daum, Cary Faas, Nic Faas, Russ Gamester, Kurt Gross, Tom Hessert III, Tray House, J.J. Hughes, Kevin Huntley, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Chase Johnson, Doug Kalitta, Joey Kerr, Jimmy Light, Jason McCord, Matt Mitchell, Vince Osman, Richard Ott, Dave Peperak, Daison Pursley, Davey Ray, Jason Robbins, Kyle Robbins, Eric Roberts, Joe Roush, Alex Shanks, Corey Smith, Dustin Smith, Stevie Sussex, Tanner Thorson, Lee Underwood, Jonathan Vennard, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams, Greg Wilson & Kyle Wissmiller

===================

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

12-Dave Darland

11-Brady Bacon

9-Justin Grant

8-Levi Jones

7-Tracy Hines, C.J. Leary, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr. & J.J. Yeley

6-Daron Clayton & Richard Griffin

5-Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott, Mitchel Moles & Hunter Schuerenberg

4-Tyler Courtney & Jay Drake

3-Robert Ballou, Cory Kruseman, Carson Short, Chase Stockon, Brad Sweet & Josh Wise

2-Brent Beauchamp, Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, Brayden Fox, Justin Marvel, Kevin Miller, Brandon Petty, Boston Reid, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Scotty Weir

1-Nick Bilbee, Keith Bloom Jr., Kevin Briscoe, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Derek Davidson, Kevin Doty, Bobby East, Nic Faas, Blake Fitzpatrick, Jared Fox, Damion Gardner, Rickie Gaunt, Darren Hagen, Jonathan Hendrick, Josh Hodges, Ray Kenens, Dustin Morgan, Mat Neely, Ande Possman, Jadon Rogers, Bill Rose, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Jimmy Sills, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Thomas, Shawn Westerfeld, Rip Williams, Chris Windom, Mitch Wissmiller & John Wolfe

===================

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK HEAT RACE WINS (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

32-Dave Darland

30-Jon Stanbrough

31-Robert Ballou

26-Shane Cottle

20-Brady Bacon

19-Cory Kruseman & C.J. Leary

18-Chris Windom

17-Brady Short

15-Chase Stockon

14-Kevin Thomas Jr.

13-Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins & Thomas Meseraull

12-Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant & Tracy Hines

11-Chad Boespflug, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley

10-Bryan Clauson

9-Hunter Schuerenberg

8-Kent Christian, Jay Drake, Carson Short & Kevin Thomas

7-Kenny Carmichael, Damion Gardner & Terry Pletch

6-Kevin Briscoe, Dickie Gaines, Darren Hagen & Scotty Weir

5-Blake Fitzpatrick, Josh Hodges, Shane Hollingsworth, Bud Kaeding, Mat Neely, Brandon Petty, Bill Rose, Eric Shively, Mike Spencer, Brian Tyler & Matt Westfall

4-Emerson Axsom, Daron Clayton, Hud Cone, Charles Davis Jr., Brian Hayden, Danny Holtsclaw, Logan Jarrett, Brandon Mattox, Jason McDougal, Mitchel Moles, Corey Smith, Cole Whitt & Mitch Wissmiller

3-A.J. Anderson, Jarett Andretti, Brad Fox, Carson Garrett, Jack Hewitt, Mike Kirby, Justin Marvel, Wes McIntyre, Boston Reid, Jadon Rogers, Derek Scheffel, John Scott, Logan Seavey, Casey Shuman, Dustin Smith, Brad Sweet & Tanner Thorson

2-Brent Beauchamp, Nick Bilbee, Jeff Bland Jr., Troy Cline, Tim Cox, Derek Davidson, Kris Deckard, Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Josh Ford, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, A.J. Hopkins, Tray House, Dakota Jackson, Todd Kane, Mike Mann, Bret Mellenberndt, Tye Mihocko, Dustin Morgan, Casey Riggs, Brody Roa, Stephen Schnapf, Alex Shanks, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson, Greg Wilson, Josh Wise & Kyle Wissmiller

1-Max Adams, Rodney Argo, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Keith Bloom Jr., Cole Bodine, Eric Burns, Josh Burton, Mark Cassella, Isaac Chapple, Roger Chaudion, Dustin Clark, Henry Clarke, Colten Cottle, Anthony D’Alessio, Briggs Danner, Ron Dennis, Kevin Doty, Cary Faas, Brayden, Jared Fox, Brian Gerster, Travis Gregg, Bart Grider, Kurt Gross, Chris Gurley, Chayse Hayhurst, Tom Hessert III, Jesse Hockett, J.J. Hughes, Marc Jessup, Chase Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Joey Kerr, Larry Kingseed Jr., Jordan Kinser, Jason Knoke, Critter Malone, Brad Marvel, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, John Memmer, Jerry Miller Jr., Kevin Miller, Jim Moughan, Derek O'Dell, Ande Possman, Michael Pickens, Robbie Rice, Kyle Robbins, Joe Roush, Bryan Ruble, Jon Sciscoe, Jason Setser, Neil Shepherd, Jimmy Sills, Landon Simon, Tim Spindler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Dalton Stevens, Gary Taylor, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms, Michael Trimble, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Ricky Williams & John Wolfe

===================

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE STARTS (USAC ERA 1996-2023)

158-Dave Darland

119-Jon Stanbrough

98-Robert Ballou & Shane Cottle

96-Jerry Coons Jr.

88-Chris Windom

86-Tracy Hines

84-Levi Jones

83-Brady Bacon

82-Kevin Thomas Jr.

75-Justin Grant

79-Chase Stockon

74-C.J. Leary

65-Cory Kruseman

62-Hunter Schuerenberg

61-Kyle Cummins

60-Brady Short

58-Tony Elliott

56-Bryan Clauson & Thomas Meseraull

54-Chad Boespflug

53-Damion Gardner

50-Scotty Weir & J.J. Yeley

47-Jay Drake

41-Darren Hagen

40-Tyler Courtney

39-Bill Rose

37-Bud Kaeding

36-Daron Clayton

34-Derek Davidson

33-Jarett Andretti

32-Kevin Briscoe

31-Brian Hayden & Matt Westfall

30-A.J. Anderson & Carson Short

29-Brent Beauchamp

28-Kent Christian, Dickie Gaines & Justin Marvel

27-Josh Hodges, Brandon Mattox & Kevin Thomas

25-Mat Neely, Brandon Petty & Logan Seavey

24-Josh Wise

23-Jason McDougal, Terry Pletch & Casey Shuman

22-Jeff Bland Jr., Jake Swanson & Brian Tyler

21-Isaac Chapple, Jack Hewitt, Mike Spencer & Brad Sweet

19-Brody Roa, Derek Scheffel & Cole Whitt

18-Blake Fitzpatrick & Jadon Rogers

17-Kevin Doty, Aaron Farney & Critter Malone

16-Hud Cone, Bobby East, Shane Hollingsworth & Dustin Morgan

15-Dustin Smith & Tyler Thomas

14-Henry Clarke, Charles Davis Jr., Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, Dakota Jackson, Wes McIntyre & Eric Shively

13-Max Adams, Emerson Axsom, Chad Boat, Troy Cline, Coleman Gulick, Mitchel Moles & Richard Vander Weerd

12-Logan Jarrett, Robbie Rice & Jonathan Vennard

11- Ryan Bernal, Josh Ford, Eric Gordon, Tony Jarrett, Todd Kane, Mike Mann & Corey Smith

10-Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Jonathan Hendrick, Boston Reid, Kyle Robbins, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kyle Wissmiller & John Wolfe

9-Shane Cockrum, Briggs Danner, Tom Hessert III, Danny Holtsclaw, Tye Mihocko, Kevin Miller, Matt Mitchell, Steve Surniak & Kody Swanson

8-Cole Bodine, Carson Garrett, Richard Griffin, J.J. Hughes, Chase Johnson, Mike Kirby, Jimmy Laser, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Casey Riggs, Jeremy Sherman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stevie Sussex & Kevin Swindell

7-Timmy Buckwalter, Tim Cox, Andrew Elson, Brad Fox, Jordan Kinser, Jason Knoke, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, Joe Roush, Neil Shepherd, Josh Spencer, Tanner Thorson, Jace Vander Weerd & Mitch Wissmiller

6-Christopher Bell, Tony DiMattia, Jared Fox, Marc Jessup, Ryan Pace, Daison Pursley, Jason Robbins, Troy Rutherford, Jimmy Sills, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Michael Trimble

5-Keith Bloom Jr., Clinton Boyles, Mario Clouser, Cary Faas, Chris Gurley, Shane Hmiel, Jon Sciscoe, Brian VanMeveren & Ricky Williams

4-Caleb Armstrong, Nick Bilbee, Dustin Clark, Braxton Cummings, Xavier Doney, Rickie Gaunt, Bart Grider, Ted Hines, Aaron Mosley, Kendall Ruble, Kent Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Landon Simon, Mark Smith, Gus Wasson & Greg Wilson

3-Joey Amantea, Chris Beaver, Mike Boat, Donny Brackett, Chase Briscoe, Brett Burdette, Michael Burthay, Sterling Cling, Zach Daum, Mike English, Geoff Ensign, A.J. Fike, Kurt Gross, Kasey Kahne, Brad Kuhn, Brad Marvel, Jason McCord, Cannon McIntosh, Nate McMillin, Bret Mellenberndt, John Memmer, Jeff O’Banion, Richard Ott, Ande Possman, Davey Ray, Alex Shanks, Gary Taylor, Ryan Timms, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams & Jeff Wilson

2-Rodney Argo, Koby Barksdale, Ethan Barrow, Donnie Beechler, Robert Bell, Kevin Besecker, Greg Bragg, Alex Bright, Mark Cassella, Roger Chaudion, Mark Clark, Colten Cottle, Braydon Cromwell, Kris Deckard, Ty Deckard, Ron Dennis, Gregg Dillion, Nic Faas, Brayden Fox, Russ Gamester, Chris Gansen, Aric Gentry, Travis Gregg, Max Guilford, Tom Harris, Rick Hayden, Tray House, Jack Hoyer, Kevin Huntley, Cole Ketcham, Sheldon Kinser Jr., Chris LaFollette, Jimmy Light, Zach Martini, Joss Moffatt, Tim Montgomery, Derek O’Dell, Scott Orr, Tony Ploughe, Davey Pombo, Zack Pretorius, Terry Richards, Eric Roberts, Bryan Ruble, Bryan Stanfill, Dave Steele, Greg Stephens, Dalton Stevens, Leon Thickstun, & Shawn Westerfeld

1-Garrett Abrams, Nick Adams, Garrett Aitken, Marc Arnold, Chris Babcock, Dustin Beck, Dean Billings, J.C. Bland, Steve Buckwalter, Wyatt Burks, Josh Burton, Cole Carter, Kevin Chambers, Rob Chaney, Chris Coers, Jesse Cramer, Buddy Cunningham, Anthony D’Alessio, Eric Davis, Mitchell Davis, J.R. Douglas, Nick Drake, Brian Gerster, Dennis Gile, Matt Goodnight, Russ Harper, Jared Harris, Ed Hassler, Kurt Hawkins, Chayse Hayhurst, Zane Hendricks, Jordan Hermansader, Gary Howard, Chris Hoyer, Logan Hupp, Sammy Imel, Dustin Ingle, R.J. Johnson, Chase Jones, Tony Jones, Doug Kalitta, Ryan Kaplan, Brian Karraker, Tyler Kendall, Ray Kenens, Joey Kerr, Larry Kingseed Jr., Riley Kreisel, Ricky Lewis, Hunter Maddox, David McCreary, Matt McDonald, Austin Mero, Travis Millar, Jerry Miller Jr., Ray Morgan, Brandon Morin, Jim Moughan, Nick Naber, Wil Newlin, Paul Nienhiser, Trey Osborne, Vince Osman, Steve Ott, Seth Parker, Mark Perry III, Chris Phillips, Michael Pickens, Bart Pletch, Brett Pool, Travis Rilat, Charlie Sarver, Jason Setser, Danny Sheridan, Kyle Shipley, Jake Simmons, Bobby Smith, Eric Smith, Brandon Spencer, J.T. Stapp, Bobby Stines, Joe Stornetta, Lee Underwood, Chris Urish, Chet Williams, Rick Ziehl & Justin Zimmerman

===================

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE WINNERS

1988

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 27, 1988 | Avilla Speedway | Rick Hood | Campbell #1N | Wing

July 28, 1988 | Paragon Speedway | Rick Hood | Campbell #1N | Wing

July 29, 1988 | Bloomington Speedway | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

July 31, 1988 | Kokomo Speedway | Tim Gee | Gee #88 | Wing

Aug 6, 1988 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Tim Gee | Gee #88 | Wing


1989

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 26, 1989 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 28, 1989 | Bloomington Speedway | Chuck Amati | Tate #66 | Wing

July 29, 1989 | Paragon Speedway | Mickey Smith | Smith #14 | Wing

July 30, 1989 | Kokomo Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing


1990

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 25, 1990 | Paragon Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 27, 1990 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | Wing

July 28, 1990 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Darland #36D | Non-Wing

Aug 5, 1990 | Kokomo Speedway | Chuck Amati | Tate #66 | Non-Wing


1991

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 25, 1991 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jack Hewitt | Hampshire #63 | Non-Wing

July 26, 1991 | Bloomington Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 27, 1991 | Paragon Speedway | Danny Smith | Gohr #56 | Wing

July 28, 1991 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | Darland #36D | Non-Wing


1992

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 31, 1992 | Bloomington Speedway | Bob Kinser | Bayless #17B | Wing

Aug 1, 1992 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Hazen #57 | Non-Wing

Aug 9, 1992 | Kokomo Speedway | Tony Elliott | Newkirk #17 | Non-Wing


1993

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 15, 1993 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Dave Darland | Earlywine #36D | Non-Wing

July 16, 1993 | Bloomington Speedway | Cary Faas | Faas #37 | Non-Wing

Aug 1, 1993 | Kokomo Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Black #2B | Non-Wing

Aug 6, 1993 | Paragon Speedway | Tray House | Frampton #95 | Non-Wing


1994

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 14, 1994 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

July 15, 1994 | Bloomington Speedway | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing

July 16, 1994 | Paragon Speedway | Danny Smith | Bodkins #00 | Wing

July 17, 1994 | Kokomo Speedway | Kelly Kinser | Kinser #4K | Wing


1995

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

Jun 15, 1995 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Tony Elliott | Hazen/Walker #57 | Non-Wing

Jun 16, 1995 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Applebee #3 | Non-Wing

Jun 17, 1995 | Paragon Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Applebee #3 | Non-Wing

Jun 18, 1995 | Kokomo Speedway | Mike Mann | Mann #37m | Non-Wing


1996

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 26, 1996 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas | Applebee #3 | USAC

July 27, 1996 | Paragon Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Law #77 | USAC

July 28, 1996 | Kokomo Speedway | Brad Marvel | Black #2m | USAC


1997

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 19, 1997 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Brian Tyler | Contos #4c | USAC

July 20, 1997 | Kokomo Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Yeley #4J | USAC

July 23, 1997 | Terre Haute Action Track | J.J. Yeley | Yeley #4J | USAC

July 24, 1997 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Kevin Doty | Chrisman #25 | USAC

July 25, 1997 | Bloomington Speedway | Brad Fox | Fox #53 | USAC

July 26, 1997 | Paragon Speedway | Bill Rose | Gardner #96 | USAC

July 27, 1997 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jack Hewitt | Hampshire #63 | USAC


1998

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 18, 1998 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 19, 1998 | Evans Kokomo Speedway | Tony Elliott | Vance/Walker #2 | USAC

July 23, 1998 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Kevin Doty | Chrisman #25 | USAC

July 24, 1998 | Bloomington Speedway | Tony Elliott | Vance/Walker #2 | USAC

July 25, 1998 | Paragon Speedway | Derek Davidson | BWB #62 | USAC

July 26, 1998 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Dynamics #69 | USAC


1999

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 21, 1999 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terry Pletch | Pletch #29 | USAC

July 22, 1999 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jack Hewitt | Newkirk #17 | USAC

July 23, 1999 | Bloomington Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Ellis #21 | USAC

July 24, 1999 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 25, 1999 | Kokomo Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Ellis #21 | USAC

July 28, 1999 | Eldora Speedway | Tracy Hines | Willoughby #97 | USAC


2000

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 20, 2000 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Bud Kaeding | BK #129 | USAC

July 21, 2000 | Bloomington Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 22, 2000 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 23, 2000 | Kokomo Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 28, 2000 | Terre Haute Action Track | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 29, 2000 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 30, 2000 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Potter #3p | USAC


2001

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 21, 2001 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Hazen #57H | USAC

July 22, 2001 | Tri-State Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 24, 2001 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Jack Hewitt | Kaser #31 | USAC

July 26, 2001 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | DeSalle #3AC | USAC

July 27, 2001 | Bloomington Speedway | A.J. Anderson | Edison #10 | USAC

July 29, 2001 | Kokomo Speedway | Tony Elliott | Walker/Gratton #66 | USAC


2002

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 19, 2002 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 20, 2002 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 21, 2002 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 22, 2002 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | J.J. Yeley | GT Racing #76 | USAC

July 25, 2002 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 26, 2002 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 27, 2002 | Terre Haute Action Track | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC


2003

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 17, 2003 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 18, 2003 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 19, 2003 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jay Drake | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 20, 2003 | Tri-State Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 23, 2003 | Kokomo Speedway | Bud Kaeding | BK #29 | USAC

July 24, 2003 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Hazen #57 | USAC

July 25, 2003 | Bloomington Speedway | J.J. Yeley | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 26, 2003 | Terre Haute Action Track | Tracy Hines | Dynamics #69 | USAC


2004

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 15, 2004 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | J.J. Yeley | Stanton #75 | USAC

July 17, 2004 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Stewart #21 | USAC

July 18, 2004 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Stewart #21 | USAC

July 22, 2004 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 23, 2004 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Briscoe | Briscoe #5 | USAC

July 24, 2004 | Terre Haute Action Track | J.J. Yeley | Stanton #75 | USAC


2005

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 14, 2005 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 15, 2005 | Bloomington Speedway | Tracy Hines | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 17, 2005 | Tri-State Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 19, 2005 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Walker/Guiducci #11 | USAC

July 20, 2005 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Cory Kruseman | Kunz #67 | USAC

July 21, 2005 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dickie Gaines | Roberts #21x | USAC

July 22, 2005 | Terre Haute Action Track | Levi Jones | 2B Racing #2B | USAC


2006

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 13, 2006 | Twin Cities Raceway Park | Mat Neely | 2B Racing #2B | USAC

July 14, 2006 | Bloomington Speedway | Brady Short | Short #36 | USAC

July 15, 2006 | Tri-State Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 16, 2006 | Kokomo Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 19, 2006 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC


2007

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 11, 2007 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 12, 2007 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | Pace #44 | USAC

July 13, 2007 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Daron Clayton | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 14, 2007 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 15, 2007 | Kokomo Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 19, 2007 | Kamp Motor Speedway | Jerry Coons Jr. | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 20, 2007 | Bloomington Speedway | Dave Darland | Pace #44 | USAC

July 21, 2007 | Tri-State Speedway | Daron Clayton | Walker/Guiducci #11D | USAC


2008

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 9, 2008 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Jeff Bland Jr. | Bland #21s | USAC

July 10, 2008 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Brady Short | Short #36 | USAC

July 11, 2008 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Cole Whitt | Kunz #67K | USAC

July 13, 2008 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | 2B Racing #2B | USAC

July 17, 2008 | Kamp Motor Speedway | Jerry Coons Jr. | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 18, 2008 | Bloomington Speedway | Jerry Coons Jr. | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 19, 2008 | Tri-State Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Walker/Guiducci #11 | USAC


2009

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 10, 2009 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | RWB #2B | USAC

July 11, 2009 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Levi Jones | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 12, 2009 | Kokomo Speedway | Chad Boat | Boat #30 | USAC

July 15, 2009 | Terre Haute Action Track | Brad Sweet | Kahne/Curb #9 | USAC

July 16, 2009 | Kamp Motor Speedway | Dave Darland | RWB #2B | USAC

July 17, 2009 | Bloomington Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tucker #7 | USAC

July 18, 2009 | Tri-State Speedway | Levi Jones | Stewart #20 | USAC


2010

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 9, 2010 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Dave Darland | Goodnight #39 | USAC

July 10, 2010 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 11, 2010 | Kokomo Speedway | Levi Jones | Stewart #20 | USAC

July 14, 2010 | Terre Haute Action Track | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 15, 2010 | Brownstown Speedway | Brady Short | Short #36 | USAC

July 16, 2010 | Bloomington Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Fox #53 | USAC

July 17, 2010 | Tri-State Speedway | Blake Fitzpatrick | Fitzpatrick #10F | USAC


2011

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 8, 2011 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Dave Darland | Roberts/Tate #21x | USAC

July 9, 2011 | Kokomo Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Byram #35 | USAC

July 10, 2011 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Robert Ballou | MPHG #81 | USAC

July 13, 2011 | Terre Haute Action Track | Chris Windom | Baldwin #5x | USAC

July 14, 2011 | Brownstown Speedway | Casey Riggs | Indiana Underground #37 | USAC

July 15, 2011 | Bloomington Speedway | Hunter Schuerenberg | Byram #35 | USAC

July 16, 2011 | Tri-State Speedway | Damion Gardner | DG #71 | USAC


2012

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 13, 2012 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian #7 | USAC

July 15, 2012 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Justin Grant | Hery #40 | USAC

July 16, 2012 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | Walker #11 | USAC

July 18, 2012 | Terre Haute Action Track | Daron Clayton | Clayton #92 | USAC

July 20, 2012 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Black Jack #9K | USAC

July 21, 2012 | Tri-State Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Roberts/Tate #21x | USAC

July 22, 2012 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Walker #11 | USAC


2013

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 12, 2013 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Wade #66 | USAC

July 13, 2013 | Kokomo Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star #17RW | USAC

July 14, 2013 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star #17RW | USAC

July 17, 2013 | Terre Haute Action Track | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star #17RW | USAC

July 18, 2013 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

July 19, 2013 | Bloomington Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC


2014

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 11, 2014 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Jon Stanbrough | Dutcher #37RW | USAC

July 12, 2014 | Kokomo Speedway | Dave Darland | Phillips #71p | USAC

July 16, 2014 | Terre Haute Action Track | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

July 17, 2014 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou #12x | USAC

July 18, 2014 | Bloomington Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Stewart/Curb-Agajanian #20 | USAC

July 19, 2014 | Tri-State Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou #12x | USAC


2015

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 10, 2015 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Chase Stockon | 32 TBI #32 | USAC

July 12, 2015 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 15, 2015 | Terre Haute Action Track | Aaron Farney | Farney #15F | USAC

July 16, 2015 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics #69 | USAC

July 18, 2015 | Tri-State Speedway | Brady Short | Pottorff #11p | USAC


2016

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 8, 2016 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Tyler Courtney | TOPP #23c | USAC

July 9, 2016 | Kokomo Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady #3R | USAC

July 10, 2016 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Bryan Clauson | Dooling/Hayward #63 | USAC

July 14, 2016 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Brady Short | Pottorff #11p | USAC

July 15, 2016 | Bloomington Speedway | Brent Beauchamp | Olson #34 | USAC

July 16, 2016 | Tri-State Speedway | Carson Short | Short #21 | USAC

July 17, 2016 | Terre Haute Action Track | Chase Stockon | 32 TBI #32 | USAC


2017

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 8, 2017 | Kokomo Speedway | Thomas Meseraull | Briscoe #5B | USAC

July 9, 2017 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary #30 | USAC

July 10, 2017 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary #30 | USAC

July 14, 2017 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | KT #9K | USAC

July 15, 2017 | Tri-State Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady #3R | USAC

July 16, 2017 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou #12 | USAC


2018

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 20, 2018 | Plymouth Speedway | Brady Bacon | Bacon #99 | USAC

July 22, 2018 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Tyler Courtney | Clauson Marshall Newman #7BC | USAC

July 24, 2018 | Kokomo Speedway | Thomas Meseraull | Briscoe #5B | USAC

July 25, 2018 | Terre Haute Action Track | Tyler Courtney | Clauson Marshall Newman #7BC | USAC

July 26, 2018 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Dave Darland | Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian #36D | USAC

July 27, 2018 | Bloomington Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary #30 | USAC

July 28, 2018 | Tri-State Speedway | Dave Darland | Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian #36D | USAC

2019

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 18, 2019 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Shane Cottle | Epperson Racing #2E | USAC

July 19, 2019 | Plymouth Speedway | Tyler Courtney | Clauson/Marshall/Newman Racing #7BC | USAC

July 20, 2019 | Kokomo Speedway | Chris Windom | Parallax Group/Goacher Racing #5G | USAC

July 21, 2019 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 24, 2019 | Terre Haute Action Track | Tyler Courtney | Clauson/Marshall/Newman Racing #7BC | USAC

July 25, 2019 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

July 26, 2019 | Bloomington Speedway | Kevin Thomas Jr. | Hayward/Thomas Motorsports #19 | USAC

July 27, 2019 | Tri-State Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

2020

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 24, 2020 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Logan Seavey | Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ | USAC

July 25, 2020 | Kokomo Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary Racing #30 | USAC

July 26, 2020 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | C.J. Leary | Leary Racing #30 | USAC

July 29, 2020 | Terre Haute Action Track | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

Aug 2, 2020 | Tri-State Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC


2021

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 24, 2021 | Kokomo Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 25, 2021 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | USAC

July 26, 2021 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | USAC

July 28, 2021 | Terre Haute Action Track | Logan Seavey | Baldwin-Fox Racing #5 | USAC

July 29, 2021 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Tanner Thorson | Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ | USAC

July 30, 2021 | Bloomington Speedway | Brady Bacon | Dynamics, Inc. #69 | USAC

July 31, 2021 | Tri-State Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

2022

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 22, 2022 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Shane Cottle | Hodges Motorsports #74x | USAC

July 25, 2022 | Circle City Raceway | C.J. Leary | Michael Motorsports #77m | USAC

July 26, 2022 | Kokomo Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 28, 2022 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Mitchel Moles | Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ | USAC

July 29, 2022 | Bloomington Speedway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

July 30, 2022 | Tri-State Speedway | Robert Ballou | Ballou Motorsports #12 | USAC

2023

DATE | TRACK | DRIVER | CAR | TYPE

July 21, 2023 | Gas City I-69 Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 22, 2023 | Kokomo Speedway | C.J. Leary | BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x | USAC

July 23, 2023 | Lawrenceburg Speedway | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 24, 2023 | Circle City Raceway | Kyle Cummins | Rock Steady Racing #3R | USAC

July 26, 2023 | Terre Haute Action Track | Justin Grant | TOPP Motorsports #4 | USAC

July 27, 2023 | Lincoln Park Speedway | Jake Swanson | Team AZ Racing #21AZ | USAC

July 28, 2023 | Bloomington Speedway | Emerson Axsom | Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC | USAC


 


DOWN, BUT NOT OUT:
AXSOM BLOOMS AT SHELDON KINSER MEMORIAL

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bloomington, Indiana (July 28, 2023)………Dejected and disappointed, yet not defeated, Emerson Axsom still had a ton to race for when he arrived at Bloomington Speedway for Friday night’s penultimate round of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing.

For all intents and purposes, the Franklin, Ind. racer saw his shot at an Indiana Sprint Week championship crumble a night earlier at Lincoln Park Speedway when he missed out on transferring to the feature, and thus, had to use a provisional, which did not allow him to earn feature points toward the eight-race series title race.

Driving with desire, and a fire in the belly, at Bloomington’s Sheldon Kinser Memorial, Axsom recorded his first career Indiana Sprint Week triumph, while extending his lead in another concurrent miniseries for USAC National Sprint Car racing, the 10-race Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster series Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment.

Axsom grabbed the reins of his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/Driven2SaveLives – ZMax Race Lubricants/Spike/Kistler Chevy, then chased down racelong leader Briggs Danner on lap 15 before patrolling the final 16 laps to earn his third feature victory of the USAC season, all while having a little bit of the night before on his mind.

“Honestly, I’m still upset about last night,” Axsom admitted. “Not that it was anybody’s fault, we just didn’t run very well. I told my guys last night that if I have anything to do with it, we’re going to win tonight. I just wanted to win really badly, and I’ve been wanting to win a Sprint Week race all week. We’ve been fast; we just haven’t been able to qualify to put us up front. It’s hard to pass these guys because they’re so good.”

The arch of Axsom mimics Jake Swanson, who simultaneously captured both his first Indiana Sprint Week win and his sixth career USAC National Sprint Car victory on Thursday at Lincoln Park. Axsom achieved exactly the same on Friday at Bloomington with his sixth career series score moving him to 76th on the all-time series win list alongside Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Shane Cottle, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider, Jake Swanson and Dick Tobias.

Axsom’s performance is now the next chapter in a long line of successes for the Clauson family at Bloomington. Bryan Clauson owns the record for most Bloomington USAC National Sprint Car driving victories with five on the 1/4-mile red clay between 2009-16, plus a USAC National Midget dub in 2013. Clauson Marshall Racing also nabbed back-to-back USAC Midget victories between 2018-19 with Tyler Courtney at the wheel.

But on Friday night, it was Axsom’s turn to kick a shine. Starting from the third position, Axsom was already challenging for the lead by lap two. Axsom first scooted underneath Chase Stockon off turn four to slot into second at the conclusion of the opening lap, then came within a car length of Danner for the race lead on the second go-around.

However, just as Axsom was in position to, perhaps, race into the lead, he hit the muck at the very bottom of turn one and was unable to get the car to turn. Sliding up the track, Axsom left the bottom open for Stockon to reemerge in second.

On lap five, fourth running Mitchel Moles’ tumultuous Indiana Sprint Week continued when his car fell dramatically off the pace, forcing him to the Indy Metal Finishing Work Area as the yellow flag was displayed. Moles ultimately returned to the tail and advanced his way to a 14th place finish.

When racing resumed, it was go time for Axsom who made a successful bid for second under Stockon, taking the spot on the back straight on the lap five restart. However, at that moment, Danner had stepped away to a half-straightaway advantage as the leader.

Meanwhile, Justin Grant and Brady Bacon entered the fray with a four-point separation in their quests for the Indiana Sprint Week championship. Bacon gained a crucial spot on the 10th lap when Grant skated up the racetrack in turns one and two, allowing Bacon to jet away on the outside to take away the fifth position.

Back up front, traffic loomed for Danner, and as soon as he caught it, he was extensively mired. His 1.5 second interval vanished in a heartbeat just before the midway point, and on lap 15, Axsom flashed by on the inside to take over the lead. Moments later in turn four, Danner snagged the cushion, knocking him sideways, which cost him more than a second, and practically ended his window of opportunity to win his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature.

For Axsom, though, he had a pretty good feeling that he was in good shape moving forward.

“It was a real fine line between the greasy, the slick and the monster curb off two and four,” Axsom explained. “I knew that if I could just stay even with the lapped cars, nobody would get by me. I didn’t really know if anybody was catching me, but I knew if I stayed even with the car below me, it was enough that nobody was going to be able to do anything. I knew that as long as I didn’t mess up big on the top, I’d be all right.”

On lap 22, Bacon gained further ground to move into fourth as the 2022 Bloomington Indiana Sprint Week winner got caught up on the turn four cushion as Bacon raced by underneath to further pad his Indiana Sprint Week point lead to eight markers.

Axsom was untouchable at the front of the field, however, and finished off the evening by crossing the finish line 3.753 seconds ahead of the competition. Danner collected a runner-up finish by a narrow half car length margin ahead of Stockon while Bacon grabbed fourth and Kyle Cummins rounded out the top-five.

Sitting fifth in the Indiana Sprint Week standings, 75 points out of the lead, Axsom is fully aware that his shot at title with the series is over. However, he’s thinking “big picture,” which has him in good shape in multiple ongoing series. He’s second in the overall USAC National Sprint Car standings, just 19 behind Bacon, and currently leads the Bubby Jones points by a 28-point margin.

“Our Sprint Week isn’t over,” Axsom related, “but obviously, last night really hurt us. The national title is still there and that’s our main goal anyway. Hopefully this gets us back to where we need to be.”

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) equaled his best career USAC National Sprint Car finish with a second-place result in his Hogue Racing Enterprises/Boulevard Truck Repair – E. Schneider & Sons/DRC/Rider Chevy. Danner previously scored a second at Grandview Speedway in 2022. His second place run at Bloomington was the best finish ever by a native Pennsylvanian in an Indiana Sprint Week event. Frankie Kerr previously was the best with a fourth at Bloomington in 1991 while Steve Surniak finished fifth at Paragon Speedway in 1998.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) tied his best result of the 2023 USAC National Sprint Car campaign with a third-place finish in his KO Motorsports/Banded Ag – Superior Tank & Trailer – Dewig Meats – AMSOIL/Triple X/Fisher Chevy. The podium run at Bloomington came on the heels of a fifth place finish the previous night at Lincoln Park. It’s the 2020 Indiana Sprint Week champion’s first back-to-back top-five finishes with the series since September of 2022.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) pocketed $400 for his Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifying performance at Bloomington. It was his second consecutive quick time with the series, the sixth time he’s timed in as the fastest in back-to-back fashion during his USAC Sprint Car career. Overall, it was the 47th fast time of his career with the series, fourth all-time, and his third Indiana Sprint Week fast time at Bloomington, doing so in perfectly spaced four-year increments in 2015, 2019 and 2023.

Shane Cottle has been a hard-charging machine throughout Indiana Sprint Week. For the fifth time in seven races throughout the week, the Kansas, Ill. driver has earned J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors. At Bloomington, he advanced from 21st to 13th, and has now passed a total of 82 cars thus far during ISW. To put it all into perspective, his closest competition has passed 49 cars during Indiana Sprint Week.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 28, 2023 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing – Sheldon Kinser Memorial

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.244; 2. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-11.247; 3. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-11.304; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-11.356; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.372; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-11.373; 7. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-11.378; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-11.428; 9. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-11.432; 10. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-11.446; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-11.457; 12. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.459; 13. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-11.475; 14. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-11.484; 15. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-11.506; 16. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-11.511; 17. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-11.544; 18. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-11.546; 19. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-11.560; 20. Tayte Williamson, 20, Williamson-11.583; 21. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-11.587; 22. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-11.619; 23. Jordan Kinser, 04, Burton-11.661; 24. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-11.679; 25. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-11.694; 26. Alec Sipes, 19, Hayward-11.698; 27. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-11.746; 28. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-11.788; 29. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-11.880; 30. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-11.948; 31. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-11.998.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Brent Beauchamp, 6. Joey Amantea. 2:00.92

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Briggs Danner, 3. Geoff Ensign, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Jake Swanson, 7. Alec Sipes, 8. Justin Zimmerman. 2:00.86

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Troy Carey, 8. Jordan Kinser. 1:57.08

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Travis Millar, 6. Tayte Williamson, 7. Hunter Maddox. 2:00.30

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Brent Beauchamp, 6. Justin Zimmerman, 7. Travis Millar, 8. Troy Carey, 9. Joey Amantea, 10. Alec Sipes, 11. Tayte Williamson, 12. Dalton Stevens. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Emerson Axsom (3), 2. Briggs Danner (1), 3. Chase Stockon (2), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. Kyle Cummins (5), 6. C.J. Leary (12), 7. Justin Grant (7), 8. Robert Ballou (13), 9. Jake Swanson (11), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (8), 11. Carson Garrett (9), 12. Daison Pursley (16), 13. Shane Cottle (21), 14. Mitchel Moles (4), 15. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 16. Matt Westfall (17), 17. Geoff Ensign (20), 18. Brandon Mattox (10), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 20. Brent Beauchamp (14), 21. Logan Seavey (18), 22. Justin Zimmerman (22). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Briggs Danner, Laps 15-30 Emerson Axsom.

**Dalton Stevens flipped during qualifying. Hunter Maddox flipped during the heat.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1638, 2-Emerson Axsom-1619, 3-Justin Grant-1615, 4-Jake Swanson-1559, 5-Kyle Cummins-1539, 6-C.J. Leary-1469, 7-Robert Ballou-1372, 8-Mitchel Moles-1364, 9-Chase Stockon-1325, 10-Daison Pursley-1275.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-474, 2-Justin Grant-466, 3-Robert Ballou-418, 4-Kyle Cummins-403, 5-Emerson Axsom-399, 6-C.J. Leary-371, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-366, 8-Shane Cottle-346, 9-Jake Swanson-342, 10-Carson Garrett-340.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-476, 2-Brady Bacon-448, 3-C.J. Leary-447, 4-Jake Swanson-434, 5-Mitchel Moles-414, 6-Kyle Cummins-387, 7-Chase Stockon-374, 8-Justin Grant-372, 9-Daison Pursley-371, 10-Robert Ballou-320.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-145, 2-Logan Seavey-84, 3-Robert Ballou-81, 4-Shane Cottle-81, 5-Matt Westfall-79, 6-Brady Bacon-77, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Emerson Axsom-64, 9-Chase Stockon-63, 10-C.J. Leary-51.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-82, 2-Brady Bacon-49, 3-Joey Amantea-46, 4-Robert Ballou-45, 5-Daison Pursley-37, 6-Logan Seavey-33, 7-Emerson Axsom-31, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-30, 9-Braxton Cummings-29, 10-Mitchel Moles-28.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 29, 2023 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Shane Cottle (11.528)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (11.244)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brandon Mattox

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Swanson

Hard Work Award: Justin Zimmerman

Green APU First Lap Leader: Briggs Danner

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (22nd to 13th)

 

LIVIN’ AFTER MIDNIGHT:
SWANSON ROCKS LINCOLN PARK
FOR FIRST USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Putnamville, Indiana (July 27, 2023)………Twenty-four hours after lying upside down in a heap of disappointment with a destroyed racecar, Jake Swanson and Team AZ Racing were back on their feet, so to speak, on Thursday night at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.

Armed with another car from the team’s stable that was prepared on blazing hot Thursday afternoon through a combination of blood, sweat and tears – but mostly sweat – the Anaheim, Calif. native 180’d from the previous night’s Terre Haute disappointment to win his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing feature event.

The timeline of events that transpired between the events at Terre Haute and Lincoln Park are a microcosm of the tug-of-war of emotions the team has experienced. In the six Indiana Sprint Week events contested thus far, Swanson has three finishes of 16th or worse, plus a 2nd, an 8th and now a victory in his Team AZ Racing/Racing For Autism Awareness – Apache Transport/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

Wednesday’s Terre Haute round was undoubtedly the team’s most discouraging moment of the week thus far, crashing and writing off a racecar while running third after leading eight laps.

However, Thursday’s triumphant performance turned out to be the team’s most rewarding, which arrived after the clock had already struck midnight due to a two-plus hour rain delay that doused the 5/16-mile dirt oval with excessive moisture. Together, everyone achieved more, and finally, they were rewarded with their initial Indiana Sprint Week victory.

“We crashed last night at Terre Haute, and it was all on me,” Swanson admitted. “I was just trying too hard, and these guys have worked their (tails) off trying to get a car back together and get this thing ready. Tonight, we struggled with brake problems, and (the crew) just continued to work through the heat. I think they sweated through about three t-shirts each.”

Swanson started the 30-lap, $8,000-to-win main event from the outside of the front row, but quickly gained the upper hand on the opening lap as he scooted around the outside of pole sitter Logan Seavey to grab the lead while Seavey slotted into second with Kevin Thomas Jr. closing in from the third position.

The top-three remained in formation as lapped traffic loomed for the frontrunners on lap 10. With Swanson slightly roadblocked, that allowed Seavey and Thomas Jr. to chop down a 1.5 second deficit. One lap later, on the 11th circuit, Thomas found the inside edge to swipe second place from Seavey on the bottom of turns three and four.

Thomas Jr. rapidly ascended toward the forefront of the field and managed to pull even with Swanson for the race lead on the 13th lap. As Thomas Jr. and Swanson surrounded Hunter Maddox to put him a lap down, Thomas Jr. suddenly began to slow dramatically and pulled to the infield after the engine simply lost power, ending his bid for s first USAC win of 2023 and car owner Dwight Cheney’s first ever USAC score.

With Thomas Jr. out of the picture, it still wasn’t quite clear sailing for Swanson. Seavey suddenly found a resurgence and began to chase down Swanson and had closed to within a car length of the lead by lap 18. With 11 laps to go, however, the merry-go-round came to a halt when 10th running Mitchel Moles spun sideways in turn four, then was clipped by the trailing car driven by Briggs Danner, resulting in a knocked-out front end for Moles and a 21st place feature result.

Under the yellow, second running Seavey abruptly exited the racetrack, like Thomas Jr., also experiencing a sudden loss of power under the hood that promptly ended the team’s night. That moved Ballou up to the second spot behind Swanson for the restart where he promptly took several peeks to the inside of Swanson with as he clamped down right on Swanson’s back bumper.

Current Indiana Sprint Week point leader and defending champ Justin Grant shuffled to the third spot with a slick move under Chase Stockon on the lap 20 restart. Brady Bacon, second in the ISW standings, followed suit past Stockon for fourth on lap 22. Bacon continued to surge and snagged the third spot when Grant slipped up the surface in turn four on the 27th lap.

All the while, up front, it was a race between the resilient Swanson and Ballou, both of whom endured major incidents the night before at Terre Haute and who had both experienced their fair share of tumultuous trials and tribulations throughout the grueling week.

Swanson’s ride was smooth and easy like an (early) Friday morning as he kept Ballou at arm’s length throughout the final 10 laps to thwart the pressure, winning by a 0.344 second margin for his fourth points-paying USAC National Sprint Car victory of his career and his sixth overall, tying him for 76th all-time alongside Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Shane Cottle, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider and Dick Tobias.

Coming home second was Robert Ballou with Brady Bacon third, Justin Grant fourth and Chase Stockon fifth.

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) equaled both his best Indiana Sprint Week and USAC National Sprint Car performance of the season with a second-place result in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Berks Western Telecom/Triple X/Ott Chevy. The 2015 Indiana Sprint Week champ also finished as the runner-up during last Friday’s ISW opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) remained in close quarters in pursuit of his first Indiana Sprint Week championship since 2016. Bacon gained a pivotal position from Grant just three laps from the finish line to earn a third-place result in his Dynamics, Inc./Apex Spa Service – Tel-Star Technologies /Triple X/Rider Chevy. Bacon now sits just four points behind Grant in the ISW title race with two races remaining on Friday at Bloomington Speedway and on Saturday at Tri-State Speedway.

A rare feat occurred during the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying session when Brady Bacon and Mitchel Moles posted identical fast times of 12.370 seconds. Based on the tiebreaker of each driver's fastest "other lap," Bacon received the nod as the quickest qualifier. For Bacon, it was his 46th career fast qualifying time in USAC National Sprint Car competition, which ranks fourth all-time behind Tom Bigelow (65), Dave Darland (62) and Tracy Hines (60).

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 27, 2023 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.370; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.370; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.372; 4. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-12.378; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.473; 6. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.534; 7. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.557; 8. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.616; 9. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-12.617; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-12.639; 11. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.688; 12. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.710; 13. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.757; 14. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-12.768; 15. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-12.772; 16. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.776; 17. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.780; 18. Ricky Lewis, 41, Brown-12.796; 19. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Ensign-12.846; 20. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.854; 21. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.861; 22. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.899; 23. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.920; 24. Jordan Kinser, 04, Burton-12.935; 25. Jadon Rogers, 14, 4J Motorsports-12.968; 26. Jake Scott, 33, Miller-12.979; 27. Todd Hobson, 5T, Daming-12.990; 28. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-13.015; 29. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-13.035; 30. Ivan Glotzbach, i1, Glotzbach-13.091; 31. Todd Moule, 26, Moule-13.107; 32. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.111; 33. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.131; 34. Tye Mihocko, 5, Wilson-13.170; 35. Dave Darland, 36D, Darland/Curb-Agajanian-13.178; 36. Brent Beauchamp, 34B, Olson-13.292; 37. Evan Mosley, 27, Barkdull-13.313; 38. Tim Creech, 31, Creech-13.330; 39. Alec Sipes, 19, Hayward-13.355; 40. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-13.387; 41. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.583; 42. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-13.710; 43. Tayte Williamson, 20, Williamson-13.743; 44. Kyle Johnson, 99J, Johnson-13.841; 45. Tony Helton, 87, Miller-14.290; 46. Johnny Ivers, 55, Ivers/Thomas-14.316; 47. Justin Meneely, 100, Meneely-14.757; 48. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-15.030; 49. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-NT; 50. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Justin Grant, 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Daison Pursley, 8. Dalton Stevens, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Zack Pretorius, 11. Johnny Ivers. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Stevie Sussex, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Jake Scott, 7. Tim Creech, 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Ivan Glotzbach, 10. Travis Millar, 11. Justin Meneely, 12. Mitchel Moles. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Todd Hobson, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Alec Sipes, 9. Todd Moule, 10. Tayte Williamson, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Geoff Ensign. 2:14.19

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jordan Kinser, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Kyle Johnson, 6. Hunter Maddox, 7. C.J. Leary, 8. Carson Garrett, 9. Logan Calderwood, 10. Tony Helton, 11. Emerson Axsom, 12. Braxton Cummings. NT

STEEL-IT C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Ivan Glotzbach, 2. Dalton Stevens, 3. Zack Pretorius, 4. Tim Creech, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Alec Sipes, 7. Travis Millar, 8. Rylan Gray, 9. Tony Helton, 10. Tayte Williamson, 11. Evan Mosley, 12. Todd Moule, 13. Troy Carey, 14. Logan Calderwood, 15. Kyle Johnson, 16. Justin Meneely. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Hunter Maddox, 6. Briggs Danner, 7. Daison Pursley, 8. Emerson Axsom, 9. Ricky Lewis, 10. Sterling Cling, 11. Tim Creech, 12. Zack Pretorius, 13. Dalton Stevens, 14. Jake Scott, 15. Geoff Ensign, 16. Todd Hobson, 17. Brandon Mattox. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jake Swanson (2), 2. Robert Ballou (8), 3. Brady Bacon (10), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Chase Stockon (4), 6. Kyle Cummins (6), 7. Carson Garrett (15), 8. Charles Davis Jr. (7), 9. Jadon Rogers (19), 10. Brent Beauchamp (22), 11. Briggs Danner (13), 12. Shane Cottle (20), 13. Emerson Axsom (23-P), 14. Matt Westfall (9), 15. C.J. Leary (14), 16. Stevie Sussex (17), 17. Daison Pursley (24-P), 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (16), 19. Hunter Maddox (12), 20. Logan Seavey (1), 21. Mitchel Moles (11), 22. Jordan Kinser (18), 23. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 24. Tye Mihocko (21). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Jake Swanson.

**Daison Pursley flipped during the first heat. Mitchel Moles flipped during the second heat. Hunter Maddox flipped while lining up for the fourth heat. Braxton Cummings flipped during the fourth heat. Emerson Axsom flipped during the fourth heat. Justin Meneely flipped during the C-Main. Brandon Mattox flipped during the semi.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1566, 2-Justin Grant-1555, 3-Emerson Axsom-1543, 4-Jake Swanson-1504, 5-Kyle Cummins-1473, 6-C.J. Leary-1408, 7-Mitchel Moles-1321, 8-Robert Ballou-1319, 9-Chase Stockon-1255, 10-Daison Pursley-1231.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-406, 2-Brady Bacon-402, 3-Robert Ballou-365, 4-Kyle Cummins-337, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-326, 6-Emerson Axsom-323, 7-C.J. Leary-310, 8-Shane Cottle-308, 9-Carson Garrett-291, 10-Jake Swanson-287.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-141, 2-Logan Seavey-84, 3-Matt Westfall-78, 4-Robert Ballou-76, 5-Brady Bacon-75, 6-Shane Cottle-73, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Chase Stockon-63, 9-Emerson Axsom-62, 10-Carson Garrett-51.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-66, 2-Brady Bacon-46, 3-Joey Amantea-46, 4-Robert Ballou-39, 5-Daison Pursley-33, 6-Logan Seavey-32, 7-Braxton Cummings-29, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-28, 9-Brent Beauchamp-28, 10-Emerson Axsom-27.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 28, 2023 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing – Sheldon Kinser Memorial

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

USAC & Lincoln Park Speedway First Car on Track: Mitchel Moles

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Brady Bacon (12.587)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon (12.370)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Matt Westfall

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Steel-It C-Main Winner: Ivan Glotzbach

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Brady Bacon

Hard Work Award: Brent Beauchamp

Green APU First Lap Leader: Jake Swanson

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Brent Beauchamp (22nd to 10th)


 

 

1 OF 10:
GRANT SCORES 40TH CAREER USAC SPRINT WIN
AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Terre Haute, Indiana (July 26, 2023)………You can count on two hands the number of drivers who have had the good fortune of earning at least 40 career USAC National Sprint Car feature victories.

On Wednesday night at the Terre Haute Action Track, Justin Grant became the 10th individual to join the exclusive 40-win club in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition, a highwater mark reached by a select few over the course of the 68-year history of the series.

The Ione, Calif. native was the class of the field in the 30-lap Don Smith Classic feature which served as round five of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing, prospering through several challenges levied by Brady Bacon and Jake Swanson before taking over for good on lap 10 in a race that featured as many twists and turns as a ride at Six Flags.

Fittingly, Grant now possesses a series-leading six flags of the checkered variety throughout the USAC National Sprint Car season. His latest Terre Haute victory made him just the fifth driver in series history to earn six or more wins in three consecutive seasons, joining Dave Darland (2012-14), Bryan Clauson (2012-14), Tracy Hines (1999-2001) and Gary Bettenhausen (1968-70), the man who Grant tied for ninth all-time on USAC’s all-time National Sprint Car win list.

Furthermore, Grant came into the event tied with Bacon for the Indiana Sprint Week championship lead but exited the stage with an eight-point edge three races from the finish line as he attempts to repeat his crown in the eight-race Hoosier State series aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

Grant’s third win of the week thus far has moved him up to fifth all-time in terms of career Indiana Sprint Week victories with eight, trailing only Dave Darland (20), Jon Stanbrough (16), Cory Kruseman (12) and J.J. Yeley (9).

The initial attempt at a green flag was waved off when it was deemed that pole sitter Jake Swanson jumped the start. A new rule put into place for 2023 penalized Swanson one row and moved inside second row starter Grant to the outside of the front row. However, it was new pole starter Bacon who pounced early to grab the lead on lap one.

Major trouble came on lap two when 18th running Joey Amantea flipped wildly at the entry to turn one after already advancing four positions by the completion of lap one. The trailing Ricky Lewis narrowly avoided contact with Amantea and spun backwards to a stop against the outside guardrail. Amantea ultimately walked away from the incident.

The early penalization didn’t deter Swanson as he swooped into the lead on the lap two restart with a major run off turn two past Bacon. Third-running Grant attempted to slide Swanson in turn three but split the difference and slotted into second. Grant tried again in turn three on lap four, sliding across the nose of Swanson, who was prepared and reacted accordingly by cutting back under to retake the lead.

On the lap 10 restart following seventh-running Logan Seavey’s stoppage for a new right rear tire, Grant found his way to the lead, changing his plan of execution by blowing around the outside of Swanson for the top spot on the back straight.

While Swanson and Bacon traded barbs back-and-forth for the runner-spot as the race pressed through the midway point, Grant capitalized and ran his lead up to a 2.314 second margin until Seavey once again slowed to a stop with issues with his right rear, this time the culprit was a mud-packed wheel. The crew cleared the mud out and returned him to the action where he managed to crack 10th place at the checkered.

Grant was just about to hit lapped traffic at the time of the yellow, but instead, the caution bunched up the field for a restart with 13 laps remaining. That’s where Swanson made a sudden burst to run alongside Grant for the lead on the lap 18 restart, but Grant successfully fended off the challenge. Swanson’s misfire at Grant opened the door for Bacon to close in and overtake Swanson for the second spot in turn one on lap 19.

On lap 24, Grant now had company with Bacon hot on his trail just three car lengths behind when trouble nearly enveloped Grant with a major Huffy bike on the turn two cushion. Mere moments later, the same exact spot caught third-running Swanson who snagged the cush and barrel rolled multiple times before coming to a rest. Swanson climbed out and walked away but was done for the evening after leading eight laps.

After very nearly junking it, so to speak, it was at that point that Grant admittedly needed a little guidance and reassurance to settle down during the red flag period, a moment in which Grant felt relieved in more ways than one.

“I was starting to make mistakes, especially down in turns one and two,” Grant recalled. “I knew I had a little more in the tank if I needed it in three and four, but I was maybe running the entry into one and two too hard. I would actually get on top of the curb, then it grabbed the floor pan and tried to turn me over. Under that red, (crew chief Jeff Walker) came out, and he’s like, ‘buddy, calm down. We’re fine. As long as we don’t make any mistakes, we’re not going to lose this race. Just settle down.’”

Grant’s reassurance was challenged immediately when Bacon attempted to slide Grant for the lead on the lap 24 restart, but Grant made a narrow escape around the outside of turn two to maintain his stranglehold on the position. Bacon’s maneuver turned out to be to the benefit of Kevin Thomas Jr. who drifted by Bacon for second place a half lap later in turns three and four.

Bacon nearly found complete disaster in turns one and two on lap 25, getting all but the right front tire off the ground before landing back on all fours, which sent him free-falling all the way back to eighth. Miraculously, Bacon jumped back on the horse and was able to make up four of those spots in the final laps to bring it home fourth.

In the end, however, it was all Grant who widened his lead to 4.898 seconds by the time he hit the finish line for an $8,000 prize ahead of Kevin Thomas Jr., C.J. Leary, Brady Bacon and Emerson Axsom.

With that said, the wildest moment of the race didn’t happen until after the winner had crossed the finish line. Running seventh as he came off the fourth and final turn with the checkered flag in sight, Robert Ballou’s car suddenly veered hard left without warning. Just after crossing the stripe, Ballou’s car slammed the inside wall, then somersaulted violently. Ballou climbed out immediately, but still came out with a ninth-place result and a severely damaged machine after early setting the fastest time in both Dirt Draft Hot Laps and Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying before winning Simpson Race Products Heat One.

Back to Grant, who reconnected with famed car owner and wrench, Jeff Walker, beginning with the second weekend of July. Since then, the two have clicked remarkably well, and now find themselves atop the Indiana Sprint Week points. It was the Walker connection that Grant had been intertwined with during his introduction to sprint cars all those years ago.

“J-Dub and I working together again is so much fun,” Grant said. “Everything I know about sprint cars started with J-Dub. We speak the same language and that’s so huge. I trust him, and the car is fantastic almost every night. We’ve had some really good racecars, and we’re just having a ton of fun.”

It was about as technical of a Terre Haute surface that Grant’s ever seen and admitted that it was certainly on the tricky side this time around. But a half-mile dirt oval is akin to a home for Grant who has won three of the seven half-mile USAC Sprint Car events held thus far in 2023. In fact, 14 of his 40 career series wins have come on the halves, and it’s a place where the 32-year-old feels that as the speeds rise, everything else seemingly slows down.

“I think they’re just big enough and things happen slow enough – and I’m old – and it slows everything down enough that I’m just more comfortable,” Grant relayed. “I’ve done this a long time and the speed doesn’t really bother me. It’s just a bit slower and a bit more open, and you’ve got more time to make things happen. It’s almost easier to pass guys when they make mistakes.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. put together his best run in Dwight Cheney’s No. 42 since joining the team last month. On this night at Terre Haute, the Cullman, Ala. native raced from his seventh starting position to finish second in his Cheney Racing/Racing Optics – Native Spirits Tequila – SteelCo USA – CCR Sports/DRC/Ott Chevy.

C.J. Leary recovered to round out the podium after suffering a broken left shock that knocked him out of his heat race to begin the night. The Greenfield, Ind. racer got back on track with a semi-feature win, then charged from eighth to finish third in the feature at the wheel of his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete - Highsmith Guns - Elliott’s/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) once again earned J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors for the fourth time in five nights thus far throughout Indiana Sprint Week. At Terre Haute, he advanced from his 17th starting spot to finish seventh and has now recorded an astonishing 52 total passes for position during the week.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 26, 2023 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing – Don Smith Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-20.289; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-20.372; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-20.541; 4. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-20.549; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-20.626; 6. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-20.710; 7. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-20.749; 8. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-20.847; 9. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-21.075; 10. Tye Mihocko, 5, Wilson-21.081; 11. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-21.106; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-21.114; 13. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-21.238; 14. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-21.249; 15. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-21.251; 16. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-21.272; 17. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-21.353; 18. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-21.401; 19. Travis Thompson, 7, Thompson-21.411; 20. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-21.422; 21. Ricky Lewis, 41, Brown-21.492; 22. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-21.584; 23. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-21.588; 24. Max Adams, 17GP, Dutcher-21.650; 25. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-21.705; 26. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-21.799; 27. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-21.801; 28. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-21.823; 29. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-21.848; 30. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-21.868; 31. Brian Ruhlman, 49, Ruhlman-22.065; 32. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-22.129; 33. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-22.218; 34. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-22.394.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Sterling Cling, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Travis Millar, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Matt Westfall. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Justin Zimmerman, 6. Geoff Ensign, 7. Dalton Stevens, 8. Troy Carey, 9. Logan Seavey. 2:50.42

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Briggs Danner, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Travis Thompson, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Braxton Cummings. 2:52.95

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Joey Amantea, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Max Adams, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. C.J. Leary. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Justin Zimmerman, 8. Dalton Stevens, 9. Matt Westfall, 10. Travis Millar, 11. Braxton Cummings, 12. Max Adams, 13. Hunter Maddox, 14. Logan Calderwood, 15. Troy Carey, 16. Travis Thompson. 4:19.96

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 3. C.J. Leary (8), 4. Brady Bacon (2), 5. Emerson Axsom (10), 6. Kyle Cummins (4), 7. Shane Cottle (17), 8. Mitchel Moles (5), 9. Robert Ballou (6), 10. Logan Seavey (13), 11. Matt Westfall (22-P), 12. Daison Pursley (18), 13. Carson Garrett (9), 14. Tye Mihocko (11), 15. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 16. Sterling Cling (16), 17. Ricky Lewis (23), 18. Chase Stockon (20), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 20. Jake Swanson (1), 21. Brandon Mattox (15), 22. Briggs Danner (12), 23. Joey Amantea (21). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Brady Bacon, Laps 2-9 Jake Swanson, Laps 10-30 Justin Grant.

**Joey Amantea flipped on lap 2 of the feature. Jake Swanson flipped on lap 24 of the feature. Robert Ballou flipped on lap 30 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-1506, 2-Brady Bacon-1492, 3-Justin Grant-1485, 4-Jake Swanson-1427, 5-Kyle Cummins-1408, 6-C.J. Leary-1373, 7-Mitchel Moles-1290, 8-Robert Ballou-1244, 9-Daison Pursley-1202, 10-Chase Stockon-1190.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-336, 2-Brady Bacon-328, 3-Emerson Axsom-313, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-295, 5-Robert Ballou-290, 6-C.J. Leary-275, 7-Kyle Cummins-272, 8-Shane Cottle-262, 9-Mitchel Moles-253, 10-Logan Seavey-248.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-141, 2-Logan Seavey-84, 3-Matt Westfall-78, 4-Robert Ballou-70, 5-Justin Grant-69, 6-Brady Bacon-68, 7-Shane Cottle-65, 8-Chase Stockon-63, 9-Emerson Axsom-62, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-49.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-52, 2-Joey Amantea-46, 3-Brady Bacon-38, 4-Daison Pursley-33, 5-Robert Ballou-32, 6-Logan Seavey-32, 7-Braxton Cummings-29, 8-Mitchel Moles-27, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-25, 10-Emerson Axsom-25.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 27, 2023 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Robert Ballou (19.947)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Robert Ballou (20.289)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: C.J. Leary

Hoosier Auto Race Fans Last Semi Transfer In Memory of Rich Vogler: Chase Stockon

Hard Work Award: Joey Amantea

Green APU First Lap Leader: Brady Bacon

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (17th to 7th)

 

 

USAC ANNOUNCES 2023 HALL OF FAME CLASS
Speedway, Indiana (July 25, 2023)………The newest class of USAC Hall of Fame inductees was revealed during last Thursday’s running of the Rich Vogler Classic USAC Silver Crown event at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.

USAC’s 11th hall of fame class includes champion driver Bobby East; safety innovator Ted Halibrand; champion driver Tracy Hines; television producer Terry Lingner; vice president/general manager/editor/media/general manager Bill Marvel; and team owners and contributors, The Wilke Family.

The official 2023 USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday afternoon, September 29, during Driven2SaveLives BC39 weekend for the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Championship at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. More details will be made available in the coming weeks.

MEET THE NEW USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS:

BOBBY EAST

Born in Torrance, Calif., but made his home in Brownsburg, Ind., Bobby East captured 56 career USAC-sanctioned feature victories, 48 of them in national divisions.

East racked up three USAC National driving titles – in 2004 with the Midgets and twice with the Silver Crown series in 2012 and 2013.

Bobby was an immediate success with USAC, becoming, at the time, the youngest winner in National Midget history at age 16 in 2001 at Illiana Motor Speedway en route to being named Rookie of the Year.

Bobby totaled 22 USAC National Midget feature wins, the majority of which came in Steve Lewis’ famed “Nine Cars” which were built by his father. He was a winner of the Hut 100, the Belleville Nationals, the Turkey Night Grand Prix, the Night Before the 500 and the Copper World Classic.

He also tacked on 11 USAC Silver Crown wins and 15 USAC National Sprint Car triumphs, and he’s one of only nine drivers in USAC history to win on dirt and pavement tracks in all three USAC National divisions.

Bobby becomes the fourth second generation USAC Hall of Fame inductee following Tony & Gary Bettenhausen, Duane & Pancho Carter and Doug & Jimmy Caruthers.

TED HALIBRAND

As sportswriter Shav Glick of the L.A. Times so aptly wrote, “Thanks to Halibrand, drivers can get old.”

Ted Halibrand was a pioneer in many facets of racing, first as the designer of magnesium wheels and disc brakes. Working behind the scenes, Halibrand was tireless in revolutionizing numerous safety aspects throughout the sport.

A Paterson, New Jersey native, and later a resident of southern California, Halibrand long served as the Chairman of USAC's safety committee where he introduced many regulations in terms of car design and racetrack construction that remain in use to this day and have been adopted by racing organizations throughout the world. His ideas were ultimately illustrated in a series of Halibrand Engineering manuals.

When Pat Clancy’s six-wheeled machine arrived at Indianapolis in 1948, it was outfitted with Halibrand magnesium wheels. In 1951, Lee Wallard won the 500 with Halibrand mag wheels, and his disc brakes were aboard Bill Vukovich’s 1953 winner.

In fact, Halibrand quick-change rear-end assemblies, steering gears and suspension components were on every Indianapolis 500 winner from 1951 until 1965. With the advent of the rear-engine car, Halibrand had begun building complete chassis, named the Shrike, which were outfitted with an innovative fuel cell.


TRACY HINES

When it comes to USAC racing, Tracy Hines is one of the most recognizable names in the history of the organization and also one of the most accomplished.

The New Castle, Indiana native grew up in a racing family with father, Jim, and brother, Ted, being highly successful midget racing champions in their own right. Eventually, Tracy made a name for himself by spending the majority of a quarter-century competing full-time in USAC’s three national divisions.

In 1996, he burst onto the national scene following a fiery incident. In his first race back from injury, he scored his first career USAC National Midget victory at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, which propelled him to the series’ Most Improved Driver Award.

Hines captured his first USAC title in 2000 with the Silver Crown series, and in 2002, added a National Sprint title. After announcing his retirement midseason in 2015, he finished the year by completing the Triple Crown as Midget champ.

Hines owns 91 USAC National wins across its three divisions, 47 of which have come in Sprint Cars, 35 in Midgets and nine with the Silver Crown series, and won at least one USAC National feature in 19 straight years between 1996-2014.


TERRY LINGNER

Terry Lingner was among the greatest creative forces behind USAC’s national revival during the 1980s and 1990s as the brainchild of USAC’s Thursday and Saturday Night Thunder programs on ESPN.

“Thunder” galvanized multiple generations of race fans and turned grassroots racers into household names. The names are golden, with the likes of Rich Vogler, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kenny Irwin Jr., Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and more all finding their initial fame in front of a national audience on “Thunder.”

The Indianapolis, Indiana-born Lingner was hired as ESPN’s second ever employee in the production department in 1980 following a stint as Associate Producer for ABC Sports in the late 1970s, working alongside Jim McKay.

Lingner choreographed numerous auto racing programs for ESPN during the 1980s, including Speedweek and Speedworld, for which he was honored as the recipient of numerous Emmy and Cable Ace awards. In 1989, he formed his own business – Lingner Group Productions – which continued to produce USAC’s Thunder series until the final episode in 2002.

In 1989, Lingner received the prestigious USAC President's Award from Dick King, and in 1993, was instrumental in the creation of the memorable Fast Masters Championship held at Indianapolis Raceway Park.


BILL MARVEL

Bill Marvel’s contributions to the sports world are incomparable. As a charter member of USAC, he was present in victory lane during the first event at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Memorial Coliseum in 1956, presenting winner Gene Hartley a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans jacket, of which he was the president of at the time.

He served as USAC Corporate Advisor from 1978-1982 and as the Vice President/Corporate Affairs from 1983-1997 and as the Executive Director of the USAC Benevolent Foundation. In 1997, Marvel was presented the Ross Hadley Achievement Award, and in 2014, was the recipient of the Roger McCluskey Award.

Marvel was the News Media Liaison Officer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1953-1967, then served as General Manager & Director of Public Relations at Pocono Raceway, Texas World Speedway, Trenton Speedway, the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Winchester Speedway.

He was Editor & Publisher of Charger Auto Racing News, and in the media, he was a reporter for WIBC and a Color Commentator for Indianapolis 500 activities on WISH-TV in Indianapolis.

He also had his hand in the film industry as a consultant for the 1969 movie, "Winning,” and organized the first USAC indoor dirt midget race at Houston Astrodome.

THE WILKE FAMILY

The Wisconsin-based Wilke family has been integrally involved with USAC since the series’ foundation in 1956, spanning four generations in the sport that continues to this very day.

Family patriarch Bob Wilke fielded entries in USAC’s National Championship, Sprint, Midget and Road Racing divisions, taking Leader Card Racers to six USAC National entrant championships in 1959-60-62-64-67-68 and has amassed a total of 136 USAC National feature victories, which ranks fifth all-time.

Among the victories were three Indianapolis 500 triumphs with Rodger Ward in 1959 and 1962 and once again with Bobby Unser in 1968.

Bob’s son, Ralph Wilke, carried the torch as a car owner, winning 16 USAC National Midget features, plus USAC Dirt Car Championships in 1971 with George Snider and in 1979 with Bobby Olivero.

Ralph’s USAC Midgets were driven by the era’s greatest with Don Branson, Chuck Weyant, Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones, Bobby Marshman, Bob Tattersall, Bob Wente and Johnny White all winning for the team, while Mike Mosley scored victories for the team’s Indy Car operation in the 1970s.

Ralph’s sons, Mark and Greg, became involved in car ownership during the 1980s, winning in Silver Crown competition with Rich Vogler and Stevie Reeves. As Wilke Racers, USAC National Midget championships were earned in 1984, 1987, 2005 and 2007 with drivers such as Rich Vogler, Kevin Olson, Tracy Hines and Jerry Coons Jr. at the helm.

A fourth generation Wilke, Greg’s son Chris, joined the team as a mechanic and fabricator in the 21st century, and also served as the promoter of Angell Park Speedway. Nikki Klepper (Wilke), Greg’s daughter, has worked in the front office of USAC for several years in charge of licensing, and recently, has taken on the role as head of USAC’s Benevolent Foundation – USAC RaceAid.

USAC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:

2012: J.C. Agajanian, Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Binford, Jimmy Bryan, Duane Carter, A.J. Foyt, Tony Hulman, Parnelli Jones, Mel Kenyon, Roger McCluskey & Rich Vogler

2013: Earl Baltes, Henry Banks, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Jack Hewitt, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, A.J. Watson, Don White & Bob Wilke

2014: Rollie Beale, George Bignotti, Don Branson, Larry Dickson, Gus Hoffman, Jud Larson, Norm Nelson, Eddie Sachs, Don Smith, Bob Stroud, Rodger Ward & Bob Wente

2015: Clint Brawner, Jimmy Caruthers, Butch Hartman, Lindsey Hopkins, Jim Hurtubise, Don Kenyon, Sheldon Kinser, Fred Lorenzen, Roger Penske, Larry Rice, Shorty Templeman & Sleepy Tripp

2016: Steve Butler, Russ Clendenen, Jimmy Davies, Willie Davis, Bob Higman, Tommy Hinnershitz, Dick King, Rick Mears, Pat O’Connor, Kevin Olson, Tony Stewart & Bob Tattersall

2017: Donald Davidson, Frankie DelRoy, Bob East, Chuck Gurney, Gene Hartley, Steve Lewis, Howard Linne, Lloyd Ruby, Ken Schrader, Robbie Stanley, Steve Stapp & Johnny Thomson

2018: Mike Devin, Tony Elliott, Paul Goldsmith, Jason Leffler, Bill Lipkey, Troy Ruttman, Bob/Gene Shannon & Jimmy Sills

2019: Bryan Clauson, Johnny Capels, Dick Jordan & Dave Steele

2020: None

2021: None

2022: Doug Caruthers, Jay Drake, Galen Fox, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, Ray Nichels, Johnny Vance & Joe Shaheen

2023: Bobby East, Ted Halibrand, Tracy Hines, Terry Lingner, Bill Marvel & The Wilke Family


 


CIRCLE K FOR KYLE:
CUMMINS REPEATS CIRCLE CITY SUCCESS
AT USAC ISW ROUND 4

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (July 24, 2023)………”I love this place.”

Kyle Cummins isn’t shy in sharing his fondness for Circle City Raceway, and it was quite evident to see why during Monday night’s fourth round of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing.

In the sixth ever visit by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship to the 1/4-mile dirt oval on the southeast side of Indianapolis, Indiana, not only did the Princeton, Ind. native become the first two-time feature winner at the track, he also became the first driver to win back-to-back series events at the venue after previously scoring a victory in May of this year.

Starting his 30-lap pursuit from the fifth position, Cummins raced his way into the lead with a turn one slider on leader Xavier Doney with 11 laps remaining to earn his fourth USAC National Sprint Car main event triumph of the season and the 18th of his career, surpassing Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise and Bud Kaeding for sole possession of 34th all-time.

Cummins’ first USAC win in more than five weeks also was the seventh of his Indiana Sprint Week career, moving him up to sixth place on the all-time list, tying himself with Bryan Clauson and C.J. Leary. His seven ISW wins have come at five different racetracks since his initial score in 2016, but this particular one was of utmost importance as much as it was needed after opening the first three nights of Indiana Sprint Week with results of 6th, 19th and 18th.

“I love this place,” Cummins exclaimed. “You’ve got to run hard, then you’ve got to be easy. You just need the cushion a little bit and be really nice with the throttle. This is a big win for our team. We’ve struggled for the past two months.”

Additionally, Cummins and his Avanti Windows & Doors – Tim Mason ReMax/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy delivered the 25th USAC National Sprint Car entrant win for car owner Hank Byram and Rock Steady Racing, boosting the Dupont, Ind. based team to 20th all-time alongside National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Bob Hampshire.

The front row of the feature showcased two young talents, both of whom were vying for their first career USAC National Sprint Car feature victories. Doney delivered the first punch, driving to the lead from his pole starting position while outside front row starter Carson Garrett slotted into second.

Soon after, Garrett went on the attack and posed the first challenge to Doney for the lead. On the fourth lap, Garrett took off to the outside, pulling even with Doney as the pair crossed the start/finish line with both touching wheels. The resulting contact required Garrett to recalibrate, and he began to re-pursue Doney on the low line.

On lap six, Garrett was able to slide past Doney for the position in lap three. However, seemingly expecting the maneuver, Doney tapped the brakes and pointed his car’s nose toward the bottom of turn four to drive past Garrett and retain the lead for the time being. That is, until lap eight when Garrett tried again and succeeded with a turn two slide job that put him at the forefront of the 22-car field.

Garrett’s lead was relatively short-lived, however, after performing a half-spin in turn two on lap 10, which allowed Doney to race back by into the lead while Garrett free-fell all the way to fifth as Doney, Cummins, Logan Seavey and Brady Bacon all blitzed by to capitalize on the Garrett stumble.

The feature’s lone red flag was displayed on lap 15 when eighth running Mitchel Moles flipped atop the outside wall between turns one and two. Moles was able to walk away, albeit gingerly, as the Circle City USAC one-lap track record holder saw his race conclude prematurely.

When action resumed, Doney established a solid restart which provided him with a healthy cushion in the lead as the race passed the midway point. All along, from lap one, Cummins was right there with the leaders. On lap 20, he was ready to pounce, sliding Doney in turns one and two. Doney returned fire by sliding Cummins a half-lap later in turn three. Cummins was ready and countered back underneath in turn four to repossess the number one spot from Doney with a mere 10 laps to go.

“He was hitting his marks perfectly,” Cummins said of Doney. “One time, he got a little sideways, and I thought it might be my only chance, but I didn’t think I was going to fully slide him. I went to the middle, and I didn’t hear him, so I was like, ‘well, maybe he tried to turn down.’ So, I got to the cushion. If he would’ve ran around, he would’ve just taken back the lead.”

Lurking in the shadows was Indiana Sprint Week point leader Bacon who rode the bottom past Doney for second on the 21st circuit, and it appeared as if the final 10-lap tussle was going to become a heavyweight, high/low match between he and Cummins.

However, on lap 23, in one of the more unexpected turn of events you’ll ever witness, Bacon proceeded to clip an infield tire with his left front in turns three and four, which slid him into a stall and stop. The incident proved costly as it dropped Bacon from a possible victory down to 16th in the running order. It also cost him his lead in both the overall USAC Sprint Car National Championship as well as the Indiana Sprint Week title race, a lead in which he now shares with Justin Grant, who finished 11th at Circle City.

Cummins wasn’t going to allow himself to be detained by his competitors as he raced away from the field on the restart. Instead, the battles ensued behind him with Seavey swiping third from Doney with an outside back straightaway pass on lap 24. Meanwhile, Shane Cottle was putting on a patented Shane Cottle-like performance, surging on the low line to fourth after starting back in 12th.

Seavey’s conquest continued with a slider on Doney for second as the field came to the white flag on lap 29 before nipping him at the stripe for the spot with one lap remaining.

Up further ahead, Cummins wasn’t going to be denied on his journey to victory lane, winning by a 2.453 second margin over Seavey. Cottle grabbed third at the finish line with new USAC National Sprint Car point leader Emerson Axsom fourth and Doney finishing a career best fifth after leading a race-high 17 laps.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) earned his best finish of the USAC National Sprint Car season with a second-place performance in his 2B Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Benic Enterprises – Goodnight Racing/DRC/Claxton Chevy. It was his first finish on the podium with the series since scoring a third in April of this year at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) once again earned J & J Trucking Hard Charger honors, doing so for the third time in four Indiana Sprint Week starts in this year’s edition. On this night, he officially traveled 12th to third for his best finish of the USAC National Sprint Car season. He was running ninth with as few as 10 laps to go and was still sixth with six to go before making his surge to the podium in his Epperson Racing/Epperson Painting – PPG Paints/DRC/Claxton Chevy.

C.J. Leary drew a “74” during the pre-race pill draw, which made him the last driver to make an Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying attempt of the night. Despite that, Leary posted the fastest time of all for the second night in a row with a time of 11.990 seconds. In his first 21 appearances of the 2023 USAC National Sprint Car season, the Greenfield, Ind. driver had zero fast times. In his last two appearances, he has two. It's the 43rd fast qualifying time of his career, putting him just two behind Brady Bacon for fourth all-time.

Four drivers got upside down throughout the event with Tayte Williamson flipping down the back straight in hot laps. Matt McDonald left the ballpark by clearing the outside wall in turns one and two on his qualifying run. Dalton Stevens tipped his ride after he clipped an infield tire during the fourth heat race. Moles was the last one to get on his lid with lap 15 incident during the feature. All drivers were able to walk away.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 24, 2023 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-11.990; 2. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.106; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.139; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.144; 5. Max Adams, 17GP, Dutcher-12.149; 6. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.162; 7. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.169; 8. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-12.212; 9. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.229; 10. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-12.244; 11. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.296; 12. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-12.300; 13. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.340; 14. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.348; 15. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.371; 16. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Ensign-12.376; 17. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.379; 18. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.485; 19. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-12.490; 20. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.519; 21. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-12.521; 22. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.543; 23. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.551; 24. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-12.566; 25. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-12.571; 26. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-12.573; 27. Kyle Shipley, 0G, Shipley-12.596; 28. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-12.699; 29. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.737; 30. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.756; 31. John Sluss, 4R, RayPro-12.774;; 32. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-12.793; 33. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-12.893; 34. Matt McDonald, 5m, McDonald-13.223; 35. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-13.270; 36. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.545; 37. Tayte Williamson, 20, Williamson-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Sterling Cling, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Max Adams, 8. Trey Osborne, 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Xavier Doney, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Rylan Gray, 9. Justin Zimmerman. 2:09.48

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Kyle Shipley, 8. John Sluss, 9. Troy Carey. 2:11.70

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Brent Beauchamp, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Braxton Cummings, 5. Geoff Ensign, 6. Kobe Simpson, 7. Travis Millar, 8. Dalton Stevens. 2:13.01

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Geoff Ensign, 8. Stevie Sussex, 9. Kyle Shipley, 10. Trey Osborne, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 12. Max Adams, 13. Rylan Gray, 14. Justin Zimmerman, 15. Kobe Simpson, 16. Troy Carey, 17. John Sluss, 18. Travis Millar. 2:46.53

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

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Xavier Doney, Laps 8-9 Carson Garrett, Laps 10-19 Xavier Doney, Laps 20-30 Kyle Cummins.

**Tayte Williamson flipped during practice. Matt McDonald flipped during qualifying. Dalton Stevens flipped during the fourth heat. Mitchel Moles flipped on lap 15 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-1442, 2-Brady Bacon-1423, 3-Justin Grant-1408, 4-Jake Swanson-1397, 5-Kyle Cummins-1341, 6-C.J. Leary-1302, 7-Mitchel Moles-1228, 8-Robert Ballou-1184, 9-Chase Stockon-1162, 10-Daison Pursley-1156.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-259, 2-Brady Bacon-259, 3-Emerson Axsom-249, 4-Robert Ballou-230, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-220, 6-Kyle Cummins-205, 7-C.J. Leary-204, 8-Shane Cottle-204, 9-Logan Seavey-202, 10-Carson Garrett-195.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-135, 2-Logan Seavey-81, 3-Matt Westfall-78, 4-Robert Ballou-70, 5-Brady Bacon-68, 6-Justin Grant-67, 7-Chase Stockon-61, 8-Emerson Axsom-57, 9-Shane Cottle-55, 10-Mitchel Moles-46.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-42, 2-Joey Amantea-42, 3-Brady Bacon-35, 4-Logan Seavey-29, 5-Braxton Cummings-29, 6-Robert Ballou-27, 7-Daison Pursley-27, 8-Mitchel Moles-22, 9-Emerson Axsom-19, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-17.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 26, 2023 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing – Don Smith Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Brady Bacon (12.142)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (11.990)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Robert Ballou

Hard Work Award: Matt Westfall

Green APU First Lap Leader: Xavier Doney

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (12th to 3rd)

 

OUTWIT, OUTPLAY, OUTLAST:
GRANT WINS A WILD ONE AT THE BURG

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (July 23, 2023)………With five laps remaining, hopes of winning were fleeting for Justin Grant during Sunday night’s third round of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Yet that’s precisely when the Ione, Calif. native was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

After leading the initial 23 laps of the 30-lap feature, Grant could only watch as C.J. Leary passed by and pulled away from him with just a handful of laps remaining.

But then, a crazy thing little thing happened, which actually kind of went along with the theme of the night. Just when you thought you had this race figured out, suddenly, it turned on a dime. Seemingly he only thing one could expect throughout was the unexpected.

As Leary began to distance himself from Grant on lap 26, Leary got bitten by the third turn, which chewed him and spit him out, sending him flipping over several times and denying him the glory on this evening one night after winning at Kokomo Speedway.

Re-enter Grant as the leader, and this time, he was unshaken, unstirred and untouchable as he closed out The Burg with his second Indiana Sprint Week victory during the first three nights of the event, scoring dubs at both Gas City I-69 Speedway and at Lawrenceburg.

Grant’s fifth win of the USAC National Sprint Car season equaled him with Brady Bacon as the winningest series driver in 2023. Furthermore, Grant’s 39th career series victory moved him inside the top-10 all-time in that regard, knotting him up with Kevin Thomas Jr. for the 10th most wins in series history.

And this one came at the place where it all started. It’s where Grant earned his very first career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph during Indiana Sprint Week at Lawrenceburg in 2012. Grant’s Burg score was his fifth overall series win at the track and his third during ISW at the southeastern Indiana oval after previous winning moments in 2012 and 2019.

Grant now stands fifth overall in career Indiana Sprint Week wins with eight, moving past Bryan Clauson and Leary, ironically, for sole possession of the position in the all-time rankings. Furthermore, Grant extended his lead as the winningest sprint car driver ever at Lawrenceburg’s 3/8-mile dirt oval.

It was inarguably an inauspicious beginning to the night’s main event with an hour-long rain delay hitting the speedway just as the cars were pushed off for the start of the feature the first time. When Mother Nature cleaned up her act, the event proceeded, but not for long as it turned out.

On the initial attempt at the green, wheel-to-wheel contact between second row starters Jake Swanson and Alex Bright sent Bright launching into a combination of eight flips and somersaults down the front straightaway. After taking careful precautions during the extrication, Bright was placed on a stretcher and even waved to the crowd while being loaded into the ambulance. Bright received lung contusions and a broken wrist in the aftermath of the vicious incident and vowed to return as soon he’s healed up.

On the complete restart, Grant shot out to the lead from his outside front row starting position and remained at the forefront for the majority of the contest. By lap 10, Grant had caught lapped traffic, allowing second-running Carson Garrett to close in and cut Grant's advantage in half to just a few car lengths.

At the halfway mark, Garrett showed his nose for the first time to Grant as the pair dueled for the lead in turn one on lap 16. Garrett ricocheted off the back straightaway wall in his pursuit of Grant for the lead on lap 20, but Grant escaped the clutches and extended his lead to a half-straight.

That kickstarted an unfathomable flurry of misfortune for several contenders at the front of the field, starting with Garrett on lap 23, who slammed the outside wall and grinded to a halt, the victim of a flat right rear tire that went down at the entry to turn three. The incident ended Garrett’s night with a 21st place result.

On the ensuing lap 25 restart, third-running Leary made a most spectacular move as he committed himself to the top shelf and charged around the outside of Swanson for second in turn two, then split down to the bottom of turns three and four to rip the lead away from Grant in an incredible third to first surge. It was a time that Grant remembered as the moment in which he felt the race might’ve slipped away.

“I was kind of sliding myself and I felt like I was making pretty good speed there, sliding myself and then C.J. slid me,” Grant recalled. “I felt like I really messed up because I felt we were the better car there and I was coming back to him. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for him, he got into that hole.”

Just as Grant foreshadowed, moments later, the race went from being the best of times for Leary to the worst of times as he dug in with his right rear tire in turn three and flipped over, erasing him out of the lead and the win in a fraction of a second. The crash also ended Leary’s pursuit of a complete sweep after earlier setting quick time in Honest Abe Roofing qualifying and scoring a victory in the first heat race.

Under the red flag, Grant’s wife, Ashley, signaled from the front row of the grandstands to the new race leader how Leary was able to get such a run on him, and to be on the lookout for a similar maneuver from another driver on the upcoming restart, of which there were aplenty on this night.

“Lawrenceburg, with its long, slick front straightaway, it’s hard not to get slid into one,” Grant explained. “You want to slide yourself, but then it gets to a place where you almost have to decide which end do I want to get slid on? I know I can get slid in one and two and get back to them in three and four. I messed it up once, but we got a break.”

However, the roller coaster of emotions and the carousel of calamity continued with fourth running Robert Ballou moments later with three laps remaining as his left side wheels biked up on the bottom of turn three, resulting in him barrel-rolling four times up to the outside wall before landing on all four wheels with a crashed racecar. He walked away, but the incident relegated him back to an 18th place result.

On the final restart, Grant decided to end this one once and for all, withstanding and dispelling the pressure from Swanson during the final stretch to win by a 0.486 second margin over Swanson.

Brady Bacon charged from his 22nd starting spot to take third, inserting himself on the podium with a last lap pass of Kevin Thomas Jr. on the back straight. Thomas took fourth while Daison Pursley scurried up a couple more spots on the final restart to finish fifth.

A rocky start to Indiana Sprint Week for Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) resulted in a pair of 16th place finishes at Gas City and Kokomo. But the third race was finally the charm as he grabbed his best result since winning six weeks ago during the Eastern Storm opener at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway on June 13. At Lawrenceburg, he collected a runner-up result in his Team AZ Racing/Racing For Autism Awareness – Apache Transport/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

All’s well that ends well was the motto for Bacon’s adventurous evening at Lawrenceburg. The Broken Arrow, Okla. driver initially timed in third quickest during qualifying, but was deemed underweight at the scales, which disallowed his time and forced him to start at the tail for all proceeding events throughout the night. Bacon then proceeded to race from ninth to fourth in his heat race and from 22nd to 3rd in the feature to earn J & J Trucking / B & A Seal Coating Hard Charger honors aboard his Dynamics, Inc./Longworth Equipment – Mays-Shedd Sales & Service/Triple X/Rider Chevy. It wasn’t a win but might as well have been as it helped preserve his lead atop the Indiana Sprint Week standings.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 23, 2023 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-13.312; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-13.477; 3. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.531; 4. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-13.592; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.600; 6. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.626; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.702; 8. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.720; 9. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-13.732; 10. Max Adams, 17GP, Dutcher-13.743; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.765; 12. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-13.765; 13. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.825; 14. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.829; 15. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.846; 16. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.849; 17. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.982; 18. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-14.010; 19. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-14.044; 20. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-14.139; 21. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-14.153; 22. Nathan Carle, 14c, Carle-14.170; 23. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-14.193; 24. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-14.222; 25. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-14.246; 26. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-14.404; 27. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.439; 28. Tyler Hewitt, 118, Evans-14.505; 29. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-14.526; 30. Tayte Williamson, 20, Williamson-15.038; 31. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-15.151; 32. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-NT; 33. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-NT; 34. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-NT; 35. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-NT (Time of 13.507 disallowed after being underweight at the scales).

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Joey Amantea, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Justin Zimmerman, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Kobe Simpson. 1:56.09

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Saban Bibent, 6. Max Adams, 7. Tayte Williamson, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Nathan Carle. NT

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Dalton Stevens, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Troy Carey. 2:01.08

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Alex Bright, 3. Travis Millar, 4. Xavier Doney, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Tyler Hewitt, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Ryan Barr. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Max Adams, 4. Sterling Cling, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Braxton Cummings, 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Logan Seavey, 9. Justin Zimmerman, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 11. Tayte Williamson, 12. Tyler Hewitt, 13. Nathan Carle, 14. Kobe Simpson, 15. Troy Carey, 16. Dalton Stevens. 3:10.49

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Jake Swanson (4), 3. Brady Bacon (22), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 5. Daison Pursley (11), 6. Mitchel Moles (7), 7. Joey Amantea (18), 8. Xavier Doney (14), 9. Emerson Axsom (15), 10. Chase Stockon (9), 11. Max Adams (12), 12. Matt Westfall (10), 13. Logan Seavey (23-P), 14. Brandon Mattox (17), 15. Sterling Cling (16), 16. Shane Cottle (19), 17. Travis Millar (20), 18. Kyle Cummins (13), 19. Robert Ballou (8), 20. C.J. Leary (6), 21. Carson Garrett (1), 22. Braxton Cummings (21), 23. Alex Bright (3). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-23 Justin Grant, Laps 24-25 C.J. Leary, Laps 26-30 Justin Grant.

**Logan Calderwood flipped during practice. Alex Bright flipped on lap 1 of the feature. C.J. Leary flipped on lap 26 of the feature. Robert Ballou flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1381, 2-Emerson Axsom-1373, 3-Justin Grant-1361, 4-Jake Swanson-1340, 5-Kyle Cummins-1266, 6-C.J. Leary-1247, 7-Mitchel Moles-1197, 8-Robert Ballou-1123, 9-Chase Stockon-1117, 10-Daison Pursley-1106.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-217, 2-Justin Grant-212, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-190, 4-Emerson Axsom-180, 5-Robert Ballou-169, 6-Mitchel Moles-160, 7-C.J. Leary-149, 8-Shane Cottle-134, 9-Carson Garrett-132, 10-Kyle Cummins-130.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-129, 2-Logan Seavey-80, 3-Matt Westfall-70, 4-Brady Bacon-68, 5-Justin Grant-67, 6-Robert Ballou-67, 7-Chase Stockon-60, 8-Emerson Axsom-53, 9-Mitchel Moles-46, 10-Shane Cottle-46.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-32, 2-Brady Bacon-30, 3-Joey Amantea-30, 4-Braxton Cummings-28, 5-Logan Seavey-26, 6-Robert Ballou-22, 7-Daison Pursley-21, 8-Mitchel Moles-20, 9-Emerson Axsom-15, 10-Travis Millar-15.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 24, 2023 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: C.J. Leary (13.432)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (13.312)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Matt Westfall

Hard Work Award: Brady Bacon

Green APU First Lap Leader: Justin Grant

J & J Trucking / B & A Seal Coating Hard Charger: Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)


 


FROM DESPAIR TO WINNING WITH A SPARE:
LEARY SCORES BIG AT KOKOMO

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (July 22, 2023)………After enduring a vicious flip during the previous night's feature that wiped out their primary ride, C.J. Leary and BGE Dougherty Motorsports turned to a car that had been sitting on jackstands for the past three years and had never seen a racetrack, let alone even touched the ground.

With body panels adorned in the look Leary sported during the 2020 season when he drove the family-owned No. 30, the Greenfield, Ind. native and his Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete - Highsmith Guns - Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/DRC/1-Way Chevy hit the ground running during Saturday night’s Darland Classic at Kokomo Speedway.

Starting fifth on the grid, Leary became the third and final driver to race into first place when race leader Brady Bacon stumbled upon the turn two cushion with six laps remaining, opening the door for Leary to drive past and earn his seventh career USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing victory, moving him into a tie for fifth all-time alongside Bryan Clauson and Justin Grant.

Leary, who captured the Indiana Sprint Week title in 2019, also moved inside the top-30 in all-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victories. His 22nd career triumph moved him ahead of 1967 series champion Greg Weld and into a four-way tie for 29th all-time alongside Rick Hood, Bubby Jones and Sammy Sessions.

Clawing his way back from the depths of despair following a massive feature crash on Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway to the joy of achieving his third USAC win of the season, and first since early May, Leary was overjoyed with the result of his hard work coming to fruition.

“Man, this is huge,” Leary exclaimed. “I’m sick, I’m worn out, and the last night really put a hurt on me. Last night was unfortunate and I feel like we had a good car; it just happened so fast. We stayed up all night last night building this thing. This car has never been raced, and tonight’s the first night on it. We built this thing new in 2020 and it’s just been sitting.”

It didn’t sit idle for long during feature time, however, although Leary initially fell back two spots to seventh in the early going before settling into a groove. Meanwhile, up front, outside front row starter Jake Swanson rang around the topside to lead the opening two laps before third-starting Bacon took over the lead on lap three when Jake Swanson nearly turned over on the turn three cushion. Kyle Cummins also scooted past, slotting into second as Swanson dropped to third.

Cummins soon tracked down and caught up with Bacon on lap seven, and just as he was making his bid for the lead off the exit of turn four, it turned out to be all for naught as 19th running Braxton Cummings spun around to a stop in turn two.

When action got back underway, soon, a battle for fourth had developed between Swanson and Mitchel Moles, both of whom resided in the top-two of the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment standings entering Kokomo, which served as round six of ten for the season long miniseries.

However, the battle for position between the two soon became among the most spectacular incidents of the entire USAC season. As Swanson worked a lower line, Moles occupied the high road as he attempted to work his was around Swanson. Exiting turn four on lap eight, real estate was at a premium as the two came together on the front straight. Moles’ car then ramped up the wall and tore down layers of catch fencing.

Severe damage was immediately evident on Moles' machine with much of the front half of the car shredded into pieces along the 1/4-mile dirt oval’s surface. Moles climbed away from the wreckage while Swanson was beset by a flat right rear tire. Swanson returned with fresh rubber, but only managed to work his way back to a 16th place finish.

Sitting sixth at the time of the incident, under the red flag, C.J.’s father, past USAC Midget and Silver Crown Rookie of the Year driver Chuck Leary, was there on the scene to assist C.J. But, as it turned out, all C.J. needed was a different plan of attack.

“Under the red, my dad came up to the fence and asked me what I needed,” C.J. recalled. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ I just didn’t think we were that good. I really hadn’t cowboy’d up or went four in the fluff that hard. Honestly, I felt like the 3R was probably the best car.”

Soon after the lap eight restart, trouble became evident with the right front shock tower on the 3R of Cummins as his front wheels constantly dangled, creating quite a tumultuous ride for the winner of the last two USAC Sprint Car features at Kokomo dating back to August of 2022. Ultimately, the night’s Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier became a non-factor as he was plagued with his car’s ongoing mechanical issues, ultimately finishing 19th.

On that same lap eight restart, the suddenly surgent Carson Garrett was showcasing his presence, driving under Cummins on the restart for second, then slid past Bacon for the lead in turn two on lap 10. Bacon was initially able to fend off Garrett by driving back under in turn two to retain the spot, but Garrett came right back on the bottom on lap 11 to take over up front.

Bacon found the diamond line over in turns three and four and charged back into the lead past Garrett on lap 17. Leary followed suit and mimicked the same such pattern to race past his teammate for second on the 18th trip.

Leary carved into Bacon’s lead during the ensuing laps, and with six to go, was in a prime spot when Bacon’s right rear tire ricocheted off the turn two cushion, which kicked him sideways and scrubbed his momentum. Leary, with a full head of steam, freight-trained his way under Bacon and into the lead.

From that point forward, total control belonged to Leary who opened up the gap to 1.413 seconds by race’s end as he captured his second career Indiana Sprint Week feature win at Kokomo, also doing so in 2020. Brady Bacon grabbed second with Carson Garrett third, Emerson Axsom fourth and Logan Seavey fifth.

Sooner or later, one of these days, Brady Bacon is going to win one of these darned things. On this night, the Broken Arrow, Okla. native collected his eighth career runner-up finish in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo Speedway, just missing out on his first triumph after leading a race-high 16 laps in his Dynamics, Inc./Hartley Brothers Farms – Tel-Star Technologies/Triple X/Rider Chevy. The 2016 Indiana Sprint Week champion did, however, rise to the top spot in the ISW standings by virtue of his performance.

Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) led his first career Indiana Sprint Week laps midway through the Kokomo feature en route to his best career ISW finish of third in his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete – Leary Shock Technology/DRC/1-Way Chevy. His previous best Indiana Sprint Week finish was 20th.

In qualifying, Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) recorded his 14th career fast qualifying time with the USAC National Sprint Cars. That moved him into 34th all-time alongside Billy Cassella, Tyler Courtney and Damion Gardner.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 22, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing – Darland Classic

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.924; 2. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.957; 3. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.005; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.006; 5. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.023; 6. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.056; 7. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-13.075; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.112; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.116; 10. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-13.145; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-13.147; 12. Max Adams, 17GP, Dutcher-13.172; 13. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.205; 14. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-13.283; 15. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-13.298; 16. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.347; 17. Dave Darland, 36D, Darland/Curb-Agajanian-13.399; 18. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.405; 19. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-13.439; 20. Brent Beauchamp, 34B, Olson-13.468; 21. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.470; 22. Tyler Hewitt, 118, Evans-13.511; 23. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.517; 24. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.528; 25. Geoff Ensign, 17, On The Gass-13.535; 26. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.537; 27. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-13.558; 28. Jadon Rogers, 14, 4J Motorsports-13.563; 29. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-13.638; 30. Tim Creech, 31, Creech-13.644; 31. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-13.659; 32. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-13.661; 33. Brayden Clark, 42G, Jackson/Clark-13.663; 34. Colten Cottle, 57, Hazen-13.663; 35. Parker Frederickson, 34F, Frederickson-13.667; 36. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-13.683; 37. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-13.707; 38. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-13.737; 39. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.745; 40. Noah Whitehouse, 00, Whitehouse-13.748; 41. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-13.751; 42. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-13.773; 43. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-13.773; 44. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-13.795; 45. Cole Bodine, 57B, Bodine-13.816; 46. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-13.822; 47. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-13.901; 48. Larry Kingseed Jr., 59, Powell-13.992; 49. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-14.070; 50. Tyler Kendall, 20, Kendall-14.079; 51. Devan Myers, 75, Myers-14.098; 52. Jack James, 99, James-14.382; 53. Tyler Miller, 67, Miller-15.277; 54. Bryar Schroeter, 21s, Schroeter-15.300.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Zack Pretorius, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Geoff Ensign, 8. Brayden Clark, 9. Xavier Doney, 10. Logan Calderwood, 11. Dalton Stevens, 12. Cole Bodine, 13. Troy Carey, 14. Tyler Miller. 2:13.79

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Tyler Hewitt, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Colten Cottle, 8. Tim Creech, 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 10. Ryan Barr, 11. Tyler Kendall, 12. Justin Zimmerman, 13. Bryar Schroeter, 14. Trey Osborne. 2:15.68

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Parker Frederickson, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Kobe Simpson, 10. Rylan Gray, 11. Sterling Cling, 12. Devan Myers, 13. Dustin Ingle. 2:15.57

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Joey Amantea, 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. Max Adams, 9. Travis Millar, 10. Saban Bibent, 11. Jack James, 12. Noah Whitehouse, 13. Larry Kingseed Jr. NT

THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL D-MAIN: (8 laps, top-2 transfer to the C-Main) 1. Rylan Gray, 2. Tyler Kendall, 3. Justin Zimmerman, 4. Devan Myers, 5. Troy Carey, 6. Tyler Miller, 7. Bryar Schroeter. 1:54.62

STEEL-IT C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Joey Amantea, 2. Braxton Cummings, 3. Saban Bibent, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Colten Cottle, 6. Brayden Clark, 7. Parker Frederickson, 8. Ryan Barr, 9. Rylan Gray, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 11. Kobe Simpson, 12. Dalton Stevens, 13. Sterling Cling, 14. Logan Calderwood, 15. Travis Millar, 16. Tyler Kendall. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Geoff Ensign, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Braxton Cummings, 5. Trey Osborne, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Joey Amantea, 8. Alex Bright, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Dustin Ingle, 11. Max Adams, 12. Xavier Doney, 13. Charles Davis Jr., 14. Jadon Rogers, 15. Tyler Hewitt, 16. Cole Bodine, 17. Tim Creech, 18. Saban Bibent. 2:55.86

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (5), 2. Brady Bacon (3), 3. Carson Garrett (1), 4. Emerson Axsom (8), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Robert Ballou (12), 7. Justin Grant (11), 8. Shane Cottle (20), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 10. Daison Pursley (17), 11. Stevie Sussex (10), 12. Brent Beauchamp (18), 13. Chase Stockon (9), 14. Braxton Cummings (22), 15. Brandon Mattox (15), 16. Jake Swanson (2), 17. Matt Westfall (16), 18. Geoff Ensign (21), 19. Kyle Cummins (6), 20. Trey Osborne (14), 21. Zack Pretorius (19), 22. Mitchel Moles (4). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Jake Swanson, Laps 3-10 Brady Bacon, Laps 11-16 Carson Garrett, Laps 17-24 Brady Bacon, Laps 25-30 C.J. Leary.

**Mitchel Moles flipped on lap 8 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-1324, 2-Brady Bacon-1312, 3-Justin Grant-1283, 4-Jake Swanson-1264, 5-Kyle Cummins-1233, 6-C.J. Leary-1210, 7-Mitchel Moles-1134, 8-Robert Ballou-1090, 9-Chase Stockon-1066, 10-Daison Pursley-1043.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-148, 2-Robert Ballou-136, 3-Justin Grant-134, 4-Emerson Axsom-131, 5-Logan Seavey-119, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-118, 7-C.J. Leary-112, 8-Carson Garrett-101, 9-Mitchel Moles-97, 10-Kyle Cummins-97.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-123, 2-Logan Seavey-80, 3-Matt Westfall-70, 4-Robert Ballou-67, 5-Justin Grant-66, 6-Chase Stockon-60, 7-Brady Bacon-49, 8-Emerson Axsom-47, 9-Mitchel Moles-45, 10-Carson Garrett-43.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-29, 2-Braxton Cummings-24, 3-Robert Ballou-20, 4-Joey Amantea-19, 5-Mitchel Moles-15, 6-Logan Seavey-15, 7-Daison Pursley-15, 8-Geoff Ensign-13, 9-Cole Bodine-13, 10-Travis Millar-12.

BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOIN’ FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-400, 2-C.J. Leary-386, 3-Jake Swanson-379, 4-Brady Bacon-376, 5-Mitchel Moles-371, 6-Daison Pursley-327, 7-Kyle Cummins-321, 8-Justin Grant-312, 9-Chase Stockon-304, 10-Robert Ballou-267.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 23, 2023 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Daison Pursley (13.190)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Kyle Cummins (12.924)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Chase Stockon

The Frolic Bar & Grill D-Main Winner: Rylan Gray

Steel-It C-Main Winner: Joey Amantea

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Brandon Mattox

Hard Work Award: Braxton Cummings

Green APU First Lap Leader: Jake Swanson

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (20th to 8th)

 

PHOTO FINISH!
GRANT OPENS USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
WITH LAST LAP WIN AT GAS CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Gas City, Indiana (July 21, 2023)………Justin Grant had been in this very position before during the Gas City I-69 Speedway round of USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing.

In this very same scenario one year ago, the Ione, Calif. native had the victory ripped away from him during the final laps, forcing him to settle for a runner-up finish.

On Friday night during the 2023 ISW opener, Grant turned the tables and met an entirely different fate in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

This time, after the lead slipped from his fingers with one lap remaining, Grant fought back and refused to loosen his grip. In turns three and four, Grant found himself boxed in behind a lapped car, but managed to break free past Ballou to beat him to the line by mere inches, exactly .005 of second ahead at the stripe in one of the closest Indiana Sprint Week finishes in the 36-year history of the series.

Grant, the reigning Indiana Sprint Week champion, had recently been in a self-admitted slump of late after finishes of 16th and 20th in early July at Macon (Ill.) Speedway. Furthermore, one night earlier during a USAC Silver Crown run at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, the engine under Grant’s car’s hood experienced an issue, which sent Grant to the sidelines for the remainder of the event.

This circumstance ended Grant’s all-time record of 239 consecutive USAC National feature starts across all three divisions which had been intact since July of 2020.

Now, possessing a brand-new streak of one start and one win, Grant has returned to the top, earning his 38th career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph, which surpassed Robert Ballou and Sheldon Kinser for 11th place on the all-time series win list.

“It’s no secret I’ve been struggling,” Grant admitted. “Everybody kept telling me that my luck was going to turn around. I just keep telling them that I needed to do a better job. I’ve just been getting myself in bad positions and bad places, and not executing like I need to execute in a racecar. But I finally felt like myself again tonight.”

Grant began his 30-lap venture from the outside of the front row and held the early advantage on the high line alongside pole sitter Colten Cottle. However, the action ceased just moments later in turn three on the opening lap when fast qualifier and sixth place running Brayden Fox biked and flipped. He was able to climb out of his car unscathed but highly disappointed with a damaged racecar.

Upon the resumption, Grant promptly pulled out to a half-straight lead over C. Cottle by lap eight when a violent two car crash ensued on the front straightaway. Fifth running Larry Kingseed Jr. and sixth place C.J. Leary connected with each other, resulting in both cars simultaneously somersaulting into turn one. Both drivers managed to step out from the wreckage under their own power, though both cars were finished for the evening.

By lap 10, Grant had reestablished his dominance up front as the leader while a tug-of-war for second raged on. Running second and third, respectively at the time, both Colten Cottle and Robert Ballou bounced through turns three and four. Once the door opened, Brady Bacon burst past underneath both drivers to advance and escape from fourth to second.

Bacon’s time in second was relatively brief as Ballou raced back to the runner-up spot on lap 13 after the two exchanged the position multiple times with back-and-forth slide jobs on both ends of the racetrack.

Grant pushed his lead to 1.6 sec. by the 20th lap, but heavy lapped traffic loomed just a few car lengths ahead with less than 10 laps to go. At that point, Ballou clamped down on Grant for the lead with seven remaining, and were separated by a car length as they worked within each other’s shadow on the bottom, nose-to-tail under traffic.

“Right as we were starting to catch the big pack of lappers there, I was starting to hear somebody,” Grant diagrammed. “I just heard somebody back there running more throttle, then a couple guys got tangled up off four, so I snuck through there and got into one and two pretty good. I think I got a little bit of a break there. I didn’t hear anybody, and then when I tried to circle that guy in three and four, I thought I had a little more room than I actually had.”

One could say that it was at that exact moment when Grant received Ballou’s undivided attention.

“It was 29 laps of riding around and riding around, and then it was, ‘oh boy, we better get to racing here,’” Grant recalled. “The heart rate definitely jacked up there on lap 29. There at the end, I tried to circle that lapped car on the outside, and it was ‘oh, that isn’t good.’

That lapped car was Geoff Ensign, and amid Grant and Ballou’s approach toward Ensign, Ballou knew it was go-time and carved out a path on the bottom of turns three and four to assume the lead by .009 second and a wheel ahead of Grant at the stripe with the white flag signaling above, signifying one lap to go.

On the 30th and final lap, the trio choo-choo’d in a straight-line exiting turn two. However, Ballou set up wide in turns three and four to work around the outside of Ensign while Grant remained committed to the bottom. With a bit of rolling momentum, Grant tapped the rear bumper of Ensign off turn four and followed his path for the final 50 feet.

That little bit of oomph from Grant was just barely enough to propel him ahead of Ballou’s high side momentum, with Grant beating him to the line in by just a few inches in one of the greatest finishes in series history, which served as Grant’s seventh career Indiana Sprint Week victory, tying him with Bryan Clauson for the fifth most all-time.

Robert Ballou came home a close second with Brady Bacon third, Mitchel Moles fourth and Kevin Thomas Jr. fifth.

Friday’s victory was special for Grant in a personal way as well. Earlier this month, legendary car owner Jeff Walker was brought on board to serve as crew chief for Grant. It was Walker who provided Grant with his first opportunity in sprint car racing all those years ago. Now, Grant was able to deliver a big win in his new but familiar surroundings consisting of Grant and Walker.

“I’m really grateful for my old buddy, my old pal, Jeff Walker coming back and crew chiefing for me again,” Grant said. “It’s pretty cool for me. Jeff was the first guy to hire me, and now I’ve gotten to hire him. We’re having a lot of fun racing, and it feels good to get in victory lane.”

Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) made a charge from his 12th starting position to take the lead on the white flag lap. At the checkered, he came up just inches short of his first USAC National Sprint Car win of the season in his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Berks Western Telecom/Triple X/Ott Chevy.

“I knew I had to be getting near the end and I knew I had the best car from lap one,” Ballou attested. “You don’t just start 12th and charge to the front right away in seven laps. When we got to lapped traffic, I knew it was now or never. Sometimes you follow the lapped car, and you get your doors blown off around the outside. I knew the top wasn’t very good there, and I didn’t get a good enough run off the middle to get back to the top. I also had a tough battle with the 69 car. He likes to throw elbows, so if he wants to play hardball, we’re more than ready.”

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished a solid third in his Dynamics, Inc./Bullseye Pest Control – Daredevil Brewing – Tel-Star Technologies/Triple X/Rider Chevy. The result put him firmly in the Indiana Sprint Week points race right off the bat while also moving him up to second in the season long USAC National Sprint Car points.

“We were a little bit better than Robert for a while, but some people are harder to pass than others,” Bacon shot back. “We could’ve moved him out of the way like he probably would’ve done to me, but we’ll keep that in our pocket for when we can win a race. I didn’t think we had a car to win tonight. I just got a little shy with the rough earlier in the night. Toward the end of the feature, we just didn’t have enough drive. A lot of people had some trouble tonight, but we survived, so we’ll take it.”

=====================

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 21, 2023 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-11.639; 2. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-11.715; 3. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-11.740; 4. Alex Bright, 27, Heffner-11.756; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.771; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-11.779; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.797; 8. Colten Cottle, 57, Hazen-11.805; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-11.809; 10. Max Adams, 17GP, Dutcher-11.825; 11. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.853; 12. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-11.856; 13. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-11.917; 14. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-11.930; 15. Tim Creech, 31, Creech-11.931; 16. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Ensign-11.950; 17. Cole Bodine, 57B, Bodine-11.961; 18. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-11.965; 19. Larry Kingseed Jr., 21, Kingseed-11.966; 20. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-11.972; 21. Kevin Thomas Jr., 42, Cheney-11.973; 22. Thomas Meseraull, 23K, NIKSTE-11.991; 23. Logan Seavey, 2B, 2B Racing-12.034; 24. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-12.058; 25. Tayte Williamson, 20, Williamson-12.091; 26. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.102; 27. Jadon Rogers, 14, 4J Motorsports-12.106; 28. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.106; 29. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.123; 30. Joey Amantea, 88J, Amantea-12.133; 31. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.171; 32. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.173; 33. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.181; 34. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-12.214; 35. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-12.224; 36. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-12.245; 37. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-12.247; 38. Colin Grissom, 00, Grissom-12.277; 39. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.295; 40. Dave Darland, 36D, Darland/Curb-Agajanian-12.309; 41. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.318; 42. Dalton Stevens, 99x, Stevens-12.320; 43. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.334; 44. Marcus Smith, 28s, Smith-12.336; 45. Evan Mosley, 27m, Barkdull-12.354; 46. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.354; 47. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-12.365; 48. Brayden Clark, 42G, Jackson/Clark-12.421; 49. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-12.508; 50. Scott Evans, 118, Evans-12.514; 51. Justin Zimmerman, 1, D-Up-12.583; 52. Devan Myers, 75, Myers-12.599; 53. Travis Thompson, 7, Thompson-12.637; 54. Daison Pursley, 5p, KO-12.824; 55. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-12.850; 56. Travis Millar, 93AU, Millar-13.054; 57. Noah Whitehouse, 00w, Whitehouse-13.190; 58. Jack James, 99, James-NT

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Brayden Fox, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Cole Bodine, 8. Charles Davis Jr., 9. Evan Mosley, 10. Braxton Cummings, 11. Travis Thompson, 12. Noah Whitehouse, 13. Tayte Williamson, 14. Kobe Simpson, 15. Matt Goodnight. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Carson Garrett, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Kyle Cummins, 7. Max Adams, 8. Joey Amantea, 9. Brent Beauchamp, 10. Daison Pursley, 11. Dustin Ingle, 12. Dalton Stevens, 13. Colin Grissom, 14. Scott Evans. 2:01.78

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Larry Kingseed Jr., 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Tim Creech, 6. Mitchel Moles, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 11. Logan Calderwood, 12. Rylan Gray, 13. Justin Zimmerman, 14. Troy Carey. 2:05.55

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Colten Cottle, 2. Xavier Doney, 3. Geoff Ensign, 4. Alex Bright, 5. Harley Burns, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Travis Millar, 8. Brayden Clark, 9. Ryan Barr, 10. Devan Myers, 11. Marcus Smith, 12. Saban Bibent, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Brandon Mattox. NT

THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL D-MAIN: (8 laps, top-2 transfer to the C-Main) 1. Brayden Clark, 2. Evan Mosley, 3. Sterling Cling, 4. Justin Zimmerman, 5. Kobe Simpson, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Devan Myers, 8. Travis Millar, 9. Travis Thompson, 10. Noah Whitehouse, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Scott Evans. 1:42.39

STEEL-IT C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Dustin Ingle, 2. Brandon Mattox, 3. Colin Grissom, 4. Ryan Barr, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Dalton Stevens, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Evan Mosley, 10. Charles Davis Jr., 11. Matt Goodnight, 12. Logan Calderwood, 13. Brayden Clark, 14. Rylan Gray, 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr. 2:11.42

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Max Adams, 5. Braxton Cummings, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Cole Bodine, 8. Jake Swanson, 9. Harley Burns, 10. Brandon Mattox, 11. Joey Amantea, 12. Tim Creech, 13. Ryan Barr, 14. Colin Grissom, 15. Stevie Sussex, 16. Saban Bibent, 17. Tayte Williamson, 18. Dustin Ingle. 2:36.19

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Robert Ballou (12), 3. Brady Bacon (3), 4. Mitchel Moles (14), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 6. Kyle Cummins (11), 7. Emerson Axsom (5), 8. Colten Cottle (1), 9. Logan Seavey (19), 10. Matt Westfall (10), 11. Shane Cottle (22), 12. Braxton Cummings (15), 13. Alex Bright (4), 14. Geoff Ensign (17), 15. Jadon Rogers (21), 16. Jake Swanson (23-P), 17. Xavier Doney (20), 18. Chase Stockon (24-P), 19. Max Adams (13), 20. Carson Garrett (16), 21. Larry Kingseed Jr. (8), 22. C.J. Leary (7), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Brayden Fox (6). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-28 Justin Grant, Lap 29 Robert Ballou, Lap 30 Justin Grant.

**Mitchel Moles flipped during qualifying. Brandon Mattox flipped during the fourth heat. Shane Cottle flipped during the fourth heat. Stevie Sussex flipped during the semi. Brayden Fox flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Larry Kingseed Jr. & C.J. Leary flipped on lap 8 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Emerson Axsom-1255, 2-Brady Bacon-1235, 3-Jake Swanson-1227, 4-Justin Grant-1225, 5-Kyle Cummins-1196, 6-C.J. Leary-1129, 7-Mitchel Moles-1100, 8-Robert Ballou-1028, 9-Chase Stockon-1021, 10-Daison Pursley-999.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-76, 2-Robert Ballou-74, 3-Brady Bacon-71, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-66, 5-Mitchel Moles-63, 6-Emerson Axsom-62, 7-Kyle Cummins-60, 8-Colten Cottle-57, 9-Logan Seavey-53, 10-Matt Westfall-50.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-116, 2-Logan Seavey-78, 3-Matt Westfall-70, 4-Justin Grant-62, 5-Robert Ballou-61, 6-Chase Stockon-60, 7-Brady Bacon-48, 8-Mitchel Moles-45, 9-Emerson Axsom-43, 10-Carson Garrett-43.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-17, 2-Robert Ballou-12, 3-Mitchel Moles-11, 4-Logan Seavey-10, 5-Evan Mosley-10, 6-Travis Millar-10, 7-Jadon Rogers-9, 8-Jake Swanson-8, 9-Colin Grissom-8, 10-Ryan Barr-7.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 22, 2023 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 36th Annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Fastest Hot Laps Driver: Max Adams (11.680)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: Brayden Fox (11.639)

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: C.J. Leary

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Larry Kingseed Jr.

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Colten Cottle

The Frolic Bar & Grill D-Main Winner: Brayden Clark

Steel-It C-Main Winner: Dustin Ingle

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kyle Cummins

Hard Work Award: Shane Cottle

Green APU First Lap Leader: Justin Grant

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (22nd to 11th)


 


 


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